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."Lacey slid away from him and pulled the sheet up to her neck."I know all I need to know.""No, you don't.But before I explain, I want you to tell me again why you betrayed me to the Yankees."Lacey heaved an exasperated sigh."How many times must I repeat that I had nothing to do with my father's decision to surrender you to the Yankees? If you recall, I wasn't even there when they came for you.Papa had sent me on an errand to keep me from interfering, but he didn't do it out of malice."Sam snorted."So you say.""It's true.We learned that my brother was being held in a Southern prison.Father went to the authorities to try to get him released and was told that the Rebels would only release a prisoner if an exchange was offered.Father told them about you, and they promised to work out a deal for an exchange."Lacey sighed, recalling the sad day they learned her brother had died of his wounds at Andersonville.Sam had already been taken away; her father's machinations had gained them nothing."I tried to trace you but no one seemed to know what had happened to you.I even wrote to the President.I was told you had died on the prison ship.Crowded conditions and disease on the ship added to the confusion.After a year of brick walls, I accepted that you were dead.""You didn't take a year to turn to another man," Sam charged irrationally."Andy is proof of that."Lacey said nothing.What could she say to a man determined to think the worst about her? He would never believe that Andy was his son.Too much between them remained unresolved.Sam mulled over Lacey's words.Perhaps he had judged her too harshly.Perhaps he should have returned to Lacey after the war and gotten the truth from her.But it was too late for regrets.After the war he had tried to forget Lacey, refusing to mention her name or tell his brothers about her.He truly thought he had banished her from his mind for good, but seeing her again had brought a resurgence of those long forgotten memories.and feelings he thought had died years ago."Do you believe me, Sam?" Lacey asked.Sam searched her face."I'm.not sure.""What has this to do with what you were going to tell me? What don't I know about you?"Sam fought a battle within himself.If he believed Lacey, that meant he should trust her.Could he trust her with the knowledge that he was a wanted man? Telling her would be a dangerous way to prove whether or not she could be trusted.But revealing his secret to Lacey was the only way he could explain his reason for agreeing to the divorce."I didn't show up in Texas by chance," Sam began slowly."I never thought you did.""Something happened in Kansas that forced my brothers and me to flee.Our farm was on the brink of foreclosure.We applied to the bank for a loan and were promptly turned down.Then the banker offered us a deal.If one of us married his pregnant daughter, he'd allow the loan.Needless to say, neither Rafe, Jess, or myself were willing to accept those terms.We left the bank in a huff."The banker became enraged and set off an alarm, claiming we had robbed the bank.We panicked and ran, though I realize now we should have remained and fought the charges.We hightailed it back to the farm, took what we could carry in our saddlebags and rode away with a posse breathing down our necks.We split up outside of town.Rafe rode west, Jess headed north, and I rode south.""Why are you telling me this?""So you understand why remaining in jail presented a danger to me.There are wanted posters out for my arrest.I didn't want to be under the sheriff's nose when and if they arrived in Denison.However, if I refused to sign the divorce, Cramer wouldn't have dropped the charges against me.Sooner or later the law would learn I was a wanted man.Spending the rest of my life behind bars doesn't appeal to me.""So you signed the document and took off," Lacey said."I can't say I blame you.Why are you telling me this now?""Because of Andy.I don't want him to think the worst of me.He may not be mine, but I've grown fond of him.And I wanted you to know I didn't try to kill Cramer.I don't operate that way.""You've told me, now you can go."Sam gnashed his teeth."Has nothing I've said gotten through to you?""Not much.You abandoned me and let me believe you were dead.You didn't care what happened to me during the years we were apart, so why should your confession affect me? It's far too late for us, Sam.I'm losing the ranch.What can you do for me but give me more grief? You rejected me, now it's my turn to reject you.""Money hungry little bitch," Sam bit out.Lacey stiffened."I'm merely doing what's best for myself and my son."Sam knew what he'd done to Lacey was wrong, but at the time he couldn't think beyond her betrayal, and he'd truly never wanted to see her again.It had taken this honesty between them to show him her side of the story.He still didn't trust her completely, but he now believed he might have jumped to conclusions.Sam stared down at her, suddenly aware that he was growing hard again.He caressed her breast, smiling when her nipple hardened beneath his fingertips."Your body still wants me.""I can't help what my body wants, I only know what my mind tells me is right for me."He willed his erection away."What is your mind telling you now?""That it's over." She shrugged."Perhaps there never was anything lasting between us.I need more than you can offer, Sam.I have a son whom I love very much and a ranch to save.I have no energy left to deal with you.""What about Cramer? You can't love that bastard.""Taylor is aware of my feelings.I've had one grand passion, I'm not looking for another.Taylor and I will deal well with one another on an unemotional leval."Sam reared up from bed and began pulling on his clothes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]