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The Dad Next Door
BOOK
Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
About the author
Cathy Gillen Thacker
385 books107 followersDear Readers,
The love stories in my family have always been fodder for romance novels.
My maternal grandmother and grandfather simultaneously ran a business together and raised four daughters, long before it was an accepted thing to do. Grandpa O’Dell ran the gas station and the barber shop; Grandma O’Dell managed the grocery and cooked for customers. They were true partners and madly in love and parted, tragically, way too soon when he succumbed to cancer when he was in his early fifties. Grandma grieved deeply but eventually picked herself up, started a new career as a cafeteria chef, and eventually found deep romantic love and happiness again, in the form of a second marriage.
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September 13, 2016Luke Carrigan stopped by to see Meg Lockhart and told her that she could not avoid him forever. He was buying the house next door and they would be neighbors soon.
Meg had met Luke when he was in med school and she was studying to become a nurse. Meg and Luke both had other girlfriends and boyfriends. Luke had come over to Meg's when her parents died and they ended up sleeping together and having sex. Their close friendship ended that night.
Meg moved back home to raise her three sisters who were grieving over the loss of their parents and resentful of Meg. She found out she was pregnant too. Meg broke up with her boyfriend, Kip Brewster, when she found out he was sleeping with someone else because Meg wouldn't sleep with him. Luke finished school and moved to California. He married Gwyneth and she became pregnant very quickly. Luke and Gwyneth had three girls. Susie was now 5, Becca was 4 and Amy was 3. Gywneth had been dead for 2 yrs. now from an automobile accident. Their marriage had not been a good one. Meg had a son, Jeremy, who was 5 1/2.
Jeremy wanted to know who his father was and Meg refused to discuss that with anyone, including Jeremy. No one except for Meg knew the father. Jeremy was born 8 months after they slept together. Luke went to see Kip to see if he was the father and make him own up to his responsibility. Kip told Luke that he and Meg broke up because she refused to sleep with him and he was jealous over Meg's friendship with Meg. He wasn't the father. Luke began to suspect that maybe he was the father and Jeremy was premature. He went to talk to Meg's doctor and they wouldn't give him any information in regard to that. They told him that he needed to get Meg to trust him and she would give him the answer he was looking for.
Meg was still in love with Luke and knew that no one would ever measure up to him and that was part of the reason she had never married. Luke was in love with Meg but felt like she wasn't interested in him. Luke broke up with Gwyneth but six months later, she was still heartbroken over the breakup and Meg had left him. Luke decided to get back with Gwyneth and they married but he was never happy. Luke knew it had been a mistake but she was dead now. Luke moved to Laramie to see if he had a chance and getting back together with Meg.
Meg was going to the hospital daycare to eat lunch with his son when Luke told her that he would join her and have lunch with his daughters. The girls were complaining about all their lunch being the same and it was one child's turn at a time. Jeremy told the girls that he always got what he wanted and his mother fixed his sandwiches the night before. The girls also mentioned that they wanted chicken noodle casserole for dinner too. Meg offered to find the recipe and fix dinner. They were thrilled. After dinner Meg suggested that Luke let the girls help fix their own lunches the night ahead like she did. After dinner the kids walked in and saw them kissing. Jeremy came in and said that he had never seen Meg kiss anyone.
The next day the girls mentioned in daycare that they had eaten dinner together, they were painting their house the same color as Meg's, they were seen kissing each other and that Meg had talked their dad into letting them fix their own lunches so they could eat what they wanted. The word got spread all over the hospital. Luke noticed that Meg was avoiding him and caught up with her in her office at the hospital. He proceeded to take Meg onto his lap and start kissing her. She was trying to avoid it but she knew that she was falling for Luke all over again and it was just what Luke seemed to want.
The painters showed up to paint Luke's house. The smell was so bad that they couldn't stay in the house so Meg invited them all to stay with her. It started raining in the middle of the night so Meg and Luke had to get up and go shut all the windows of his house. They ended up kissing again. Luke knew he wanted Meg but Meg kept fighting her wanting Luke.
Meg was able to avoid Luke the next day at work. Luke and the girls stayed at a hotel for the rest of the week. Then the weekend came and there was a chili cook-off that most of the hospital employees were involved in. Meg and Luke prepared for the cook-off and the kids were at one of Meg's sisters. They ended up tasting Luke's chili for dinner and Meg's brownies for dessert. Luke ended up staying the night with Meg and they went to the chili cook-off together.
