The Housekeeper's Daughter Read Online Free PDF

mother would come to check on her, worry on her brow as she fretted about lack of appetite and its effects on the baby. There would be no retreat from harsh reality at the present.
    Maya squared her shoulders and walked down the hall, ready for the firing squad, so to speak. Drake wasn’t in the kitchen. Relieved, she turned to her mother. “Can I help?”
    Inez nodded distractedly. She dumped a stack of homemade tortillas into a cloth-lined basket. “Take these to the dining room,” she said. “Check if there’s enough salsa on the table.”
    Maya’s heart dropped straight to her toes, but pride wouldn’t allow her to refuse. After all, she had opened her mouth and volunteered. Another lesson in life from the school of hard knocks, she reminded herself, trying for humor to bolster her flagging courage.
    â€œOh, and butter,” her mother added, stirring a potand tasting the contents before adding more seasoning.
    Maya put fresh butter on a crystal dish, picked up the basket and went into the formal dining room. Maybe none of the family had gathered yet.
    As if she would have such good fortune.
    It was worse than she imagined. Drake and his father were at the table, deep in conversation, when she walked in. There was a beat of silence, then Joe rose with a smile.
    â€œMaya, you’re looking beautiful today.” He glanced at his son. “There’s something about an expectant mother, isn’t there? A glow that’s special.”
    â€œYes.” Drake’s voice was low, sexy.
    Maya felt the blush start at her toes and work its way up. By the time it reached her hairline, she felt like a fresh-boiled lobster.
    â€œDidn’t mean to embarrass you,” Joe murmured, his gaze so full of delight and kindness, she could have wept.
    â€œNo, it’s all right,” she managed to say past the lump in her throat.
    When she dared look at Drake, his gaze was noncommittal, with no emotion that she could detect. “Mom sent some tortillas and butter.” She placed them on the table near the men.
    After checking the salsa dish, she hurried back to the kitchen. “Here,” Inez said, thrusting a platter into Maya’s hands. “Take these. The new helper I hired didn’t show up. I have to get the rest of the food ready.”
    Maya suppressed a twinge of guilt. Had it not beenfor Drake, she would have been giving her mom a hand. Instead, she’d hid in her room all morning. And accomplished nothing in the way of studying. She had a big test coming up later in the month.
    She took the huge platter of burritos to the dining room table. Mexican food was one of Joe’s favorite meals and in spite of Ms. Meredith, her mother served it often.
    Maya returned to the kitchen for bowls of refried beans and Spanish rice. In the dining room, after checking the table to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, she again turned toward the kitchen, aware of a brooding gaze on her each time she’d entered the room.
    â€œWhy don’t you join us?” Joe asked.
    Her feet took root and she couldn’t move. She shook her head and felt her hair swish against her face. Realizing she was overreacting, she managed a smile and tried to decline politely, but it was useless. Drake had already pulled a chair out for her. Joe took her arm and guided her into it.
    â€œWell,” she said with a strained smile, “since you insist.”
    Joe’s smile was understanding and benign. She wasn’t sure about Drake’s. It held a more menacing quality.
    â€œHow are your studies going?” the older Colton asked, serving her the platter of burritos before taking two for himself.
    â€œFine, sir. I made the dean’s list.”
    â€œAs usual,” Joe said in approval. He passed the plate to Drake.
    The son, she noted, took four. How could his lean frame burn up so much food, she wondered, something she had asked once before.
    â€œI