Read The Mill House for Free Online Page B

Mum,' she cried, clearly highly distressed. 'Orlando Bloom's shaved off his beard and had his hair cut and now he looks just like Dad!'
    Josh's head immediately came out of the paper. 'What's the matter with that?' he demanded hotly.
    Unable to suppress a laugh, Julia took the magazine to look at the offending photo. Actually, Shannon was right, her heartthrob did rather resemble Josh with his fine-cut features and shorter hair.
    'This is like, so horrible,' Shannon wailed. 'He can't look like Dad. He just can't.'
    'Actually, I think Dad's quite good-looking,' Julia commented, handing the magazine back.
    'Yes, but he's old. And he's not supposed to look like Orlando. Oh God,' she cried, looking at the picture again. 'All he needs is a bald spot.'
    Julia and Dan burst out laughing at Josh's look of indignation. 'I don't have a bald spot,' he protested.
    'No, but it's like thin at the back, and, oh Mum. What am I going to do? I can't put this on my wall.'
    Suddenly grabbing her, Josh dragged her onto his lap and gave her a resounding kiss on the cheek. 'I could save us a lot of money on those rubbishy magazines and give you some pictures of me,' he told her.
    'Yeah, right,' she responded, fighting him off. 'I'd really love that.'
    'I'll have some pictures of you, Dad,' Dan piped up. 'I can use them as a dartboard.'
    Julia had to laugh as Josh turned in outrage on his son, and only just managed to stop Dan crashing off his chair as he ducked clear of Josh's advance.
    'Phone!' Shannon suddenly yelled. 'I'll get it,' and she shot back inside the house, shouting, 'Let it ring till I get upstairs.'
    Josh looked at Julia. 'Is she expecting someone?' he asked.
    'It would seem so,' she responded lightly.
    His eyes stayed on her. 'If it's a conversation we're not supposed to hear, it must be a boy,' he decided.
    'Not necessarily Girls that age are usually secretive, especially where their parents are concerned.'
    'But a boy rang here last night.'
    'Yes, Freddy, from her drama class. You've met him.'
    Josh grunted, and after throwing a look at Dan he returned to his paper. Since Freddy was at least two stone overweight and as camp as Butlins there was no cause for concern there. 'Just as long as she's not getting into any trouble,' he mumbled.
    Julia pulled a face he couldn't see and poured milk over Dan's Frosties.
    'What's this one called, Mum?' Dan asked, his attention now focused on a butterfly that had perched on the edge of the sugar bowl.
    'I don't know. We'll look it up, if you like.'
    The butterfly flitted off and Daniel turned to his father. 'What time will you be home today?' he asked, sticking his head in under the paper.
    'Not sure. Why?' Josh answered, ruffling his unruly hair.
    'There's a dads-and-lads game in the park at half past six. Remember?'
    Josh frowned, showing that probably he didn't. 'Am I the only one around here who works?' he grumbled. 'Who on earth manages to get home by that time?'
    'Dad!'
    'All right, I'll be there if I can,' he said. 'What position do I have to play?'
    Dan grinned. 'Goalie.'
    Josh's eyes narrowed and Daniel laughed delightedly, for the last time Josh had played in goal their team had been trashed, four-nil. 'Only joking,' he cried, as Josh made to swat him.
    Leaving them to a lively exchange about a sport she had no interest in, Julia picked up the mail and started to open it. It wouldn't be long now before they all shifted up a gear to begin the final dash from the house, but until then she was happy to sit here in the gazebo, soaking up the sun, listening to Dan's chatter, and holding all her negative thoughts at bay, because there would be time enough later to deal with the crushing disappointment over her book, and the slow deterioration of her marriage.
    She glanced at Josh, detesting the silence between them, but there was nothing she could say with the children around, and since last night was probably best left unmentioned anyway, she handed him his post and went to check on the