Starry Night Read Free

She knew Sophie didn’t mean to be negative. “I want this chance, and if it means tracking Finn Dalton into some forsaken tundra, then I will put on my big-girl shoes and go for it.” But not the heels she’d worn last night, that was for sure.
    The first thing Carrie did in her search for Finn Dalton was read the book. Not once, but three times. She underlined everything that gave her a single hint as to his identity.
    For two days she skipped lunch, spending her time on the computer, seeking any bit of information she could find thatwould help her locate Finn Dalton. She went from one search engine to another.
    “How’s it going?” Sophie asked as they met each other on their way out the door a couple of days later.
    “Good.” Through her fact-finding mission, Carrie was getting a picture of the man who had written this amazing book. After a third read she almost felt as if she knew him. He hadn’t always been a recluse. He’d been raised in Alaska and had learned to live off the land from his father, whom he apparently idolized. One thing was certain, he seemed to have no use for women. In the entire book, not once did he mention his mother or any other female influence. It was more of what he didn’t say that caught Carrie’s attention.
    “Any luck?” Sophie asked, breaking into her thoughts.
    “Not yet.” She hesitated. “Have you read the book?”
    Sophie nodded. “Sure. Nearly everyone has.”
    “Did you notice he has nothing to say about the opposite sex? I have the feeling he distrusts women.”
    Sophie shrugged as if she hadn’t paid much notice, but then she hadn’t been reading between the lines the way Carrie had.
    “How old do you think he is?” Sophie asked.
    “I can’t really say.” Finn was an excellent writer and storyteller. But the tales he relayed could have happened at nearly any point in the last several decades. Current events were skipped over completely.
    Sophie crossed her arms and looked thoughtful. “My guess is that he’s fifty or so, to have survived on his own all these years.”
    Speculation wouldn’t do Carrie any good. “Tell you what. When I find out, you’ll be the first to know. Deal?”
    Sophie smiled and nodded. “Deal.”
    That night, as Carrie readied for her latest charity event, her cell rang. It was her mother in Seattle. They spoke at least two or three times a week. Carrie was tight with her family and missed them dreadfully.
    “Hi, Mom,” she answered, pressing her cell to one ear while she attempted to place a pearl earring in her other earlobe.
    “Hi, sweetheart. Are you busy?”
    “I’ve got a couple of minutes.” She switched ears and stabbed the second pearl into place before tucking her feet into a comfortable pair of high heels. She was scheduled to meet Harry in thirty minutes.
    “Dad and I are so excited to see you at Thanksgiving.”
    “Yes, about that.” Carrie grabbed her purse and tucked it under her arm while holding on to her phone. “Mom, I hate to tell you this, but there’s a possibility I might not make it home for Thanksgiving.”
    “What?”
    The disappointment in her mother’s voice was painful to hear. “Have you ever heard of Finn Dalton?”
    “Oh, sure. Your father loved his book so much he bought two additional copies. I read it, too. Now, that’s a man.”
    “I want to interview him.”
    “Really? From what I understand, he doesn’t give interviews.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I heard, too.”
    “Does he ever come to Chicago?”
    “Doubtful,” Carrie murmured. If only it could be that easy and he would come to her. Well, that wasn’t likely. Then again, something Sophie said had stayed in her mind. She could walk past him on the sidewalk and never know it was him. “I’ll need to track Finn Dalton down, but I keep running into dead ends the same as everyone else.” She mentioned her online search, the calls to Alaska, and the number of phones slammed in her ear. No one had been willing to talk