Read Online Between Strangers by Linda Conrad - Free Book Online Page A

sad to contemplate. And soon he might be heading for the exact same kind of failure.
    Marcy wished with everything in her that she could turn back time and believe in the magic once again.
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    Lance stood next to their empty table with his hands folded behind his back and stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at the snowy scene beyond the café. He should’ve been thinking of the ranch and of how his wranglers would be getting on with their various jobs, though he knew they would do just fine. But all he could see in his head were babies.
    He’d started out by thinking about Angie and of how she would manage, traveling the world with her mother—of how she would look as she grew into a beautiful child. It didn’t take long for that image to evolve into pictures of other babies. Babies with dark eyes and hair that looked just like his.
    Absently he rubbed at a spot over his heart and blinked his eyes. It would happen for him soon. He would make it happen.
    â€œShe’s lovely.” Marianne spoke softly from behind him and interrupted his thoughts.
    â€œHuh? Who?” Lance turned away from the wide picture window and faced her in the now empty café.
    â€œMarcy. She’s lovely. I showed her where she could change the baby and freshen up,” Marianne told him. “This is the first woman you’ve brought here. I can see that she’s special to you.”
    He shook his head a little more vehemently than he’d meant and took a step back. “It’s not like that. I rescued them from the side of the road and I’ve promised to take them to Cheyenne. I hardly know her.”
    Marianne tilted her head and pursed her lips. “That brings up another good question. Just what are you doing so far from home in the dead of winter? You haven’t bothered to come for a visit since you movedout to that ranch in western Montana. Why come now, so close to Christmas and in one of the worst blizzards we’ve seen in years?”
    He felt the perverse grin sneaking out around the corners of his mouth. “Impatience. Stupidity. Arrogance. Take your pick.” Easing the bus pan from her hands, he started gathering dirty dishes off the table. “I got it in my head that I had to be back at the ranch by Christmas Eve. And neither the worst blizzard in memory nor all the flights at O’Hare being cancelled was going to stop me.”
    â€œChristmas Eve? That’s tomorrow night and you have to stop first in Cheyenne?” Marianne looked confused. “What happens if you don’t make it there on time?”
    â€œThen what I planned to do on Christmas Eve will wait for a few days.” He slid the last of the plates and silverware into the gray plastic pan. “Looking back on it now, I’m not too sure why I thought it was so important to be there on a certain date. But I just did.”
    Marianne swiped a wet cloth over the table and chairs and straightened up with a quick glance out the window. “The weather’s changing. That last front must be coming through. It’s ten degrees warmer than this morning and the wind’s died down some.” She turned her chin to look at him but nodded toward the window. “It’s already starting to snow again. If you want to help Hank, you’d better scoot.”
    He hefted the bus pan into the kitchen while Marianne trailed behind. “I won’t be long,” he said. “Tell Marcy where I’ve gone and have her wait inside till I’m done.” Dropping the pan on a counter, he turned to head out the back door.
    Marianne stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. “Whether you want to admit it or not, she is special to you. You look at her like you want to gobble her whole.”
    Stopping midstride, he swung around and sputtered out denials.
    She just smiled. “Deny it all you want. But there was a time when I would’ve given a year of my life if you’d ever