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

performed.
    Then Ava rushed down the stairs and dashed across the lawn to her bicycle, and Jake forgot all about the twins and their tea party with Zoe.

Chapter 6
    “WHERE DO YOU think you’re going dressed like that?” Jake demanded, his voice harsher than he’d intended.
    Ava jerked to a stop with her bicycle half out of the rack. She wore a skirt made with less material than the handkerchief in Jake’s back pocket. She balanced on precariously high-heeled boots that came up to her knees. The neckline of her blouse was unbuttoned far enough to leave almost nothing to the imagination. And if that wasn’t enough to set his dad-radar humming, the heavy application of makeup was. The contrast between Zoe’s simple pink dress and Ava’s outrageous outfit couldn’t have been more stark. His daughter looked like a hooker.
    Ava finished backing the bike out of the rack and turned to face Jake with a look of defiance on her face. “I’m going to the park.” She shoved a bulging soft-sided cooler bag under the rattrap on the back of the bike. “For a picnic.”
    Jake did his best to control the angry outrage bubbling up inside him. “Not dressed like that, you aren’t.”
    Ava walked the bike toward the street.
    “Ava, we need to talk.”
    “Daddy!” Ava shoved one hip out in a posture of exasperation. The blouse and skirt parted to reveal a smooth expanse of abdomen with something glittering in her navel. “Can’t it wait?”
    “No. It can’t.”
    Father and daughter glared at each other for several long moments. Then finally, Ava jerked the kickstand down and set the bike on it. She faced him with her hands on her hips and her chin thrust out. She was pushing his buttons, and it felt like she was doing it on purpose. What had happened to the sweet, innocent girl Ava had been just a few short months ago?
    “Were you going to tell me you were going out if I hadn’t asked?”
    “You were standing right there. I didn’t think I needed to tell you I was going out.”
    “And you didn’t think you should ask permission? Or at least tell me where you planned to go and when you expected to return?”
    “I’m not a little kid anymore, Daddy.” Ava frowned. “And it’s Sunday. I don’t have homework or anything.”
    “The fact that you aren’t a little kid anymore is what worries me.”
    Ava began tugging on her clothing as if she’d suddenly realized its skimpiness might be the real source of his objection. She pulled the neckline of the blouse together, but her efforts did nothing for the shortness of the skirt.
    “You never used to care if I went for a ride on my bike,” Ava argued in what she probably thought was a reasonable tone, but actually came across as a little defensive and a lot secretive. Jake’s suspicions were confirmed.
    “That was before you started seeing Travis.”
    “What’s Travis got to do with it?”
    “Everything, and don’t play dumb.”
    Ava pressed her mouth into a straight, hard line. “So, I’m meeting Travis? What of it?”
    Jake surveyed her clothing, or lack of it, with deliberate thoroughness. “Do you have any idea what that getup will do to Travis when he sees you?”
    “Everyone dresses like this.” Ava had the grace to color slightly, but her face took on an even more defiant glare.
    “I don’t really care what everyone is wearing,” Jake bit out angrily. “But my daughter is not going anywhere dressed like a hooker.”
    “And you know what hookers wear how? You visit them much?”
    Jake clung to his temper by a thread. “I have never been with a prostitute. Not that it’s any of your business if I had, but this isn’t about me. It’s about you. And Travis.”
    “How is this about Travis? It’s me you’re yelling at.”
    Jake closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He tempered his voice before speaking. “I’m sorry I raised my voice, but I’m your father, and it’s my job to worry about you.”
    “I don’t get why you should be worried