Delinquent Daddy (Banks / Kincaid Family #2)(76)

After taking a long swig, Nora passed it over and lit up another cigarette. "Now, honey. That's one man you shouldn't have thrown off your front porch."

Ellie had just been taking a drink from the bottle but stopped to choke.

"Excuse me?"

Nora laughed. "Oh, yeah, I know about that Thanksgiving night he pinned you to the front door."

281

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Ellie gaped, but Nora only shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault you've got men trying to come on to you when I'm having my nightly smoke fest. But let me tell you, dear, you've had more action on that porch in the last month than I've had all year.

And it's December!"

Ellie laughed even as her mind strayed to Boston. "So, you really saw me and Boston kiss?"

"Saw? Hell, darling, I made some popcorn and camped out. And I'm here to say that you are...STU-PID. That man is hot. He's sweet. He adores Cassidy. He's smart, rich, HOT, and he looks at you like you are...oxygen to a suffocating man."

Ellie was quiet for a moment. Nora was right. Boston was all those wonderful things. But... "We have a bad past," she said.

"Oh, right," Nora said after a second. "He's got so many positive attributes, I keep forgetting he's a cheater too, isn't he?"

Ellie frowned. "Actually...he's not really."

When Nora sent her a confused look, she repeated the story Boston had given her about Heather from American history class.

"Well, damn," Nora grumbled. "Now, you're just rubbing it in. Not only is he turning out to be a damn good father, but he was incapable of sleeping around on you too. Sorry, El, but you're not cheering me up here."

"It ended so horribly for us," Ellie went on, ignoring Nora's sarcastic complaint. "I just...I don't think I can get past that.

How can I ever trust him again?"

282

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"A bad past can be fixed," Nora said. "A quiet, lonely future is just...sad."

Ellie didn't answer, but she couldn't stop thinking over Nora's words either.

[Back to Table of Contents]

283

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage





Chapter Nineteen


Boston was up early Saturday morning, making breakfast for his daughter. He was scrambling eggs and pouring them into a hot pan when a yawning Cassidy shuffled barefoot into the kitchen.

"Morning," he said cheerfully. "Hungry?"

Cassie quit rubbing her eyes and peered into the pan to see what he was cooking.

She immediately wrinkled her nose. "Eggs? Yuck!"

Boston stopped pouring. "You don't like eggs?"

"No way."

He looked down at the eggs that were starting to cook and sighed. Eggs were the only decent breakfast he knew how to make. Grinding his molars, he picked up the pan and carried the whole thing outside to scrape them into his dumpster.

When he came back in, he was smiling.

"What do you say we go to McDonalds for breakfast?"

Cassie's eyes lit. "Yeah!"

Boston's cell phone rang just as they pulled through the drive-thru. Rolling his eyes when he saw that it was Cameron, he answered with, "No, I'm not coming in today. I told you, I'm spending the weekend with my daughter. And besides, it's Saturday. My day off."

"We have a problem," Cameron told him, his voice grave.

"A big one."

Boston closed his eyes. "What?"

"Just get over here."

284

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Boston sighed. "What about Cassie?"

"Bring her. She can keep Livy occupied while I explain."

Boston growled and cut the connection. He tossed the phone into the tray divider between the two seats, which made Cassie jump.

Next to him, his daughter sent him a face full of sad blue eyes. "You have to go to work?"

"No," he said immediately, then sighed and ran a harassed hand through his hair. "We're just going to stop in for a few minutes. Don't you want to see where I work?"

He wasn't expecting that to excite her, but Cassie's eyes lit, and she sat up straighter. "Yeah, okay."

So, Boston drove Cassie to EarthNet. Olivia greeted them at the door to his office and Boston threw a look past her to glare meaningfully at Cameron, who paced the floor.

"Livy just fired your secretary," Cameron blurted out, sending his wife an annoyed scowl.

"Oh, and you were going to keep her employed after that?"

Olivia demanded, glaring back.

"No," Cameron admitted, looking suddenly sheepish,

"but...well, hell, it feels better to blame you."

Boston pinched the bridge of his nose, not really wanting to know what this was about. Putting the questions off, he turned to Cassie and led her to the couch, where he helped her set up her breakfast on the coffee table. As she dug in, he finally turned back to the arguing married couple.

"Okay, what happened? And why was Crystal here on a Saturday, anyway?"

285

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage