Second Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson

Author:N.D. Jackson [Jackson, N.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

“Can Daddy read me a story tonight?” Glory looked up at her mom with pleading sapphire eyes. “Please?”

Ally shrugged, knowing a losing battle when she faced one. “Alright. If it’s okay with him,” she added, knowing it would be difficult to say no to those big beautiful eyes when they cranked up the adorable factor.

“Dad!”

Ally shook her head with an indulgent grin. She swore Glory had said that word more in the past few days than the last few years. “You’re being summoned,” she told him and made her way to the kitchen to clean up. She’d invited Archer for dinner, well Glory had invited him and she’d agreed, hoping to see if he really planned on sticking around. “You cleaned? Guests don’t clean,” she admonished but he just stood and smiled, the picture of causal cool.

“What else was I going to do while you ladies negotiated?”

“Surf channels? Snoop? I don’t know, eat leftovers. Not clean!” No one cleaned her home but her. Ever. Not even Cindy.

He frowned. “What’s the big deal?”

Naturally he wouldn’t see it as a big deal. The man didn’t see anything as a big deal, ever. “The big deal is that guests don’t clean my home.” Something flashed in his eyes but she couldn’t quite decipher it and honestly, she didn’t want to try. “Just…go read to Glory. She’s waiting.”

He shrugged like it was no big deal and walked away, and she absolutely did not ogle his long, muscular legs encased in perfectly worn denim. She didn’t check out his butt either, or those wide shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist she just bet were stacked with all kinds of muscles.

Good thing I’m not beholden by my baser instincts, she thought with a smug smile. Yeah right, her body, desperate for a man’s touch, screamed. It didn’t matter how desperate her body was, she wouldn’t be seeking his touch. Her only goal where Archer was concerned had to do with making sure he would be part of Glory’s life. Or not. She wouldn’t allow him to go back and forth. Children needed stability.

And no matter how much Archer had changed, some things about a person were as elemental as eye color or height. Even if she completely disregarded how he’d up and left her with no explanation, other than, “It’s just something that I have to do. I hope you understand,” she couldn’t disregard that he’d spent the past few years adrift. Traveling from one place to another. Helping, she thought as though it were a dirty word. Well she didn’t understand, dammit. Not now, years later she didn’t get it. Fuming, she scrubbed the countertops and the table, tossing napkins in the trash and the tablecloth into the laundry room.

She took a step back and looked at her sparkling kitchen, smiling before she went to the living room to continue her nightly cleaning. Glory was a good kid. Smart and kind. Obedient. But she was still a child which meant by the end of the day toys and learning aids were strewn everywhere.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.