Free The Bounty Hunter's Redemption by Janet Dean Page A

picture if you can. But the truth is you want Anna to own this shop so you can be on your merry way, chasing after an outlaw.”
    Nate knew the cost the women in his life had paid for loving him. He owed them. If only he could change the past. Undo those moments searing his brain with the hot branding iron of guilt.
    Why try to explain to a woman who’d use his sister as a way to save her shop?
    Nate turned and stalked to the entrance. Yet the truth of Carly’s words couldn’t be denied. He was a bounty hunter, not a man his sister or any woman could count on. Anna was better off without him.
    At the door Nate turned back. “Once, my sister was a tomboy, running races, climbing trees, riding bareback.” His voice wobbled. “Now she’s crippled. Because of me . The reason I owe her everything.” His gaze locked with Carly’s. “The reason I’ll make certain she gets this shop.”
    * * *
    A chill slid through Carly, raising goose bumps on her arms. What had Nate Sergeant done to cause Anna’s injury? Whatever had happened, the guilt that ate at him made him a formidable foe.
    Anna slipped into the shop, her eyes swollen, but a smile firmly in place. Her gaze swept the space. “Where’s Nate?”
    “He left.” Carly refilled their cups. “Have a cup of tea. I find it soothing.”
    With a sigh, Anna took her seat. “I’m sorry for making a scene in front of you.”
    “Don’t be silly. You’re recently widowed and fear for your brother’s life. That’s a heavy load to carry.”
    “You’re recently widowed and with a child to rear, yet you’re strong. The Good Lord is seeing you through your heartache.”
    “I have a lot to be thankful for,” Carly said, fiddling with the lid on the teapot, avoiding Anna’s eyes.
    “Me, too. I’m thankful for this job and that little cabin behind the livery and a brother who cares about me.” She sighed. “Even if he refuses to listen to a word I say.”
    “I don’t understand how he can abide worrying you so. Makes me wonder if you’re as close as I first thought.”
    “We love each other, make no mistake, but...I wouldn’t say we’re close.” Anna’s mouth twisted, as if trying not to cry. “Nate holds himself at arm’s length.”
    “What man doesn’t?” Carly sat at the sewing machine and laid two pieces of the bodice under the pressure foot, then lowered it, guiding the fabric as she pedaled.
    “Walt didn’t.” Anna’s tone grew soft, wistful. “We’d leave the curtains open at night to watch the stars twinkling outside our window and talk. He’d share his dreams. I’d say I was sorry there’d been no babies.” Anna’s smile wobbled. “He’d declare I was enough. All he needed.”
    Anna and Walt weren’t able to have children .
    What would Carly do without Henry? Her precious boy gave her joy, comfort and purpose. Hope for the future.
    Carly’s throat knotted. How many years had Anna hoped and prayed for a baby? Month after month she’d seen that hope shattered. Yet she’d pressed on, though inside, her childlessness surely broke her heart. Anna’s faith and relationship with Walt had kept her going.
    Carly could barely fathom the close relationship Anna described. The men in her life had been long on orders, short on affection.
    If only she could ensure one day Henry would know how to make a woman feel cherished. Why wouldn’t he? He was only seven, but Henry made Carly feel cherished. Perhaps odd for a boy so young. His father’s prolonged absences and unpredictable behavior had brought them closer than most mothers and sons. Good had come from bad, as Scripture promised.
    “Carly, you and Nate got off to a bad start. Life has hardened him and he appears gruff, but he’s a good man.” Anna smiled. “He was the sweetest youngster. A chatterbox always excited about something.”
    From what Carly had seen, Nate Sergeant fit the pattern of all the men in her life. “Then he’s changed. Hardened is an apt description for him