PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words) by Ann Simas Read Free Book Online

them each a hug. “I think you grew two inches since I saw you at Christmas.”
    That puffed them up and they started to jabber about not only their height, but the toys they’d received from Santa.
    “We’re just about to have hot dogs,” Vaughn said. “Care to join us?”
    “Love to. Thanks.”
    “Go wash your hands,” he said to the boys, who scurried off to the downstairs half-bath.
    She looked around. “Where are the girls?”
    “At school, why?”
    “Oh, I saw some kids playing in the snow and thought maybe the schools called a snow day.”
    “I heard on the radio this morning that one of the charter schools did close, but the public schools are open.”
    That might explain the children in the Naylor’s front yard. Either that, or their mom hadn’t sent them back to school yet, following their father’s unexpected death. “Where’s Dotty?” Andi asked, following Vaughn to the kitchen.
    “She’s been having problems with her knees. I finally had to tell her, if she didn’t get them checked out, she had to quit working for me.”
    “Ouch, you’re a hard taskmaster.”
    “Gotta be, otherwise she’d go twenty hours a day.”
    Andi knew that to be a truism. Dotty had raised a set of twins of her own who were just a couple of years younger than Andi. Both of them lived out-of-state now, so she’d taken on the job with Vaughn, more to keep herself active and sane than because she needed the money. The fact that she knew something about twins came in especially useful with the two sets of Hemmer twins. “I’ve read that a lot of knee-replacement surgeries are being done these days.”
    Vaughn pulled four plates from the cupboard and handed them to Andi, who set them out at the table. “If the doc says she needs surgery, Eddie and Sally said they’ll move in for a while and help out. We’ll have to convert the office to a bedroom for Dotty, because she won’t be able to climb the stairs.”
    Andi pulled napkins from a basket on the counter. Sherry’s parents weren’t exactly spring chickens themselves. “I’ll be glad to help out any way I can, too.”
    “Thanks.” He paused for a moment over the hot dogs and buns he was assembling and looked at her. “You’ve done so much for my family already.” He put up his hand when she opened her mouth to respond. “I know you’re uncomfortable with praise of any kind, Andi, so just accept that I will forever be in your debt, okay?”
    Andi’s face grew warm and a proper reply escaped her.
    The boys came racing into the room. “Mustard on mine!” Trevor yelled.
    “Ketchup on mine!” Micah shouted.
    “Sit,” their father instructed them. “Andi doesn’t want to hear a lot of yelling and screaming and neither do I.”
    Both boys climbed up onto their chairs, kneeling to reach their plates.
    “No more booster seats?” Andi asked.
    “We too big,” Trev informed her.
    “Yeah, too big,” Micah echoed.
    “Some battles are better left unfought,” Vaughn added.
    As soon as the boys wolfed down their hot dogs, Vaughn cleaned them up and hustled them upstairs to their room for an afternoon nap. They must have been going at full speed all morning, because they didn’t argue. “They closed their eyes and went to sleep immediately,” Vaughn said when he came back down. “Thank God.”
    Andi, who had cleaned up the lunch dishes and wiped the table, grinned at him.
    “Want a coffee?” Vaughn asked.
    “Sure.”
    He poured her a cup and set a sugar bowl and creamer in front of her. She added both to her cup.
    “So, what have you been up to?”
    “Working like crazy on the Wild Hare game. I’ve got ten chapters finished as of this week and started on a new one yesterday.”
    “I wonder if Orion’s Belt needs any capital. I’m looking for a good, solid company to invest in.”
    “I have no idea. I never hear any conversations about finances, thank goodness. I’m happiest just writing code.” She blew on her coffee and took a sip.