The day came to register Jeremy and Susie for kindergarten. Susie was upset because her sisters weren't going to be with her. Luke couldn't get her to talk to him so he called Meg. Meg came over and told her that it was ok to be scared and that her sisters would be following behind her soon. She could tell them all about it when the started kindergarten if they were scared. Jeremy came home upset because of not having a father. Luke promised to take him to get a haircut with him the next day and to do father/son things with him to help out. The girls ended up spending Becca ended up crying and wanted to talk to Meg and not Luke. Luke was upset that the girls weren't talking to him but glad they had Meg. Becca wanted a night light and she said that her dad wouldn't understand. Meg went to her house and got one for her. Luke then mentioned that Gwyneth wouldn't come to him to talk about her problems either. If she would have, maybe she would still be alive.
Kip had come to the hospital to see Meg and work on setting up a reunion. Luke was becoming anxious because he hadn't told Meg that he had spoken to Kip about Jeremy. Kip told Luke that he was interested in getting back with Meg. Meg had told them that wouldn't happen but he was still concerned. She didn't just die in an accident. She had run off the road into a tree. She had been depressed and Luke hadn't known until he found her journal after her death. Luke felt responsible and that maybe she had committed suicide.
Kate Marten had come to see Luke at the hospital. She wanted Sam McCabe to bring himself and his boys in for grief counseling. Kevin was due to come in and have stitches removed from a fall he had taken. Kate wanted to accidentally run into them to talk about them coming to her for counseling. Luke felt that Kate was more concerned over Sam not giving Kate the time of day rather than his need for grief counseling. Kate was engaged to a pilot, Craig Farrell. Luke told Meg that he thought that Kate wasn't as excited for her upcoming nuptials as she should be.
Luke and Meg went on a real date for dinner. They went back to Luke's place and had sex. Luke then asked Meg to marry him and she said that she couldn't. She needed to tell him that Jeremy was his son first. Luke told Meg that he had suspected it for quite a while. He told her about meeting with the hospital director and finding out that Meg had a son. He remembered them having unprotected sex and that it was a real possibility. That was the reason he accepted the position and moved to back to Texas. Meg was upset because she thought that Luke was pursuing her to get Jeremy. She was refusing to accept that fact that her really loved her for herself. She left the house and went back to her place.
John McCabe went to see Luke and told him that his proposal to Lilah didn't go all that smoothly either. Luke needed to not give up on Meg. He needed to keep pursuing her if he really loved her. Luke and Meg had already confessed their love for each other on their date before they slept together.
Lilah went to see Meg and told her that she needed to trust the fact that Luke loved her. He could easily have his choice of other women but he chose her. Meg agreed and decided to do something about it.
John called Luke that night and told him that he was needed at Meg's sister's ranch house. He called a sitter for his girls, grabbed his doctor bag and was soon on his way. He hoped that nothing had happened to either Meg or Jeremy. When he arrived, he was surprised to see Meg waiting for him. She apologized to him and told him that she loved him. She was afraid of her feelings for him and of giving up her independence by letting someone take care of her for a change. She told him that he didn't need to ask her to marry him again. She would accept his proposal. They were married the next week.
Meg had met Luke when he was in med school and she was studying to become a nurse. Meg and Luke both had other girlfriends and boyfriends. Luke had come over to Meg's when her parents died and they ended up sleeping together and having sex. Their close friendship ended that night.
Meg moved back home to raise her three sisters who were grieving over the loss of their parents and resentful of Meg. She found out she was pregnant too. Meg broke up with her boyfriend, Kip Brewster, when she found out he was sleeping with someone else because Meg wouldn't sleep with him. Luke finished school and moved to California. He married Gwyneth and she became pregnant very quickly. Luke and Gwyneth had three girls. Susie was now 5, Becca was 4 and Amy was 3. Gywneth had been dead for 2 yrs. now from an automobile accident. Their marriage had not been a good one. Meg had a son, Jeremy, who was 5 1/2.
Jeremy wanted to know who his father was and Meg refused to discuss that with anyone, including Jeremy. No one except for Meg knew the father. Jeremy was born 8 months after they slept together. Luke went to see Kip to see if he was the father and make him own up to his responsibility. Kip told Luke that he and Meg broke up because she refused to sleep with him and he was jealous over Meg's friendship with Meg. He wasn't the father. Luke began to suspect that maybe he was the father and Jeremy was premature. He went to talk to Meg's doctor and they wouldn't give him any information in regard to that. They told him that he needed to get Meg to trust him and she would give him the answer he was looking for.
Meg was still in love with Luke and knew that no one would ever measure up to him and that was part of the reason she had never married. Luke was in love with Meg but felt like she wasn't interested in him. Luke broke up with Gwyneth but six months later, she was still heartbroken over the breakup and Meg had left him. Luke decided to get back with Gwyneth and they married but he was never happy. Luke knew it had been a mistake but she was dead now. Luke moved to Laramie to see if he had a chance and getting back together with Meg.
