A Mom for Callie Read Online Free

hope she’d felt in a year and had the makings of another book growing in her mind. So why tempt fate by going back to New York prematurely?
    The copper-haired woman squealed as Betsy stepped backward. “Can you give me a hint? You know…about the plot?”
    â€œI can do even better. If you’re willing…perhaps Icould pick your brain at various points throughout the book.”
    Angela’s mouth dropped open yet no words came out.
    â€œMaybe we could even meet over lunch.” It was an offer she hadn’t thought of initially, but now that she’d made it, she was glad. Angela was about her age, maybe a few years older. But she was a firecracker and Betsy needed a little spark in her life.
    â€œBut you live in New York.”
    â€œNot anymore. Not for the next few months, anyway.”
    â€œWhat are you saying?” Angela asked.
    â€œI’m saying I’m going to write my book here…in Cedar Creek. I just need to find a small house to rent.”
    Angela grabbed Betsy’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Oooh, I know just the place. It’s really cute—almost looks like a beach bungalow if you can picture something like that in the middle of Illinois. It’d be perfect for you. And it’s in a really quiet neighborhood.”
    An undeniable surge of excitement coursed through her body as she realized what she was about to do. For the first time in a year she was finally moving forward. By her own doing. “Sounds perfect. Who should I call to take a look at it?”
    â€œYou’re looking at her.”
    â€œYou’re a Realtor?” Betsy asked.
    â€œNo, but I know one and we can call him on the way. The house isn’t far from here and it happens to be right next door to my husband’s partner—who, by the way, is extremely cute.”
    â€œA police officer?” she repeated as her mind traveled back to Paxton Bridge and the memory of Officer Brennan running in the opposite direction. “Uh-huh.”
    She shot her hand—palm outward—into the air and shook her head. “I’ll have to take your word on his cuteness, Angela. I’ve got a book to write, remember? And besides, if and when I’m ready to date again, I think I’ll stick to someone safer. Like maybe an accountant. Or a pharmacist.” Betsy pushed a strand of hair from her eyes and flashed a grin at her new friend. “As for the rest, you really don’t have to spend your afternoon touting me around. Your husband has stuff to tell you over dinner, remember?”
    Angela laughed. “I remember. But he can wait. The faster we get you settled, the faster you’ll finish your book. And trust me, Tom is supportive of anything that will give his ears a break for a few hours.”
    Â 
    F ROM A PURELY AESTHETIC standpoint, Tom Murphy was nothing to envy. His hair, which had begun receding when he was a recruit, was now nonexistent. His short stature, set off by a tendency to gain weight at the drop of a hat, resembled that of a bulldog. And his inability to tuck in a shirt or polish his shoes had been a thorn in the chief’s side for as long as Kyle Brennan could remember.
    But it was Tom.
    And after five years of working side by side, Kyle knew better than anyone what the disheveled package held inside. It was why, even as he listened to his partner talking animatedly into his cell phone, he couldn’t begrudge him the happiness he’d found. Begrudge? No.
    Envy to the point of jealousy? Yeah, sometimes.
    It was a fact he wasn’t proud of, but it was what it was. Tom had been blessed to find a true one-in-a-million in Angela. Kyle, on the other hand, had quite obviously found Lila in the dime-a-dozen camp—a group of women who were entirely too self-absorbed to think of anyone else’s needs, least of all their own child.
    Hindsight sucked. It really did. Because it came too late. Too late to save him from