Surprise Dad by Daly Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

crisscross, taking her time, looking at the houses she knew so well, remembering good times—or bad ones—in most of them, the bad ones being dates to parties with the most repellent boys in school because nobody else would invite stuck-up Allie.
    She hadn’t been stuck-up. She’d been engaged in dreams of her future, dreams that lay beyond Serenity Valley.
    And now she was back. So much for dreams.
    She came to a street she’d always loved, the oldest one in town. Cottages sat close to the curb rather than set back, giving the impression of a village in the French countryside. A beautiful old Catholic church sat at the end of the cul-de-sac. A straight line of maple trees that the French-Canadians who’d settled in LaRocque had planted a hundred and fifty years ago shaded the houses.
    Her favorite cottage was old Mrs. Langston’s, which was coming up on the right. It was built of irregular stone and topped with a peaked roof of Vermont slate. An ancient wisteria vine draped over the front door and climbed to the roof, and clematis were staked up on each side of the house.
    There it was, as charming as she’d remembered it. Allie took one glance and came to an abrupt halt. A For Sale sign stood on the tiny strip of lawn in front of the house.
    Her heart sank. Was Mrs. Langston sick, too sick to stay in her house? Or even worse, had she died? That was surely something her mother would have told her.
    As she stood there staring at the sign and worrying, a car pulled up to the curb. A couple in their sixties got out and came up to her, smiling.
    The woman had been her first-grade teacher, Mrs. Langston’s daughter. “Mrs. Appletree?” she said. “I’m so glad to see you.”
    “And you’re—oh, my goodness,” the woman said, “you’re Allie Hendricks!” She gave Allie a hug. “I guess I’ve never stopped thinking of you as that serious little girl, all knees and elbows, who already knew how to read when you came to me.” She turned to the man. “I’m sure you know Roger.”
    Who didn’t? He was the state senator representing Serenity Valley. “Senator Appletree,” she said, holding out her hand. “What a pleasure to see you again.”
    “Why, thank you, my dear,” said the senator in his booming voice. “Would you like—” for a second, she thought he was about to offer her an autograph “—a tour of Mother Langston’s house?”
    Allie shook her head. “I love this house, but I’m not in a position to buy anything. I saw the sign and was worried about Mrs. Langston.” She turned to Priscilla Appletree. “Is your mother—”
    “We had to move her to assisted living,” Priscilla said, shaking her head. “She so didn’t want to go.” Then she smiled. “Within an hour after she’d arrived she’d joined a bridge group and was already making friends.”
    “You’re selling the house, I see.”
    “For a pittance.” Priscilla sighed. “She’d gotten to the point that she couldn’t keep up the maintenance. It’s a real mess, needs painting, and it’s stuffed to the gills with old papers and pictures. We’re asking a lot less for it than we would if it were fixed up, but Roger and I stay so busy…”
    “And Priscilla’s dreading going through her mother’s things,” the senator said sympathetically.
    “I’m sure,” Allie said. “All those old memories. It’s so hard to throw away any of them.”
    “Yes. Well, I’ll have to do it someday, when we have a buyer.” For a moment, Priscilla looked despondent. Then she said, “Let’s talk about you. I heard you were back in town. Is anything wrong?”
    “Nothing except my decision to go to med school,” Allie said. “It just wasn’t right for me. So I’ve come home to regroup, try something else when I know what it is.”
    “I know you’ll make a good choice,” Priscilla said gently, and patted her arm. “I, well, you know how small the valley is, and I did hear that your mother’s not happy about your leaving