Golden Vows Read Online Free Page B

confident that the pace would slow, that they would be able to really communicate again, once they had a child. But when she finally did become pregnant, the respite from tension had been short-lived and nothing seemed to be right between them.
    And now, months later, they were traveling a familiar road on their way to face Martha and an impossible explanation of how they had come to this end.
    “Only a few more miles.” Dane’s voice brought her around to meet his eyes.
    “Yes,” she said as her stomach muscles tightened in protest. How could he be so calm? “Only a few more miles.”
    She noticed how his gaze lowered to her hands and immediately realized she was twisting her wedding ring back and forth. With a conscious effort she stopped the nervous action and wondered what habit would replace it once she removed the ring.
    “Not nervous, are you?” he asked casually.
    “Of course not.” She paused before tempering her denial with the truth. “At least not any more so than I was the first time you brought me to meet Martha.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    Biting her lower lip, she nodded. “I’m not looking forward to this.”
    “I’d be disappointed if you were.” His lips curved in a sudden smile. “We could always take the shortcut.”
    “Oh, no. I remember exactly where that shortcut leads,” she stated, visualizing a grassy clearing cradled by tall trees and rocked by the gentle lullaby of a nearby brook. If she closed her eyes, it would all come back to her. The sights and smells and sounds of the secluded clearing would all come back as a soft background for the memory of Dane loving her. She kept her eyes determinedly open. “No shortcuts. We almost didn’t make it to Martha’s house at all that day.”
    “But when we did, you weren’t nervous anymore.”
    Amanda couldn’t have prevented her fleeting, reminiscent smile even if she’d tried. “No. I wasn’t nervous anymore.”
    He studied her thoughtfully. “Martha isn’t going to take sides on this. You’re not worried about that, are you?”
    “No. I’m sure she’ll be very understanding.” Abruptly Amanda turned her gaze to the window. “I didn’t think this would get so complicated.”
    “No, I don’t imagine you did.”
    The faintly pious tone of the words irritated her. Dane, of course, would have expected complications. Thrived on them, in fact. And he’d certainly weathered the tension of the past week better than she had.
    No. That wasn’t fair. Or true.
    Several times lately she’d noticed definite signs of strain in his face. Tiny lines fanned the corners of his eyes, and the scar had become more evident to her experienced gaze. This wasn’t easy for him either. But soon it would be over. Soon she’d have a minute to stop, take a deep breath, and gain some much-needed perspective on the new direction of her life. Some insight into the woman she had become during the past year.
    The rough motion of the car made her suddenly aware of the new direction of the road. She glanced curiously at Dane.
    “Is this the right turnoff to get to the clearing?” he asked, peering inquisitively at the graveled road. “Do you remember?”
    As if he didn’t, she thought. “We’ll be late getting to Martha’s. She’s expecting us.”
    For a second he looked deeply into her eyes and her breath caught as it once had done whenever he glanced in her direction. Was there a shadow of hurt in his eyes? Or was it simply impatience?
    She had no way of knowing if she had seen either emotion or if it was just a trick of the sunlight.
    “Martha won’t worry if we’re a few minutes late,” he said. “And this won’t take long. I just want to see the brook, see if it’s as peacefully beautiful as I recall.”
    A shiver of reluctance coursed through her at the thought of finding their special place just as she remembered it. “The clearing has probably been bulldozed into oblivion to make room for a housing addition.”
    “They