With a Little Luck by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page B

reaching in his pocket for the keys.
    “I’m off to the McClures to give Toby his first lesson in baking cookies,” Eve explained with a soft laugh, and told them the boy’s problem understanding the directions. Their amusement blended with hers.
    “Never mind the dishes. I’ll finish them,” her mother volunteered. “You’d better take an umbrella, too, and wear a coat.”
    In her bedroom, Eve brushed her hair and freshened her lipstick. She didn’t allow herself to wonder why she was taking so much trouble with her appearance when she was going to see an eight-year-old. It would have started her thinking about his father, something she was trying to pretend not to do at this point. She hesitated before taking the brown coat out of her closet, but it was the only one she had that repelled water.
    The sheeting rain was almost more than the windshield wipers could handle. It obscured her vision so that, despite Toby’s excellent directions, she nearly missed the turn into the driveway. The lake house was set back in the trees, out of sight of the road. Eve parked her car behind the Jaguar.
    The umbrella afforded her little protection from the driving rain. Her coat was stained wet by the time she walked the short distance from the car to the front door. Toby must have been watching for her, because he opened the door a second before she reached it. He pressed a forefinger to his lips and motioned her inside. She hurried in, unable to do anything about the rainwater dripping from her and the umbrella.
    “Dad’s still sleeping,” Toby whispered, and explained, “He needs the rest.”
    The entry hall skirted the living room, paneled in cedar with a heavy beamed slanted ceiling and a natural stone fireplace. Toby’s glance in that direction indicated it was where Luck was sleeping. Eve looked in when Toby led her past. There, sprawled on a geometric- patterned couch, was Luck, naked, from the waist up, an arm flung over his head in sleep, It was the first time Eve had ever seen anyone frowning in his sleep.
    In the kitchen, Toby led her to the table where he had all the ingredients set out. “Will you show me how to make cookies?” he asked, repeating the request he’d made over the phone.
    “No, I won’t show you,” Eve said, taking off her wet coat and draping it over a chair back. “I’ll tell you how to do it. The best way to learn is by doing.”
    Step by step, she directed him through the mixing process. When the first sheet came out of the oven, Toby was all eyes. He could hardly wait until the cookies were cool enough to taste and, thus, assure himself that they were as good as they looked.
    “They taste just like yours,” he declared on a triumphant note after he’d taken the first bite.
    “Of course,” Eve laughed, but kept it low so she wouldn’t waken Luck in the next room.
    “I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t helped me,” Toby added, all honesty. “You’re a good teacher.”
    “That’s what I am. Really,” she emphasized when he failed to understand. “I am a teacher.”
    “What subject?”
    “Music.”
    “Too bad it isn’t English. That’s my worst subject,” he grimaced. “Dad isn’t very good at it, either.”
    “We all have subjects that we don’t do as well in as others,” Eve shrugged lightly. “Mine is math.”
    “Dad is really good at that, and science, but he has to use it all the time in his work.”
    “What does he do?”
    “He works for my grandpa.” Then realizing that didn’t answer her question, Toby elaborated, “My grandpa owns North Lakes Lumber. Mostly my dad works on the logging side. That way we can spend more time together in the summer when I’m out of school. He had a meeting with grandpa last night. That’s why he was so late coming home.”
    “I thought he had a date.” The words were out before Eve realized she had spoken.
    “Sometimes he goes out on dates,” Toby admitted, finding nothing wrong with her comment. “We like