Read Online Surrogate by Maria Rachel Hooley - Free Book Online

normal, but he didn't get that chance, not with Galen's truck heading for them.  He knew it was Galen because almost nobody else drove down this road at this time of night.
         "There's Galen," he finally said, reluctantly easing away from his wife as the truck bumped down the country road, slowing as the driver spotted Robbie and Carrie standing to the side of the road.
         "I'll be right back," Robbie said.
         As was usual for Carrie these days, she didn't look at him or respond.  Instead, she glanced skyward, her expression filled with a longing Robbie didn't understand.
         Galen eased himself out of the truck and walked to meet Robbie, the beam of his flashlight drifting across the ditch until he'd spotted the truck.  He shook his head.  "Damn.  Looks like you really got it stuck good."
         "Yeah."
         Galen, a tall, lanky man in his late thirties, looked over at Carrie.  "Now that's a miracle."  His gaze softened as he watched her looking up at the stars.
         Robbie felt his shoulders stiffen.  "Meaning what?"
         "The wreck was bad, Rob.  Her car was mangled all to hell."
         Robbie flinched and closed his eyes, all the while thinking that if he heard one more person say something like that, he'd go nuts.  It was just too much.
         Robbie took a deep breath and then forced a reply.  "She's here, and she's with me.  That's all I care about."
         But was it?  He didn't know.  He did have Carrie, yes, but she was distant--her but not her-and yet he couldn't imagine his life going on like this.  This distance between them was just too hard to accept.
         Galen nodded.  "Okay.  Well, let's focus on get your truck out of the ditch so you can go home.  She should be resting."
         His best friend offered one last glance at Carrie, a frown playing across his features before he pulled his truck up behind Robbie's and attached the tow chain.  Five minutes later, the truck was back on the road, Galen was unchaining the bumper, and Robbie was nodding for Carrie to get in.
         "Thanks, man."  Robbie patted his best friend's shoulder appreciatively.  "Don't know where I'd be without you."
         "In a ditch," Galen shot back as he threw the chain in the back of his truck.
         "There's that."
         As Galen opened his mouth to offer another witty comeback, his cell rang.  Pulling it from his pocket and checking the display, Galen shook his head.  "Lord, Beth, give me a couple of minutes, will you?"  Still, he thumbed the button and put the phone to his ear.
         "I'm almost done here."
         Robbie chuckled, imagining Beth sitting in bed with some kind of list.  Beth was an extraordinary list-maker, and Galen never had a shortage of things to do, much to his frustration.  At the sound of Robbie's laughter, Galen shot him a go-to-hell look and turned away.
         "Well, it does take a few minutes to pull reckless drivers out of ditches.  You know that.  You've been in the ditch before."
         Robbie looked at Carrie, and even though it was difficult to make out her profile considering how dark it was, he thought he could see her resting her head back against the seat.  With any luck, she'd be asleep again in a few minutes, and that thought relaxed him somewhat.  All the strangeness seemed to disappear when his wife was next to him, sleeping.  Granted, that was an illusion, but it made him feel better all the same.
         "What?" Galen said, shaking his head.  "Slow down, woman.  You're talking too fast."  He shook his head and shoved the phone at Robbie.  "Here--see if you can make sense of what she's saying."
         Robbie smiled and took the phone.
         "Hey, Beth."
         "How's our girl?"  Beth's voice came out nervous and breathy.  "I've been worried about her, but I couldn't come to the hospital.  I've been so sick."
         Robbie nodded, though he knew Beth