A Spicy Secret by D. Savannah George Read Free Book Online Page B

until she’d gotten the hang of standing up. Kate had found it cute at first, but at six years old, Vanessa had vehemently—and loudly—opposed the term, so she’d never called her that again. Harry, as usual, didn’t care.
    “Yeah, well, she’ll always be Scooter to me. And what about it? When can I have her?”
    That really set Kate’s teeth on edge—Harry acted and spoke like Vanessa was another thing , rather than his only child. But she kept her tone and words as polite as possible, knowing that showing her anger would only make him more difficult to deal with.
    “I’ll have to check with her to find out her schedule. When did you want to get together with her? I know she’s got projects due for school, and I seem to remember that one of her friends is planning a sleepover, but I’m not sure which weekend.”
    “Well, find out, would ya? I want to take her to the Maine Maritime Museum down at Bath. They’ve got a new exhibit on the scallop industry I’d like to show her.”
    She sighed as quietly as she could. “Harry, you know Vanessa won’t want to go the Maritime Museum. Can’t you take her to something in Portland that she’d actually want to do, like a Sea Dogs game or the planetarium?”
    “Pshaw. Scooter likes seeing the boats. Besides, the Sea Dogs don’t play in the winter. Duh!”
    Her ex-husband, a third-generation Stony Point fisherman, owned and ran his own scallop boat and thought everyone was obsessed with the sea and everything to do with it. Vanessa had outgrown her fascination shortly after outgrowing her nickname, yet he refused to acknowledge it. Kate figured he still was mad that his only child had been a girl—he’d really wanted a son to work with him on the boat.
    Kate clenched her fists in frustration. “All right. I’ll ask her and get back with you.”
    “Cool. See ya,” he said as he hung up.
    She took some deep breaths to sooth her nerves and then went back to her book.
    ****
    Later that afternoon, Kate sat in her favorite chair in the living room, crocheting on her first afghan for the Haiti project—using her very own pattern, of course—while Vanessa and Mackenzie sat on the floor, surrounded by art supplies of all kinds—paints, markers, pencils, poster board, stencils, and even a dictionary. The pair laughed as they came up with ideas for the flyer and the poster to track donations. They seemed especially tickled with the line “Heatin’ Up Haiti,” much to Kate’s amusement, even though she had no idea why they found it so funny.
    “Hey Mrs. Stevens, didn’t Miss Brock say people could drop off their blankets at the store?” Mackenzie asked, putting aside a red marker and picking up a blue one.
    “Duh,” Vanessa teased. “ And she said she’d give 10 percent off supplies. Weren’t you listening?”
    “Uh, yeah, but I still have a question for your mom.”
    Kate smiled. “Darling daughter, do try to be polite and let your friend ask her question.”
    “Whatev’,” Vanessa said, tossing her hair out of her eyes. To anyone else, it might have seemed like backtalk, but Kate knew her daughter was just teasing.
    “Anyways,” Mackenzie said, “I wondered if Miss Brock might like it if we decorated a box for the store, where people could put their blankets when they’re done. I bet our teacher would even give us extra credit for it.”
    “I’m sure Mary Beth wouldn’t mind at all, but I’ll ask her just to make sure.”
    “We just need a really big box to decorate,” Mackenzie said. “Do you know where we can get one?”
    Kate laughed. “Do I ever! We’ve got boxes up to our eyebrows at the store. I could run by and find one. And how about I pick up a pizza for dinner from Sal’s Pizzeria while I’m out? I don’t know how we survived before he opened.”
    “I do love his pizza,” said Mackenzie. “I want pepperoni.”
    “I want veggie,” said Vanessa.
    “All right—you got it! Can I trust you two not to draw on the walls