When Mom Meets Dad Read Online Free PDF Page B

pool, Heather nudged Kristy.  And they smiled, too.
    ***
    Rain, rain and more rain.  Amanda had never seen so much.  Not only did she have scattered puddles in the basement, but Kristy and Heather were restless after being cooped up for two days.  So she decided to take them shopping on Wednesday in Camp Hill about twenty miles away.  She'd told Alex her intentions when he dropped off Kristy that morning.  He'd had no objections.
    Alex Woodsides was taking over entirely too many of her thoughts.  After their truce at the pool, he'd told her a little about his law practice, and she'd related a few anecdotes about her years teaching, all the while too aware of his muscular physique and the sexual tension zipping between them.  She didn't need a man in her life.  She didn't need complications, she reminded herself again and again.  But when she stared into those green eyes and he tilted his head and really listened to her--
    His full attention was even more seductive than the idea of his kiss.  Not that she was thinking about that, either!
    So...she decided the shopping excursion was a good idea for all of them.
    As Amanda led Heather and Kristy into Camp Hill's largest department store, they asked if they could try out the perfumes on the glass counter.  Amanda agreed and all three of them ended up smelling like a parfumerie.  But what could make a woman feel more feminine or a young lady more grown up than perfume?
    Except maybe lingerie.  Amanda was tagging along behind Kristy and Heather through the department when she spied a beautiful ice-blue teddy hanging on a mannequin.  She couldn't help but stop and think...
    "It matches your eyes, Mrs. Carson.  You oughtta buy it," Kristy said when she glanced over her shoulder and saw her eyeing it.
    "Yeah, Mom.  It looks like it would fit."
    Amanda lifted the price tag and grimaced.  After a wistful sigh, she smiled.  "Let's go look at the new fashions for fall."  Although it was still June, Amanda would start building Heather's wardrobe with sale items.
    At only age nine, Kristy and Heather still knew exactly what they liked.  "Does your dad take you shopping for clothes?" Amanda asked Kristy.
    Kristy bobbed her head.  "With Grandma.  We do it two times a year.  All at once.  He says that's efficient."
    Amanda laughed.
    "But I like to look and look and look and he just wants to buy, so it's great coming here with you.  I don't know what he'll do when I have to get a bra.  Let Grandma help me I guess.  He gets so funny about that kind of stuff."
    "I imagine it's hard for him to think about you becoming a pretty young lady and growing up."
    "I guess.  Sometimes, I just really miss having a mom.  Dad and Grandma and Grandad are great, but...it's not the same."
    Her heart went out to the nine-year-old.  Amanda had never really known her father.  And when her mother had died during her sophomore year at college, she'd never experienced such devastation.  She'd married Jeff to have a family again.  Only it hadn't worked out.  Fortunately, she did have Heather.
    Draping her arm across Kristy's shoulders, she said, "Maybe when it comes time to buy a bra, you and Heather and I can shop."
    Kristy gave Amanda a surprise hug.  "That'd be great, Mrs. Carson."
    Amanda glanced at Heather to see how she was reacting to Kristy's gesture.  But she was smiling, and Amanda suddenly felt as if she'd gained a daughter.  
    ***
    Mid-afternoon, Alex was sitting in a meeting with a client when his cell phone beeped.
    Afraid Amanda and the girls had been in an accident on the wet roads or something just as serious, he took the call.  It was Kristy.
    "What's wrong, honey?"  His heart pounded.
    "Mrs. Carson's basement is flooded.  She checked it when we got home and everything is all wet.  She has to try and move all the boxes and doesn't have anywhere to put them.  She needs help, Dad."
    Alex checked his watch and glanced at his client.  "Give me a half hour and