Meg was going to the hospital daycare to eat lunch with his son when Luke told her that he would join her and have lunch with his daughters. The girls were complaining about all their lunch being the same and it was one child's turn at a time. Jeremy told the girls that he always got what he wanted and his mother fixed his sandwiches the night before. The girls also mentioned that they wanted chicken noodle casserole for dinner too. Meg offered to find the recipe and fix dinner. They were thrilled. After dinner Meg suggested that Luke let the girls help fix their own lunches the night ahead like she did. After dinner the kids walked in and saw them kissing. Jeremy came in and said that he had never seen Meg kiss anyone.
The next day the girls mentioned in daycare that they had eaten dinner together, they were painting their house the same color as Meg's, they were seen kissing each other and that Meg had talked their dad into letting them fix their own lunches so they could eat what they wanted. The word got spread all over the hospital. Luke noticed that Meg was avoiding him and caught up with her in her office at the hospital. He proceeded to take Meg onto his lap and start kissing her. She was trying to avoid it but she knew that she was falling for Luke all over again and it was just what Luke seemed to want.
The painters showed up to paint Luke's house. The smell was so bad that they couldn't stay in the house so Meg invited them all to stay with her. It started raining in the middle of the night so Meg and Luke had to get up and go shut all the windows of his house. They ended up kissing again. Luke knew he wanted Meg but Meg kept fighting her wanting Luke.
Meg was able to avoid Luke the next day at work. Luke and the girls stayed at a hotel for the rest of the week. Then the weekend came and there was a chili cook-off that most of the hospital employees were involved in. Meg and Luke prepared for the cook-off and the kids were at one of Meg's sisters. They ended up tasting Luke's chili for dinner and Meg's brownies for dessert. Luke ended up staying the night with Meg and they went to the chili cook-off together.
The day came to register Jeremy and Susie for kindergarten. Susie was upset because her sisters weren't going to be with her. Luke couldn't get her to talk to him so he called Meg. Meg came over and told her that it was ok to be scared and that her sisters would be following behind her soon. She could tell them all about it when the started kindergarten if they were scared. Jeremy came home upset because of not having a father. Luke promised to take him to get a haircut with him the next day and to do father/son things with him to help out. The girls ended up spending Becca ended up crying and wanted to talk to Meg and not Luke. Luke was upset that the girls weren't talking to him but glad they had Meg. Becca wanted a night light and she said that her dad wouldn't understand. Meg went to her house and got one for her. Luke then mentioned that Gwyneth wouldn't come to him to talk about her problems either. If she would have, maybe she would still be alive.
Kip had come to the hospital to see Meg and work on setting up a reunion. Luke was becoming anxious because he hadn't told Meg that he had spoken to Kip about Jeremy. Kip told Luke that he was interested in getting back with Meg. Meg had told them that wouldn't happen but he was still concerned. She didn't just die in an accident. She had run off the road into a tree. She had been depressed and Luke hadn't known until he found her journal after her death. Luke felt responsible and that maybe she had committed suicide.
Kate Marten had come to see Luke at the hospital. She wanted Sam McCabe to bring himself and his boys in for grief counseling. Kevin was due to come in and have stitches removed from a fall he had taken. Kate wanted to accidentally run into them to talk about them coming to her for counseling. Luke felt that Kate was more concerned over Sam not giving Kate the time of day rather than his need for grief counseling. Kate was engaged to a pilot, Craig Farrell. Luke told Meg that he thought that Kate wasn't as excited for her upcoming nuptials as she should be.
Luke and Meg went on a real date for dinner. They went back to Luke's place and had sex. Luke then asked Meg to marry him and she said that she couldn't. She needed to tell him that Jeremy was his son first. Luke told Meg that he had suspected it for quite a while. He told her about meeting with the hospital director and finding out that Meg had a son. He remembered them having unprotected sex and that it was a real possibility. That was the reason he accepted the position and moved to back to Texas. Meg was upset because she thought that Luke was pursuing her to get Jeremy. She was refusing to accept that fact that her really loved her for herself. She left the house and went back to her place.
John McCabe went to see Luke and told him that his proposal to Lilah didn't go all that smoothly either. Luke needed to not give up on Meg. He needed to keep pursuing her if he really loved her. Luke and Meg had already confessed their love for each other on their date before they slept together.
Lilah went to see Meg and told her that she needed to trust the fact that Luke loved her. He could easily have his choice of other women but he chose her. Meg agreed and decided to do something about it.
John called Luke that night and told him that he was needed at Meg's sister's ranch house. He called a sitter for his girls, grabbed his doctor bag and was soon on his way. He hoped that nothing had happened to either Meg or Jeremy. When he arrived, he was surprised to see Meg waiting for him. She apologized to him and told him that she loved him. She was afraid of her feelings for him and of giving up her independence by letting someone take care of her for a change. She told him that he didn't need to ask her to marry him again. She would accept his proposal. They were married the next week.
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