Gabriel's Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

distance, though a part of her knew she was in the mountains. She walked through a pearl-colored fog, listening to the waves. Under her feet sand shifted, warm and soft. She felt safe and strong and strangely unencumbered. It had been a long, long time since she had felt so free, so at ease.
    She knew she was dreaming. That was the best part. If she could have managed it, she would have stayed there, in the soft-focused fantasy of it, forever. It would be so easy to keep her eyes closed and cling to the utter peace of the dream.
    Then the baby was crying. Screaming. A pulse began to beat in her temple as she listened to the high, keening wails. She started to sweat, and the clean white fog changed to a dark, threatening gray. No longer warm, the air took on a chill that whipped straight to the bone.
    The cries seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing and rebounding as she searched. Sobbing for breath, she fought her way through the mist as it circled and thickened. The cries became louder, more urgent. Her heart was beating in her throat, and her breath rasped and her hands shook.
    Then she saw the bassinet, with its pretty white skirt and its lacy pink-and-blue ruffles. The relief was so great that her knees sagged.
    â€œIt’s all right,” she murmured as she gathered the child in her arms. “It’s all right. I’m here now.” She could feel the baby’s warm breath against her cheek, could feel the weight in her arms as she rocked and soothed. The fine scent of powder surrounded her. Gently she cradled the child, murmuring and comforting as she began to lift the concealing blanket from its face.
    And there was nothing, nothing in her arms but an empty blanket.
    Gabe was sitting at the picnic table, sketching her face, thinking of her, when he heard her cry out. The moan was so long, so desperate, that he snapped the pencil in two before he jumped up and raced to the bedroom.
    â€œHey, come on.” Feeling awkward, he took her by the shoulders. She jerked so hard that he had to fight back his own panic, as well as hers, to hold on to her. “Laura, take it easy. Are you in pain? Is it the baby? Laura, tell me what’s going on.”
    â€œThey took my baby!” There was hysteria in her voice, but it was a hysteria that was laced with fury. “Help me! They took my baby!”
    â€œNo one took your baby.” She was still fighting him, with a strength that awed him. Moving on instinct, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re having a dream. No one took your baby. Here.” He clamped a hand around her wrist, where her pulse was beating like a jackhammer, and dragged her hand to her belly. “You’re safe, both of you. Relax before you hurt yourself.”
    When she felt the life beneath her palms, she slumped against him. Her baby was safe, still inside her, where no one could touch him. “I’m sorry. It was a dream.”
    â€œIt’s okay.” Without being aware of it, he was stroking her hair, cradling her as she had cradled the baby of her imagination, rocking her gently in an age-old comforting motion. “Do us both a favor and relax.”
    She nodded, feeling protected and sheltered. Those were two sensations she had experienced very rarely in her twenty-five years. “I’m all right, really. It must have been the shock from the accident catching up with me.”
    He drew her away, angry with himself because he wanted to go on holding her, shielding her. When she had asked him for help, he had known, without understanding why, that he would do anything to protect her. It was almost as though he had been dreaming himself, or had been caught up in her dream.
    The snow was still falling in sheets outside the window and the only light was what came slanting through the bedroom door from the main cabin. It was dim and slightly yellow, but he could see her clearly, and he wanted to be certain that she saw him, as well. He