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balance the one he held with his left.
Rose tapped Carly s arm.  Uh-oh. Looks like
you get to meet the new Mrs. Evans.
Carly turned away and started to make her
escape. She could stop by later to pay her respects.
 Carly?
She froze.
 Carly Corbaine?
The chit-chat among townsfolk stopped in the
middle of everything. Everyone there knew she
was Preston s wife and most probably wondered
what the hell happened. Few women just handed
off their husbands to another woman.
 It was Carly Evans, she corrected when she
turned around.
 I know and I m sorry, she said quietly.  I
wanted to meet you. I d like to invite you and
Rose to our home for dinner sometime. Rose here
was very kind to assist the doctor in delivering the
twins. I understand the two of you are friends.
Would there be a time when you could join us?
72
Branded by Love
 I don t think so, Carly snapped.
 We live just on the other side of 
 I know where you live. I used to live there,
too, Carly blurted.  I hope you get to enjoy a
longer stay than I did.
 Yes, well, as I said, I am sorry about what
happened between you and Preston.
 I guess those two babies there in his arms
makes up for any remorse you might have felt.
Congratulations, Mrs. Evans, she chided, glaring
at Preston.  I know the four of you are going to be
really happy over at your place.
 Well, if you change your mind, I d love to
include you in our lives. You re welcome for
dinner anytime.
Rose smiled and Carly thanked her before
gritting her teeth and watching her walk away.  I
wanted to hate her.
 Then hate her, but you ll have to do it for the
both of us because I couldn t do it myself. She s
too damn nice.
 I bet she s bad in bed.
Rose laughed.  Spoken like a true whore.
 Yeah, I guess so.
Preston walked by them then with Laura
holding fast to his elbow.  Ladies.
 Preston, Carly drawled.  You got yourself a
nice looking family. I hope you take better care of
them than your daddy took care of you and Slim.
73
Destiny Blaine
Preston s eyes darkened and she saw Laura s
jaw tense, but she didn t fall victim to Carly s
notorious tongue, one she didn t care to use as a
way to whip out insults or draw out an argument.
The couple walked away with their new babies in
their arms and Rose released an exaggerated sigh.
 I used to want children, Rose confided.  I
used to want them with Preston, between me and
you.
 Yeah, Carly said.  So did I, Rose. So did I.
 And now?
 I m glad it s her and not me.
 That s my girl, Rose said, hugging her.
After the area thinned out and folks headed
back to their homes, Luke Daniels showed up and
handed Carly some flowers.  I thought you might
want to do the honors.
 Luke, thank you. You re so thoughtful.
 I ll be waiting on the outskirts of town to
escort you home. I didn t want you riding back
after dark.
 Thanks, Luke.
Rose made eyes at him and then slapped Carly
on the hip. She ignored the smack, but listened to
Rose try her own style of flirting.  Tell me
something, cowboy, how is it that Carly gets to
ride with the likes of you and none of my girls
could convince you to take up with them?
 I m a man who knows what he wants, Luke
74
Branded by Love
said.
Carly pretended like she didn t hear him. She
knelt next to the two soft piles of dirt.  Mr. and
Mrs. Barkley, she paused and closed her eyes.
 It s Carly Corbaine. I wanted to&  She had to
clear her throat and try again.  I wanted to come
and talk to you before now and I kept looking for
the right time, only there never was one. It s kind
of hard to tell a man and woman that the son they
keep wondering about ain t coming home. See, I
knew what happened to Robert, she choked on
the tears she tried to conceal.  See I was halfway
in love with him. He was the kind of fella I saw
myself with in the event Preston didn t want me
back.
She stopped talking and stared at the ground.
 Turns out, he didn t want me anyway, but at the
time, when Robert was with me, I didn t realize it.
Back then, I thought me and Preston had a
fighting chance. We didn t. The tears came faster
and she knew she was crying hard enough to
cause a commotion behind her so she put up her
hand to wave off Rose and Luke.
 Anyhow, I& came here today to tell you that
Robert died and Preston s daddy shot him on
account of finding me and him together. I wanted
you to know. I planned on telling you, but I just
had a hard time accepting the blame for it myself,
but it was my fault and I m so, so sorry. Robert
75
Destiny Blaine
was a& fine young man and I thought a lot of
him.
She pulled three small crosses out of her shirt
pocket and placed one on each of the shallow
graves before placing the third in the middle. She
placed the flowers in the area between the
Barkleys, right below the cross marking the spot
for Robert.  I wish I could ve found the right time
to tell you. Who knows, maybe you wouldn t have
gone to Sacramento. Maybe you d still be alive
today. She heard heavy footsteps behind her and
then felt the presence of the only man she ever had
the innate ability to sense before she saw him.
 You can t carry that guilt, Carly.
Carly s head jerked and she cupped her hand
over her brow.  You shouldn t be here.
 Laura told me to come.
 Well ain t she just puddin and pie nice?
Carly grated out, standing. She looked around and
noticed Rose and Luke had gone their separate
ways. Rose was headed back to the saloon and
Luke was riding on out of town. She swiped the
moisture away from her cheeks.
 She told me you declined her dinner
invitation. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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