One More Storm (Mistletoe Matchmakers of Clearwater County #6) - Bonnie R. Paulson Page 0,5

not the best situation. She needed someone she didn’t feel self-conscious around.

Wait, but she hadn’t. She’d actually felt… like herself in that chair across from him. She hadn’t felt like she had to hide anything or smother the things she wanted to say. She simply could be herself.

Amanda couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like that.

Even before she found out her father wasn’t really her father, Amanda had always felt like she didn’t fit in; not with her sisters, not with the kids at school, not with their church group, not even with the animals in the barn. She didn’t fit in.

No matter what anyone said, she never fit in and she could tell.

But not too long ago, she’d found out why she felt so out of place. Now, she just needed to figure out how to put the answers into order so that she could finally find where she fit, where she belonged. Her dad’s idea, well, did she continue calling him Dad? Was he her dad?

As Amanda climbed into her rig, she blinked back tears. She certainly hoped she could still call him Dad. He was the only father she knew and she loved him, regardless of the lack of blood relation. But how did he feel about it? He probably thought he wanted nothing to do with her. Maybe he even felt betrayed. She didn’t blame him. It made perfect sense he would feel that way. His wife had had an affair and gotten pregnant with Amanda and had played it off as if the baby was David’s.

She gripped the steering wheel with tight fingers and drove onto the highway entrance, distracted by the fact that she had no idea what she was doing, no idea what she should do, and no idea how she should feel in the situation. All of the confusion was enough to overwhelm her. She wanted to feel better about herself and what she did and until that afternoon, she hadn’t thought it was possible.

But Tommy… With their short session, she felt like maybe she had hope. That was more than anything else she could have thought possible.

Amanda’s cell rang and she pushed the answer button on her Bluetooth connection on the dash of her truck. “This is Amanda.”

“Hey, it’s Tay. Can you stop in town and pick-up Dad’s suit? He’s gone until later in the week and Cynthia said she’s closing the laundromat for the weekend. Dad needs it for the judges’ panel.” Taylor was all business during the day and it somehow made Amanda feel even more normal.

Taylor wasn’t hemming and hawing around Amanda, nervous to make her feel bad. Instead, she acted like she always did. Amanda appreciated that. She needed that. Something to feel normal.

“Yeah, of course. Dad’s out of town still?” Amanda’s voice faltered on the word Dad, but she talked like nothing in her life had changed.

“That’s right. If you need to come to our place for dinner, come over at five. We’re having fish sticks. I have no idea why, but that’s what Isaac wants lately, so that’s what we’re eating. I’m not going to lie; I can’t wait for him to get out of this tater tot loving phase and into a more…” She sighed like she couldn’t find the right words.

“Pizza loving stage? Steak loving? What would you prefer?” Amanda laughed and shook her head, glancing behind her and switching lanes as she passed a semi-truck on the freeway.

“Well, steak wouldn’t be a bad thing.” Taylor laughed as well. “Okay, grab that for Dad and I’ll see you at five, if you decide to come. Bring some adult food, if you do.” Taylor chuckled with just a hint of exasperation in her voice. She loved her children, that much was evident, but probably like most parents, Taylor reached her patience levels and didn’t know what to do.

Amanda would probably need to give Taylor a break with her three kids sometime soon. Anything to keep her sister from losing the fine line of control she held onto everything with.

They said their goodbyes and thirty minutes later, Amanda pulled in front of the Mistletoe Dry Cleaners shop to retrieve her father’s suit.

Most of the businesses in town would close up for a week in late October or early November for their holiday vacation or hunting season. Once the business owners came back, things would hit full swing for the holidays and the Mistletoe Matchmaking annual competition. Even the date auction had become a part