Free FATHER IN TRAINING by Susan Mallery Page A

her?
    "Thanks," she said at last, then brushed her suddenly damp palms against her shorts. "The TV goes in the entertainment center. The VCR sits on the shelf above that."
    His smile widened to a grin. "I think I can figure it out."
    "Great."
    But he didn't move. Instead, he stood there, looking sinfully handsome, staring at her. Self-consciously, she reached up and fingered her hair. It was loose this morning, held off her face by a headband. She wasn't wearing any makeup. She probably looked old and messy. Nothing that a man like him would—
    A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She frowned. "I'm not expecting anyone," she said as she crossed the floor to the front door.
    A pretty, dark-haired woman holding a sleeping toddler in one arm and a diaper bag in the other smiled. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth . This is my daughter Jessica, and Mandy is around here, somewhere. Honey, where are you?"
    "We're coming, Mommy."
    Sandy stared past the woman and saw a young girl racing up the porch stairs. She was holding a casserole dish in her hands. "We brung food," she said, then stopped slightly behind her mother, as if suddenly shy.
    "Brought," Elizabeth said. "I swear , hanging out with your father's relatives is doing nothing for your education." She smiled fondly at her daughter, then glanced back at Sandy . "She knows more about the Forty-niners ' starting lineup than she does about any of her subjects at school. Oh, you still look confused. I'm sorry. I'm Travis's wife. We've come to help you unpack."
    " Elizabeth , come on in," Kyle said, coming to the door. "Mandy, how's my favorite munchkin?"
    The little blond girl giggled. "I'm not a munchkin, Uncle Kyle."
    "I keep forgetting. Maybe it's because all munchkins have blond hair just like you." He bent down and touched the two braids brushing against her shoulders.
    "Do they?" she asked, her blue eyes wide and questioning.
    "Kyle," Elizabeth said, the tone in her voice warning him to tread carefully. "Stop torturing my daughter."
    Kyle chuckled, then took the casserole dish from Mandy. "No, honey, they don't."
    Travis strolled up the stairs. He placed his hand on his wife's waist and guided her into the house. "Sandy, this is my wife, Elizabeth, and my daughters Mandy and little Jessica." He glanced fondly at the sleeping toddler. "We're here to help you unpack. Where would you like us to start?"
    Sandy was speechless. She didn't know whether to be pleased or insulted. Kyle had arranged for people to help her without asking her first. She should hate that. Yet the gesture was so thoughtful. She liked Travis; there was every reason to believe she would like his wife, and she didn't have any friends in Glenwood yet.
    Before she could think of what to say, Kyle took charge. He sent Mandy upstairs with instructions on how to find Nichole's room, thrust the casserole dish into Sandy 's hands, then ushered Travis into the family room, where he promised they would take care of the "man" work.
    Elizabeth stared after them, then laughed. "I guess that leaves all the women's work for us." She shifted the toddler in her arms. "It's Jessica's nap time," she explained. "She had a busy morning playing in the backyard. And driving in the car always puts her to sleep."
    "You can put her on my bed," she said. "It would only take a minute to get the sheets unpacked."
    "No, that's too much like work and we're going to have enough of that already." Elizabeth glanced into the living room. The floral-print sofa facing the wide windows had fluffy pillows. "Would you mind if she slept there?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the sofa.
    "Of course not."
    In a couple of minutes, Jessica was curled on the couch with her favorite stuffed toy, a lion missing an ear and the end of its tail. Elizabeth pulled a light blanket over the sleeping child. "She's our miracle baby," she said, straightening and following Sandy into the kitchen.
    "Did you have trouble getting pregnant?"
    Elizabeth laughed. "Not at