Mackinnon 03 - The Bonus Mom by Jennifer Greene Read Free Book Online

caretaker.
    Still, she listened to her older brother’s rant—or mostly listened—as she walked to the closet to retrieve her serious jacket, then ambled over to the front window. Whit and the girls would be here any moment. It was after ten now.
    Outside, there was brilliant—but misleading—sunshine. She’d hiked before dawn, almost froze to death. The sleet had started in the middle of the night and stopped before daybreak. But there were still tears dripping from every pine branch, crystal ice on every puddle. She needed wool mittens, and wasn’t sure where she’d seen them last.
    “Rosemary...Ike said something about a guy there.”
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake. You two are like mother hens, I swear.”
    “Well, you’re all alone up there. And if it were me all alone, you’d be checking out how I was doing. No difference.”
    “Of course it’s different. You think because I’m a girl, I’m less capable. Who whipped you at poker last time, huh? Who beat you in the kayak race last fall? Who—?”
    “Those were technicalities. I’m the big brother, so I had to let you win.”
    She made a rude sound into the phone, making him sputter with laughter. Her eyes were still peeled on the gravel road, though. It didn’t matter if Whit was late or early. They were on vacation during the holiday week, so it’s not as if they were compelled to stick to a schedule.
    Tucker eventually circled back to his nosy grilling. “About this guy.”
    “I only mentioned my temporary neighbor to Ike because he was bugging me about being alone—he wasn’t as awful as you, but close. Anyway, that’s why I mentioned that a very, very nice guy rented a house for the holidays. He has twin daughters, around eleven—”
    “Very nice, huh?”
    “If you won’t interrupt, I’ll fill in the blanks. He’s a widower. Major car accident a year ago, and his wife was killed. So he came up here with his girls to have a private Christmas away from the memories.”
    “Okay.”
    “Get that tone out of your voice, Tucker, or I swear, I’ll sock you when I see you next, in front of the boys.”
    “I was just asking....” Tucker had that innocent tone down by rote.
    “He’s grieving. Hard. For his wife. It’s pretty obvious he’s still in love with her and can’t get over the loss. The girls accidently came across to the lodge. That’s the only reason we met.”
    “Okay, that sounds...” Her brother searched for a word. “Nice.”
    “It is nice. He’s nice. The girls are nice. But the only thing on their minds is the loss they suffered last year. It’s a sad time of year for them. That’s all.”
    “Okay, okay, I got it. Sheesh.” Tucker hesitated. “All the same, if you wanted, I could run a background check on him—”
    She hung up. Sometimes that’s all you could do with brothers. It was something in the male sibling gene. When they got a bone between their teeth, they all turned into Neanderthals.
    And just then, she saw a sturdy SUV winding up the driveway. The girls were here.
    And so was their dad.
    * * *
    Whit couldn’t take his eyes off her. She bounced out of the house like a kid, a stocking hat yanked over her head, wearing old hiking boots and skinny jeans and a Christmas red parka.
    “Hey, Rosemary!” the girls called out.
    “Hey right back! Does everybody have mittens?” She opened the passenger door, but didn’t climb in yet. The girls had automatically taken the backseat, assuming anyone of adult age would want to sit up front. Which pretty much meant they intended to lean over Rosemary’s seat the whole time.
    “Who’d have guessed it would be this cold?” Rosemary said, and kept talking. “I figured you’d change your mind about the Gator and bring a bigger car. Don’t know how we’d carry trees and the four of us together, otherwise. Anyway, I have spare mittens and hats and gloves in the lodge, if anyone needs stuff like that. Nothing pretty. Just warm.”
    Lilly said, “I brought