Read Bran (Prairie Grooms, Book Six) for Free Online Page A

now she was going to have to live with it.
    “Apple?” Fina called through the bedroom door. “Are you awake?”
    “Yes, come in.”
    Fina opened the door and entered. “I have breakfast ready, are you hungry?”
    Apple nodded. “Let me get dressed, and I'll be down.”
    “What's the matter?” asked Fina. “Are you okay?”
    Apple gave her a weak smile and nodded. “I'll be fine. It's just that yesterday was so… disturbing.”
    “I understand. It had to be horrible not knowing if Deputy O'Hare was alive or dead.”
    “I didn't know it was Deputy O'Hare until he told me. I still thought it was an outlaw, not someone that everyone knows. Speaking of which, I’m sure that by now, everybody in town does know.”
    Fina shrugged. “It's hard to tell, maybe nobody knows.”
    “Thank you, sister. But by now everyone in Clear Creek is aware that I almost killed the man.”
    “Apple,” Fina began as she sat on the bed. “What are you so worried about? Do you think that because of what happened people are going to think any less of you?”
    “Maybe they won't think less of me, but they'll certainly think different of me.”
    Fina put an arm around her. “So what if they do? They'll get past it, just like you will.”
    “But will Deputy O’Hare?”
    “He'll get over it in time. After all, you have to understand, it must've been horrifying for him being locked in that safe… suffocating…”
    Apple shook in Fina's arms. “No! Don't tell me that! I can't bear to hear it!”
    Fina held her tighter. “I'm sorry Apple, I didn't mean to put it that way, but…”
    “But you're right! That’s exactly how it must have been for him! Terrible, horrible, oh my goodness!”
    “Apple, stop it! Don't do this to yourself!”
    Apple couldn't help it. The tears fell. She'd been so wrapped up in her own feelings and self-pity that she didn't take into full consideration the horror of what she put the man through. “Please, leave me alone,” she pleaded.
    Fina hugged her again then sat back from her. “I could bring you up some coffee?”
    Apple sniffed back her tears and nodded. “Thank you.”
    Fina smiled and patted her on the back. “I'll go get you some. Would you like anything to eat?”
    Apple shook her head. “I'm sorry but I haven't any appetite.”
    Fina stood. “I understand, but trust me. It will get better, for both of you.” She turned and left the room.
    Apple wiped away her tears and stared at the quilts. What had it been like for Bran O'Hare to be locked in that suffocating, closed space, his life ebbing away with each passing second? And it was all because of her!
    But, Fina was right. She would get past this in time. The problem was, making sure it didn't happen again, and that meant she'd have to avoid Bran O'Hare at all costs, and any other man who might try to court her.
    Depressed, Apple got up from the bed, and sought her clothes. She dressed in silence, her melancholy growing with the thought that she would be forever alone. And to think that yesterday when she got up, she’d been so excited to solve the mystery of Levi's trunk and help her sister out. But instead, she made a horrible and almost fatal mistake. One she vowed right then and there to never make again. From now on, she'd mind her own business and stay out of other people's affairs.
    It was with renewed determination that she opened the bedroom door to find Fina on the other side, a cup of coffee in her hand. “Oh! You're up and dressed already? I thought you might like to stay in bed for a while and drink your coffee,” Fina said with a smile. “But I'm glad you're up. I'm going to attempt to bake bread this morning and not burn it.”
    “I can help you,” said Apple. “But I don't know about the not burning part.”
    “You're probably getting more practice than any of us being out at the Triple C.” Fina smiled again. “You feel better now?”
    Apple nodded, then said, “Sadie and Belle taught me how to bake a few