Read Online Scars of the Heart by Joni Keever - Free Book Online Page B

knees drew up. She hugged them tightly, her mind racing.
    “Well? Are you going to answer me or not?”
    Another big swallow. “I, uh, I have no idea to what you’re referring.” She finally tore her gaze from his. She picked at the stringy piece of jerky she held. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, she felt sure Kade heard it as well.
    “I’m referring to the story you were telling me earlier about your abduction. You never said how you got away from the Indian and how you came to be in the company of a man like Tiny.”
    Carly barely noticed that he mocked her by mimicking her. So great was her relief that Kade hadn’t discovered her little secret, she almost laughed out loud. She exhaled, allowing her head to fall forward, hiding the smile that surfaced.
    “It’s all right. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. It just seemed to help earlier, and I—”
    Her head snapped up. “No, it’s not that. I mean, I don’t mind. It’s just, well, uh . . .” Carly fumbled to regain her composure. She straightened her legs and smoothed the fabric across her thighs, refusing to meet Kade’s bewildered expression.
    “Sold.” The single blurted word was all she could manage.
    “What?”
    “I was sold, like a pig or a mule. Or a slave. I assume that’s what Tiny intended to do with me, work me like his personal slave, once he finished blowing off some steam in Leavenworth. Anyway, you pretty well know the rest.”
    Carly drew a long, slow breath. She had hurried through her account of the past several days as if they were nothing more than average. In truth, they were close to what she might imagine hell was like. Yet Kade had her so shaken, she didn’t know how to act.
    He gazed at her with a quizzical expression. Carly ripped free a bite of jerky and turned to examine a nearby rock. When she looked back, he seemed unaware of her. Kade stared through the trees as if he actually saw something beyond them. His profile stood prominent against the blue summer sky. He’d removed his hat, and thin wisps of hair waved in the slight breeze. Carly tried to conjure a memory—Kade reminded her of someone. But she couldn’t quite make the connection. There was a strength about him, something that both frightened and intrigued her.
    Carly realized just how little she knew of him. She’d offered many details about her past yet asked nothing of his. “Were you born here, on the frontier?”
    His broad shoulders stiffened, then relaxed. He continued to stare straight ahead.
    “Why? Does it matter?”
    “No. I just thought a little conversation might be nice. You know a great deal about me, and I—”
    “Yes.”
    She flinched at his interruption and curt answer; then she continued, undaunted. “Where are your parents?”
    Waiting, Carly wondered if he’d answer.
    “Dead, like yours.”
    “And your home? I mean, surely you don’t just wander about out here in the wilderness. You must have some place, family or friends, somewhere.” She tore at the tough meat with her front teeth. It wasn’t leg of lamb, but it was better than starving to death.
    “I had a home. It was taken from me.”
    The man spoke just above a whisper, a hush like leaves falling from the trees in the fall. With a shudder, Carly decided not to ask any more questions. But he continued.
    “Not because of its beauty. Not because of the hard work it took to carve it from nothing. Not because of the bloodshed and bodies buried there.”
    A heavy silence fell between them, making the air difficult to breathe. “Then why?” Carly asked softly.
    “Greed.”
    The word resounded like a thunderclap. She jumped as Kade whirled to face her.
    “You people come west with high hopes and soft hands. Everything you have came easy. You don’t know how to work, how to sweat, how to take your place without taking over.”
    Carly knew her mouth hung open. She struggled to understand not only his words but the hostility behind them.