Skinbound by Anna Kittrell

worry, her eyes closed against Samantha’s haunting memory. He touched her hand lightly, so as not to wake her, and turned to leave.
    “Cabin?” she whispered. He returned to her side, gently grasping the gnarled fingers she held out to him. She looked at him, a tear falling.
    Sliding into the bedside chair, he managed a weak smile. “How are you today?”
    “I’m dying.”
    “Don’t say that.” He patted the old woman’s hand.
    “Cabin. Please let me finish.” Her gaze was steady, though her chin trembled. “Soon I will see Samantha.”
    He pressed his lips together, swallowing hard.
    “I want to give my daughter something when I arrive, a message. A promise from you, her husband, to assure her of your undying love.”
    His stomach sank.
    “You must promise never to love another. After what you’ve done to her...to them ...it’s the least you can do. Swear to love my Samantha only, so that I may repeat your words to her in heaven. It’s the only way to make things right.” She took a labored breath without breaking her stare.
    Cabin opened his mouth, then closed it. He should just make the promise. Tell her what she wanted to hear. Would it kill him to appease an old woman on her death bed?
    He inhaled deeply, fastening his gaze to hers. “I asked Samantha to be my wife because I loved her more than anything in the world. We shared a life, and even shared happiness for a while, before she became ill. You’re right about many things. I should have been more sensitive to Samantha’s needs, more attuned to the signs of her disorder. We were young. It’s a pitiful excuse, but it’s the only one I have. If I could do it over, I would do it a different way, the right way, but I can’t.” Cabin squeezed her hand gingerly. “I can’t make promises to Samantha. All I can do is ask God, and her mother, for forgiveness. And try to forgive myself.”
    Her eyes hardened to black onyx. “You disregarded the one you cared about. Ignored her until she disappeared forever.”
    Disregarded. Ignored. Estelle’s words sounded an alarm, shaking his heart from slumber. He’d been a fool to cast Darcy aside.
    “Estelle, you are dear to me. But I refuse to make a promise I can’t keep. The love I shared with your daughter was real. From Samantha I learned how to be a better doctor...a better man . Now it’s time for me to let go.”
    “You’ll pay for what you’ve done, Cabin Creighton. The blood of my child, my grandchild, is on your hands.” She yanked her fingers from his, balling them into a fist, her feeble body shaking.
    Cabin stood, then leaned to kiss her creased forehead. “Goodbye, Estelle. I’ll check on you tomorrow.” He turned and walked away.

Chapter Eight
    Darcy stepped from the tub, dripping water onto the mauve rug. Not knowing how to feel better, she settled for feeling cleaner. She walked to the mirror and cleared the steam with a towel. Staring at her reflection, she wondered if she’d ever be rid of the bleakness in her eyes.
    The doorbell rang. She pulled her bathrobe from the hook and cinched it around her body before stepping from the bathroom. At this time of night, it could only be her sister.
    It hadn’t taken long for Darcy to put aside her anger with Scarlett. The thought of two broken relationships rattling around inside her heart was more than she could bear. Her sister had apologized for her behavior at the restaurant, and Darcy had taken responsibility for stretching Scarlett’s shadow over herself like a conjoined twin of the soul. For the first time, she believed the sisterly bond she’d always craved with Scarlett possible.
    But, what on earth did Scarlett want at ten-thirty p.m.? She padded to the front door.
    “Coming, Scar!” She pulled the door open. “Did you forget your coffee mug again—”
    In the sweetest of dreams, she stood at the doorway staring into Cabin’s aqua eyes. She must’ve fallen asleep in the bathtub.
    “Cabin?”
    “I’m sorry to drop