Until She Met Daniel Read Online Free PDF Page B

Daddy, please?”
    â€œSure, honey,” Joyce said.
    â€œHi, Daddy,” his daughter’s timid voice greeted him. “I miss you.”
    â€œI miss you, too, pumpkin. But it won’t be long before you and Grandma are here. Did you have a nice day?”
    â€œUh-huh. I made you a present.”
    â€œI can’t wait to see it.”
    â€œMommy says it’s not very good.”
    Daniel was tempted to tell her Mommy wasn’t worth listening to, but he was determined not to head down that road. Kids shouldn’t be the battleground for their parents; his mother and father had waged World War III throughout his childhood. They were the reason he’d considered never getting married in the first place. It hadn’t seemed worth the risk of going through that kind of pain. Now...? Well, he wouldn’t give up Samantha for anything, but there was little doubt that his own marriage had turned out badly.
    â€œI’m sure your present is wonderful, darling,” he said gently. “And I’m glad you had a visit with your mommy.”
    Samantha’s voice had a forlorn sound to it. “She came to look for a purse she forgot.”
    Hell. What could he say? There weren’t any words to fix his child’s pain. He just hoped time and distance would help. “It’s still nice you got to see her.”
    â€œI guess so.”
    â€œYou know what? I’d better go,” he said. “I’ve got to explore our new house some more and guess which bedroom you’ll want.”
    â€œIt can be a game,” Samantha answered, sounding brighter.
    â€œYou bet, and whoever wins, we’ll get a pizza to celebrate, with no little fishies on it.”
    A giggle floated over the wires as he invoked an image from
E.T.,
one of Samantha’s favorite movies.
    â€œCan you tell your grandma ‘goodbye’ for me?” he asked.
    â€œSure. ’Bye, Daddy.”
    â€œGood night.”
    He hit the off button and glanced around the cavernous living room. The Victorian was going to dwarf the odd little family that they’d decided to form, and he hoped Samantha wouldn’t find it alarming after their cozy town house. Well, he didn’t have to stay for more than a year. He’d signed a twelve-month contract and promised to
consider
staying beyond that, but he’d been up-front about saying it was unlikely. He’d been the deputy city manager for a town of several hundred thousand and in line to get the top job the next year when the current manager retired, so Willow’s Eve was hardly a step forward. Or, maybe it was in some ways. Here he wouldn’t be anyone’s deputy, and that would look good on his résumé.
    Daniel put everything away except for the box he would take to City Hall in the morning. He was just finishing when the doorbell rang.
    Mandy Colson stood at the door with an elderly woman and a middle-aged man. The man was holding a large box.
    â€œHi, Daniel,” Mandy said. She gestured to the two people with her. “This is Jane Cutman and Clark Green. They’re part of the welcome committee.”
    â€œOh, thank you. Won’t you come in?” Daniel asked awkwardly, wishing they had waited before doing any welcomes. At the moment he was still groggy and his stomach was grumbling.
    â€œNope,” Mandy answered. “We just brought the groceries we planned to put in the fridge for you.”
    With a cordial nod, Clark Green handed the box to Daniel.
    â€œThat’s very thoughtful,” Daniel said, unsure of the proper protocol in such a situation. He’d worked in places where they had a cake or given a plant to welcome a new employee, but that had been at the office, never something like this.
    â€œWe’ll go now,” Jane told him. “Mandy, dear, I’ll see you tomorrow at the center.”
    â€œSure thing.”
    The other two left, but Mandy lingered. “I wanted to