Star-Crossed Parents. C.J. Carmichael

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СКАЧАТЬ and vulnerable.

      “You okay?” he asked. “You seem a little lost.”

      Her smile was sweet. “I’m fine, thank you. It’s just that someone was supposed to meet me.”

      Her voice confirmed it. This was a New York City gal. He wondered what she was doing here, who’d she’d come to meet.

      “Do you know Josh Wallace?”

      Sam blinked. “Ah…sure. He’s my—”

      Before he could finish, the sound of squealing tires had both him and the girl turning to watch as Josh’s van pulled into the station. Josh swung into a vacant parking spot, and a second later leapt from the driver’s seat and jogged over toward them.

      “Sorry I’m late.” Josh sounded breathless and he looked…different.

      Sam checked the impulse to comment on his son’s reckless driving. He couldn’t remember when he’d last seen that look in Josh’s eyes. The girl seemed equally excited to see him, too. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

      He stepped between them and held out his hand to the newcomer. “I’m Sam Wallace, Josh’s father.”

      “Oh.” She shook his hand. “I’m Taylor Hartwell. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Wallace.” She frowned. “You look kind of familiar. Are you—”

      “Taylor’s here to visit for a few days,” Josh explained. He’d interrupted Taylor, but she didn’t seem to mind.

      “Oh?” Sam said. “You didn’t mention anything at dinner last night.”

      Josh just shrugged, then hooked a hand around the straps of the backpack on Taylor’s shoulders.

      “Can I carry this for you?” he offered gallantly.

      Sam struggled not to smile as Taylor slipped off the pack and passed it over. As he took a closer look at the girl, though, Sam felt a twinge of concern. “So, where are you from, Taylor?”

      “New York City.”

      As he’d thought. “That’s quite a distance from here. Where did you two meet?”

      His stomach dropped when he saw the look that passed between her and Josh. At first it didn’t seem as if they were going to answer his question. “Josh?” he prodded gently.

      “On the Internet. A few months ago.” His son squared his shoulders, unconsciously taking a stance that told Sam he was expecting criticism and was prepared to do battle against it.

       It’s a new world out there, Sam told himself. He’d seen plenty of articles in the paper about Internet dating sites and such things becoming more popular. No sense overreacting.

      And yet…was the girl as old as she looked?

      “Your family knows you’re here?”

      She nodded.

      “Cut it with the questions, Dad.” Josh sounded annoyed. “We’ve got to get going.” Josh had slung Taylor’s pack on one shoulder. With his free arm he took her hand.

      “See you later.”

      Taylor twisted to face him, even as Josh pulled her toward his waiting van. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Wallace.”

      Polite girl. But she sounded even younger than she looked. Just how old was the girl?

      Sam watched after the couple, not sure how to react. His son was nineteen, an adult under the law. Hopefully the girl was, too. Should he have asked to make sure?

      As Josh’s van pulled away from the station, Sam’s sense of unease grew. He wished Taylor had looked him in the eyes when she’d told him her family knew where she was.

       CHAPTER TWO

      L EIGH REFERRED TO the MapQuest directions she had taped to the dashboard, next to the cup holder. From the Washington Bridge she was supposed to merge onto I-95.

      She did a shoulder-check, then shuddered. A steady stream of cars came up from behind her. Oh, God. Why did all the drivers have to hang on to each other’s bumpers? She was never going to be able to make a safe lane change.

      But she had to.

      She switched on the indicator light, shoulder-checked again, then steered the car to the next lane. Mercifully, the vehicle behind her made room.

       Oh, God, she thought again. This traffic was unrelenting. Thank goodness she didn’t need to drive very often.

      In fact, if the guy at the car rental agency had known just how rarely she did drive, he probably would have thought twice before handing her these keys.

      Living in Manhattan, she had no need for a car, which was lucky because she had no interest in them, either. She couldn’t even recall the make of this one. It was red and had four doors. When the needle on the gauge fell near empty, it would need to be filled with gasoline. That was the sum total of her automotive knowledge, and she could only pray she wouldn’t be called upon to figure out anything else.

      She glanced at the MapQuest directions again. In seven-point-three miles she would have to take the Hutchinson Parkway North exit and then almost immediately take another exit to the left.

      Usually, Taylor navigated for her. She had a natural sense of direction and was good at reading maps. On top of all that, she had common sense, which was why this whole escapade just didn’t compute.

      Taylor wasn’t the kind of kid to fall in love over the Internet, then run off for a secret meeting. Well, she’d left a note. But a discussion beforehand would have been far more acceptable. Not to mention mature.

      If Taylor thought being eighteen and graduating high school was all it took to make you grown up, she had a lot to learn.

      “Hey, buddy!” Leigh slowed as a blue car from the right suddenly came into her lane, practically on top of her. Immediately she forgave every rude thing New York taxi drivers had ever said in her presence. Talk about job stress.

      Her cell phone rang and she glanced at it, worried. She needed both hands on the wheel. But what if it was Taylor?

      She picked it up to check the call display. It was Wenda, the office manager at work. Before she’d left home, Leigh had called and left a message that she wouldn’t be able to make it in on Friday. Oh, and by the way, Taylor’s graduation party had been canceled.

      Wenda was probably panicking right now, but Leigh would have to talk to her later. Right now, the only call worth taking in this traffic was one that might be from her daughter.

      Fear tightened her stomach, squeezed her throat. Taylor was okay, she kept telling herself, but what if she wasn’t? Only rarely did Leigh regret the fact that she was a single mother. This was one of those times. It would be nice to have a husband to lean on right now. Someone who knew Taylor and who understood that this sort of behavior just wasn’t like her.

      The police didn’t get it. Her call had not been treated СКАЧАТЬ