Read Online The Baby Bargain by Dallas Schulze - Free Book Online Page B

important." That was the understatement of the year. Why didn't she call? He glanced at the phone again. It was getting dark out. Why hadn't he heard from her?
    "Something to do with that little girl who was here a couple of days ago?"
    "She's not a little girl," Dan snapped, feeling the phrase bite at his conscience. He felt guilty enough about what had happened without Lee making Kelly sound like a child. He rinsed the cleaner off his hands.
    "Sorry." Lee's gaze sharpened at Dan's tone. "She a friend of yours?"
    "More or less." Dan reached for a towel, turning to look at Lee as he dried his hands. "It's funny, you don't look like my father but you're beginning to sound like him. Is there a reason for this catechism?"
    Lee laughed, lifting one hand in apology. "Hey. I didn't mean to sound like a cop. It's just that you've seemed different the past couple of days. More alive than I've seen you in a long time."
    Before Dan could find an answer to that, a car pulled into the parking lot and Lee turned to greet what he sincerely hoped was a new customer.
    More alive. Dan rolled the phrase over in his mind. Yes, it pretty well described how he felt. Ever since coming back to the States, he'd been drifting. There had been nothing left of his old life and he hadn't been able to find a new direction so he had just drifted, mentally at least Now he had something to focus on, something to strive for.
    He frowned at the phone. If only Kelly would call.
    As if on cue, the phone rang. Dan lunged for it, telling himself that there was no reason to think that it was Kelly, any more than any of the other calls had been her. But this time he was rewarded.
    "Is Dan Remington there?" The voice was muffled and slightly shaky, as if she were nervous.
    "Kelly? This is Dan." His fingers knotted around the receiver. He felt almost dizzy with relief She'd called.
    "I...I'm sorry to bother you at work." His relief was tempered by uneasiness. She sounded...odd
    "Are you all right?"
    "Can you come get me?" Her voice wavered.
    "Where are you? Are you all right?" Dan scribbled down the address she gave him, aware that she'd twice ignored the question of how she was. "Kelly?" His voice was sharp.
    "Can you come get me?" There was a note of something he couldn't quite define in the question. Fear? Panic?
    "I'll be right there." He set the receiver down hard enough to draw a ping of protest from the phone. Ripping the address off the notepad, he turned toward his car, digging the keys out of his pocket
    "I gather you're on your way out," said Lee, who'd come back into the building.
    "Yeah. Sorry to give you such short notice but I won't be back today."
    "No problem."
    Dan backed the Corvette out of the garage and into the small parking lot, spinning the wheel so hard that the tires squealed a protest He felt a sense of urgency he couldn't explain and didn't try to argue with.
    ❧
    Kelly cradled the receiver to her cheek, though the line had gone dead. Her knuckles were white with the force of her grip. He had said he'd be right here. How long would it take him to get here from the garage? How long could she wait? She leaned into the corner of the phone booth, hoping that she looked as if she were using it for its intended purpose and not as a refuge.
    The mild weather had continued and the temperature hovered in the sixties, but Kelly hugged her coat closer around her body. Shivers coursed through her frame. How long would it take Dan to get here?
    In fact, it took Dan less time to arrive at the address Kelly had given him than he had thought it would. Luckily traffic was light.
    The address turned out to be that of a convenience store. Dan pulled the Corvette into a parking space and started to get out, but Kelly had already stepped out of a phone booth and was hurrying toward the car. He leaned across the seat, pushing open the passenger door for her.
    She was wearing the same coat she'd had on two days ago and the same thick boots, but this time she had