A Matter of Honesty Read Online Free Page A

Hannah made her vow to do her
    best. Steve looked over and noticed her. Bringing Hannah down to his chest, he sat
    up, turning Hannah so she could see Lauryn as he spoke.
    “Hannah, I have someone I want you to meet. This is Lauryn. She is going to be
    our live-in housekeeper, and your babysitter. Can you say hi to Lauryn?”
    Lauryn was a little shocked at how honest he was with his daughter, but that
    was a good thing. She believed in being honest, even if it led to undesirable results.
    Hannah nodded. “Hi, Lauryn.”
    Lauryn went farther into the room, eased her long frame down on the floor, and
    held out her hand to Hannah. Her heart melted as Hannah shyly stuck her hand out,
    placing it into hers.
    “Hi, Hannah. It‘s nice to meet you. I‘ve heard some wonderful things about you
     
    from your dad.”
    Hannah turned to look at Steve, as if needing confirmation. Lauryn couldn‘t get
    over how much Hannah resembled Steve. Her skin was darker, a sign of her mixed
    heritage, but she had Steve‘s dark green eyes and light brown hair, giving her an
    exotic look. How could a mother walk away from this lovely and gentle child? She
    made a promise right then never to allow anything to happen to Hannah. “What do
    you think about me being your babysitter?”
    Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “It‘s okay, I guess.”
    Lauryn laughed at her honest response. She was definitely her father‘s child.
    “We‘re going to have a lot of fun. I promise.”
    “Speaking of fun, we need to give you a tour of the house.”
    Hannah tugged on the leg of his jeans. “Can I help, Daddy?”
    “You sure can, pumpkin. As a matter of fact, you can be the head guide of the
    tour.”
    Hannah clapped her hands and did a little dance before running out of the
    playroom. Steve called out after her, “Hannah, no running in the house.”
    “Where‘s Johanna?”
    “Ariel and Octavia were restless so she took them home.”
    Lauryn wondered if that was the real reason.
    Hannah came back in. “Come on you guys, hurry up.”
     
    “Come on, Lauryn. You don‘t want to miss all the excitement, do you?”
    Lauryn held back her laughter as she took the hand Steve held out to her and
    let Steve and Hannah lead her on a tour of the house. When they reached the living
    room, she paused. She hadn‘t noticed the room‘s decor when she first came in. The
    room was decorated in rich, earthy colors, and full of warmth.
    “Who decorated this room?”
    Steve smiled. “My sister Sabrina. She‘s into interior design. Even went to school
    for it. I gave her a little money to spruce up this room and she went wild.”
    “She did a good job.”
    “I‘ll be sure to tell her.”
    Hannah led them through the living room and into the dining room. From the
    look of the room it was only used on special occasions. The china inside the china
    cabinet looked to be very nice, very expensive. She looked over at Steve. “Your house
    is beautiful.”
    “Thank you. I also want you to feel free to make any changes you need to make
    things more accessible, as long as the changes aren‘t too dramatic.”
    Lauryn nodded as she continued to look around.
    “Are you ready to see the kitchen?” Hannah asked
    Lauryn looked down and smiled. “Yes, I am.”
    Hannah tugged her hand. “Then follow me.”
     
    She followed her small tour guide into a large and roomy kitchen; a cook‘s
    dream space, in her opinion. She was a pretty good cook herself. She could definitely
    have some fun in this kitchen. Steve opened different cabinets, showed her where a
    few important items were. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the amount of peanut
    butter they had and she made a mental note of things she would need to buy at the
    grocery store the first chance she got.
    “Well, that‘s it.”
    “Okay, so is there anything you need me to do right now?”
    Steve shook his head. “You‘ve been through a lot this morning. Why don‘t you
    just rest?”
    Steve didn‘t have to say it twice.