Relative Strangers Read Online Free Page A

too. She stayed put for a few minutes, surveying her surroundings. Off in the distance some tasteless developer had scarred the landscape with four large bright yellow clapboard condominiums. She turned her back on the horrors of modern housing and took a trail that led into the woods. The unspoiled beauty of forest and mountain was in front of her then.
    She could no longer see the hotel, either, although she knew it was just off to her right. She suspected some sort of access road was nearby, but it too was masked by trees. Close to civilization, she still had the sensation that she was all alone in the wild, which was exactly the illusion she’d been seeking when she’d set out.
    As she glided through acres of white birch and evergreen, she caught glimpses of other skiers from time to time, but they did not intrude on her solitude.
    In another half hour she was ready to call it a day. It had been some ten months since she’d last been on skis, and although she was hardly running to flab, neither had she kept up any regular form of exercise. When an A-frame-style log cabin came into sight, she was very glad to see it.
    According to the map of cross-country trails she had picked up back at the hotel, this was not one of the public buildings. There were several of those scattered about, including an emergency first-aid center. This particular structure, however, had been included on the map only to mark the point where the trail turned back toward the hotel.
    Corrie had traveled in a circle. Another few minutes and she’d be able to put her feet up in front of a roaring fire and order a hot buttered rum. That thought brought a smile to her face. She’d never tried the drink and suspected it would taste greasy, but she had just enough energy left over from the skiing to feel daring. First, of course, she had to reach the Sinclair House.
    Intending to massage her poor, overworked calf muscles before she continued her journey, Corrie bent down. She had no warning whatsoever before she felt a stunning blow to the side of her head. Pinwheels of pain and light danced in front of her eyes, spawning a kaleidoscope of colors. With a sick sense of being caught in a vivid, Technicolor nightmare, she felt herself fall.
    She was vaguely aware of striking the ground with one outthrust arm before she came to rest facedown in the cold, powdery snow. Then the world around her dissolved to black.
    * * * *
    “What the hell is she playing at?”
    Lucas stared at the crumpled form for a full thirty seconds before he decided there was a good chance something really was wrong with her. He was perhaps a hundred yards away, close enough to see her fall without being certain what caused it.
    He’d been watching the slender, bright pink figure, distracted from his work by some sixth sense as soon as she skied into the clearing that passed by his windows. There was no doubt in his mind as to her identity. There could hardly be two parkas in that particular gaudy color among the current guests at the hotel.
    His computer screen glowed at him, the cursor blinking, then began to roll to indicate he’d stayed in one place too long. With a series of quick, impatient jabs at the keyboard, he saved the file he’d been working on and logged off. Keeping his gaze on the motionless blob of pink, he slid his stocking feet into low boots and laced them with deft fingers.
    She’d been headed back to the hotel. It had been obvious to him in the few minutes he’d watched her that she was tired from a long morning on the trails. Her speed had been slow and then, inexplicably, she’d stopped.
    For a long moment she’d stood there, looking around. Then she’d stared straight at his cabin. Brow furrowing, Lucas snagged a down jacket from one of the pegs near the door. She’d seemed to stare right at him. Then she’d turned away. Then she’d fallen to the ground like a wounded dove.
    Even if she did know where he lived, why would she think he’d be home in