A Royal Baby on the Way. Susan Mallery

she would have left, Christine stopped her. “Kayla, I know you must have gotten Jazz’s invitation by now.”

      Kayla turned back to her, unprepared to discuss the matter just now. “I did.”

      Christine’s hands knotted together in front of her. “Whatever my past sins,” she urged, “please don’t hold them against this school. Jazz deserves this opportunity the same way you did. You know what attendance at this school could mean for her future.”

      Kayla managed a smile. “We’re going to talk about it.”

      As Kayla left the Athena campus she wouldn’t allow herself to consider that Jazz’s invitation might be a prod for her to leave this investigation alone. No way. This school was too important to too many powerful people. They would never invite a student for any reason other than a legitimate one. Athena Academy wanted Jazz. There was no second-guessing that conclusion.

      The only question that remained was if Kayla was ready for her daughter to take that kind of step.

      Kayla called Shirley to let her know she’d decided to stop at home for a sandwich before heading back to the office. The morning had been long and emotionally draining. Kayla wanted to recharge before dealing with the afternoon.

      But that wasn’t going to happen.

      The red SUV sitting against the curb between her house and the next didn’t give her much of a pause on first glance. But when she parked in her driveway she saw that someone waited for her on her front steps.

      It only took one look for her to recognize her unexpected visitor.

      Mike Bridges.

      Jazz’s father.