Doorstep daddy (3 page)

_{Callie's face flushed at her father's unintended double entendre and the sound of footsteps beating a quick path to the front door. Richard grinned at her.}

_{Stephanie Rossovich was breathless and flushed. Callie eyed her mother critically. She'd suffered a mild heart attack last year. The drawn exhausted look her mother had carried for many years had lessened with the long recovery period and her mother's return to light duty at work. Still, Callie could never remember her mother not looking worn-out. Even with Callie doing the cooking, washing, ironing and baby-sitting, her mother had been the one to bear six babies in ten years. She had also worked full-time at night in a lamp factory. Her mother had aged before she should have.}

_{Callie wasn't falling into the same trap. She would get her college diploma - it would take her eight years to do it because she had to go to evening classes - but she would get her degree, and then she'd consider marriage and children. Now was her time to catch up on all the things she'd missed.}

_{"Callie!" Her mother came outside and kissed her on the cheek. Rasputin, the mangy old Persian cat, came with her.}

_{"You need a coat, Mom," Callie said, frowning at her mother's thin sweater.}

_{"I'll get it in a minute. Who's this?"}

_{Callie made the introductions, emphasizing Richard's being Gerri's neighbor. Rasputin stretched up on arthritic legs to sniff Mark. Mark sniffed back, nose to nose with the feline.}

_{"Kit-kat," he announced, before whacking the cat on the top of the head in a toddler's version of petting.}

_{Rasputin, a veteran of little kids, scooted back out of the way.}

_{"Mark!" Richard admonished. "Be nice."}

_{"Here." Callie scooped up Rasputin and gave him a soothing pat on the head to ease any bruised feelings. She knelt in front of the stroller, took Mark's hand and gently stroked it over Rasputin's shoulder. "Nice boy. Nice kitty, Mark."}

_{Mark grinned and stroked the cat on his own when Callie let go of his hand. Rasputin began to purr.}

_{"Not bad, huh?" she said to the toddler.}

_{"Nice kit-kat," Mark said.}

_{Smiling, she looked up at Richard. His gaze, lambent as it focused on her, held her captive. She felt as if she were looking into her own soul. And his. He smiled lazily, sending her blood flowing thickly through her veins.}

_{"Not bad at all," he replied.}

_{Chapter Two}

_{"She was real nice."}

_{Richard glanced up from his cereal, Jason's comment to Amanda penetrating his normal morning fog. The fog had gotten worse since he'd been staying up half the night to run his business. He lived on about five hours sleep a night, tops.}

_{"Yeah," Amanda said. "I thought Halloween would be dumb, but it was really good after we went with her."}

_{Yeah,
Richard thought, not at all insulted by his niece's comment. Halloween had been great - after they met up with Callie Rossovich. Not only did she look like an angel, she acted like one. They were all still talking about it days later. If he hadn't had the kids to cope with, he would have thanked Callie in a unique manner.}

_{"Toes! Toes! Toes!" Mark suddenly demanded at the top of his lungs.}

_{Beeps erupted, adding to the din.}

_{"What the hell!" Richard snapped, his heart thudding in the aftermath. Talk about a wake-up call.}

_{"What the hell!" Mark shouted, throwing his milk cup across the room.}

_{The beeps started again.}

_{"It's my chickies and dinosaurs," Amanda said, pressing buttons on three different electronic virtual-pet games. Richard had bought them over the weekend for her, and she had hung them on a key chain in a never-ending portable-complaint session. All they did was beep for attention. "They're just waking up. Omigod! The bus'11 be here any minute and I haven't even done my hair yet!"}

_{His niece burst into tears, great sobs racking her shoulders. Mark screamed for "Toes" while Jason shoveled in the last of his cereal and waved goodbye, then shot out the door before Richard could stop him. Oh, well, he thought. One kid was together enough to get out the door on time. Why prolong the agony?}

_{"Finish getting ready," he told Amanda, "and I'll drive you." He glanced at Mark. "As soon as he has some toast."}

_{Richard handed a piece to the child. Mark stopped screaming and slammed the toast down on his high-chair tray several times.}

_{"That's right," Richard muttered. "Beat it to death before you eat it."}

_{Mark grinned, then shouted for milk - after announcing a bodily function. Richard shuddered. He wondered how he would get any work done today with Mark in his present mood. When nap time came, Richard bet he'd be joining the kid. If he could
get
Mark to nap.}

_{He noticed Amanda still busily pressing buttons.}

_{"Hey! You've got school eventually. Better get moving now."}

_{"But I have to feed them. And play with them. If I don't, they'll die." More tears watered in her eyes.}

_{Richard groaned. He wished he'd never bought the stupid things. "Forget them. Just get ready for school."}

_{"You don't understand!" Amanda shrieked, and ran from the room.}

_{Richard slumped in his chair. He ran a hand down his face, pulling the skin in frustration, while wondering if he should just go hang himself from the rafters. The day had barely started, yet it couldn't get worse. He looked at Mark, who grinned through a mass of toasted breadcrumbs. "I'll never get it right, will I?"}

_{Mark threw the toast at him. "Uncle Richard silly}

_guy."

