Danielle Steel: The House on Hope Street

“You sure can.”

And then Jamie looked at him suspiciously. “What are you doing here? I thought you were mad at Mom, and Megan.”

“I was, but I'm better now.”

“Were you mad at me too?” Jamie asked with interest, holding the kite by the frame. He looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.

“Never. I was never mad at you. And I'm not mad at anyone now.”

“Good. Can we have breakfast?” Jamie asked his mother.

“In a minute.” And as she said it, there were voices from upstairs and Megan shouted down.

“Who's down there?”

“I am,” Liz answered. “And Bill and Jamie.”

“Bill the doctor?” She sounded surprised, and Liz could hear other voices, Peter and Rachel and Annie. They had woken the whole house up.

“Bill, the Brute and Moron,” he corrected, and Megan came down the stairs slowly with a sheepish smile.

“I'm sorry.” She looked straight at Bill as she said it.

“Me too.” He smiled at her.

“Let's have breakfast,” Jamie said again.

“I'll make waffles,” Liz said and stopped to look up at Bill, as they exchanged a smile, and he kissed her again.

“You run a busy house,” he commented, as he followed her into the kitchen.

“Only sometimes. Come by for lunch anytime,” she said, taking out her waffle pan.

“I was thinking of staying,” Bill whispered to her.

“I like that idea,” she said softly, turning to him.

“So do I,” he said, as he picked jamie up and put him on his shoulders. “I like it a lot in fact.” And with that, he turned slowly toward the doorway and saw Megan smiling at him.

a cognizant original v5 release october 06 2010

Published by

Bantam Dell

a division of

Random House, Inc.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2000 by Danielle Steel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: Delacorte Press, New York, N.Y

Dell® and its colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-307-56692-8

v3.0

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13