Dream Chaser Read Online Free PDF

watching the moon rise as it shone on the sea. The phosphorescence from the wake of the ship added sparkle to the water as the big ship surged forward, propelled by the steady heartbeat of its humming engines .
    She thought of the list she had made. “No time’s better than now,” she said. B efore she could change her mind, she pulled off her ring s and slipped them into her purse.
    “I suspect there’s a reason you did that.”
    Suzanna whirled around.
    A woman with white hair stood nearby, leaning heavily on a cane. The old er woman reminded Suzanna of her grandmother.
    “I’m sorry if I startled you. Thirty years ago, I did something like that—but I dumped the giver of my ring s first. Was that the order you used?”
    “Not quite. My husband died. I never had a chance to dump him , though I wanted to, was hoping to do that if he’d lived .”
    “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about him anymore.” The white-haired lady moved off the rail toward the seats near the bulkhead of the big ship.
    Suzanna sat down next to her. “Is this your first cruise?”
    “Oh, no. I take one almost every year. They r emind me of the many good times, and the occasional bad ones . I revel in the good memories and I toss the bad ones overboard.”
    Her laughter reminded Suzanna of chiming bells.
    “Is this your first time on this overgrown yacht?” The woman’s hair shone in the moonlight.
    “Yes—my children—they sent me—to get away—to get over—”
    “You need say no more. There are lots of people who use a cruise that way. So are you over whatever it was?”
    “I’m not sure. I spent the better part of this afternoon trying to decide what I want to do—what I want to be when I get home . I live in Minneapolis .”
    The woman’s eyes twinkled. “Let me guess. You’re going to scandalize the neighbors—and your children, too—by taking a lover at least twenty years your junior.” Her laugh t er rang out again from the corner where they sat.
    Suzanna smiled in the semi- darkness. “I doubt I could attr act a man. The only reason the c aptain danced with me was so he could keep up appearances.”
    “He’s an old goat ,” the woman snorted . “ I’ve danced with him, too, and he’s no great shakes.”
    Suzanna grinned back at her. “He’s not my type anyway, so I guess it was no great loss.”
    “W hat is your type? A doctor , perhaps? Or lawyer? ”
    “Please, no! My husband was an attorney. I’m not looking for a man—and certainly not a husband.”
    “How about a male friend, someone to go to movies with, share a dinner, maybe even your bed if you feel like it ? If you had your druthers, who would you pick?”
    “ Hmm, w ell, he wouldn’t have to be handsome, or even have hair .” She grinned. “My best friend told me bald men can be very sexy.” She felt her cheeks warm as she remembered William and Margaret together, hoping the darkness cloaked her heated face and neck . “Maybe someone who’ s retired— and he wouldn’t have to be rich . Someone safe, trustworthy, especially that .” Suzanna leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Who would be safe and un demanding, who would let her be herself? “I know. I l ove to read. How about a school teacher—someone who likes to read good books a nd doesn’t mind discussing them? ”
    “Sounds kind of boring to me,” the woman sniff ed. “Why not an Italian—with a tantalizing accent, and a fast car?”
    She’s so elegant, so refined, but with such racy thoughts. “I’m not that brave. ” Suzanna shook her head. “T he list I started doesn’t have a man on it—just a few prosaic things.”
    “Let me guess. Things you never got around to doing ?”
    “My grandmother told me once to hold tight to my hopes, to chase my dreams until I caught them. That way, they would come true. I realized—on this cruise—that I haven’t done that, not for the long est time .”
    “You said your husband died before you could