Read Online Wait Until Dark by Karen Robards, Andrea Kane, Linda Anderson, Mariah Stewart - Free Book Online Page A
Book: Wait Until Dark by Karen Robards, Andrea Kane, Linda Anderson, Mariah Stewart
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Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories, Love Stories; American, Romantic Suspense Fiction, Government investigators, Anthologies (Multiple Authors), Women librarians, Stalking Victims, Women architects
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bad for his concentration. He had a job to do. Getting involved with Lindsey Hall was going to make it tougher for him to do it.
That wasn't going to stop him from accomplishing his goal.
He'd made a promise to Harlan - one he intended to keep.
Newport was exquisite at dawn.
Lindsey stopped her car at the entrance to the manor's driveway, easing her gear shift into park so she could turn and admire the view. The sun was just starting its shimmering ascent, and she rolled down her windows so she could truly drink it in. She gazed out toward the ocean, watching as slices of lemon and orange tinged the sky, glistened on the water.
Feeling a sense of peace that had eluded her since last night's phone call, she drew a slow, appreciative breath, letting her mind and body relax. She'd needed that tension release. She hadn't realized how much.
Leaving her windows down, she shifted back into drive, the ocean breeze rippling through her hair as she continued the rest of the way to the manor. She pulled around front and stopped.
The house looked regal at this time of day, the rays of the sun hovering over the manor like a golden crown.
The workmen wouldn't be here for two hours. That gave her tons of time to review her designs, to polish off the extra-large Styrofoam cup of coffee she'd picked up down the road, and to imagine her mother's face when she moved into her new home.
She let herself in, flipping on the lights and wandering through the hallway. It was odd to think she'd been conceived here, in one of the bedrooms upstairs, or maybe in the staff quarters behind the kitchen. Odder still, that that thought didn't bother her, but somehow gave her a sense of validation. After the history her mother had relayed of the love affair she'd shared with Harlan Falkner, Lindsey was having a harder and harder time viewing the man as an intangible entity, much less one to be despised. He'd obviously loved Irene enough to try to find some way to stay in her life and to offer something to their child.
If circumstances had been just a little different - if Harlan Falkner had been less integrally tied to his family and his high-visibility world - she might have gotten to know, or at least to meet, her father.
To Lindsey's surprise, tears stung at her eyes. She hadn't let herself walk down this road before, to contemplate these deeply personal might-have-been's. Not in any one of the handful of times she'd walked through the manor. Then again, she hadn't had any quiet time here, time to be alone with her thoughts.
She wished she knew more about Harlan Falkner. Not the business mogul, and not the fervent lover her mother described. But the man - the man who'd struggled between loyalties, who'd opted to leave her this manor with the full realization of what the consequences would be.
When had he made the decision? Before or after his wife's breakdown? Did Camille know about his affair with Irene? Was her drinking the result of that knowledge, or was it the other way around?
"A penny for your thoughts."
Lindsey whipped around, stunned to see Nicholas standing in the front hall. She'd never heard him come in. And the last thing she wanted was to have him see her in this vulnerable state. She wasn't ready for that.
Especially after the nagging question of who was behind last night's phone call...
"What are you doing here?" she managed, blinking the moisture from her lashes and trying to keep her voice steady.
He frowned, walking toward her. "You're crying. Why?"
She took an inadvertent step backward. "It's barely past six o'clock. Why are you out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I couldn't sleep. I rode out early."
"I know. I called your apartment to see when you were leaving. I got the answering machine. So I drove out to surprise you. I planned to be waiting when you arrived. It never occurred to me you'd be here already." He reached her, his forefinger tipping up her chin. "Are you okay?"
"Did you think I wouldn't
That wasn't going to stop him from accomplishing his goal.
He'd made a promise to Harlan - one he intended to keep.
Newport was exquisite at dawn.
Lindsey stopped her car at the entrance to the manor's driveway, easing her gear shift into park so she could turn and admire the view. The sun was just starting its shimmering ascent, and she rolled down her windows so she could truly drink it in. She gazed out toward the ocean, watching as slices of lemon and orange tinged the sky, glistened on the water.
Feeling a sense of peace that had eluded her since last night's phone call, she drew a slow, appreciative breath, letting her mind and body relax. She'd needed that tension release. She hadn't realized how much.
Leaving her windows down, she shifted back into drive, the ocean breeze rippling through her hair as she continued the rest of the way to the manor. She pulled around front and stopped.
The house looked regal at this time of day, the rays of the sun hovering over the manor like a golden crown.
The workmen wouldn't be here for two hours. That gave her tons of time to review her designs, to polish off the extra-large Styrofoam cup of coffee she'd picked up down the road, and to imagine her mother's face when she moved into her new home.
She let herself in, flipping on the lights and wandering through the hallway. It was odd to think she'd been conceived here, in one of the bedrooms upstairs, or maybe in the staff quarters behind the kitchen. Odder still, that that thought didn't bother her, but somehow gave her a sense of validation. After the history her mother had relayed of the love affair she'd shared with Harlan Falkner, Lindsey was having a harder and harder time viewing the man as an intangible entity, much less one to be despised. He'd obviously loved Irene enough to try to find some way to stay in her life and to offer something to their child.
If circumstances had been just a little different - if Harlan Falkner had been less integrally tied to his family and his high-visibility world - she might have gotten to know, or at least to meet, her father.
To Lindsey's surprise, tears stung at her eyes. She hadn't let herself walk down this road before, to contemplate these deeply personal might-have-been's. Not in any one of the handful of times she'd walked through the manor. Then again, she hadn't had any quiet time here, time to be alone with her thoughts.
She wished she knew more about Harlan Falkner. Not the business mogul, and not the fervent lover her mother described. But the man - the man who'd struggled between loyalties, who'd opted to leave her this manor with the full realization of what the consequences would be.
When had he made the decision? Before or after his wife's breakdown? Did Camille know about his affair with Irene? Was her drinking the result of that knowledge, or was it the other way around?
"A penny for your thoughts."
Lindsey whipped around, stunned to see Nicholas standing in the front hall. She'd never heard him come in. And the last thing she wanted was to have him see her in this vulnerable state. She wasn't ready for that.
Especially after the nagging question of who was behind last night's phone call...
"What are you doing here?" she managed, blinking the moisture from her lashes and trying to keep her voice steady.
He frowned, walking toward her. "You're crying. Why?"
She took an inadvertent step backward. "It's barely past six o'clock. Why are you out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I couldn't sleep. I rode out early."
"I know. I called your apartment to see when you were leaving. I got the answering machine. So I drove out to surprise you. I planned to be waiting when you arrived. It never occurred to me you'd be here already." He reached her, his forefinger tipping up her chin. "Are you okay?"
"Did you think I wouldn't
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