The Secret She Keeps by Cassie Miles

Author:Cassie Miles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

AT FOUR O’CLOCK in the morning, they were back on the road again with Payne behind the wheel of the fourth car they’d driven on this journey. Few streetlights interrupted the dark as they drove by abandoned farmhouses with plows and swingsets rusting in overgrown yards. There were occasional small towns, nearly identical with their storefronts, post offices and gas stations.

Staring through the moonlight across the treeless open spaces, Payne imagined he could see the curve of the earth on the horizon beneath an infinite canopy of stars. A desolate landscape. Yet, he was not alone.

In the passenger seat beside him, Eden had slipped into sleep. She curled into a ball, using his leather jacket as a blanket pulled up to her chin. Her hands fisted at the edge of his jacket.

He wanted to soothe her, to give her the peace and stability she desperately sought. After spending the night making love to her, he wanted to give her everything she ever wanted. She was fantastic. Unbelievable. If there had been only the two of them, he wouldn’t have hesitated to make plans for a future with her—maybe nothing so permanent as marriage but a definite promise that they would live together after this investigation.

There was, however, her son to consider. Though Josh sounded like a good kid, Payne wasn’t sure he was ready to become the father of another man’s child. He’d spent his life as a bachelor. An instant family seemed like a radical adjustment.

In the distance, he saw the lights of a city which had to be Topeka. If he turned now, he could pick up Interstate 70 with its higher speed limit and straightforward route. He was tempted. This slow, tedious progress on back routes had begun to seem excessively cautious. This particular economy sedan had been rented in Kansas City using Eden’s alter-identity as Susan Anthony. There was no way this car could be linked to them—no way there could be an APB for this license plate.

He took the turn and aimed toward the highway. When he merged onto I-70, Eden stirred. She peeked up. “Where are we?”

“Just past Topeka.”

“On the highway? Is it safe?”

“I think so.” With a feeling of exhilaration, he accelerated to pass a rumbling semi-truck. The little economy sedan was eating up the miles. “I don’t think we’re in serious danger of being discovered until we get near Denver.”

“I thought it was risky,” she said. “There’s only one Interstate that leads from Kansas City to Denver.”

“I’ll get off soon,” he promised.

They drove in silence for a while, staring through the windshield. Eden sighed. “So many truckers.”

“Knights of the highway.”

“That’s a romantic image. I like to think of all these big rigs being on a quest, driving in all weather.” She yawned. “I’ve always been fond of teamsters.”

Payne grinned as he reconciled the idea of delicate little Eden hanging out with burly truck drivers. She’d be able to hold her own, would probably end up bossing them around.

The night had begun to thin as dawn streaked the skies behind them.

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