Free On the Edge by Pamela Britton Page A

get uptight about. Adam, as promised, was a perfect gentleman. She was grateful for that.

    “Look, Becca. I want to thank you for bringing me out here. You’ve made Lindsey happier than I’ve seen her in years.”

    “Not at all,” she said, her tongue starting to feel awkward in her mouth. Her heart pounded a bit too hard, too, because no matter how many times she told herself that it’d be a dumb move to get involved with a race car driver, she couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him. And that was so completely disloyal to Randy, so totally out of character, she didn’t know what to think—what to do.

    “Your, um…your daughter did me a favor by showing up on my doorstep.”

    “Well, like I said, that remains to be seen.”

    “No. She did. You’re lucky to have her.”

    And there it was again. The longing she felt whenever she observed other people’s children. She’d always wanted kids. She and Randy had even talked about it. But they’d always put it off.

    And then he’d died.

    “Becca?” he asked softly.

    She looked up, surprised to see him staring at her in concern.

    “You would have made a great mother.”

    She felt her throat tighten, felt her eyes heat up. “Thank you.”

    He reached across the table and to her shock, took her hand. There was nothing sexual about it. Nothing even remotely forward. It was the touch of a man who understood. Who only wanted to comfort her.

    “Sometimes life isn’t fair,” he said.

    “No. Sometimes it’s not,” she said, suddenly closer to tears than she had been in a long, long time.

    “But you’re such a good person, Becca. Your kindness shines through. Lindsey loves you. So does everybody out at the track. And so I have to wonder if God blessed you with such a kind heart so you could use it to help others.”

    “Do you think?” she asked through a throat gone thick with tears. “’Cause sometimes I wonder why I was left behind.”

    He shook his head, a lock of his hair falling across his forehead. “You were left behind because you’re needed here,” he said. “To help people like me and my daughter.”

    “I haven’t helped you yet.”

    “Yes, you have,” he said. “Lindsey’s like a different kid. You should have heard her on the phone today. If nothing else, I know my little girl is proud of me. And that means the world to me.”

    “Yeah, but it helps that you’ve raised her so well. You’re a good man,” she said. “And you’ve got an amazing daughter.”

    “Thank you,” he said. “But if she turns out half as amazing as you, I’ll be a lucky man.”

    And for some reason that made the tears fall. It’d been so long since a man had given her a compliment. And he didn’t do it to try to get on her good side or anything. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. She wiped away the wetness with a hand that shook. But as his grip tightened, other emotions began to surface, emotions that suddenly made her feel weak and vulnerable.

    She pulled away.

    “Our food is getting cold,” she said. When she glanced up, it was just in time to see the disappointment on his face.

    “Yeah, you’re right,” she heard him say. “It is getting cold.”

    But she had a feeling he wasn’t talking about the food.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    ADAM COULD hardly sleep that night. And while some of that might have something to do with the next day’s testing session, he knew it had more to do with Becca Newman and their poolside dinner.
    She was filled with such sorrow.

    He nearly groaned every time he recalled the look on her face when they’d been talking about her having children. He wanted to rip his pillow apart. It wasn’t fair that women like her went without children while women like his ex-wife up and walked away from them. What a waste.

    But there were other emotions keeping him awake, too. Emotions that had to do with how he’d felt when he’d held her hand.

    But then she’d pulled away. So that was that.

    The