Page 88 of Delinquent Daddy (Banks/Kincaid Family 2)

"What do you say, Cass?" she asked, ignoring Boston.

"Want to spend Thanksgiving with your dad?"

Cassie's eyes grew wide. "Can I?" she asked, clearly excited about the idea. "I can't wait to see Libby and Cora again."

Ellie smiled, guessing Libby and Cora were probably cousins close to Cassie's age. She laughed as Cassidy squealed in delight and hugged her father again.

"This is going to be so much fun," Cassie exclaimed. She'd never been to a true Thanksgiving before. It'd always been just her and Ellie. But now that she had a large family, she was going to get something Ellie had only dreamed of.

Cameron and Monty demanded that Cassidy hug them as well before they left. And as Monty swooped the girl up in the air, making her shriek in delight, Boston shifted closer to Ellie.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly.

She nodded mutely. In the next moment, he was enveloped by his brother and cousin, talking guy stuff before the two men waved farewell and piled into their extended cab pickup.

Ellie walked Boston around to his car and remained standing in the front yard, watching his Infiniti disappear down the street. Cassidy had drifted off long ago to look for 208

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Keller, but Nora appeared from the yard next door, strolling Ellie's way.

When the older woman reached her, she slid her arm over Ellie's shoulder and sighed peacefully as she watched Boston's car leave as well.

"You're going to forgive him, aren't you?" Nora finally murmured.

Ellie's shoulders slumped.

Nora chuckled. "Yeah," she agreed. "I probably would too."

[Back to Table of Contents]

209

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Chapter Thirteen

Thanksgiving came with a crisp breeze, chilling the air and filling Ellie with a desolation she refused to think about until after Cassie was gone.

This was going to be her first holiday totally alone.

After her parents had died, she'd always had Aunt Eadie.

Though her grandmother's sister hadn't been the ideal caregiver, she'd at least tried to give Ellie holidays. For one Thanksgiving, the elderly woman had taken her to Burger King. They'd ordered hamburgers and fries from the drive-thru and taken their feast home with them. Aunt Eadie arranged the fries sticking out the side of the bun to resemble a fanning turkey tail. She pulled a pickle out the other side to be its head. And that had been her most memorable Thanksgiving as a child.

Aunt Eadie had died when Cassie was three, so Ellie had always had at least one person to celebrate a holiday with.

T

oday would be her first go at it alone. She was determined to hide her angst from her excited child, though.

Cassie had already met most of Boston's family from her memorable night at Chuck E. Cheese's. Ellie was surprised she'd been able to remember everyone's name, but Cassidy had spent most of the morning recounting the names of Boston's family. The rest of time, she was busy pacing, anxious for her dad to arrive.

The girl had her nose pressed to the front window at least two hours before he was scheduled to pick her up. Every once 210

---