Dark Memories (The DARK Files Book 1) by Susan Vaughan

Author:Susan Vaughan [Vaughan, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: government officer, Romantic Suspense, reunion romance, series, Romance, military hero, Susan Vaughan, Suspense, stalker, Dark Files, Maine
Publisher: Gullwood Press
Published: 2016-07-27T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 16

WHEN LAURA TURNED from placing the brownie pan in the oven and setting the timer, Cole was gazing at her solemnly.

He pushed a hand through his hair, then scrubbed knuckles across his jaw, a habit of deep thought. At the confusion and questions she saw in his eyes, her pulse scrambled, and heat rose in her cheeks. She braced herself for the questions she feared.

“If there had been a baby, would you have told me?” His words came out measured and slow and laden with anguish, dredged from his soul.

A band tightened around her chest. He suffered too. But relief at his question eased her anxiety about what else to tell him. “I tried before … before I lost the baby.”

“How? I was at Parris Island.”

“I phoned your dad from Boulder, from the university.”

“He had my address. Was he drunk?” His hard mask once again in place, he pivoted away to the doorway and looked out through the screening.

“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about the Marines, but he promised to get back to me with your address. I called again, but the phone was disconnected. I—”

“That must’ve been after he died. Too late.”

The pain in his forced ironic tone squeezed her chest. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve tried harder to find you.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t want to be found.” He returned and gripped the chair back the same way she had. “How were your folks about the pregnancy?”

A wistful memory lifted her lips. “That was the one bright spot in those dark days. Mom and Dad were great, very supportive, aside from wanting to keep it secret. I guess I wanted to hide too. At first I was too angry at you to tell you about the baby. I blamed you. I wasn’t ready.”

“Yeah, I know. You were right.” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. “How did it happen? The miscarriage.”

Oh God, how to begin. How to tell it without revealing everything. She could hardly breathe, let alone speak. “It was December, Christmas vacation.”

“December.” As realization dawned, horror roughened his voice. “You were six months pregnant.”

She continued, on automatic, the only way she could get through the tale. “My family came to Colorado, so they could hide my pregnancy from anyone at home. My cousin Angela and I were driving back to the cabin after skiing at Steamboat Springs.”

“Angela’s the one you went to Europe with?”

She nodded, a lump the size of France in her throat. “Actually, Angela skied, and I relaxed. I’m a fair skier, but being pregnant put me off balance. The car hit ice. Black ice. Invisible. My Porsche spun out of control. It slammed into the guardrail. It … burst into flame. The seatbelt was too uncomfortable on my belly, so I wasn’t wearing it. I got out. Angela didn’t.”

Tears stung her eyes again, but she set her chin and blinked them away. She could still see in slow motion the other cars, the shocked

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