Montana Hearts by Charlotte Carter

Author:Charlotte Carter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-11-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Except for the chicken cooking on the stove, the only sound Kurt heard was the hammering of his heart. His breath locked in his lungs. Spots appeared before his eyes and a wave of dizziness swept over him.

Neither Grace nor Beth had spoken. The shock written on their faces reflected the same stunned sensation he’d felt in his gut.

Sarah Barkley. Heart-transplant recipient. From Seattle. His housekeeper.

He’d donated Zoe’s organs in Seattle. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Could it?

He forced himself to exhale and draw in a lungful of air to clear his head.

“Why did you come to Sweet Grass Valley? Why agree to be my housekeeper?”

A flush colored Sarah’s cheeks. Unable to look at him, her gaze darted around the room. “I was taking time off from work. I was just passing through—”

“No. Don’t lie to me.” She was hiding something. He could tell. He fisted his hands, not to throw a punch but to keep himself under control. His thoughts, his emotions, were jumping around like a horse that had gotten into some locoweed. And like a loco horse, he jumped to one crazy yet obvious conclusion. “Did you come here because you got Zoe’s heart?”

“There’s no way to know that for sure.” Her words were barely above a whisper, her expression distraught.

Grace gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Half staggering, she collapsed onto a kitchen chair. “My baby girl…”

“Please, Mrs. Livingston—”

“Have you really got mom’s heart in your chest?” Beth asked, near tears, her voice quaking.

“Please. I didn’t want you to know.” Sarah raised a hand toward Kurt in what appeared to be supplication. “I only wanted to help you, the whole family, to thank you in some small way for the sacrifice you’ve all made.”

As she spoke, Kurt studied the woman he’d known for less than two weeks. Except for having blonde hair, she looked nothing like Zoe. She didn’t act like Zoe either. The two women couldn’t have had more different personalities. And yet—

“You do think you have Zoe’s heart or you wouldn’t have come here,” he said.

“It’s a possibility,” she admitted.

“How did you— What made you think—” His thoughts stumbled as though he was on uneven ground and couldn’t keep his balance.

“The timing was right. Your car accident. The length of her coma before you…let her go.”

Still covering her mouth, Grace sobbed a great, soulful sound filled with pain. Tears edged down Beth’s cheeks.

Remembering that terrible day, the painful decision he’d had to make, Kurt thought he might throw up. His throat ached with the despair he still felt at the memory.

“How did you find out?” he asked. “Did the doctor tell you?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Then how?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Obviously, I’ve upset you. Upset you all.” With remorse in her eyes, she looked at his daughter and his mother-in-law before returning her focus to Kurt. “I’m so very sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”

“Tell me. Tell me how you found out about Zoe,” he insisted.

She stepped to the stove and turned off the chicken, the smell of burned meat suddenly sharp and acrid in the room.

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