Free A Mom for Christmas by Marteeka Karland

Chapter One
    “Not in this lifetime, honey.” The plunging V-neck shirt that didn’t cover his daughter’s midriff and the short skirt that revealed way too much thigh would be burned at the earliest opportunity. Like the next day when he cleaned her room and found them lying in the floor where he knew she’d throw them.
    “But, Dad—”
    “No ‘buts.’ Just change.”
    “You know my cheer skirt is shorter than this.” Rebecca rolled her eyes as she stomped off to her bedroom to change.
    “Yes, but you’re appropriately covered underneath.”
    “She’ll just come out in something worse, Daddy.” His middle daughter, Jessica, crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. “We’re gonna be late.”
    “We’re not leaving until your sister is presentable.” For anything other than a hooker-of-the-year contest. He shuddered at the thought.
    Sebastian Taylor had known raising three girls on his own was going to be hard, but how did one prepare for this ? His oldest was going through that teenage thing girls did, his middle one was going through her know-it-all slash tells-on-everyone phase. Only his youngest, Zoe, seemed to have any sanity left in her. That is to say, she was still Daddy’s little girl.
    “Daddy?” Speaking of his little princess… “Can I cheer with the big girls tonight?”
    He grinned. Daddy’s little girl, but rapidly growing up in the image of her older sister. “Only if Miss Sadira says it’s all right.”
    “So, I can take my cheerleading outfit?” Who could say no to those bright blue eyes and hopeful smile? He sure as hell couldn’t.
    “Yes, baby. Put it in your gym bag, and you can change there, if Miss Sadira says you can.”
    Beaming at him, she ran down the hallway calling, “She always lets me!”
    And so she did. Sadira Duncan seemed to take a special interest in all three of Sebastian’s girls. Though Jessica had no interest in cheerleading, she had a keen interest in gymnastics, which Sadira also coached. She’d kept the three busy when the disappearance of their mother would have devastated them.
    Dedra had gone to work one morning in December and simply hadn’t returned. She’d made it to her job, worked half the morning, then just…vanished. No one knew what had happened. The police had even considered Sebastian a suspect for several weeks before he’d had been presented with divorce papers courtesy of Dedra’s lawyer. On Christmas morning. Sebastian had never seen or heard from her again, though she’d apparently spoken to the police via teleconference, assuring them all was well and that she’d left the country with no intentions of returning any time soon. She hadn’t even bothered to explain anything to the girls. They’d been devastated. Needless to say, this Christmas would probably prove to be a special kind of hell for them, and Sebastian had never felt more helpless in his life.
    Rebecca appeared at the top of the steps, skipping down them as if she thought she was actually leaving the house dressed like that.
    “Uh uh, baby.” Sebastian made a spinning motion with his finger, indicating she should just turn around and head back upstairs.
    “Come on!” She stomped her foot, earning a raised eyebrow from him. “What’s wrong with this? It covers everything!”
    “And is so tight you might as well have painted it on. How’d you get them fastened, anyway?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Normal-fitting jeans and a shirt that isn’t three sizes too small, please.”
    “We’re gonna be late, Dad!” Rebecca whined. “I’m gonna have to do laps and it will be your fault!”
    “Clothes. Now .”
    A tug on his pant leg had him looking down at Zoe. When she motioned for him to bend down, she whispered in his ear, “She’s trying to impress Jacob.”
    Sebastian jerked up, giving his youngest an “are you kidding me?” look.
    “She is. Watch him at the game. He’ll be sitting right in front of her making funny faces.