April (Calendar Girl #4) by Audrey Carlan Read Free Book Online Page B

was good for running, walking, playing ball, and all other varieties of sports. We still hadn’t heard from Power Up. Apparently, their people had heard about Mason booking with Quick Runners and wanted to make sure that having the same spokesperson was a good thing for their image and the way they wanted to run their campaign. This, however, was not bad for Mason because another couple of opportunities came out of the woodwork for baseball gear and energy bars. Word got out fast. Now we just waited, Mason played hard, and stayed off the radar. Part of that was going home. Which is where we were driving to now. I was finally meeting Mason’s family.
    When we got to the small home outside of Boston proper, Mason walked right in without knocking.
    “Back here boy!” A loud voice yelled and was coupled with the squealing sound of a small child.
    Mason held my hand and took me through the quaint home. Stuffed animals and dolls littered the floor where a child at play must have up and abandoned them for something else. The rooms were dark, lived in, and homey. You could tell by the pictures on the wall that a woman had once lived here, but by the layer of dust on them and the lack of girlie adornments, it had been a while. In the center of one wall was a wedding photo. A redheaded, pale, beautiful woman stood in a very old-fashioned wedding gown and had her arms locked around a large man with dark brown hair and kind eyes. A man who could be the spitting image of Mason. That apple did not fall far from the tree.
    We made it through the home to the kitchen where I was instantly assaulted with the smell of cooked meat. My mouth watered at the smell of sage, and rosemary along with whatever was brewing on the stovetop. A large roast sat on top of the counter and a man with his back to us was carving it into slices and placing them on a platter. A small red-headed girl with giant blue eyes clocked me the second I entered. She stood up and clapped her hands. She couldn’t be more than four years old. “You’re here!” she squealed in that way only small children were capable of, with their whole bodies and full of joy.
    I smiled wide and the man turned around and boy was I not wrong. He looked exactly like Mason or what Mason would look like in twenty-five years. “Hey Dad, this is Mia. She’s my uh…”
    The man smiled wide and laid out a hand. “You’re the woman everyone says is my son’s girlfriend.”
    I wasn’t sure how Mason wanted to play this so I stayed quiet about the girlfriend part. “It’s good to meet you Mr. Murphy.”
    “Call me Mick, everyone does, ‘cept my boys because I’ll tan their hide if they disrespect their elders.”
    At that I nudged Mason. “Your Dad is awesome.”
    “Yeah, unfortunately when he’s around my cool factor goes down about fifty notches.”
    “And don’t you forget it boy! Now set the table will ya?”
    Mason proceeded to set the table while I introduced myself to Eleanor who liked to be called Ellie. She walked me through the house and showed me every single one of her toys then her room where she had everything princess and was very proud of it. I scanned the room. I never had anything like this as a child. A room devoted to the things I loved as a kid. Maddy and I always shared a room and neither one of us had a theme or anything much we could call our own. Made me sad for what I missed out on and happy that even though men we’re raising Ellie without a woman’s hand, they were still doing right by her.
    My heart ached when Ellie placed a crown on my head and one on her own. “You can be the Queen, and I’ll be the Princess,” she offered. I nodded then hugged her little body. She held me tight before another look-a-like of the Murphy family interrupted us. Made me wonder if any of them looked like their mother.
    “You must be Mia?” I nodded and stood up from the floor, Ellie clasped my hand tight.
    “Daddy, this Queen Mia and I’m Princess Ellie. Do you