Read Doorstep daddy for Free Online Page A

dialed her number. When she answered, he said, "Hi, it's Richard. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
    "No." She said nothing else. He wished he knew if she was in her nightgown, ready for bed. Did she wear a gown or pajamas? Baby dolls. She had to be the baby-doll type.
    He got hold of his wandering libido. "I wish I'd had control over the housewarming guest invitations because I would have done more than assumed someone I actually liked would be invited. In fact, you would have been first on the list."
    She chuckled. "Was it that bad?"
    ' 'I could have used an interpreter for all those square jaws." He sighed. "I thought you would be there, and I am not happy you weren't."
    "Don't worry about it." Her voice sounded warmer.
    "I knew you were naive and probably not on the same wavelength, although you were sweet about it. My sister's a nice woman, but she doesn't think sometimes. I love her, anyway."
    "But I invited you. You should have come."
    "Well...I thought it might be better not to after I talked with Gerri earlier in the day and she didn't say anything about the party."
    "It's my fault," he said, thinking he should have yelled like a drill sergeant at Gerri. That might have gotten the message across to the woman.
    "It's not your fault, idiot, although you might not be so generous when I tell you I got you two totally useless horse-head bookends that glow in the dark."
    "I'll cherish them forever." He meant it, too. "Will you come over for dinner tomorrow?"
    "Urn..." She hesitated.
    "Please. I'd like a friend. I need one. You can protect me from Amanda."
    "Oh, Lord. What did you do now?"
    "Nothing. I think. And everything, so I'm told," he said, and filled her in. "So when Joey asked me, I said it was okay by me if Amanda wanted to go. You'd have thought I was the chief torturer at the Inquisition when I told her. What did I do wrong?"
    Callie chuckled. "Teenagers hate even the idea that they're under any kind of parental control, let alone to have it acknowledged to their peers. Especially to peers they're attracted to."
    "Don't say that part."
    Callie laughed this time. "Richard, that's what it's all about when you're that age. Amanda is a teenager, plain and simple."
    "I think those are the most frightening words after
    'nuclear explosion,'" he said. "Although, I thought it was really polite of Joey to ask me first."
    "He's a good kid, despite some of Gerri's nonsense. Matter of fact, you should tell Amanda that."
    "I will." He thought of his conversation with Joey. "Hey, is there something wrong with the public school here? I researched the school systems thoroughly before I moved here, but Joey tells me none of the other kids in the development go to the local school."
    "I've heard nothing and, believe me, I would have. My sister sends her kids to private school because it's trendy, not for any other reason. Like the material girl she is. Gerri needs to have a show of wealth all the time to prove she's not poor anymore. Everyone has a quirky holdover from their childhood. But as far as the school goes, don't worry about it."
    "I don't want to move Amanda or Jason. They've seemed to settle in okay. Since the school system's excellent, I truly don't see the point. But I don't want them to be outcasts, either."
    "You're a good uncle."
    Her words meant more than anything he'd heard in a long long time. "Thanks. I only wish Amanda thought so. I can't seem to do anything right."
    "She's thirteen. No parent can."
    "Can I do anything right with you?" he asked softly.
    "Oh..." Her voice faltered as if he'd set off an unexpected spark. He hoped so. Talking to her about child-raising held an unexpected intimacy for him. Finally she said, "You do okay."
    "I'll do much better," he promised.
    "And, Richard...I'll see you tomorrow."
    When he hung up the phone, he admitted he liked keeping her off balance.
    He planned to keep her even more so.
    "I shouldn't be doing this," Callie muttered, pulling into Richard's driveway the next