Free The Darkest Heart by Brenda Joyce

coming up and her heart pounding furiously. She wasn’t looking at her brother or anyone other than the man whose bloody back was facing her. How could he have done it? Did the stupid horse mean so much to him? And how—how was he going to get on it and ride?
    “You, boy,” John Carter said.
    Jack was still standing with his back to them, facing the horse. Now he put his foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle.
    “Go around back to the kitchen. Maria will give you something to eat.”
    The stallion swung sideways and Jack faced the Carter family with scorn blazing in his eyes. Candice blushed, knowing this proud man would never go to the back to take scraps like a dog. She felt a sudden shame for her family—and for herself. His glance settled on her and it burned.
    Candice bravely held it, her hand coming up to her mouth. Something seemed to choke her from deep inside. She saw that his face was beaded with sweat. “Please,” she heard herself say. “Go around back and get some food and water.”
    “To hell with your charity,” he said in a low voice.
    He tore his gaze away and turned the stallion, who was prancing restlessly. As he did so he slumped slightly, from the waist, then pulled erect again. The stallion snorted and shook his head.
    “He’s hurt,” Candice said.
    And he fell from the horse with one crashing thud at their feet.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    Candice moved with a cry, but not fast enough. Luke got to Jack first, bending over and feeling for his pulse. Candice became aware of her father’s hand on her arm, restraining her. Luke straightened. “He’s got a high fever. Looks like them marks got infected.”
    “Red, you and Willie take him into the barn,” John Carter said.
    “Pop!” Mark protested. “Set him on his horse and send him out of here!”
    Candice opened her mouth to object, but Luke was already ordering Red to help him move Jack. He bent and lifted the man by his armpits, and Red took his ankles. Candice watched worriedly, blaming herself for everything. As they started across the yard, she took exactly two steps after them before her father grabbed her shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    “He …” She faltered. “To see what I can do.”
    “Maria will tend him, just like she tends everyone on this ranch when they get hurt.”
    Candice flushed. But she met her father’s piercing stare and wondered what he was thinking. She soon had no doubt about what Mark and Little John were thinking.
    “What do you care about that breed, Candice?” Mark shot. “You seem awful concerned.”
    Candice tensed and was furious. “How dare you, Mark. How dare you call me a liar and—”
    “Do you know what the talk is going to be?” Mark demanded.
    Candice inhaled. She had been hoping no one would ever find out about her and Jack Savage. But now it would be spread around Tucson and all the ranches as soon as the first hands rode into town for a few drinks. And it didn’t matter that nothing had happened between them—or almost nothing. People would speculate. Talk. Condemn. “I don’t care,” she said, lifting her head. “Nothing happened. For God’s sake, Mark, he is a human being first. And he’s very white. I don’t need you siding with everyone else.”
    “I’m sorry, but I don’t want you around him,” Mark said tensely.
    “That’s enough,” John interrupted. “Mark is right, Candice. Stay away from him while he’s here. And you, Mark, keep your opinions to yourself. You too, John-John. Now don’t you have some work to do this morning?”
    Both young men turned, Mark still angry, little John a shade less. Candice met her father’s gaze. “You have a lot of explaining to do,” he said.
    “I wanted to avoid all this, I didn’t want you to worry.”
    “Maybe if you’d told the truth from the start, we could have been prepared for this. Mark is right. There will be some talk.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “The sooner he’s well enough