Read Online Firefighter Daddy by Lee McKenzie - Free Book Online

job.
    Seven-year-olds could follow simple instructions without questioning every step along the way. They could tie their own shoes. They could articulate ideas, at least in a basic way, and they threw themselves wholeheartedly into every opportunity presented to them. And they didn’t drool.
    She especially loved watching them while they wrote in their journals. Younger children hadn’t yet developed the skills to put thoughts on paper, while older kids would sit and stare at a blank page, hypercritical of every idea even before it was fully formed. Second graders put pencil to paper without hesitation. They were quick-witted, yet naive enough to take things at face value. And they weren’t afraid to use words they couldn’t spell.
    Seven was the perfect age. At school, Miranda was exceptionally energetic and imaginative—exactly the kind of child Rory loved having in her classroom. At home with her family, she seemed quieter and more serious. More like a miniature adult than a normal kid. Not surprising, given what she and her dad had been through, but Rory still hated to see a child grow up too quickly.
    Even adults needed to relax and have some fun once in a while, and Rory liked to think she was still good at letting her inner child come out to play. Rory’s father often joked that the nut didn’t fall far from the tree, the tree in this case being Rory’s mother. Copper Pennington’s lively high-spiritedness sharply contrasted and often conflicted with Sam Borland’s more serious bookishness. There was really no denying it…Rory was very much like her mother.
    But that didn’t mean she wanted to be a mother. In spite of having a wonderful relationship with both her parents, she was never one-hundred-percent convinced they’d wanted to be parents, either. If it hadn’t been for that one night in the backseat of the Buick…
    Rory sidestepped a half-dozen giggling teenaged girls who seemed to think they had the sidewalk, maybe even the world, all to themselves. Am I the only person in downtown San Francisco who’s in a hurry? Even though a dress fitting wasn’t high on her list of priorities today, she loved to spend time with her friends. Still, it would have been good to hang around the house and finish unpacking. Maybe catch a glimpse of Mitch.
    You’re not going there. Too much baggage, remember?
    Baggage aside, a girl could still look. And admire the view.
    She pushed through the door of the bridal salon, thinking that with everything else she had going on, she was lucky that being a maid of honor had turned out to be such an easy job.
    Nicola and the others were seated at the back of the shop in a half circle of chairs facing a round dais and several full-length mirrors. The bride-to-be jumped up, brandishing her BlackBerry.
    “There you are! I was just about to call you. I was starting to worry.” But she didn’t look worried. More like a force to be reckoned with. Her short, sleek, dark hair was perfect, as always, and her tan-colored linen pants, white silk shirt, slender gold bangles and metallic ballet flats were as understated as they were expensive.
    “Sorry I’m late. Since we’re going out for drinks I left my van at home and took the bus.”
    The bride-to-be gave her a quick hug. “You should have called. I would have sent Jonathan to pick you up.”
    “I completely lost track of time. I would have called after I was on the bus but I left my cell phone at home.” She waggled her fingers at Paige and Maria. “Hi, girls.”
    “Did you get moved into your new place?” Paige asked, squinting as she cleaned her glasses with the hem of her bulky gray sweater.
    “I did, and it’s perfect. My new landlady and her…her family helped me haul everything upstairs. They even helped me unpack, which is why I got sidetracked.”
    “You look gorgeous, as always. I love those colors on you.” Maria, the truly gorgeous one with the Mediterranean complexion and captivatingly brown eyes,