Blake paused, watching Darcy move up the path and his heart sagged. He hadn’t meant to fall in love with the beautiful, brave woman who only saw her wrongs. Somehow, it had just happened, and he knew he loved her. Still he couldn’t give in to his longing if Darcy wouldn’t surrender to God. Jesus had paid the price for her sins if only she would believe it.
Tucking one bag under his arm, Blake lifted the other two and slipped through the fence grinning as a group of yearlings charged across the pasture with the exuberance of youth.
Pushing his feelings down deep, he trudged slowly up to his home and placed the suitcases on the stoop where Darcy had stopped to look out across the prairie.
“You know your folks must have been crazy building their house in the middle of a horse pasture, right?”
Blake’s laughter rang out clear in the bright day. “My pa would not agree with you on that issue. He likes being close to his work and being able to see the horses from every window of the house. Someday, I’ll have a place of my own as well and maybe a family. As a kid, I used to wander all around the fields, and my parents could see me from the house.
It gave me a sense of contentment to know that, a security and peace that was part of me as I grew.
Darcy sighed, leaning against a porch rail as the sun cast a warm glow on her skin. For too long she had been kept in the dark, hidden in the shadowy part of the world. She soaked in the warmth and light like a flower seeking the sun, and she knew her heart could be content here, though it wasn’t her place. If only she knew that her heart could be clean, that the light could reach into the darkest corner of her soul and fill it, then she could be free.
Darcy closed her eyes letting the sun wash over her as Blake carried their bags into the house. She longed to be one with the light and as her heart strained toward it truth began to blossom in her soul.
She knew what she would do once her time at the Broken J came to an end. For several moments she stared longingly at the open door Blake had just slipped through. In her heart she wanted to follow him, be with him, love him, but she wasn’t the woman for a man like that. No, in two weeks she would return to Cheyenne and do what she could to repair her battered soul.
Chapter 26
Darcy smoothed the mane on her mount as they came to a stop on a low ridge overlooking the prairie. Blake had eased her into riding a horse and she found she enjoyed it more than she would have believed even days ago.
Today he was riding the long legged horse he had ridden into Cheyenne early that spring, and she smiled knowing that he was comfortable on the beast. Although the gunshot wound to his leg was mending, Blake still had a great deal of pain, though he tried to hide it.
Over the past week and a half she had enjoyed her time with the cowboy, and though he had become a peace officer, Darcy knew that deep down inside Blake Allen was a cowboy who would carry his parent’s legacy into the next generation.
“This has been a wonderful time,” Darcy said, leaning one arm on here saddle horn and holding the reins lightly in a gloved hand. She was dressed in a pair of wide legged trousers, a white blouse, with the sleeves rolled up, and her once white skin was kissed by the sun. In some aspects she was a new woman. She was free from the fear and control of her old life, but deep down she could feel the old Darcy, the girl who wanted more and had done too much to have it.
“It was a good ride,” Blake agreed with a grin. Since coming to home, Blake had shed the sophistication of the city, and the hard-bitten persona he had worn like a mask. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Darcy sighed knowing that Blake was about to start in on why she should stay. She knew by the way he looked at her that the cowboy cared, but she wasn’t right for him, no matter what he felt. He had never said anything about his feelings, keeping his thoughts to himself, and by the constant nattering about faith, and redemption, she knew he wanted her to stay for her own good.
“Blake I’m not staying,” Darcy said, her voice soft but firm. “I need to do something useful out there in the real world, something to help put old sins in the past.”
“But Darcy.”
“No, Blake I’ve made up my mind. I have to go. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime, but this is your home not mine.”
Blake hung his head. She was right. He could offer her nothing if she couldn’t accept his faith. Until Darcy was ready to see the truth there was nothing he could do to make her understand.
“When will you leave?”
“Tomorrow, I have a plan, and once I get settled, I’ll let you know how I’m doing. I’ve heard of some work I can do in the city, and with this new, clean and wholesome look, few will recognize me.” Darcy grinned brightly touching the curls that almost reached her collar.
“You look great,” Blake said, automatically. In his eyes Darcy was more beautiful than
