A Love All Her Own Read Online Free PDF

isn’t.” Nelson arrived just then, and Benson filled him in on the calm night.
    “I could use some quiet time after the last client I was assigned to,” Nelson said as he settled into the chair Benson had just vacated. It had the best view of the stairs and the front desk.
    They all laughed. Nelson’s last client had been a wealthy woman with three spoiled children. As it turned out, her husband had apparently hired the Wellington Agency to watch his children while his wife went to the bathhouses for relaxation. Marcus assured both men, “Don’t worry. I’ve got that name on my never-again list.”
    “Good thing, ’cause I’d have to decline the opportunity to do it again,” Nelson said.
    “Can’t say I’d blame you,” Marcus said as he and Benson turned to leave. “Have a good night.”
    He and Benson parted ways just outside the hotel, and Marcus found himself looking up at Miss Connors’s hotel window. He wondered what she thought of Hot Springs and what kind of mood she’d be in the next day. He couldn’t deny that he was looking forward to finding out.
    ❧
    By the time Abigail got back to her room, she was ready for a good night’s rest. She climbed into bed and pulled up her covers, but it didn’t take long before Abigail realized that she wasn’t going to drift off into a peaceful sleep as she’d hoped. In the dark of the night and alone in a strange place, she began to think about home and all she had lost in the last few weeks.
    Abigail fought the sudden urge to cry, but the hot tears won and cascaded down her cheeks. Brushing them away with the back of her hand, Abigail turned over and crunched her pillow, but she couldn’t turn off her thoughts. The past was over with, and she needed to get on with her future. She wasn’t sure she could.
    For so long, she’d felt guilty about her sister’s death. . .and now she knew her niece blamed her for it as well. . .even though it hadn’t been her fault. She truly had been trying to save Rose when she’d followed her up the stairs and grabbed her arm and tried to get her to come with her the day of the fire. When Rose pulled away, she lost her balance and fell down the stairs. It hadn’t been Abigail’s fault, yet she knew she would always feel she could have, should have done something else—only she didn’t know what.
    Rose had been determined to save her keepsakes, telling Abigail that she’d be right back. But even had Abigail left her alone and let her go, she wouldn’t have gotten out in time. The result would have been the same, and Abigail still would have blamed herself. If there was anything she should feel guilty about that day, it was that she’d envied her sister and wanted the life she had, but she had never ever wished her gone. And she had truly tried to convince Rose to get out in time.
    Deep down, Abigail knew all that, but she would never forget seeing her sister fall down the stairs, rushing to help, only to find that Rose was badly hurt. All she could do when Rose told her to get Natalie to safety was just that—and hope she’d have time to come back and get her sister out. But that wasn’t to be. By the time she’d turned around, the house was in flames. Abigail shuddered, remembering that sight in vivid detail. She would never forget that day. What really broke her heart was that now her niece remembered that day, too, and she wasn’t likely to forget it. And in Natalie’s mind, Abigail was to blame.
    Abigail wished she could change the past, but there was no way that could be done. And she had no one but herself to blame for the heartache. There was no keeping the tears back, and she began to sob for the past, for the present, and for the future she’d wished for but lost.
    ❧
    Abigail didn’t wake until midmorning, but she was relieved to have the night over with. Even after her tears had subsided, she’d tossed and turned. Now she washed her face and could only hope that some of the puffiness around her