Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six by Rachelle Ayala Page A

rose, gripping the rail of the bed.
    “I found some new information about King David. Would you like to hear? I think he really loved the Princess Michal.”
    Her father’s hand relaxed, and he opened his eyes with a spark of interest. He was always the one who had told her stories about ancient people like they were alive and sitting around the coffee table having a chat.
    “You don’t believe me, do you?” Andie said in a teasing voice while catching his eye. “I have concrete evidence.”
    She’d draw the story out longer, now that she’d made headway. “As you know, in ancient Israel, there was a tradition that the older daughter should be married before the younger. You also know that King Saul offered his elder daughter, Merab, to David, but at the last minute, Merab was wed to another man. My theory is that David had something to do with Adriel marrying Merab.”
    Her father’s eyebrows raised. Yes! She was getting a response.
    “Did you know that Adriel’s father was Barzillai, a trusted friend of David’s? What do you bet David asked his buddy to set up Michal’s older sister with his son so he could have a shot at the younger daughter, Michal?”
    Andie’s father nodded, and his eyes opened wider.
    “This is something I came up with that’s original,” she said, with a hint of pride.
    Andie had searched and searched through the literature and the many romances written about Michal and David, as well as the scandal sheets and books written to slander David, but no one had ever made this connection.
    “So, you have it there. David, the master politician, engineered the removal of Michal’s sister, while making it look like Saul had slighted him, because face it, Saul was a king who wanted to be popular. Why would he snub a hero like David? A guy who won the princess’s hand by defeating Goliath?”
    A slight shoulder shrug and smile from her father were reward enough.
    Andie leaned down and kissed her father’s cheek. “Tomorrow I’ll tell you why David doubled the number of Philistine foreskins to win Michal’s hand.”
    Her father made a face, somewhere between amusement and disgust.
    “Don’t squinch your face, Daddy. What would you ask a man to bring you for my hand?”
    A choked guffaw burst from her father’s throat and his shoulders shook. He was laughing.
    “Don’t laugh. I met a guy, so this is a serious question.” Andie put on a stern face and crossed her arms.
    Her father shook his head and chuckled, his working hand grabbing her arm, shaking it.
    “You want to know all about him, I bet, but you’ll have to wait till you meet him. Do you want to meet him?”
    “Yeh …yeeuh.”
    “You’re speaking.” Andie’s mother surged from the doorway.
    Andie startled and stepped aside. She hadn’t known her mother was listening. Now she was going to get the third degree.
    Last night when had Cade dropped her back home, Mom had been waiting up. She’d received the grim news about Gollie, and rather than invite Cade in, she’d dismissed him without thanking him for helping with the search. Andie couldn’t fault her, of course. She was dead tired from caring for Dad and worrying about the dog.
    With Mom fawning over her father and fluffing his pillow, Andie figured she should go for a walk and try to find Gollie. It was a Saturday morning so she didn’t need to be at work.
    “Andie?” her mother called out. “Can you ask Cade over for dinner? I didn’t thank him proper for looking for Gollie, and I think your father wants to meet him.”
    Andie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I was just joking about asking for my hand. Mom, Dad, please don’t embarrass me. We’ve been on one date, and he doesn’t want any strings.”
    “We still want to be neighborly. When did he move here and what does he do?” Mom stepped to Andie’s side and shut the bedroom door. “Besides, if you weren’t serious about him, why did you tell your dad?”
    Heat and chills flushed and