The Baby Bargain by Dallas Schulze Read Free Book Online Page A

something, to explain her flat announcement. When nothing was forthcoming, he groped for an appropriate response.
    "Congratulations.''

Chapter 4

    He knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing. A slow flush crept into her cheeks. Her body seemed to tighten as if from the impact of a blow.
    "Look, I'm sorry. I—"
    "You don't remember me, do you?" she cut into his stammered apology.
    Dan stared at her, feeling a creeping sense of disaster. There was something almost familiar about her. But he couldn't place the familiarity, couldn't quite bring it into focus.
    She must have been able to see the answer to her question in his eyes. She didn't wait for him to speak. She turned and started to walk away, her back rigid with humiliation. There was something painfully dignified in that thin little figure despite the tattered clothes and clumsy boots.
    "Wait!" Dan caught up with her in a few strides, catching her arm before he remembered his greasy hands. He dropped her elbow with a muttered apology though he didn't really think she cared if he put a mark on her coat. She stood in front of him, her features stiff.
    It wasn't hard to read her expression now. Pride, anger, humiliation and a kind of underlying desperation that tugged at Dan's heart. But she had to have the wrong man. He didn't know this girl. Certainly not in the way she apparently thought he did.
    She said nothing, waiting for him to speak. The ball was clearly in his court and he groped around for a moment before finally lifting his shoulders in a weak shrug.
    "Look, I'm sorry."
    "New Year's Eve."
    Three simple words but they exploded with the force of a grenade. Dan felt their impact as an actual physical blow.
    "You were the girl in the bar." The words weren't a question but she nodded, her eyes focused on the view just past his shoulder. Dan stared at her, trying to sort through his tangled memories of that night. She wasn't wearing any makeup and the clothes were different. Her whole carriage was different. That was why he hadn't recognized her. But with her hair down...
    He sucked in a deep breath. In an instant, his world had been picked up, given a good shake and set down in an entirely new pattern.
    "We have to talk. Wait here," he told her, his face grim. In the few minutes it took him to strip off his stained coverall and sluice the grease off his hands, Dan kept his mind carefully blank. It wasn't as difficult as it might have seemed. In fact, he wasn't sure he could have summoned up much by way of intelligent thought if he'd tried.
    He told Lee he was going out and that he probably wouldn't be back for the rest of the day. From Lee's expression, it was clear that he'd guessed something was wrong but he didn't ask any questions. One of the benefits of old friends, Dan thought. They knew when to ask a question and when to mind their own business.
    The girl was waiting where he'd left her, her shoulders hunched inside the coat. As he approached, Dan realized that it was the only way she could get the cheap garment to close across the front.
    Her coat was too small, her boots were too big. She was too thin, too pale and she was too young. His mouth tightened into a grim line. He must have been out of his mind.
    "Come on." He reached to take her arm but she shied away, as if his touch might burn. Dan's fingers clenched as his hand dropped away. "We can talk at Rosie's across the street," he said without expression.
    She nodded without looking at him. He shortened his stride to match hers. The too-large boots forced her to take short, shuffling steps. If it hadn't been for the smooth line of her cheek, she might have been mistaken for an elderly bag lady shuffling along some inner-city street. For some reason the thought made him feel both angry and guilty.
    Mid-afternoon was not one of Rosie's peak hours and they had their choice of booths. Dan led the girl to the booth all the way in the back. It was only as he was sliding into the seat across from her