Starlight: A Novel by Debbie Macomber

Author:Debbie Macomber
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Women, Sagas
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2013-02-19T05:07:11+00:00

Eight

“But I haven’t,” Karen interrupted, fighting to keep her voice even and to hide her shock.

Gripping Cora’s wrists, Rand forcefully removed her hands, which continued to cling to him. “Karen, I …” He sounded unsure and disconcerted.

“You must be exhausted from the flight, Cora,” Karen interrupted again. If Rand wanted to give her an explanation, he could do it later, privately. “I’ll have Carl drive you home.” She returned Cora’s cold glare with one of her own. Cora may have found encouragement in the fact that Rand had left her on their wedding night, but the woman had yet to discover the lengths Karen was willing to go to keep her husband.

Carl must have been waiting outside, because the minute his name was mentioned, he entered the house. “I’m ready to leave, Miss Dibner.” He gave Karen a conspiratorial wink that did little to please Cora.

“Rand,” she purred, giving the impression her feelings had been crushed by such a lack of welcome. But if she’d hoped for his support, she was again disappointed.

“As Karen says, you must be tired from the flight. I know I am.”

“You will phone me?” Cora’s attitude immediately changed from a feline on the prowl to the businesswoman she was. Professionally, Cora was Rand’s equal, her list of credentials as impressive as Rand’s. The look she flashed Karen let her know she had yet to concede the battle.

“I’ll contact you in the morning,” Rand murmured without enthusiasm.

Her eyes filled with resentment; she gave Karen an almost imperceptible nod.

Karen returned with a slight dip of her head. “We’ll meet again. Good-bye, Cora.”

With a cool sophistication Karen envied, Cora gave her a meaningful sidelong glare on her way out the door. “You can count on it,” she murmured for Karen’s ears alone.

As soon as the door was closed, Rand crossed the living room and poured himself a stiff drink from the whiskey decanter. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” he began, but his voice contained no apology, his posture defensive.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Karen murmured.

“Where were you?” he demanded. “I walked in the door expecting you to be here.”

For the first time since his arrival, Karen began to relax. “I went for a walk in the woods out back. I wasn’t exactly sure what time you planned on being here.”

His face showed fatigue. “Did you discover the creek?” he questioned, then took a sip of his drink.

“Yes, I did.” She was still standing in the same spot as when she’d come in.

“Carl has seen several deer drinking from it. I believe he’s put some hay and a salt block out for them.”

“I wondered about that,” Karen said stiffly. Why did they have to talk to each other like polite strangers? Why couldn’t they come to the matter that was uppermost in both their minds?

“Would you like something to eat?”

He shook his head dismissively. “I ate on the plane.”

“Yes … of course you would,” She glanced at the meal simmering in the kitchen, feeling chagrined. He was three hours ahead of the West Coast, and by his clock it was nearly eight.

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.