She didn’t meet his gaze. Where was her self-control? Guilt flooded her. Her behavior was inexcusable. Carolyn smoothed her dress and tried to regain her composure.
The hall clock chimed: 2:00 A.M. They both turned to the sound.
“I suppose I should get going.” he said.
Carolyn nodded.
“Come here,” Mark pulled her to him. “It’ll be allright.”
“What have we done?” she asked. “This shouldn’t have happened.” Her stomach tightened and she swallowed hard.
“I’m not sorry it happened.” he said. “But we need to think about this. And at the very least find better accommodations next time.”
She didn’t appreciate his humor or his assumption. “There’s nothing to think about. We both have too much to lose. Too many people would be hurt. It can’t happen again…”
“You’d better so.” She still couldn’t meet his gaze.
Mark lifted her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. “I’m
She turned away, convinced it was the booze talking. He had a family to think of. The door clicked shut behind her. She couldn’t let this happen again. Her life belonged to Warner. It always would. She wasn’t willing to hurt others for a temporary fix.
A tremor of fear ran down her spine as she thought of the personal and professional ramifications of an affair. The specter of Edmund Lane loomed in her mind. If her father-in-law ever found out that she’d been unfaithful to his son, he’d destroy her.
TEN
Unable to sleep, Carolyn left the house early the next morning. At the gate of their fenced community, she slowed to a stop and rolled down the window.
“Verne, what are you doing back to work so soon?” she asked the guard.
“Can’t miss too much work, what with the medical expenses and all. The missus is taking care of Billy.”
“How’s he doing?” Carolyn asked. Billy was Verne’s seven-year-old son who had been bathing leukemia for two years.
Tears welled in the man’s eyes.
Carolyn felt a knot forming in her throat. “Is there anything I can do?”
Verne reached out and touched her hand. “Please continue your prayers.”
Carolyn drove toward her office. Why, she wondered, did God allow a small child to suffer? The all-too- familiar feeling of powerlessness shook her, a constant reminder of the untimely death of her own adoring mother, and the years of abuse she’d endured afterward. She slammed the palm of her hand against the steeling wheel.
Without warning, her car bucked with a loud thud. What had she hit? Quickly, she pulled off the road and ran to the furry heap lying in the road.
“No,” she moaned. She picked up the animal. “Poor, poor baby.”
The small dog stirred in her arms, its breathing shallow.
She ran back to her car, cursing herself for being so preoccupied that she hadn’t been paying attention to the road.
She snuggled the whimpering dog into her lap and drove downtown, pulling into the driveway of a veterinarian. Cradling the injured animal, she ran to the front door and tried the knob. It was locked. “Damn.”
Carolyn banged her fist on the door, then peered in through the glass. No one answered.
“Hang in there.” She smoothed her hand over the dog’s head, then glanced at her watch. The vet should arrive any minute.
Carolyn sat down on the porch. Soft brown eyes looked directly into hers. She cuddled the dog against her. She wasn’t leaving until she knew the poor thing would live.
Five minutes later the veterinarian arrived and escorted them into the office. He took the dog from Carolyn and hurried to an examination room.
“What happened?”
Carolyn couldn’t stop the tears that filled her dark eyes. “I hit her with my car. She’s not my dog, but she’s wearing an identification tag.”
The vet took a stethoscope and checked the dog’s heart and lungs. “I’ll need to do some X-rays. It’s going to take me some time, but her heart sounds good. I’ll have my assistant contact the owner.”
“Please, tell them how terribly sorry I am.”
“We will. Why don’t you leave your phone number, and I’ll call you later?”
Carolyn hesitated, not really wanting to abandon the dog. “I’ll pay whatever it costs. Just save the poor little thing.”
“She’s in good hands.”
Carolyn left her phone number at the desk and drove to the courthouse.
When Carolyn arrived at her office, Katherine was waiting for her. “I’ve got the information you asked for yesterday. Lots of it.”
“Good,” Carolyn said her usual enthusiasm absent.
“What’s wrong?” Katherine followed her into her office. “Are you all light?”
Carolyn hung up her coat. “No. I’m not.” Her eyes filled with tears. She turned away in embarrassment even though she knew she could MST Katherine with her feelings. “I’ve had a horrible morning. I’m terribly worried about a friend’s sick child and then, due to my preoccupation. I ran over a-” Carolyn’s voice broke“-a little dog.”
She couldn’t tell Katherine about Mark – she couldn’t tell anyone. She’d just have to swallow the guilt and try to erase it from her mind.
Katherine hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
Carolyn regained her composure. “There’s nothing I can do to help the child, and that sense of powerlessness is so frustrating. I can’t even imagine the pain his parents must be going through. And now I feel awful about the little dog. They’re supposed to call me later.”
“I’ll make sure you get the message,” Katherine said, her arm still around Carolyn. “What can I do to make you feel better?”
“Get to work, I suppose.” Carolyn said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You came up with a lot of case files?”
“Sure did,” Katherine answered. “A very interesting topic, I might add.”
“We’ll sift though them together.”
“Sounds good.”
“You’ll have to start without me, though. I’m due over at the police station this morning to speak to the detectives about the case. I’m not sure how long that will take.”
Carolyn glanced at the stack of work growing on her desk. She was supposed to have lunch with her father- in-law that day, and she’d already gotten a late start. Did she dare cancel? It was time, she decided, to get out from under Edmund’s control.
“Do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Katherine said.
“Call my father-in-law and tell him I can’t make lunch today.”
Katherine’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
Carolyn took a deep breath. “Absolutely.” She left her office before anxiety overcame her resolve and caused
