White Offerings by Ann Roberts Read Free Book Online

grunted. “I just noticed on TV that women like you were very handy, at least the ones on this home repair show I saw on cable.”
    “And what kind of woman am I, Dad?” She heard him curse under his breath but he didn’t respond. The traffic splintered and she was finally able to hit the accelerator. “Dad?”
    “Look, Ari, I don’t want to fight. I just need some ideas. Give the old guy a break. If I’m going to learn about your
lifestyle
, I’ll need help. I admit it, okay?”
    She sighed. He was making an effort and she was being a bitch. “Look, I’m sorry. Buying me a gift isn’t that hard. I love to cook, so anything for the kitchen is a good bet, and I love bath products, and books, particularly about architecture, so that gives you something to go on, right?”
    “Yeah, that makes it easy.”
    She could hear relief and surprise in his voice. No doubt Jack Adams had thought he either would be wandering into a dark sex shop to purchase a gift for his lesbian daughter or seeking out a handy bull dyke for advice about the latest home-improvement gadgets.
    “Well, I won’t keep you.”
    “So are you coming down?” she asked.
    “Uh, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready, you know?”
    “I understand.”
    “Are you mad?”
    “No, it’s okay. I need to go. The traffic is getting heavy,” she lied. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
    She flipped the phone shut and spent the rest of her drive deciding if she was angry or relieved that her father might miss her thirty-fifth birthday. A respected police sergeant, he had retired to Oregon, and they had not seen each other since her mother’s funeral. It was just too hard. Without her, there was no buffer, no one to stop their dysfunctional conversations from devolving into shouting matches. Whatever relationship they could develop now would be totally up to him, and she had already prepared herself for the disappointment she was certain would come.
    She wound her way through the Nelsons’ subdivision, scanning the driveways for the twin Nelson Plumbing trucks. It was the only way she could identify the house among an entire row of doppelgangers, all of which were painted muted tans, sported enormous oak front doors and were topped by tile roofs. She would never purchase a cookie-cutter home regardless of its reasonable price, but she had sold many of them and understood the attraction. They were new and full of amenities that families needed. She saw the trucks on her right and pulled up to the curb. She had barely started up the walk when the front door burst open and two children ran down the path to greet her.
    “Ari!” they both cried.
    She stopped, allowing them to wrap their little bodies around her middle. She couldn’t return the hug, her arms loaded with wine and gifts. “Hi, guys.” She loved five-year-old Chelsey and her three-year-old brother, Kenny, who treated her as if she was another aunt. “Can you help me carry these things in?” Both blond heads nodded, and she handed each one a present to take into the house. The children ran back through the front door and disappeared.
    She stepped over the threshold and amazing smells poured out of the kitchen and loud sports commentary squawked from the plasma TV. Molly’s father, Don, and his oldest son, Don Jr., watched the Suns’ pregame show while Molly’s mother, Teddy, floated across the kitchen, stirring, checking and preparing the entire meal. Theodora Nelson was the old-fashioned kind of mother who wouldn’t allow anyone in her domain. The only exception was Don Jr.’s wife, Jenna, since Molly would have nothing to do with cooking. When Teddy had tried to teach Molly her culinary secrets, Molly always found convenient excuses to miss her cooking lessons. There was always a softball game or a flying lesson. Consequently, she never learned to make anything beyond grilled cheese.
    “Hi, Ari,” Teddy called.
    Don Jr. waved and Molly’s father jumped up and gave her a hug. “I