A Crazy Kind of Love by Maureen Child Read Free Book Online Page A

folded her arms on the table and waited.
    “It’s just something Emma said on the Fourth of July.”
    “Two months ago?”
Amazed, and just a little offended that Sam had kept the news to herself, Mike stared at her sister. She never would have believed a Marconi could be quiet for so long.
    Sam winced a little. “Hey, I wasn’t sure. Still not. But anyway, Emma went home with Papa after the carnival and apparently they went to Grace’s. Where they watched movies and played games until Emma fell asleep.”
    “Well,” Mike said dryly, not sure if she was disappointed or relieved at the innocuous disclosure. “Hire a minister and buy me a dress. I’m convinced.”
    Sam withered her with a quick look. “That’s not the best part. Emma said that after she fell asleep ‘Grace and Papa played games all night and that Grace said Papa knows
lots
of fun games.’ ”
    “Oh God.” Jo dropped the file folder and didn’t even cringe when several of the papers inside slithered loose. A sure sign that she was upset. “Games? What kind of games?”
    “Don’t ask,” Sam said.
    Mike knew just how she felt. “You know, there are just
some
images of her father a daughter shouldn’t have in her mind.”
    “I’m with you on that one.” Jo cleared her throat, gathered up the scattered papers, and carefully aligned each one of them with the other. “That’s . . . interesting. But it’s still not proof.”
    “Proof?” Mike laughed at her. “Who’re you? Theprosecuting attorney? Who said we have to have proof?”
    “Atta girl,” Jo said with a slow shake of her head. “Grab the rumor first, look for facts after.”
    “Both of you cut it out,” Sam said shortly. “It’s none of our business if Papa has a girlfriend.”
    “Oh, jeez . . .” Mike practically moaned. “Could you not call her that?”
    Sam smiled, clearly enjoying this. “
And
, if the two of them want to go to San Francisco and ‘play games,’ that’s up to them. God knows they’re old enough.”
    “Stop,” Jo said tightly, covering her ears with both hands. “Too much information. Disk full.”
    “Fine,” Sam said. “I was a little freaked out, too. But I’ve had a couple months to get used to the idea and now I think it’s kind of cute. Besides, I like Grace.”
    “Me, too,” Mike said, and slid a glance at Jo, just uncovering her ears. “But what if he marries her or something? We could be redoing that damn house of hers for the next thirty years.”
    Jo slapped her hands back into place and started humming.
    Mike grinned.
    Sam slapped her arm. “Just for saying that, you can go to church and light a candle.”
    “Just one?” Jo muttered.
    Then as her sisters settled down to tackle the business end of Marconi Construction, Mike’s brain wandered. Something was going on with Jo, Papa was out getting
laid
— God help her—and Lucas Gallagher was ensconced in
her
dream house.
    Yep.
    No doubt about it.
    Change sucked.
    Change was a good thing, Lucas told himself as he stepped out onto the front porch to watch a storm blow in off the ocean. A line of tall pine trees stood at the edge of his yard, waving frantically in the rush of wind sweeping in from the Pacific, more than a mile away. Overhead, the sky was being blanketed by clouds racing in from the horizon and the deep-throated rumble of thunder grumbled in the air.
    Only a few months ago, he’d been tucked away in a sterile lab outside San Jose. His days had been filled with equations, experiments, and too many disappointments to count. He went to work before sunrise and left long after sunset. The only time he ever got outside was walking from his condo to his car.
    Not much time for a social life, which was fine by him. The few dates he had were generally with coworkers. Women who understood what he was trying to do and appreciated the fact that sometimes he just didn’t have
time
to call.
    Four years ago, he’d dived into his work and submerged himself. Cutting