The Promise of Home Read Online Free PDF

out to be losers. But maybe this time will be different.”
    Claudia wanted to ask more about Kevin’s dating history, but she decided against it because Rowen entered the room. Kyle’s daughter was holding a book up to her face as she walked; somehow, she had made it to the kitchen without bumping into anything. Her expression brightened when she saw what Kyle had prepared. “Oooh, grilled cheese. Did you put tomato on mine?”
    “Sure did. Sliced onions, too, just how you like it.”
    “What?” Rowen crowded up next to him at the stove. “But that’s gross! I don’t like onions on my grilled cheese. Are you kidding?”
    “Yes. Gotcha.” Kyle grinned down at her, and Rowen shoved him sideways once she realized that he’d been teasing her.
    “I can’t wait until we’re all living together,” Rowen said to Claudia. “Then he’ll have someone to pick on besides me.”
    “Nah, he won’t be doing much picking,” Claudia said. She looped her arm around Rowen’s shoulders and pulled the girl in for a hug. “We’ll form a united front. You know, girl power! That way, you and I can pick on
him
.”
    Rowen laughed and squeezed her in return, and Claudia enjoyed another wave of pre-wedding bliss. As if it weren’t enough to be marrying the man of her dreams, she was also gaining a precious stepdaughter whom she adored. Thinking about her soon-to-be-expanded family made her wonder again about Kevin and his new companion. Hopefully, Misty would also be someone whose company she would enjoy.
    —
    With a sigh, Emily slammed down the metal lid of her toolbox. The loud
clank
reverberated through the empty rooms of the McAllister mansion. Nothing she had in the box was small enough to fit in the tiny keyholes of the briefcase she had found. With her hammer and a chisel, she could easily break the locks and have the case open in a few minutes, and the idea was tempting. But besides the fact that the case wasn’t hers, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything that might damage it. She’d always been partial to antiques and furnishings of times past. She had built a career restoring old houses, after all. So, as curious as she was about the contents of the briefcase, she would baby it and find a way to open the locks properly.
    Emily gathered up her purse and keys. There wasn’t anything more she could do at the moment, and it was completely dark already. Her dog, Gus, was waiting for her at home and probably eager to be let outside.
    She put the briefcase on the backseat of her car after she had locked up the marble mansion. On the short drive home, she thought about what she might have at her house that she could use to pick the locks. She had several small metal tools that she used to melt leftover bits of glass from her stained glass projects into beads. And there was no telling what she might find in her kitchen junk drawer.
    Emily had just lugged everything into her house and let Gus run out to the backyard when someone knocked at her front door. Before she could get to it, the door opened and her mother stuck her head inside. “Em, it’s me, honey. Are you home?”
    “Barely,” Emily said. “What’s up?”
    Her mother stepped into the foyer dressed in her typical real estate agent uniform—a tailored pantsuit and comfortable pumps. Since it was Saturday, she’d undoubtedly been out showing houses most of the day.
    “I picked up two new listings today,” she started, and Emily knew exactly where the conversation was heading. “They’re both in pretty good shape, but one needs to have a few ghastly lighting fixtures swapped out, and the other has a really slow drain in one of the bathroom sinks. Do you think you’d have time tomorrow to take care of those things for me? I know I can sell them both quickly, but the drain worries me because it would show up on inspection.”
    “I’ll try,” Emily said, though she had no idea how she would squeeze in her mother’s house maintenance projects. She