Reckless Moon by Doreen Owens Malek Read Free Book Online

door.
    Bram caught up to her in the lobby, seizing her arm and spinning her around to face him. “Beth, wait,” he said, his face anxious.
    “No,” she whispered, her eyes filming over with tears. “I won’t wait. I waited for you for ten years, and I’m not going to wait any more.”
    Bram’s hands fell away, and Beth fled, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. All she could think about was getting away from him and back home.
    * * *
    But when she arrived there Bram was waiting for her, seated in his father’s long black sedan. He jumped out of it the minute she pulled into the driveway.
    “How did you beat me back here?” she asked in amazement, her surprise at his feat momentarily sublimating her other feelings.
    “I drove seventy all the way,” he said grimly, “because I was afraid you wouldn’t let me into the house if you got here first.”
    They stared at one another.
    “We have to talk,” Bram finally said. “You can dodge me until you’re exhausted with it, but I’ll run you to earth eventually. You know I will.”
    Beth nodded wearily. He was nothing if not persistent. She led the way to the front door and unlocked it.
    Once inside, they went into the living room and Beth sat in a wing chair next to the big bay window. “Help yourself,” she said, gesturing to the bar against the wall.
    Bram quickly made a drink, and then sat opposite Beth after she declined his offer to mix something for her. She should have accepted, she thought as soon as the words were out of her mouth; she was so tense that her knuckles were white where she clutched the arms of the chair.
    “What did you mean about waiting for me for ten years?” Bram asked, plunging right back into the depths again.
    “Think hard, sailor,” Beth replied bitterly. “Maybe you can figure it out.”
    He took a healthy slug of his bourbon. “I take it you’re referring to the night of your father’s party.”
    “Bingo.”
    “Was it so important to you?” he asked carefully, watching her face.
    “A lot more important than it was to you,” Beth answered, getting up and walking to the other side of the room. “You obviously dismissed it, and me, the minute you left the party.”
    “I never said that.”
    “You never said anything!” Beth cried, whirling to face him. “You walked out of my father’s house, this house, and that was the end of it.”
    “Your father wanted it that way,” Bram said.
    “My father!” Beth answered incredulously. “Don’t make me laugh. You would never let him or anybody else stand in the way of what you wanted. Which only leads me to one conclusion. You didn’t want me.”
    Bram stood also, pacing. “That isn’t true. I wanted you very much. And if you can’t accept that idea your recollection of that evening isn’t as clear as mine.”
    Beth held up her hand. “Excuse me, you’re right. You wanted me physically. I remember that very well. What you didn’t want was a relationship with a clinging teenager who would foul up your plans to have a girl in every port.”
    His eyes widened. “Is that what you think? That I let you go because I had to answer the call of the sirens or some stupid notion?”
    Beth fell silent, halted by the derision in his voice. She had believed her version of the story so long that his contradiction confused her. “Isn’t that right?” she finally asked.
    Bram closed his eyes, putting his empty glass on the coffee table. It was some seconds before he spoke again. “Beth, listen to me. You were sixteen years old. You were the sweetest, truest thing that had ever happened to me, and I couldn’t spoil you. It was hard for me to leave, harder still to let you grow up and live your life without hearing from me. But I know I did what was best, Beth. I was no good for you. You needed a chance to get an education and meet people, a chance to develop into the person you are today. Believe me when I tell you that walking away from you that night was the noblest