6 Beach Blanket Barbie by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

I’d bought for her. I have to admit I went a little over the top when Zak took me shopping during our trip to New York and I found the most awesome children’s store on the planet. I figure Harper has enough clothes to wear each outfit only once, if she’s so inclined. After I’d gotten home and unpacked everything I’d had shipped, I realized how completely baby crazy I’d become. Zak suggested we donate some of the clothes to babies in need, which I realized was a worthy and practical idea.
    As I stood back to admire how completely adorable my baby sister looked in her yellow duckie dress , I began to understand how Ellie might have gotten so caught up with Hannah as to agree to marry her father just to maintain a relationship that had come to mean so much to her. Harper was my sister and, as such, a permanent part of my life. I tried to imagine how devastated I’d be if Harper was taken away and I was no longer able to see her whenever I wanted. To be honest, I’d worried about that quite a lot when Mom first told me that she was pregnant. My mom isn’t known for her staying power, although this time around she seems to have settled down quite nicely. Mom and Dad bought a three-bedroom lakefront house with a converted pool house with the idea that Mom and Harper would live in the former and Dad would live in the latter. It started off that way, but Dad moved into the main house during Mom’s final week of pregnancy, and so far it’s in the main house where he still resides. Sure, he sleeps in the guest room, but if things go the way I hope, he’ll be moving in with Mom officially before too much more time passes.
    I looked down on the people I loved most in the world. They’d been discussing Barbie's death, which I’d pretty much tuned out until I heard my dad say, “I don’t want Zoe putting herself in danger again.”
    “Don’t worry, I don’t want that either,” Zak assured Dad. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
    Like hell. I came so, so close to throwing Harper’s wet diaper out of the window and onto the head of my traitor of a boyfriend. He should know by now that if someone was going to keep an eye on Zoe, it was going to be Zoe. I was preparing an angry retort at the very least when Zak looked up toward the window where I was standing and winked. The rat knew I could hear him. I should pummel him for the comment, but I realized that he was just trying to pacify my overprotective father. Have I mentioned what a great boyfriend I have?
    “Do you have a plan?” Mom asked.
    “Zoe is the brains of the operation,” Zak stated with conviction. “I’m simply along to provide any cyberhacking that may be needed, and provide backup where I can.”
    “She really does seem to have a knack for this detective thing,” Dad complimented. “I always knew she was a smart girl.”
    I grinned as my annoyance turned to pride. I picked up Harper and cradled her in my arms. “We’re both smart girls, aren’t we, little one?”
    Harper smiled , her bright blue eyes staring back at me. I ran a finger over her rosy cheek. I’d never had any siblings before and, although I’d thought about them from time to time, I’d never really longed for them, the way some of the other only kids I knew in school had. And then I met Harper, and I knew that of all the relationships I have had and will have in the future, the bond between sisters is special indeed. I kissed Harper’s fuzzy blond head before heading downstairs to return her to Mom for her morning meal.
     
    After breakfast, Mom and Dad headed home. I wanted to have a chat with Salinger, if he happened to be in on a Sunday, while Zak offered to do a cursory background search on each of our suspects to see if anything popped. Levi called me as I drove to the sheriff’s office. He told me he had news, so we agreed to meet at Ellie’s Beach Hut later that afternoon.
    “I figured you might be by today .” Salinger showed me into his office.
    It seemed like