Between Strangers. Linda Conrad

each other. And that’s all I’ll say on the subject.”

      Oh, brother. Marcy could only shake her head. He couldn’t be for real. She knew love was a difficult dream to realize, and this guy didn’t even have the basic steps down yet.

      “I kind of hate to ask this,” she began tentatively. “But does Lorna know you intend to propose? Have you two talked about the possibility?”

      He seemed to take a moment thinking that one over. “I wanted it to be a surprise. I thought it would be more romantic that way. Women like that kind of romance, don’t they?”

      Marcy bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing aloud. “Some things aren’t meant to be that big a surprise, you know?”

      The darkening shadows of late afternoon made the atmosphere around them suddenly seem melancholy. Marcy wished that she knew Lance a little better. He could be heading for a huge fall, and she wanted to be his friend so she could try to keep it from being such a hard landing.

      He paid no attention to her attempt to warn him. “I found a wonderful engagement ring on my last evening in New Orleans. It’s an antique and very special. Wait until I tell you the crazy story of how I got it.”

      They rounded a bend in the road and Lance smiled. “The story will have to wait. You can’t see it through the snowfall yet, but the truck stop is right up ahead. We’ll be able to get in out of this storm in just a few minutes.”

      After the waitress found a high chair for Angie, and Marcy had unbuttoned and removed the baby’s snowsuit, she shrugged off her own coat and slipped into the booth beside her daughter. The place was packed and it had taken thirty minutes to get seated. Truckers, bus drivers, state police and families who’d been on their way to holiday parties, all of them had wound up stuck here waiting out the storm.

      “Here’s a couple of menus,” the harried waitress told her. “But we’re not serving everything as usual. The boss wants to conserve so we can make it over the next few days without running out of food.”

      “That’s okay,” Marcy said with a shrug. “I have to check with the rest of my party, but I’d imagine we’ll be having whatever you’ve got. And the baby will be fine if you can just bring her some milk.”

      “I’ll send the busboy over with a glass for her,” the woman said. “But it may take me a long time to get back here for your order. We’re swamped. Do you mind?”

      Marcy shook her head and watched the woman hurry away, disappearing into the crowds of people who were stuffed into every available table, booth and aisle. Marcy reached into her big duffel on the floor and pulled a jar of baby food, some crackers and Angie’s sippy cup up onto the table.

      “We’ll be fine, sweetheart,” she murmured to a big-eyed Angie. “It’s warm here and we’re safe. And I’ll think of some way for us to get to Wyoming, don’t you worry.”

      Marcy handed Angie a cracker and glanced up to find Lance making his way to their table after filling up his gas tank outside. Oh, Lord. He strode through the crowd like a man who had no trouble negotiating any obstacle. Every feminine eye in the place turned to admire his wide shoulders and the tight butt encased in slim work jeans.

      With his hat in his hand and his heavy leather coat slung over one shoulder, she got her first good look at their savior. Rugged. Whoo, baby. Everything about him just screamed male.

      His black hair was slicked away from his face, and he’d tied it back with some kind of rawhide string. The bronzed skin against the plaid long-sleeved shirt gave him a great outdoors appearance. A man’s man for sure.

      He caught her looking in his direction and focused those sharp ebony eyes on her. His wide nose bent at the bridge and looked as if it had probably been broken somewhere along the line. But it was his full lips that now captured her attention. The corners crooked up with an arrogant twist that made her throat go dry and the sweat bead between her breasts.

      He eased into the booth across from her. “Nobody’s been able to get a call out. The circuits are all tied up with the storm. Have you decided what you want to do from here?”

      She straightened her shoulders and gulped back the nervous energy his very presence seemed to bring out in her. “I was hoping Angie and I could catch a bus to Cheyenne. Even if we’re stuck here for a couple of days, a bus should get us from here to Wyoming before the first of January.”

      Lance shook his head. “I just talked to one of the state troopers. They’re considering keeping the roads closed in both directions for the rest of the week. How important is it that you get to Cheyenne on time?”

      Blinking her eyes in a short silent prayer, Marcy decided she would be perfectly honest with him. “Staying here for a couple of days and then buying bus tickets will take every dime I have. That job is my last hope, and it won’t be available past the first.”

      He grimaced. “Unless you’re exaggerating your circumstances, you’d better think of something else real quick. Because I’d say your chances of getting out of here in time have just gone from slim to none.”

      Three

      “But…but…” Marcy was determined not to cry. This just couldn’t be happening.

      She took a fortifying breath and turned to check on the baby before steadying her voice and trying again. “I haven’t exaggerated a thing. Angie and I will have nowhere to go if we miss this job. And I don’t know what else we can do.”

      Lance raised one eyebrow but lowered his voice sympathetically. “What kind of job was this?”

      Why not tell him? “The general manager at a hotel where I baby-sit sometimes…he’s a friend really…introduced me to a rich couple from Wyoming who have two school-age kids. We all got along real well and the kids just love Angie.

      “Well, the couple called my friend a few weeks ago to say they are looking to hire a nanny for their children while they all travel on a six-month tour of Europe,” she continued. “But they intend to make a final decision on who to hire by January first so everyone can get passports and visas in time.” The opportunity had been so perfect for her. They wouldn’t mind if Angie came along.

      “Traveling for six months…with children?” Lance couldn’t imagine anything worse.

      Marcy looked up at him with those big brown eyes full of unshed tears, and he felt his heart sputtering in his chest. Without the scarf and old coat, she was a real stunner. Soft, blond curls framed her perfect heart-shaped face. And the dimples, button nose and long flirty lashes were terrific—but not enough to take a man’s mind off her velvet voice and irresistible body.

      “Yes,” she replied. “Doesn’t it sound thrilling? Just think of all the places we would see and the terrific experiences we could have. It’s my dream job.”

      More like a nightmare, in his opinion. Week after week turning into month after month of never settling down. Even her big, sad eyes and baby-fine flaxen hair wouldn’t make him consider that a dream. No, indeed. The two of them obviously had nothing in common.

      While most little boys dreamed of travel and adventure, it had always been Lance’s fondest wish to stay in one place—to finally have a real home where he truly belonged. His early childhood years, spent being dragged from one army base to another throughout the world, had caused him to dream not of adventures but of a big family and lots of friends in his very own stable corner of the world.

      Too bad life had made other plans for him up until now.

      Lance was on the verge of getting everything he’d ever dreamed of, but he couldn’t stand seeing Marcy’s hopeful expression. Not when he knew she was headed for a big disappointment. So he turned away from that beautiful face to look for a waitress.

      “You’re not likely to have the chance at that dream if the weather won’t cooperate,” he told Marcy without glancing over at her. “And from the looks of