Miracles and Dreams Read Online Free

laptop tonight and get them posted, finish the project. But Allie’s questions nudged all thoughts of work from her mind.
    “Why don’t I have a daddy?”
    The words brought fresh tears to Misty’s eyes. Her mother had warned her this day would come. They’d rehashed the conversation— again —just last week as Misty paced the impeccably clean tile floor of her mother’s kitchen.
    “Put aside your pride, Misty,” Her mom had nudged. “Contact Jack again and talk to him about Allie. How hard can it be? With the Internet, you can find anyone today. He has a right—”
    “He didn’t want her six years ago, Mom.” Locating him wasn’t the hard part—she could figure that out within five minutes. It was the What-Comes-Next part that terrified Misty—and kept her from making the first move. She’d done that once and been shot down—crashed and burned miserably, and had the emotional scars to prove it. “What do you think has changed?”
    “Who knows?” Her mother slipped a tea kettle beneath the faucet and filled it before setting it to boil as Misty continued to pace. “Look, sweetheart, you two were best friends long before you became something…more. That’s pretty special, in my opinion. How will you ever know his reasons for leaving—and staying gone—if you continue down this stubborn path?”
    “I’m doing fine on my own, Mom.” Misty stopped pacing to delve into a cabinet for two flowered tea-cups and matching saucers. “Allie is fine, too.”
    “You have done a wonderful job, Misty, and Allie is fine—for now, yes.” Her mom selected a tea bag from an assortment in a small wicker basket on the counter, tore the wrapper, and plopped it into her cup. “There’s no doubt you’re a fantastic mother, and you make me proud every day. But Allie has a father, too. And a month from now, a year, when she begins to ask questions—what then, sweetheart?”
    “I don’t know.” Misty crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter. “Maybe she won’t ask.”
    “Oh, she will. I’ll promise you that.” Misty’s mother sighed and pulled her close for a hug, enfolding her in a cloud of perfume. “It’s not going to go away, honey. This is just a bear in the closet. Eventually you’ll have to open the door—”
    “And shoot it, right?”
    “That would just lead to a bigger mess, and more explaining.”
    The buzz of her cell phone drew Misty back to the present. She checked caller ID, then connected with her most cheerful voice.
    “Mr. Tucker, how are you?” Though they’d gone to school together…had even taken in a movie together once—only once—Misty took pains to remind him their present conversations were purely business.
    “Please…Spence.” He cleared his throat. “I know it’s getting late, but I just left a City Commission meeting and the topic of the new Website came up. I wondered how things are going.”
    “Moving right along, Spence .” Misty made a point to emphasize his name. She would be thrilled to get this project done for more than just the paycheck. Spence Tucker was becoming bolder in his advances, and Misty had seriously-mixed feelings about that. He was nice enough, sure, and she had made the mistake of going out with him that one time after Jack left. She could see how some women might be swept off their feet by his rich brown eyes and tall, muscular stature. She just wasn’t one of them. A night at the movies had been more than enough to pound the nail into that coffin. “I fully expect to wrap things up in another day or so.”
    “I was thinking we could get together and discuss the project…over dinner tomorrow.” He paused for a moment. “I know a nice Italian restaurant on the river—”
    “I’d like to, but I’ll be working.” She cut him off as tactfully as possible, keeping her voice light and steady. “I promised you—as well as the Commission—that I’d be done by the deadline.”
    “It wouldn’t hurt to extend things a