Change of Heart by Liv Rancourt

Author:Liv Rancourt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liv Rancourt
Published: 2017-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

They gave me a cot at the foot of Vaughn’s tall, four-poster bed. Mr. Dupont’s house was a big, fancy place in the Garden District, bigger and fancier than any place I’d ever set foot in. Vaughn slept, and other than periodically checking her for fever, I had time to consider the evening.

I had a lot to consider.

Mr. Dupont left me a bottle of aspirin and a glass of whiskey, in case Vaughn woke in pain. I drank the whiskey myself. I needed it, and if Vaughn woke up, I’d get her more. I sat still to keep the cot from squeaking and tried to untangle my thoughts.

Anger burned hotter than the whiskey. I might not be a fancy city girl, but anyone who lived on a farm knew how babies got made and what parts went where. Me, Clarabelle Ryan, had certain rules. Honesty. Truthfulness. Trust. Do you trust me, she’d asked, and I’d said yes. The echo of that word burned someplace deep. Yes. When I treated somebody square, I expected them to do the same for me. I wasn’t some stupid Okie who couldn’t tell the difference between a man and a woman.

One sin wasn’t going to get me to hell any faster than any other.

Between the anger, confusion, and a helping of disgust, I didn’t figure I’d ever get to sleep, but the whiskey must have gotten the better of me and I dozed off.

“Leo?” Vaughn’s cracked and reedy voice woke me. A steady pulse throbbed behind my eye and my tongue felt stuck to the roof of my mouth. Stupid me for drinking. Grey light seeped through the window, hinting at dawn. I scooted off the cot and adjusted yesterday’s dress.

“I’m here.” I nervously flicked the nubby balls forming the flowers on her chenille bedspread. Yesterday Vaughn had shone so brightly in my mind, and now I wasn’t sure how to talk to her.

“Need,”—she caught her lower lip in her teeth—“the toilet.”

I swallowed hard against the nausea bubbling in my gut. The thought of touching her made the whiskey worse. “I can help.”

She pressed her hands to her face. “Get Leo, please.”

The relief I felt shamed me. I’d been raised better than this. “All right.” I hadn’t made it as far as the door when she stopped me again.

“Wait. What time is it?”

I shrugged, fuddled from the drink and confused by Vaughn’s request. “Not sure.” Crossing to one of the tall windows overlooking the street, I pulled open the drape. “Five in the morning or close to.”

Daylight showed how fine the room really was. Behind me the bed squealed, and Vaughn gave an almighty groan. “Here,” she gasped. “Don’t bother them.”

By the time I got to her, she’d struggled to sitting and had her legs swung over the side of the bed. I didn’t want to touch her, but her legs were so wobbly I had no choice. My arm fit around her waist, same as it always had, and the faint, familiar scent of roses tortured me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.