Read Online Sophie's Playboy by Natalie J. Damschroder - Free Book Online
Authors: Natalie J. Damschroder
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was hurt in the explosion."
Elyse eyed her two younger daughters speculatively. "Did I hurt you two?"
Brianna spoke first. "We were concerned, but I wouldn't say hurt. I felt guilty for being a burden to you for so long."
"No, never that!" Elyse leapt up and rushed to hug Brie. "It had nothing to do with you! It was all me. I tried to tell you 65
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
that." She sat in the chair next to Brianna and sighed. "You're all so like your father."
It had been commented on as long as Sophie could remember. All three sisters matched their father in appearance, tall and fair where their mother was short and dark. But Sophie knew that wasn't what she was trying to say.
"Gruff and self-centered and blusteringly loving when the occasion calls?" she asked.
Her mother smiled gently. "You're all worrywarts."
Sophie and Brianna burst out laughing. "If we are, Mom, then we're like you , not Daddy!" Brianna choked out. "He doesn't worry about anything."
"He does. He worries quietly. You're all the same way. Kira deals with it by trying to parent." She turned to Sophie. "You deal with it by joking and demanding. Brianna hovers."
"I do not hover," she protested.
"You do, sweetie. You were over here every day when I was gone. You didn't think your poor father could handle being alone."
But he had, Sophie knew. Kira had been home, but consumed by morning sickness and her own dilemmas.
Brianna had hovered, quite ineffectively, and Sophie had come home every weekend. Just about the only thing any of them had to do, though, was be company for the man who hadn't been alone for longer than a day in nearly thirty years.
Which meant her mother hadn't been alone, either. Sophie prized her own space, and didn't have to struggle to get it.
66
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
She finally understood why her mother had needed the escape.
The knot in her stomach loosened entirely and slipped away.
"Okay, Mom. We'll stop hovering."
Brianna looked back and forth between them. She didn't look convinced, but her mother's obvious happiness and Sophie's reassurance seemed enough. She shrugged. "I'll try."
"Now, dear, tell me all about Parker/Biff."
Sophie stared at her. "Mom, you just said—"
"But I'm your mother. It doesn't apply to me. I have to worry. Tell."
The only way to escape would be heading back to Boston.
Sophie sighed and told.
* * * *
Two weeks went by, and Parker didn't call the show.
Sophie spent four hours each day on tenterhooks, wondering if the next caller would be him, or the next, or the next. It made her more suspicious than ever that Biff and Parker were the same guy. She told Biff to get lost, and Parker did.
She tried to come up with a plan. She couldn't find him at The Club, because she didn't belong anymore. She'd always attended events as representative or guest of her bosses or other members. As familiar as the staff was with her, they wouldn't let her just wander in, knowing her new status.
Calling wasn't an option, either. She'd looked up Cornwall in the phone book and come up empty. Of course, rich people 67
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
rarely had listed numbers. She found the Cornwall Foundation, but got lost in a voice mail maze. And Chuck wouldn't let her borrow his Club Directory.
"You betrayed me," he complained, "and now you want me to help you? You've got to tell me what you're looking for, at least."
That, she couldn't do.
She didn't have much better luck with the name Parker. An Internet search yielded only four people with that first name, and none were her Parker. Again, of course, he was probably unlisted.
She'd just about given up—and given in to the restlessness that had started to build again—when she got called into the program manager's office.
"The show's gotten a little flat." Stevie seemed to have been elected to give her the bad news. Sophie sat in a chair facing Stevie, the station manager, and her producer, and tried
Elyse eyed her two younger daughters speculatively. "Did I hurt you two?"
Brianna spoke first. "We were concerned, but I wouldn't say hurt. I felt guilty for being a burden to you for so long."
"No, never that!" Elyse leapt up and rushed to hug Brie. "It had nothing to do with you! It was all me. I tried to tell you 65
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
that." She sat in the chair next to Brianna and sighed. "You're all so like your father."
It had been commented on as long as Sophie could remember. All three sisters matched their father in appearance, tall and fair where their mother was short and dark. But Sophie knew that wasn't what she was trying to say.
"Gruff and self-centered and blusteringly loving when the occasion calls?" she asked.
Her mother smiled gently. "You're all worrywarts."
Sophie and Brianna burst out laughing. "If we are, Mom, then we're like you , not Daddy!" Brianna choked out. "He doesn't worry about anything."
"He does. He worries quietly. You're all the same way. Kira deals with it by trying to parent." She turned to Sophie. "You deal with it by joking and demanding. Brianna hovers."
"I do not hover," she protested.
"You do, sweetie. You were over here every day when I was gone. You didn't think your poor father could handle being alone."
But he had, Sophie knew. Kira had been home, but consumed by morning sickness and her own dilemmas.
Brianna had hovered, quite ineffectively, and Sophie had come home every weekend. Just about the only thing any of them had to do, though, was be company for the man who hadn't been alone for longer than a day in nearly thirty years.
Which meant her mother hadn't been alone, either. Sophie prized her own space, and didn't have to struggle to get it.
66
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
She finally understood why her mother had needed the escape.
The knot in her stomach loosened entirely and slipped away.
"Okay, Mom. We'll stop hovering."
Brianna looked back and forth between them. She didn't look convinced, but her mother's obvious happiness and Sophie's reassurance seemed enough. She shrugged. "I'll try."
"Now, dear, tell me all about Parker/Biff."
Sophie stared at her. "Mom, you just said—"
"But I'm your mother. It doesn't apply to me. I have to worry. Tell."
The only way to escape would be heading back to Boston.
Sophie sighed and told.
* * * *
Two weeks went by, and Parker didn't call the show.
Sophie spent four hours each day on tenterhooks, wondering if the next caller would be him, or the next, or the next. It made her more suspicious than ever that Biff and Parker were the same guy. She told Biff to get lost, and Parker did.
She tried to come up with a plan. She couldn't find him at The Club, because she didn't belong anymore. She'd always attended events as representative or guest of her bosses or other members. As familiar as the staff was with her, they wouldn't let her just wander in, knowing her new status.
Calling wasn't an option, either. She'd looked up Cornwall in the phone book and come up empty. Of course, rich people 67
Sophie's Playboy
by Natalie Damschroder
rarely had listed numbers. She found the Cornwall Foundation, but got lost in a voice mail maze. And Chuck wouldn't let her borrow his Club Directory.
"You betrayed me," he complained, "and now you want me to help you? You've got to tell me what you're looking for, at least."
That, she couldn't do.
She didn't have much better luck with the name Parker. An Internet search yielded only four people with that first name, and none were her Parker. Again, of course, he was probably unlisted.
She'd just about given up—and given in to the restlessness that had started to build again—when she got called into the program manager's office.
"The show's gotten a little flat." Stevie seemed to have been elected to give her the bad news. Sophie sat in a chair facing Stevie, the station manager, and her producer, and tried
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