A small smile tugged at
the corner of her mouth. She leaned her head
against his shoulder the same instant Sydney
rounded the corner of the hall.
“My friend, you are well and truly screwed.”
87
Dyann Love Barr
Chapter Ten
Zoe put the closed sign up. The two customers she had scheduled cancelled, leaving her time to catch up on her paperwork and inventory. Cherri and the girls were busy doing arts and crafts in the main part of the house while she went through the gourmet muffin mixes on the shelves. Blueberry
Almond seemed to be the hot seller this month. A quick swipe with the dust cloth she had at the ready, a little tweaking, and the muffin selection looked pristine and ready to go.
Christmas music lilted through the shop. The
snow might keep her from catering for a couple of days, but she didn’t care. This freak weather
couldn’t go on much longer, and the holidays were right around the corner. She hummed along with
Baby It’s Cold Outside, thinking how apropos the song was as the flakes flew outside the window.
Zoe stared in surprise when a bright red car
with a sign saying Express Courier Service on the door, pulled up in front of the shop. No one in their right mind would be out on the streets today.
The driver left the engine running and ran
around the front, onto her once-cleared sidewalk.
The new snowfall had dumped another two inches
since she’d shoveled off the walks and drive earlier in the day.
The instant she held it open, cold air shouldered past the bundled up courier in a big, brutal blast that nearly knocked her off her feet.
“Man, it’s bad out there,” the guy said through 88
A Perfect Bride for Christmas
several layers of his scarf. He shook himself off and stamped his feet. “My heater can’t keep up with it.”
His finger snagged the edge of the scarf covering his face, bringing it down before he handed her the electronic gizmos he’d protected under his arm. “I need you to sign here.”
He handed her a stylus and she scribbled across the tablet’s plastic-coated face as instructed. The courier glanced at her signature, tapped in a few keys and raced back to the still-running vehicle.
Zoe’s finger pried the cardboard flap open to
reveal another envelop with Alex’s office logo on it.
Something official. A dread colder than the chilled air of the shop fingered her heart.
This had to be about the girls.
She went behind the counter and opened a
drawer containing her office supplies. The letter opener she picked up wobbled in her hands as she ran the edge under the flap of the envelope. It took a minute before her heart quit stammering around in her chest.
What was Alex up to?
She gingerly pulled the folded paper up, opened it to see the words Alexander Franklin King, Zoe Ann Hillman Bennett, Michaela Ann Bennett, Mia Alexandra Bennett, Macy Alana Bennett along with DNA .
The bastard wanted DNA tests on her children,
along with both of them, to insure paternity.
Gut sick, that’s the only way she could describe the way she felt. Zoe had already decided to
acknowledge Alex as the girls’ father, however, she refused to have him stomp around and ruin their fragile lives with his posturing.
She knew the phone number on the letterhead
by heart. Fueled with anger so strong she could’ve barbequed a buffalo, Zoe punched in the number on her cell phone and waited. Two rings, and the phone 89
Dyann Love Barr
went to a message saying ‘due to the weather, all appointments are cancelled until tomorrow’.
She ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted to scream at someone—anyone—and then she
wanted to tell Alexander Franklin King to go to hell.
Only, hell wasn’t hot enough for what she had in mind.
The business card he left her! It had his cell
phone number on it.
Zoe raced over to the drawer under the counter
again, trying to remember where she’d put the card.
She’d thrown it in there after he left it on the table.
She pushed
the corner of her mouth. She leaned her head
against his shoulder the same instant Sydney
rounded the corner of the hall.
“My friend, you are well and truly screwed.”
87
Dyann Love Barr
Chapter Ten
Zoe put the closed sign up. The two customers she had scheduled cancelled, leaving her time to catch up on her paperwork and inventory. Cherri and the girls were busy doing arts and crafts in the main part of the house while she went through the gourmet muffin mixes on the shelves. Blueberry
Almond seemed to be the hot seller this month. A quick swipe with the dust cloth she had at the ready, a little tweaking, and the muffin selection looked pristine and ready to go.
Christmas music lilted through the shop. The
snow might keep her from catering for a couple of days, but she didn’t care. This freak weather
couldn’t go on much longer, and the holidays were right around the corner. She hummed along with
Baby It’s Cold Outside, thinking how apropos the song was as the flakes flew outside the window.
Zoe stared in surprise when a bright red car
with a sign saying Express Courier Service on the door, pulled up in front of the shop. No one in their right mind would be out on the streets today.
The driver left the engine running and ran
around the front, onto her once-cleared sidewalk.
The new snowfall had dumped another two inches
since she’d shoveled off the walks and drive earlier in the day.
The instant she held it open, cold air shouldered past the bundled up courier in a big, brutal blast that nearly knocked her off her feet.
“Man, it’s bad out there,” the guy said through 88
A Perfect Bride for Christmas
several layers of his scarf. He shook himself off and stamped his feet. “My heater can’t keep up with it.”
His finger snagged the edge of the scarf covering his face, bringing it down before he handed her the electronic gizmos he’d protected under his arm. “I need you to sign here.”
He handed her a stylus and she scribbled across the tablet’s plastic-coated face as instructed. The courier glanced at her signature, tapped in a few keys and raced back to the still-running vehicle.
Zoe’s finger pried the cardboard flap open to
reveal another envelop with Alex’s office logo on it.
Something official. A dread colder than the chilled air of the shop fingered her heart.
This had to be about the girls.
She went behind the counter and opened a
drawer containing her office supplies. The letter opener she picked up wobbled in her hands as she ran the edge under the flap of the envelope. It took a minute before her heart quit stammering around in her chest.
What was Alex up to?
She gingerly pulled the folded paper up, opened it to see the words Alexander Franklin King, Zoe Ann Hillman Bennett, Michaela Ann Bennett, Mia Alexandra Bennett, Macy Alana Bennett along with DNA .
The bastard wanted DNA tests on her children,
along with both of them, to insure paternity.
Gut sick, that’s the only way she could describe the way she felt. Zoe had already decided to
acknowledge Alex as the girls’ father, however, she refused to have him stomp around and ruin their fragile lives with his posturing.
She knew the phone number on the letterhead
by heart. Fueled with anger so strong she could’ve barbequed a buffalo, Zoe punched in the number on her cell phone and waited. Two rings, and the phone 89
Dyann Love Barr
went to a message saying ‘due to the weather, all appointments are cancelled until tomorrow’.
She ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted to scream at someone—anyone—and then she
wanted to tell Alexander Franklin King to go to hell.
Only, hell wasn’t hot enough for what she had in mind.
The business card he left her! It had his cell
phone number on it.
Zoe raced over to the drawer under the counter
again, trying to remember where she’d put the card.
She’d thrown it in there after he left it on the table.
She pushed
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