Free Kentucky Groom by Jan Scarbrough Page A

lot. “Just your love.”
    She didn’t say anything. He drove onto the Lexington street and then turned right to head home. Damn. He’d made such a mess of things already that he’d better tell her the whole truth. He steeled himself against her coming fury.
    “That’s why I didn’t tell you about Tate’s business.”
    “What does Tate’s business have to do with this?”
    “I bought it,” Jay admitted.
    “You bought it?” Carrie practically shot out of her seat she was so angry. “Why would you do that?”
    “Because I wanted to help you.” He glanced at her quickly and then returned his concentration to the roadway.
    “Help me?”
    “Yes, you told me you couldn’t keep Doolittle for Jesse if you didn’t sell the business,” he reminded her.
    “But I didn’t expect you to buy it.”
    “I know you didn’t, but I wanted to. I told you I loved you. I didn’t want to see you worried about money.”
    “But I thought you didn’t have money.” Her statement was a challenge. “Remember, you didn’t even have money to pay the dinner bill.”
    “But I did. It was just tied up in a California bank. I didn’t want to use it here in Kentucky. I wanted another way of life.” Jay’s hands tightened on the wheel.
    “So, now you have money. Do you expect this sob story about being a poor little rich boy to change the fact you lied to me?”
    “No, nothing can change the fact I didn’t tell you everything.” He refused to concede her point.
    “You draw a fine line.”
    “I suppose so, but you must admit if you’d known about the money, our relationship wouldn’t be the same. As it is, you’ve chosen to work on a relationship with me. By doing so, you put your trust in me when you had no assurance I’d improve my lot in life beyond that of a stable groom.”
    “That’s not a fair assessment,” she stated.
    “It is and the fact that I didn’t have money was affecting your decision at first. Now does the fact I may inherit millions make a difference?” Jay pressed his point.
    “What makes a difference is that you lied to me.” Carrie’s statement was cool and precise.
    “That’s your take on it.”
    “And my opinion is what counts with me,” she said firmly.
    “Even if it’s not true?”
    “That’s what you believe. As it is, I can’t justify continuing our relationship.”
    Jay didn’t want to quibble. He left the field of battle momentarily, his stomach churning from the disagreement. Turning left onto the Interstate, he accelerated and wished he could race away from his problems as quickly as the car traveled the darkened highway.
    * * * *
    Surviving the trip back to Louisville was the hardest thing Carrie had done since Tate’s death. She sat with her hands clasped on her lap, her eyes focused on the approaching headlights. The strained silence was heavy with Jay’s unspoken recriminations.
    She had trusted the man. Trusted him enough to tell him about her finances and her fears for her child. Trusted him enough to open her heart and take a chance. He said he had his reasons for deceiving her. She had been a schoolteacher long enough to have heard excuses from her pupils, and she had known when to quit listening to them, to force the student to accept responsibility for his actions. Just as Jay now had to be accountable for his lie.
    As they approached the city, the traffic grew heavier. Jay took the exit nearest her house. Carrie was relieved. Her ordeal would soon be over, at least this part of it. She wanted to be away from Jay, to have time to think. She wanted to curl into a little ball under the covers and sleep for twenty-four hours, shutting herself off from a world that had suddenly blown up in her face. Not that it would make her problem go away, but maybe it would ease the pressure that thudded behind her eyes. Her faith in him was so shaken that she knew it would take more than mere words to make her believe in him again.
    Jay or any other man.
    * * * *
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