Her Chance Encounters Read Online Free PDF Page A

name.
    A sharp pain filled Adrienne's heart as a new possibility occurred to her. "Cherice, is your father Chance Breaux?" Damn the man, surely he would have mentioned if he had a daughter. Then again, why would he do that? He only contacted her to discuss River Oaks. Until this afternoon, he never actually attempted to pursue a personal relationship with her.
    Cherice giggled, "Chance is not my daddy. My daddy does not even like Chance very much. He makes my daddy even madder than my mommy did."
    Adrienne sighed. "Chance makes a lot of people mad."
    "You are very pretty, Adrienne." The child reached over and touched her long, thick hair. "My mommy had hair like this..."
    A faint blush warmed Adrienne's cheeks and neck. "Thank you. You are very pretty yourself."
    "I look like my mommy. Even daddy says I do. Will you promise to help me find her, Adrienne? I miss her so much."
    "I promise to try." The pleading tone in the young girl's voice tore at Adrienne's heart. It was impossible to turn her back on this child. Despite being May, the chill in the car made Adrienne switch on the heater. The smell of burning metal was so intense, she nearly started gagging. Driving slowly, they searched for the child's home. The fog outside was so thick. Visibility was nearly impossible. Again she considered pulling over and waiting for it to clear up.
    "There it is!" Cherice pointed to a dirt road a few feet ahead.
    Pulling the car into the drive and following the dusty trail, Adrienne finally saw the outline of a large house emerge. Even through the fog, she found something very familiar about the place. Impossible, she told herself. Until tonight, she had never even been to this area before. "I don't see any lights on, Cherice. Are you sure this is your house? It's so foggy and dark right now."
    Surely the child's father would be up looking for her. Then again, maybe he did not even realize the youngster had snuck out. The closer they got to the house, the clearer it became in the headlights. No matter how impossible it seemed, there was something very familiar about it.
    The car came to a stop and the lights lit up the structure. It was two stories, very old and in shabby shape. Even the gutters were rusty and looked ready to fall down. There was an ugly statue of a pelican on the front porch. The bird looked creepy. The beak looked oddly shaped, almost as if it was oozing with bubbles.
    Gradually it downed on her where she had seen this house. Reaching down to fetch the map Chance had drawn, Adrienne groped for the interior light. As she did, Cherice mumbled something about Adrienne promising to help her. Then the child quietly opened the door and disappeared in the fog.
    Adrienne looked down at the map with astonishment. This had to be a bad dream. Reaching down with her left hand, she pinched her right arm. All she got for her trouble was a red mark. Cherice's laughing voice called out to her from the front porch. "Are you coming, Adrienne?"
    "Wait a second," Adrienne muttered, concentrating on the map in her hands. "There's something weird going on, Cherice. This can't be your house.... I think it's mine."
    The sound of a slamming door warned her the child had already disappeared into the blue structure. Stepping out of her vehicle, Adrienne was astonished to discover the fog had completely vanished into the night. The cold breeze and musty smell left, too. Cherice was nowhere to be found.
    Knowing the child was probably hiding somewhere in the broken down old house, Adrienne decided she should find her before the child got hurt. "Cherice, where are you? It's too late to play games, honey. This isn't your house. Come back outside. Your poor father is probably going crazy with worry looking for you. I have to get you home."
    When no reply came, Adrienne took a step toward the house. Stopping short, she opted to study the structure first. The plantation style building was old and decrepit. If Cherice was hiding inside, she certainly was