The New Husband by D.J. Palmer Read Free Book Online

that evening, so his story was believable. But she was also aware of the general vicinity in which Simon lived, meaning the only thing that might have led him to this part of town was looking squarely into his sweet baby-brown eyes.
    Nina was anxious about inviting Simon inside, as the children were at home and his presence again would obviously raise questions. But she found herself stepping aside, then following Simon to the kitchen. There he opened his toolbox and got right to work.
    â€œShouldn’t take but a minute,” he announced, using a flashlight to examine the faucet carefully. The kids did not come to inspect the visitor, but Daisy did, and her olfactory memory earned Simon a lick on the arm.
    While Simon toiled, half hidden underneath the cabinet, Nina worked in an apology for the other evening.
    â€œWe didn’t talk about you hardly at all,” she said, making no allusions to them both sharing a tragic past. “I felt bad about it when I got home.”
    Simon eased himself out from under the sink and met Nina’s worried gaze.
    â€œI had a wonderful evening,” he said. “You don’t owe me an apology for anything.” And with that, he turned his attention back to the faucet.
    As if on cue, Maggie came into the kitchen, surprised to see Simon there.
    â€œHey there,” Simon said, pulling himself out from under, his expression becoming animated. To Nina’s delight, he anticipated Maggie’squestion. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d fix the faucet. I noticed it was loose last time I was here. How are you?”
    â€œGood,” Maggie answered.
    â€œEverything going well at school? I know getting back must be hard.”
    â€œIt’s okay,” Maggie said in a soft voice.
    â€œWell, it’s almost summer,” Simon said brightly. “I don’t know who’s more excited for the break—the kids or the teachers.”
    Maggie returned a polite laugh. She had missed almost three weeks of school—first for the search, later for the grieving—while managing to keep up with her studies from home. At first, to help her kids stay on track, Nina had kept the most damaging information from them. All they knew was that their dad was missing. She said nothing of their father’s many misdeeds, nor did they have an inkling that their mom was beginning to develop feelings for another man.
    Maggie didn’t stay long. Adults had nothing to offer her, and if she did have questions about Simon’s motives for fixing the sink or her mother’s feelings, she’d never shared.
    But she was sharing now.
    Long after Nina and Simon had become a couple—after more dinners out, then movie dates; after long talks on the phone (something Nina hadn’t done since she and Glen had begun dating); after a moonlit beach walk and dance in the sand with only the wind and waves for music; after their first kiss on the lakeshore by Simon’s house and the first time they made love; after Simon professed his love for Nina (words he admitted to being too scared to say to anybody since his wife’s suicide); after the rocket-ship trajectory of new romance—Maggie had found her voice, and had no trouble speaking her mind.
    Nina trudged upstairs, anticipating a rehashing of her daughter’s well-worn complaints: He’s not my real father. How could you just replace Dad? Why don’t I have any say? How come I can’t move to Nebraska and live with Nonni and Papa? The real issue, of course, was Glen.
    It took time and a lot of soul-searching before Nina had decided tolevel with her kids about what their father had done. She didn’t expect them to comprehend the situation the way an adult would, but she had hoped it would make it easier for them to accept what she wanted out of life now: Simon, love, a second chance at happiness.
    While Nina wasn’t completely forthcoming, she’d given them the