Kentucky Groom by Jan Scarbrough

beyond reason.” Her gaze grew intense. “If I had lost Jesse, I’d have lost everything.”
    “I know,” he said.
    Carrie took a deep breath. “I can never repay you for what you did.”
    “Yes you can. You can forgive me.” It was his turn to look away.
    He felt her hand grow still. Then she tried to pull it away, but he held it, surprising himself at his ability to do so.
    “Let go of me!”
    Jay released her hand and, with sadness, watched as she drew it away.
    “Carrie, I’m sorry.”
    She winced. “I don’t want your apology.”
    “Then I don’t want your gratitude.”
    “Well, you’ve got it.” She snapped and swung away from the bed.
    She paced the room, and Jay’s misery increased. This was so hard—to watch her pain and see the stubborn set of her mouth. She wouldn’t give in. She wouldn’t let him help. His stomach clenched.
    “Maybe you should do a little forgiving yourself.” Carrie surprised him with the suggestion as she came back to his bedside. There was fire in her gaze.
    Jay’s eyes narrowed. He was bone-weary. “I don’t understand.”
    “Maybe you should try forgiving your father.”
    “Carter has nothing to do with this.”
    “He has everything to do with this.”
    Anger hammered Jay hard. “I don’t understand what you mean. How could he? We ran into him and his wife by chance. He didn’t even know I was in Kentucky. He didn’t even come see me after the fall.”
    “You’re wrong. Carter came here the night of the fire.”
    Carrie’s revelation dumbfounded him. Jay stared at her in puzzled silence.
    She must have understood his shock, for her attitude softened. Eyes shaded, she moved nearer to his side and touched his arm with a tentative hand, making his breath go shallow.
    “When we thought you wouldn’t live, he was right here in the ICU with me. He stayed until we knew you’d make it. He wanted to take you back to California with him.”
    “Why didn’t he?” Jay asked in a querulous voice.
    “I talked him out of it. I told him you’d want to be here, in Kentucky, where you’d been happy. I told him I’d take care of you.” Her fingers brushed his arm once more. His skin felt on fire. “I hope I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    Their gazes connected in swift communication. He laid his hand over hers. “You were right. California holds nothing for me.”
    Carrie nodded. Seeming uneasy by their contact, she pulled her hand from underneath his and moved away once more.
    “He calls every day to check on you.”
    “He doesn’t talk to me.”
    Carrie turned to glance at him, giving him a knowing grin. The fire in her eyes going smoky. “Until a few days ago, you couldn’t talk to anyone.”
    Jay would not allow himself to be humored. “Good to know he cares.”
    She swooped on him like an avenging angel. “That’s what I mean. Listen to how you said that! The childish anger. The bitterness. You need to forgive your father before you can expect me to do the same with you. Maybe if you straighten out this hostility you have for Carter, you’ll come to understand why you couldn’t trust me with the truth about yourself.”
    Jay scowled. “You sound like a psychologist. Go ahead and analyze me. Why didn’t I tell you my real identity?”
    “How in the hell do I know? I just know your father isn’t a bad man, only a weak one. He’s had your best interest at heart, but he went about it the wrong way. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I do know that all of our parents let us down sometimes. They’re only human, not the gods we think they are when we’re children.”
    “So, the Preston charm has worked on you too,” Jay stated sarcastically.
    “Oh!” Carrie’s hand curled into a fist. “You’re so blind. I can see why you two don’t get along. You’re so much alike.”
    “And how is that?”
    “You both are searching for happiness by trying to be who you aren’t—Carter by trying to recapture his youth and marrying women half his age,