Morna's Legacy 04 - Love Beyond Measure Read Online Free Page A

helped. He said that since the two of you were getting so many gifts for the wedding, I needed something too. He said he didn’t know what to get me, but then Bebop helped.”
    That made much more sense. It was Cooper’s Bebop, Jeffrey’s dad, who’d introduced me to the story when I’d been a little girl. A warm, funny, and caring man so different from my own father, I spent most of my childhood wishing I’d been born to him instead.
    “Ah, well this is a very special gift, ya know? It’s one of my favorites.”
    “Really?” I’d drawn him in now. Knowing that I loved the book, he’d sit contently and listen to me read it, even if he didn’t care for it, although I knew he would.
    “Yes, really. Scoot in closer and I’ll start. I don’t think this is the best book for us to practice your own reading with though, it’s a bit long.”
    He pulled his feet up into the seat and slid in tight, leaning toward me. “That’s fine. I’ll just listen.”
    He smiled, leaning his head against my shoulder as my heart squeezed happily. I’d just opened the cover when we were interrupted by an attendant alerting all those at our gate that boarding would begin promptly.
    “Ope!” I made the excited noise as I closed the spine and slid the book back into his backpack. “This is it, Coop. We’ll read it on the plane, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    His legs flew off the seat so fast, he just about fell down, but catching himself he threw his backpack on and smiled ecstatically, as happy as I’d ever seen him.
    Thrilled as he was, he flatly refused to board with the group “travelers with small children.” While I would’ve enjoyed the benefit of getting on the plane first, I didn’t push the issue. I wouldn’t put a damper on anything that brought him this much joy.
    So once all pre-boarders had entered, we lined up with the rest, squished firmly somewhere in between groups B and C. He held my hand tightly, leaning out past the line so that he could see something besides the backsides of those in front of us.
    I watched him smiling, when suddenly he jerked away from me, spinning to face something catty-corner from the line where he waved a little shyly. Startled, I crouched down next to him, placing my hand on his shoulder so that I could steady myself while I looked in the same direction. I could see no one—no one that either of us knew at least.
    “What are you waving at?” I lightly squeezed his shoulder to pull his attention away from who or whatever he looked at so intently.
    “Over there.” He pointed to the side of an escalator, where a shadow spread deep over the tile around it. “Do you remember the man I told you about at the park? With the scars? He’s here again.”
    Grateful that I’d steadied myself with his shoulder, I spun him toward me, doing my best to keep my voice calm despite the shiver that shook me all over. “I remember you mentioning the man, but I never saw him. Are you sure he’s here now?”
    I released my grip so that he could turn and look again and I tried to do the same. Again, I saw no one. Cooper refaced me, clearly frustrated. “He’s not there anymore, but he was, I know it.”
    Cooper didn’t lie. Even when he tried to, he could only last a few seconds before his face would give way with guilt and he would fess up. If he believed he saw someone, he meant it, but why had I not noticed him?
    Sure, I had a lot on my mind lately—my almost wedding and new job—not to mention that, like every mother, half of my mind always rested on Cooper. Still, it seemed that every time I made to look at the man Cooper mentioned, the stranger vanished into thin air. I couldn’t help but wonder if Cooper saw someone who wasn’t really there. An imaginary friend, perhaps? As the line started to move, I decided to direct my questioning to that effect.
    “So, what’s your new friend’s name?”
    He looked up at me with a face that plainly meant he thought I’d lost my mind. “I don’t