A Bridge to Dreams Read Free

hurt. Left to his own devices, he’d have stripped the walls of every last picture, but they were his father’s pride and joy. Ripping them down would have shown his father just how much sacrificing his racing career had meant. Since that would only cause his father pain, there was no point in it.
    Brad focused his attention on the petite, dark-haired imp before him. Before she could vanish like a woodland sprite, he settled her into a chair and gave her a cup of coffee. She was probably in her mid-twenties, but she seemed so young compared to the sophisticated women he usually met. He wondered fleetingly if he ought to be offering her milk instead. He perched on the side of his desk and studied her with blatant interest. The fact that she was obviously flustered by the intense scrutiny fascinated him.
    â€œYou won’t get rich making deals like that,” she told him sternly. “Not that I’m not grateful, you understand, but it’s bad business.”
    â€œI’m already rich,” he confided. If his father hadn’t seen to that, his own success on the racing circuit would have ensured it. He’d discovered long ago that money was useful, but it didn’t solve all the world’s ills by a long shot.
    â€œPlan to stay that way?” she said, obviously still worried about his rash decision to make a deep slash in the price of the car.
    â€œAbsolutely. Another few hundred dollars from you won’t make that much difference in our bottom line for the year, so don’t worry about it,” he said, minimizing the cut. He had a hunch if she knew exactly how muchhe’d subtracted, she’d have demanded to know what he expected in return and bolted from his office in a huff.
    â€œBut why’d you do it? For all you know I could make a habit of going around, conning men into giving up their cars at rock-bottom prices.”
    He laughed at the idea of anyone with a face that innocent being a con artist. “I doubt it.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI saw you get off the bus. I watched you walk through the lot. You obviously needed cheering up. You looked as though you were on some sort of grim mission.” In fact that was what had brought him out of his office in the first place. He’d been drawn by that aura of dejection. He probably should have lived a few centuries earlier, so he could put on his armor and ride off to save damsels in distress. The knight-in-shining-armor syndrome was definitely out of step in this day and age. Most women had no interest in being saved from much of anything—except maybe dragons, but they were in short supply.
    â€œVery perceptive,” she was saying with a hint of surprise.
    â€œYou didn’t really want to buy a car?”
    â€œI wanted a trip to Hawaii.”
    He nodded sagely. “There aren’t many of them on the lot today. Did you think of trying a travel agent?”
    â€œI did,” she said with a heartfelt sigh. She held up her hand, her finger and thumb a scant inch apart. “I was this close to going. This close,” she repeated mournfully.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œRuby died.”
    She sounded so sad again that he felt instantly sympathetic. No wonder she’d looked so forlorn. No wonder he’d wanted to rush to her rescue. “I’m sorry. Ruby was your…?”
    â€œMy car.”
    â€œOh.” His sympathy waned, but not his fascination. “So you’re buying a car, instead of taking a trip you’d badly wanted to take.”
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œYou can always take the trip next year. Hawaii will still be there.”
    â€œThat’s what Joe said.”
    The mention of this Joe unsettled Brad in a surprising way. For some reason it bothered him that she ran around quoting some other man as though his opinions really mattered to her. “Joe?” he said cautiously.
    â€œMy mechanic. We’ve been on very friendly terms the