Debbie Macomber Navy Series Box Set. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ folded section of the Post-Intelligencer in the other.

      “Morning.” She glanced up and greeted him with a bright smile. Lately it seemed his sister was always smiling.

      Steve mumbled something unintelligible as a means of reply. Her cheerfulness grated against him. He wasn’t in the mood for good humor this morning. He wasn’t in the mood for anything … with the possible exception of making love to Carol again, and that bit of insight didn’t suit him in the least.

      “It doesn’t look like you had a good night’s sleep, brother dearest.”

      Steve’s frown deepened, and he gave his sister another noncommittal answer.

      “I don’t suppose this has anything to do with Carol?” She waited, and when he didn’t answer, added, “Or the fact that you didn’t come home Christmas Eve?”

      “I came home.”

      “Sure, sometime the following morning.”

      Steve took down a mug from the cupboard and slapped it against the counter with unnecessary force. “Drop it, Lindy. I don’t want to discuss Carol.”

      A weighted silence followed his comment.

      “Rush and I’ve got almost everything ready to move into the new apartment,” she offered finally, and the light tone of her voice suggested she was looking for a way to put their conversation back on an even keel. “We’ll be out of here by Friday.”

      Hell, here he was snapping at Lindy. His sister didn’t deserve to be the brunt of his foul mood. She hadn’t done anything but mention the obvious. “Speaking of Rush, where is he?” Steve asked, forcing a lighter tone into his own voice.

      “He had to catch an early ferry this morning,” she said, and hesitated momentarily. “I’m happy, Steve, really happy. I was so afraid for a time that I’d made a dreadful mistake, but I know now that marrying Rush was the right thing to do.”

      Steve took a sip of coffee to avoid looking at his sister. What Lindy was actually saying was that she wanted him to find the same contentment she had. That wasn’t possible for him now, and wouldn’t be until he got Carol out of his blood.

      And making love to her Christmas Eve hadn’t helped.

      “Well, I suppose I should think about getting dressed,” Lindy said with a heavy dose of feigned enthusiasm. “I’m going to get some boxes so Rush and I can finish up the last of the packing.”

      “Where’s your new apartment?” Steve had been so preoccupied with his own troubles that he hadn’t thought to inquire until now.

      As Lindy rattled off the address Steve’s forehead furrowed into a brooding frown. His sister and Rush were moving less than a mile away from Carol’s place. Great! That was the last thing he needed to hear.

      Steve’s day wasn’t much better than his sleepless night had been. By noon he’d decided he could no longer avoid the inevitable. He didn’t like it, but it was necessary.

      He had to talk to Carol.

      He was thankful the apartment was empty when he arrived home shortly after six. Not willing to test his good fortune, and half expecting Lindy or Rush to appear at any minute, he walked directly to the phone and punched out Carol’s number as though punishing the telephone would help relieve some of his nervousness.

      “Hello?” Carol’s soft, lilting voice clawed at his abdomen.

      “It’s Steve.”

      A pregnant pause was followed by a slightly breathless “Hi.”

      “I was thinking we should talk.”

      “All right.” She sounded surprised, pleased, uncertain. “When?”

      Steve rotated his wrist and looked at the time. “What are you doing right now?”

      She hesitated. “I … nothing.”

      Although slightly awkward, their conversation to this point had felt right to Steve. But the way she paused, as though searching for a delaying tactic, troubled him. Fiery arrows of doubt hit their mark and he said, “Listen, Carol, if you’re ‘entertaining’ Todd, I’d prefer to stop by later.”

      The ensuing silence was more deafening than jungle drums pounding out a war chant.

      It took her several seconds to answer him, and when she did, the soft voice that had greeted him was racked with pain. “You can come now.”

      Steve tightened his hold on the phone receiver in a punishing grip. He hated it when he talked to her like that. He didn’t know who he was punishing: Carol or himself. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

      Carol replaced the telephone in its cradle and battled down an attack of pain and tears. How dare Steve suggest Todd was there. Suddenly she was so furious with him that she could no longer stand in one place. She started pacing the living room floor like a raw recruit, taking five or six steps and then doing an abrupt about-face. And yet she was excited—even elated.

      Steve had taken the initiative to contact her, and it proved that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, either.

      Nothing had been right for her since Christmas Eve. Oh, she’d reached her objective—exceeded it. Everything had gone according to plan. Only Carol hadn’t counted on the doubts and bewilderment that had followed their night of loving. Their short hours together brought back the memory of how good their lives had once been, how much they’d loved each other and how happy those first years were.

      Since Christmas Eve, Carol had been crippled with “if onlys” and “what ifs,” tossing around those weak phrases as though she expected them to alter reality. Each day it became more difficult to remember that Steve had divorced her, that he believed her capable of the worst kind of deception. One night in his arms and she was fool enough to be willing to forget all the pain of the past thirteen months.

      Almost willing, she amended.

      It took vindictive, destructive comments like the one he’d just made to remind her that they had a rocky road to travel if they hoped to salvage their relationship.

      Before Steve arrived, Carol had time to freshen her makeup and run a brush through her thick blond hair. She paused to study her reflection in the mirror and wondered if he would ever guess her secret. She doubted it. If he couldn’t read the truth in her eyes about Todd, then he wasn’t likely to recognize her joy, or guess the cause.

      Thinking about the baby helped lighten the weight of Steve’s bitterness. Briefly she closed her eyes and imagined holding that precious bundle in her arms. A little girl, she decided, with dark brown eyes like Steve’s and soft blond curls.

      The mental picture of her child made everything seem worthwhile.

      When the doorbell chimed, Carol was ready. She held the door open for Steve and even managed to greet him with a smile.

      “I made coffee.”

      “Good.” His answer was gruff, as though he were speaking to one of his enlisted men.

      He СКАЧАТЬ