Dare to Love Read Online Free Page A

tried to tell him again yourself?”
    Andrea stared at the beige-colored wall in front of her. “You heard his counselor, Ma. It’s best to let him come around in his own time.”
    â€œAnd you think some stranger knows him better than his own mother? Scotty’s ashamed, Andrea. I’ve told you that a hundred times.”
    â€œHe hates me, Ma. He told me so himself. You’re just going to have to accept that this is one thing you can’t force.”
    â€œI’ll talk to him.” Her mother’s determination carried over the several miles of telephone wire.
    Andrea focused on a tiny crack in the wall. “Don’t, Ma. Let him be. This is between me and him.”
    â€œAndrea...”
    â€œI mean it, Ma. I’ll never forgive you if you start badgering him about this. He’s been through enough.”
    A resigned sigh traveled across the line. “I’ll leave it for now, Andrea, but I’m telling you you’re wrong.”
    Andrea’s gaze followed the crack up to the ceiling. “I know.”
    â€œYou get some sleep now, Andrea. If you go to breakfast with circles under your eyes, you’ll scare off all three of my potential sons-in-law before I even have a chance to meet them.”
    Andrea smiled and sank back against the pillows. “Yes, Ma.” Someday she’d argue with her mother again, when she felt confident enough to win. First she had to stop believing that Gloria was the one person she couldn’t fool.
    She settled the phone back into its cradle with a sigh, wondering if the Monday she had just had was any indication of the two weeks to come. Sometimes being in control was as hard to deal with as losing it.
    She lay on her back, then turned over onto her stomach, cradling a couple of pillows beneath her head. But the bed was so much bigger than hers. And the more she thought about all the empty space beside her, the more alone she felt.
    Scotty’s laughing blue eyes flashed beneath her closed eyelids, gazing up at her adoringly, trustingly. Andrea sat up. This was the time to get dressed, go outside and take a walk. Walking always seemed to help.
    But she wasn’t at home. She was stuck in the middle of downtown Columbus, in a hotel swarming with her peers. She didn’t doubt that the Hetherington Hotel’s many lounges were filled with her fellow DARE officers, the teams of trainees and their off-color jokes. But Andrea was not in the mood for jokes. And the way she was feeling, she didn’t want to run the risk of bumping into any of her fellow police officers in the elevators. Which meant she was stuck right where she was.
    She got up to take an aspirin, passing DARE Bear as she trudged back to the huge, empty bed. He was grinning at her from his perch on top of the silent television, and she reached out, wanting to grab him, cuddle him against her, take him back with her to share her lonely bed. But she continued on without stopping and lay down alone, Doug Avery’s parting remark stinging her ears: “Is your stuffed toy good in bed, too?”
    * * *
    â€œD AMN !” Doug glanced at his watch as he listened—again—to the annoying busy signal, and hung up the phone with a little more force than was necessary. Opening the fly of his jeans so he could tuck in his clean T-shirt, he swore again. He had hoped to get through to the woman before he had to see her again, and breakfast was due to start in less than sixty seconds.
    If he didn’t go now, he’d be late, and he wasn’t about to give Ms. Andrea Parker any more reason to look down her perfect nose at him—even though, judging by her busy telephone, she was going to be late herself. The apology for his off-color remark would just have to wait, maybe indefinitely.
    He was just pulling out one of the two vacant chairs left at the round table set for seven when Andrea walked into the small breakfast room. She was wearing blue