Read Online Diamond by Sharon Sala - Free Book Online Page A

the skies before coming in to roost.
    Even the crow had a tree to call home. Everyone and everything seemed to belong there but her.
    She reached the fence and leaned over the top rail, gazing across it to the verdant beauty beyond, and watched the little horse play. “And you, pretty baby, you have someone who cares about you, too, don’t you?”
    Diamond’s voice carried across the evening air. It startled the colt and stopped his play. He tossed his head and nickered, kicking his spindly legs out behind him as he headed toward his mother and security.
    Jesse watched from the doorway as Diamond walked toward the pasture. The evening breeze lifted and tossed her long hair. He saw her twist it into a rope and then pull it over one shoulder as she folded her arms across the top rail of the fence.
    He stepped off the porch and followed. It was instinctive. But the way he was feeling, it might also be a mistake.
    “Have you forgiven me yet?”
    Diamond jerked. Her heart thumped twice in rapid succession before settling back down into a constant rhythm. Darn him. She hadn’t even heard his approach.
    “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, unwilling to admit that he could hurt her in any way.
    Jesse put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around.
    “I hurt you. It was unintentional, but nevertheless it happened. I don’t like how it makes me feel, Diamond Houston. I need to hear you say you forgive me. I need to hear the words. If you don’t, I know I’ll lose sleep over it. And if I do, the boys will just think we’ve been carryin’ on together…if you get my drift.”
    His slow smile and warm hands did things to her heart they had no business doing, but she couldn’t speak.
    “You wouldn’t want me to go into the studio tomorrow with dark circles beneath my eyes and—”
    Diamond ducked her head and punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Okay, okay! I get the idea. You don’t need to keep drawing me a picture of what the band thinks I’m doing at your house. It’s painfully obvious, even to a country girl like me.”
    “Do you mind what they think?” he asked. “Even when we know it’s not true?”
    Diamond shrugged. “I can’t help what they think. It’s what I think about myself that matters.”
    Jesse slipped his hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up to meet his gaze. “And what do you think about yourself, shiny girl?”
    Tears came in profusion without warning.
    Jesse’s arms enveloped her before she could run, then tightened around her shoulders as she buried her face in her hands.
    “My God, darlin’. What did I say? I didn’t mean to make you cry.” The soft, almost undetectable sound of her sobs made him sick to his stomach.
    “It wasn’t you,” she said, unsuccessfully trying to regain her composure as a fresh set of tears began to roll. “It was what you called me, ‘shiny girl.’ It’s a name Johnny used to tease me with. I didn’t think hearing it again…from someone else…would hurt. But it does.”
    Jesse rested his chin on the top of her head and stared blankly across the meadow. Something he hadn’t expected was happening here, and it had nothing to do with lust. He’d seen plenty of women cry. Sometimes in fury. Sometimes over him. But the knowledge that this woman hurt and he couldn’t fix it made him angry. He didn’t know why her happiness was becoming so important to him, but he had a suspicion that if he asked himself, he’d get an answer he wasn’t ready for.
    “So,” he sighed, “I came out here to apologize for one thing, and it seems now I should apologize for two.”
    “Oh hell,” Diamond said softly, allowing herself a moment’s weakness. “Forget the apologies and just hold me. I’m too tired of pretending.”
    Jesse did as he was asked. It was his pleasure. He did some pretending of his own as he let himself enjoy the feeling of holding her against his body. He pretended that it was only the beginning for them. And when