Someday Soon Read Free Page B

explained. She hadn’t slept well, but only because she couldn’t stop thinking about Cain McClellan and the short time they’d been together. She toyed hesitantly with the idea of asking her sister-in-law what she could tell her about Cain. So much as a hint of curiosity about the other man might prove to be potentially embarrassing.Nancy was sure to make something out of Linette’s inquisitiveness.
    If Linette were a little more sophisticated, a little more at ease with the opposite sex, she might have found a subtle way of quizzing Cain himself. She hadn’t because he hadn’t seemed keen on talking about himself. What questions she had asked had received answers that were evasive and vague. She’d noticed how he’d quickly turned the conversation to subjects away from anything personal.
    She knew he was in the military. Nancy had told her that much when she’d first mentioned him. Linette speculated that his work was involved with intelligence. Probably top-secret stuff that prevented him from discussing details. Funny she could spend so short a time with him and feel as if she understood him.
    Like her, he was alone. Like her, he needed someone to hold.
    In the entire two-year period without Michael, Linette had never felt more alone than she did now. At first she’d assumed it was because the anniversary of his death was approaching, but gradually she realized it was the Christmas season itself.
    “Did you enjoy the party?” Nancy asked, cutting into her thoughts.
    “Very much.” Thanks to Cain. Forcing her attention back to Nancy, she asked, “How did everything go with Rob’s boss and his wife?”
    “Great. They’re nice people,” Nancy said, and then, turning to the apparent reason for her call, she added, “Didn’t I see you talking with Rob’s friend?”
    “Yes, we found each other despite your and Rob’s bestefforts to keep us apart,” Linette said with a small smile.
    “I saw the two of you one minute and the next thing I knew you’d both disappeared.” Linette pictured Nancy jiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
    “We left. Cain’s not much of a party person either.”
    “So you snuck off together,” Nancy said, her voice dipping with implication. “That’s great.”
    Before Linette could correct her sister-in-law’s impression, Nancy spoke again. “How about the two of us getting together for lunch this afternoon? That way you can tell me all about you and Cain, and I’ll let you in on my own little secret.”
    “There’s nothing to tell,” Linette protested. “Besides, I don’t know if I can get away. The shop’s been terribly busy, and I don’t feel like I can leave Bonnie alone, especially on a Saturday.” It sounded as if she were hedging, but what she said was true. Since this was the last weekend before Christmas, it could possibly be the busiest day of the year for her shop. Lunch would consist of a bite or two of a sandwich between customers.
    “I’ll pick up something and bring it to you, then,” Nancy argued. “I’m dying to hear what happened between you and Cain McClellan.”
    “But, Nancy—”
    “Don’t argue. I must say, he’s a hunk.”
    “But—” Before Linette could explain it might be a wasted trip, Nancy had hung up.
    Replacing the telephone receiver, Linette sank onto the chair by the cash register. She loved Nancy and deeply appreciated the support and love Michael’s sister had given her, but she didn’t want to discuss Cain McClellan.
    He’d come into her life briefly, and it was unlikely they’d meet again. Ships passing in the night and that sort of thing. He was a man without an anchor, and she was a dock. A concrete dock. Stable, permanent, lasting. Even if they had struck up a relationship, it would be a long-distance one. He’d told her himself he was only in town for a few days.
    Linette’s prediction about this being the busiest sales day of the year proved to be accurate. From the moment she unlocked the door, she was