Incarnate Read Online Free PDF Page A

and analyzed from every angle.
    Erin couldn’t blame her. In most homes, a teenage girl’s date would be a typical, everyday event.
    But it was the first time it was happening to them.
    “She’s right,” Erin agreed, giving her husband a discreet elbow to the ribs. “It’s no big deal. Just a date. And it’s getting late.”
    He must have faced an internal struggle, but Seth followed her lead. “Right.”
    Anna frowned. “That’s it? I was hoping for at least a little screaming and maybe a few tears.”
    Erin couldn’t help but chuckle, although the jibe earned a snarl from Mackenzie. “Why don’t you go back to your room, Anna?”
    “Fine,” Anna grumbled, getting off the chair. She was wearing man-style, cotton pajamas in deep purple and a pair of fuzzy pink slippers. “What a letdown.”
    Anna had left the room and Erin had started to pull her husband away when Seth ducked his head back into the bedroom. He caught Mackenzie’s eye. “Do I get to meet this paragon of virtue and fortitude?”
    A wisp of a smile passed across Mackenzie’s mouth. “If you have to.”
    “I would like to meet anyone who intends to take out my daughter.”
    “Maybe right before we go out on Friday,” Mackenzie suggested.
    “She doesn’t want you to scare him off beforehand,” Anna called out from down the hall.
    “Friday evening will be fine,” Seth agreed, ignoring Anna’s amused commentary. He paused for a moment, just looking at his daughter. Something about his expression struck Erin as poignant. Then, “You like him?”
    After a brief flicker of reluctance, Mackenzie nodded. Admitted, “Yeah, Dad, I like him a lot.”
    Seth released a short breath. “All right. I’m sure he’s improved since the first grade.”
    As Erin closed the bedroom door behind them, she caught a glimpse of her daughter’s face. Mackenzie’s delicate features had softened into a relieved smile.
    Erin smiled too and snuggled up to Seth’s side as they walked back to their bedroom. She was about to say how pleased she was by his reaction to the entire event, when he interrupted her.
    “If the little bastard touches her,” he gritted through his teeth, “I’ll destroy him.”
    ***
    The mood in the Thomas household for the rest of the week progressed in a similar way—transitioning from light teasing to tense interrogation to sustained efforts to be casual and reasonable about the whole thing.
    Erin knew Seth was trying to be good, trying not to upset his daughter, and trying not to overreact. She also knew he was having a really hard time handling the helplessness he felt with this aspect of his children’s lives.
    So she was relieved when Friday evening finally arrived. Once this first landmark was passed, maybe things would return to an even keel.
    She dropped by Mackenzie’s room a half-hour before Justin was set to pick her up. Mackenzie was in the process of getting dressed, but she let Erin come in.
    “Do you think this is all right?” Mackenzie asked, looking at herself in a full-length mirror. She was wearing a flattering blue top and a casual skirt that revealed a lot of her long, bare legs.
    Erin hoped Seth wouldn’t freak out about the amount of leg exposed by Mackenzie’s outfit. “It’s perfect. You look beautiful.”
    Mackenzie didn’t look convinced. She kept staring at herself, fidgeting with her clothes. “Do you think I should wear a skirt? Maybe he’ll think I’m trying too hard.”
    “I think you should wear what you want. But that’s a good balance. It doesn’t look too dressy, but it will work with anything he might wear.”
    To Erin, Mackenzie looked perfect—lovely, well-dressed, and stylish. Exactly as Erin had always wanted to look in high school.
    “Okay. I’ll go with this then.” Mackenzie sat down to put on a bracelet, appearing completely composed.
    Erin knew she was still nervous, however. She just had Seth’s ability to hide her feelings.
    “How many times have you changed so