FATHER IN TRAINING by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online

clean and in its place. The floor looked swept, the only items on the counter were a pile of mail and the hat from his uniform.
    "I didn't expect to find naked women in the closets, if that's what you're thinking," she said. "I would hate for us to cramp your style. It is Friday night."
    "That's the second time you've said that. You're really hung up on which day it is, aren't you?"
    "No. It's just that, well, you are a single man."
    "And you're a single woman."
    She swallowed. "No, I'm not. I'm a single mother. There's a big difference."
    "Bull."
    She risked glancing at him over her shoulder. He'd propped his legs up on the chair to the right of him and leaned back against the wall. His arms were raised, his hands tucked behind his head. A slow, lazy grin tugged at his mouth. He was six feet two inches of fed, satisfied, hunky male.
    She forced her thoughts away from his body and back on the conversation. "If I've learned one thing in the two years Thomas has been gone, it's that most men don't want a woman with children."
    "You mentioned that before, too. I happen to like kids."
    "You're in the minority." She reached for the dirty plates and lowered them into the soapy water, then turned off the faucet. "It's been very enlightening to be single again. Things have changed since I was young."
    "Because you're so old now?" he teased.
    "I'm mature."
    "You were born mature."
    "Maybe." She rinsed the plates and slipped them into the dish rack. She hadn't been born mature, but she'd grown up fast in her house. She hadn't had a choice. Painful memories threatened, but she pushed them away.
    "Do you miss him?" Kyle asked. His voice was quiet. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."
    She picked up a glass and placed it in the soapy water. "Thomas, you mean? I do. Sometimes. I see him in the children. Blake looks a lot like his father. So does Nichole."
    "But she has your eyes."
    She almost dropped the glass. He'd noticed? Why? What did it mean? Nothing, she told herself firmly. After all, he was Kyle Haynes and she was just an ordinary person. Or she would be as soon as she got her body's reactions to him under control.
    "I heard somebody mention he was a professor, right?"
    "Uh-huh. Philosophy."
    "You're kidding?"
    She finished washing the last glass and pulled the plug. As the water swirled down the drain, she reached for a dishcloth and wiped her hands. "You sound horrified," she said, glancing at him.
    "I am. Philosophy? Why would anyone do that on purpose?"
    "Thomas was a very good professor."
    "I bet he was. Is there a more boring subject?"
    "Some people like intellectual pursuits."
    Kyle didn't look convinced. "Did you guys, you know, talk about philosophy a lot? Is it something you discussed over pizza?"
    "We didn't have pizza very much." Ever, she reminded herself. Maybe that's what had gone wrong in her marriage. There hadn't been enough pizza. Sandy shook her head. That was crazy. What had gone wrong in her marriage was that Thomas had refused to grow up. He'd left her in charge of everything while he'd run off to play. She'd spent most of her marriage being a single mother.
    "I didn't mean to bring up unhappy memories," he said.
    Sandy took the seat opposite him and rested her forearms on the table. "They're not unhappy in the way you think. It's been two years. I've gotten used to the fact that he's never coming back. The children and I have started a new life together. In many ways, it's better."
    He shifted on his chair and leaned forward. Before she knew what he was going to do, he reached out his hand and touched her fingers. Sandy told herself to pull back. Except she couldn't. Sparks leapt between them. She was surprised when she didn't actually see them arcing across the table. A warm feeling of lethargy moved up her arm, heating her blood and making her yearn for something more. Something … dangerous.
    The cartoon video played on in the background. She could hear her children talking. Beyond the