_{Richard picked it off his lap. "I always liked confirmation."}

_{Amanda eventually came back downstairs, looking subdued and ready for school. Richard glanced wistfully at the table full of dirty dishes and hoped they would magically clean themselves while he was gone. He and Mark got Amanda to school with no mishaps, although Richard had to sign her in since she was late. He tried to talk to her, but she was too sullen, walking dejectedly out of the school's main office. He didn't have a clue what to do to make her happy. Or any of the kids.}

_{On the way home he thought about Jason's comment at breakfast. Besides being beautiful, Callie had a way with children. She certainly understood what made them happy. One look at his three lambs and she knew they needed the best trick-or-treat place in the Delaware Valley.}

_{He noticed Callie's sister, Gerri, coming outside when he turned onto his street. He stopped and rolled down the window.}

_{"Hi," he called out. "Remember me? I'm the local Batman."}

_{"Of course." Gerri's smile didn't begin to match Callie's for warmth. "I was going to call you to apologize
again and invite you as guest of honor for a housewarming."}

_{"Oh." The housewarming took him by surprise. He didn't know what to say. Thank-you seemed best, so that's what he said.}

_{"We'll have it next Friday at my house."}

_{Mark kicked his legs restlessly in his car seat. Richard knew he had less than a minute before the toddler volcano blew again. "I'm sure I'm free. I hate to impose, but would it be possible to call your sister? I'd like to thank her again for taking the Halloween dummy, namely me, under her wing."}

_{Gerri's eyebrows came together in a frown, but she rummaged in her bag before removing a pocket computer. She pressed buttons, rather like Amanda. The notion of adult virtual pets came to mind. Richard shuddered yet again.}

_{"Here it is," Gerri said. "Got a pen?"}

_{Richard felt in his pocket and came up with a half-broken pencil he'd found in the foyer as he was leaving to take Amanda to school. He had no paper, then glanced at Mark's car seat and decided to improvise. "Go ahead."}

_{She gave him Callie's home and work numbers. Richard vowed to have nicer thoughts about Gerri from now on as he wrote the numbers on the plastic side of the seat. Mark watched him, fascinated with the moving pencil.}

_{"Thanks," Richard said, moving the pencil out of Mark's reaching fingers.}

_{"Oh, you're welcome." Gerri snapped her minicomputer shut.}

_{Richard waved goodbye before she could talk more.}

_{Back in his own house, he settled Mark with some toys and a Barney tape, then dialed Callie's work number. "County Office on Aging."}

_{Richard gave a start; Callie's place of work was completely unexpected. Not that he knew what he'd expected, but this wasn't it. He asked for Callie and was patched through.}

_{"Hi, it's Richard Holiday, the Batman man," he said when she came on the line. "Your sister gave me the number here, so I hope it's okay to call."}

_{"Richard," she said in such a way that he was unsure whether she sounded delightfully surprised or dismayingly surprised. She continued, "How's that cute little Robin? Still giving you his special brand of crime fighting?"}

_{Delightfully surprised, Richard decided. He laughed, feeling as if the morning was truly starting now. "The child lives for it. I wanted to thank you again for helping us the other night with Halloween. The kids had a great time. So did I."}

_{"No problem. You all looked like such poor lost souls how could I resist?"}

_{"We're lost all right," Richard admitted ruefully while Mark chattered to his television friend. "You were a miracle worker. I'd like to take you out for dinner some night. When are you free?"}

_{"I don't..." She paused. Richard held his breath until she added, "I have classes three nights a week, but I could do it Friday. Is that all right?"}

_{"It's perfect," he said, and meant it. A strange kind of excitement rose inside him. Sexual, but more than that. He couldn't explain it.}

_{"I'll see you Friday, then," she said.}

_{"Wait, wait. Don't hang up. I don't know where you live."}

_{She laughed. She had the most delicious laugh. "Peach Tree Apartments. Three-A. It's off Connors Road."}

_{"I know it. Can I ask you something?" "Sure."}

_{"Do you understand thirteen-year-old girls?"}

_{She laughed uproariously. "Oh, God, yes. I was one once. Having trouble with yours?"}

_{"I'm glad you were one. You can explain them to me on Friday. I have a list."}

_{"Okay. But basically just duck and run for the next few years when you see them coming. That's the only way to survive."}

_{"Great," he muttered.}

_{He hung up the phone a few minutes later, feeling pleased. He had a date.}

_{"Want joos!" Mark yelled.}

_{"No problem." Richard held out his hand. "Barney's over, so let's go get juice, clean up the breakfast dishes, and then it'll probably be time for lunch. We can clean that up and make dinner."}

_{Mark happily took his hand.}

_{Oh, brother, he thought. When was he supposed to work?}

_{He'd have to ask Callie.}

_{Callie carefully touched
the mascara to her right lower lashes - just as the doorbell rang.}

_{Her hand jerked at the sudden noise.}

_{"Dammit!" She stared at the dark tracks coursing across her upper eyelid to her temple. She'd had just this
last bit to do and she would have been perfect. Now Richard was here and she was a mess.}

_{Why was she going on this date? Okay, so she was a sucker for a pretty face, and he had one. And she hadn't been out in a long long time with a man. Even if she wasn't in the market for a relationship, surely she could go on a date. One date. She only wanted to look good for it, after all.}

_{"I'm coming!" she called out, while running a washcloth under hot water to begin repairs to her face.}