Free Second Chance Cowboy by Rhonda Lee Carver Page B

like Chance and Leslie had a serious
relationship, but enough of one that he did owe her an explanation.
Leslie, a good friend, was an even better doctor. He didn’t want to
lose her on a professional level.
    “ I told her the truth. I
told her Carly is back.”
    Later in the evening, the dark
shadowed his office. The way Chance liked it when he needed to
think. Sitting at his desk, he propped his feet up on the corner,
and relaxed his head back on the leather chair. He glanced at the
clock across the room, surprised it read one-thirty.
    His eyes moved unthinkingly to the
spot on his desk where the framed wedding picture of Carly and him
now sat. Shoved in his desk drawer along with old letters, it’d
been under lock and key since the gloomy day she left the
ranch.
    Every now and then, he’d pull it out
of the hiding place, glance at their smiling faces, and allow
himself the pleasure of feeling sorry for being in a shithole
position.
    He should have chased after Carly when
she left. He shouldn’t have been so smug. Damn Taylor pride . Not the first time genetics screwed him.
    Hell, it was too late to dish out the
shoulda-woulda-coulda song and dance. He could write an arm-long
list of things he should have done in his adult life.
    The picture was home. So was Carly,
right where she belonged. How long could he keep things where they
needed to be? He wasn’t sure.
    His mind raced with the day’s events.
After Carly left him sitting on the patio, she’d gone inside to
bed. He had checked on her when Duke left and found her sound
asleep.
    It was probably for the
best.
    If this were the past, he would have
climbed into bed with her, woken her up, and they would have turned
each other inside out. Nothing compared to a spectacular apology
played out in bed. But the only thing living in the past was
Carly’s mind.
    Chance wavered at a crossroads between
what was right and what he wanted to do most.
    Restraining from any sexual contact
with Carly, at least until the time came when she knew the truth,
could be considered appropriate. He couldn’t deny he wanted to say
to hell with prudence and live life for the moment. He wanted to
touch her, to hold her, to make her his once again.
    Maybe this insane scenario was simply
fate. Maybe this was his and Carly’s last chance to make everything
right. Fate had a way of working mysteriously, especially in his
life. Had he ever thought he’d get an opportunity for a new
beginning?
    He could sit back and wait for her
memory to return and allow the chips to fall where they
may.
    Sitting back and waiting for life to
transpire didn’t sit well with him. He’d always been a man
remaining in control of his existence, steering his mustang across
the uneven plains of life, and maintaining a firm grip on his
future.
    He had wanted to believe Carly still
loved him, somewhere deep inside. He believed fear and guilt kept
her from coming home for two years.
    Then the divorce papers had arrived
and he had given up on his wish.
    How could he help her mind bring back
the memories of the divorce and Devon?
    Chance got up from the desk and moved
across the shadows. He went to the window and stared out at the
stunning night sky. Not one cloud blocked the twinkling stars. The
full moon’s pale beauty offered hope.
    Carly would be devastated when she
remembered their precious son who died.
    It’d be like reliving that horrible
day over again.
    The doctors had sat with him and Carly
those awful years ago. Each specialist had discussed the situation
and the outlook became more dismal. Devon would never breathe
without a ventilator and his brain wasn’t functioning properly.
Countless machines had kept his boy alive.
    Carly had stormed from the room,
refusing to listen to the truth. Chance, alone, decided what was
best for their son.
    His eyes misted with tears. The pain
of his choice remained.
    Carly had drifted deeper into
depression, to a place where Chance couldn’t reach her. He gave up
on