Page 74 of Always to Remember
“Got no idea,” Clay said.
“When do they come back?”
“Near dawn.”
“How do you know?”
“We stayed here all night once waiting to see when they came back.”
“You and the twins?”
“No, me and your husband. Only he wasn’t your husband at the time.”
Meg intertwined her fingers. “I won’t get upset if you say his name.”
He slid his gaze over to hers. “I wouldn’t want you to think I was being disrespectful.”
“I won’t think that.”
Sagely, he nodded before turning his attention back to the flying creatures.
“I guess you’ve shared the bats with a lot of people,” she said, wishing it didn’t bother her to think about all the women with whom he might have shared this unique place.
“Just you and the twins. Invited Lucian once, but he wasn’t interested.”
The smoky haze of bats disappeared, leaving an audible silence in their wake. Meg wished she could stay here forever, away from the bitter words and hatred that filled the world below.
“He doesn’t know what he’s missing,” she said quietly.
Thirteen
“MIZMEG!”
Meg dismounted the next morning and hugged each twin before handing them the reins. “Thank you for yesterday evening,” she said.
“Our pleasure, ma’am,” Josh said. “And guess what? We figured out who you should marry.”
Meg stopped walking, not certain she wanted to hear this announcement. How could she explain that she would never, could never marry their brother?
“We decided you ought to marry Robert Warner.”
“Robert?”
“Yes, ma’am. He seems nice enough, and you wouldn’t have to change your name.”
Meg laughed self-consciously. “I thought you were going to say I should marry your brother.”
“Clay?”
She nodded.
“Ah no, ma’am.” Josh said. “It wouldn’t do at all for you to marry Clay. If you married him, he’d no doubt want to kiss you from time to time, and we figure kissin’ is unpleasant enough when you like the person you’re kissin'. It’d be downright miserable to kiss someone you hated.”
Meg felt her heart lurch. It bothered her that the twins realized that she hated their brother. The words coming from their innocent mouths sounded so ugly.
They walked toward the shed. Clay stood in the doorway, waiting for her. Yesterday had changed something between them, and she had a feeling that the following days would more closely resemble the days they’d shared before Tom had needed a marker for his daughter.
When they neared the shed, the twins led the horse away. Clay gave her a cautious smile. “Morning.”
