Falling For Zoe (The Camerons of Tide's Way #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to her seventh child when Zoe had been the same age as Ava was when Marsha walked out. Zoe, like Ava, had ended up taking on the job of woman-of-the-house.
    What an amazing coincidence that Zoe should just happen to move in next door at a time when Ava most needed a role model and a confidant who understood. Celia helped out some, but as the Alzheimer’s claimed more and more of her memory, Ava had taken on ever more responsibility.
    Jake’s own childhood had been so very different. He’d been the baby, and both his parents were still living. Philip, the oldest sibling, was his senior by nine years. Then came Kate and the twins, Will and Ben. They’d all had a pretty carefree time of it, and Jake couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be suddenly thrust into mothering six kids when you were barely more than a child yourself.
    Yet Zoe didn’t act like a martyr. Her cheerful, outgoing personality belied any idea that she felt put upon and used. He wondered what her teenage years had been like. Had she had time for girly things, hanging out with her friends, experimenting with makeup the way he’d seen Ava doing with her best friend? Shopping at the mall and gossiping about who was dating whom?
    Had she had a steady boyfriend? Perhaps he should ask Zoe about the boyfriend thing and compare notes about what to expect from Ava. Find out what he should be worrying about from a woman’s point of view. Except that might be taking neighborliness a little too far . . . asking such personal questions of a woman he barely knew.
    Jake wiped the dipstick on a rag and slipped it back into the engine, then drew it out again. He wished he knew even half as much about women as he knew about cars.
    Just as he finished checking the oil level and shut the hood of the van, Lori and Lynn reappeared on the porch, clad in clothes from the dress-up box Ava had put together for them.
    Lynn sported long white gloves pulled nearly to her shoulders with a lacy lavender dress that dragged on the ground. Lori had chosen a hat with a long feather curling away from its brim and a burgundy dress only marginally shorter than her sister’s. They clutched their favorite stuffed animals under one arm while carefully lifting the hems of their dresses with their fingertips. Jake caught a glimpse of sparkly shoes as they began their descent to the walkway.
    Lynn paused at Jake’s side and tugged on the hem of his shorts. “We are invited to a tea party,” she whispered in awed tones.
    “Is that so?” he answered, expecting to see them head toward their tree house. He felt a pang of surprise when the twins traipsed daintily across the lawn in their finery and climbed the stairs to Zoe’s porch.
    When Zoe met them at the top of the stairs, Jake did a double take. Zoe had changed out of her paint-stained shorts and oversized T-shirt and into a pale pink sundress that set off her slim tanned legs to perfection. She looked young and innocent and unexpectedly pretty. Jake had a sudden inexplicable vision of himself dancing with her. Of the pink dress mingling with the darker fabric of his favorite halfway-dressy slacks. With her wholesome little body pressed against his as they moved to a slow dance tune. Jake ruthlessly cut the daydream off before it went any further and shook his head . I don’t even like to dance!
    Zoe bent to shake each small, gloved hand with solemn formality. Then she ushered them to a card table set up next to the railing and covered with a lacy tablecloth. As Jake watched, a tea set appeared, and something very pink was poured into tiny cups. Lori lifted hers gingerly to her lips and sipped. Jake smiled at the innocent picture. Lynn followed her sister’s lead, and shortly a plate of cookies was being passed about. His usually boisterous little girls were behaving with amazingly grownup decorum. Jake wished he were a fly on the wall so he could listen in on the conversation. He would have to ask Zoe what kind of magic she had