That Maddening Man. Debrah Morris

of Christmas ornaments in from the garage. He sat in Ida Faye’s recliner with a cup of coffee in his hand and Pudgy in his lap and watched the Bennett girls decorate their tree. He imagined Jana’s reaction when she called for a full report of the day’s events and found he still wasn’t home. It would drive her nuts and serve her right.

      Funny, he’d only known Ellin and Lizzie a few hours, and yet he felt strangely at ease. Being here with them gave him that familiar, déjà vu feeling that thrilled and frightened at the same time. He knew there was something right and logical about meeting them. Something fateful. As though the sequence of events that led them out of Chicago and into his life had been carefully orchestrated for his benefit.