Free Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) by Karen Lenfestey

a permanent health kick, she hadn’t allowed
herself pizza in months. “May I help?”
    “No. Kaylee already set the table and it’s time to eat.” He
rolled a pizza cutter across the crust and divided it up among the three
plates. In one fluid movement, he untied his apron and whipped it over his
head, then tossed it on the counter. “I’m afraid all I have to offer you to
drink is milk or water.”
    “Water’s good.”
Zero calories would help make up for the cheese. She and Kaylee sat down at the kitchen table and Jim joined them after placing their drinks.
“Smells delicious.” She cut the corner closest to her and blew on the steam
rising from it. “Did you make this from scratch?”
    He took a drink of
his Coke. “Yep. I worked in a restaurant for a while and learned how.”
    Kaylee kicked the table leg and jiggled the liquid in
everyone’s glasses. “Oops. Sorry.” As if it weren’t a totally separate thought,
she added, “He tosses the dough in the air like you see on TV. It’s neat!”
    Her dad smiled and
his blue eyes almost twinkled. Beth couldn’t believe it. He was kind of handsome when he stopped
scowling. In case he might notice her staring, she looked down and started
eating. That first taste was an explosion of oregano and thyme and tomato
sauce. Then the gooey mozzarella and parmesan sailed
across her tongue. My Lord, it was better than she remembered! She couldn’t
wait for her next bite.
    The crunch of the
crust reminded her of the good old days when she celebrated every Friday night
by ordering a pizza and eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Her tongue was
trying to trick her. Part of her brain wanted to deny the other facts. Like how
she’d hated her body and how she’d overindulged to mask her feelings of
inadequacy. She wouldn’t want to go back, but she sure could savor this one
reprieve from her diet. In fact she loved this pizza so much, her heart
softened a little toward Jim. If he could cook like this, he couldn’t be all
that bad.
    After several
minutes of everyone chewing, she realized she would need to be the one to make
conversation. “So, Kaylee tells me you played
professional baseball. Who did you play for?”
    His dour
expression returned. “I never played ball. I hoped to play professionally, like
every other boy in America, but that’s all it was.”
    “Oh.” Beth chose
to hide her confusion by taking another bite. Kaylee had said her dad played baseball and that he was a cop. None of which was true. She was starting to worry about the adult that this
eight-year-old would grow into. “I bet it can’t be easy raising a daughter on
your own.”
    “I manage.” He
jammed a big piece of pizza into his mouth and she realized she was the only
one using a fork.    
    “If you ever need
help, let me know.” Did that come out wrong? “What I mean is, outside of work,
I’m available to keep an eye on her. When your sister can’t.”
    He shook his head.
“If Kaylee had stayed in the apartment like she’s supposed
to, she wouldn’t have a broken arm right now.” He narrowed his eyes at his
daughter.
    Beth’s back
muscles tightened. “What matters is Kaylee’s OK.” She
gave the girl a sympathetic nod, but Kaylee just ate
and didn’t speak. Suddenly the pizza lost all its flavor.   She chewed and swallowed
mechanically.
    He spoke before he
finished swallowing his bite. “I’ve told Kaylee a
million times to come home and lock the door behind her. I’m not sure what’s so
difficult about that.”
    Seeing Kaylee’s shoulders slump, Beth felt the need to stand up
for her. “The doctor said this wasn’t the first time she’s broken her arm.
Maybe since it healed wrong, it was more likely to break.”
    He put down his
crust. “ Kaylee’s never broken her arm before.”
    “But the doctor
said--”
    “Have you ever
broken your arm?” He directed his question to Kaylee who
focused on the table as she shook her head.
    Beth cleared her
throat. “Well,