A Matter of Trust Read Online Free PDF

clatter. She was feisty,
he’d give her that. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
    “Carrie, mind your manners. Ben is a guest
in our home,” Jack said in a low voice.
    “It’s all right, Jack. I’d rather she talk
than to have something come flying at me from across the table,”
Ben said.
    “What in heaven do you mean?” Alice asked,
looking confused.
    Ben gestured with his fork to Carrie. “Well,
your daughter gave me quite the welcome last night.”
    Alice groaned, and Jack shook his head. Ben
wasn’t sure if the irritation was aimed at him or Carrie.
    “First, let’s get something straight,”
Carrie said. “Alice isn’t my mother. She’s not responsible for what
I did last night.”
    “Carrie!” Jack snapped.
    “I’m sorry, Alice. I didn’t say that to hurt
you,” Carrie said quickly. She glanced at Ben, and he wondered for
a moment if she had said what she did for shock value.
    “Excuse me,” Alice muttered, scraping her
chair back. Ben didn’t miss the hurt in her voice. Jack followed
his wife into the kitchen.
    When he glanced back over at Carrie, she had
fisted her hands and was looking down at her plate. Her lips were
tight.
    “You want to take a walk?” he said. He
tossed his napkin down, and, for a second, he couldn’t believe he
had asked her that.
    He expected her to tell him to go to hell,
but she seemed to consider something and then simply nodded,
scooting her chair back. She lifted her dark blue coat off the
hook, and Ben helped her slip it on. He lifted his leather jacket
as he followed her out the door, listening to Jack talking softly
to his wife in the kitchen. Whatever was going on here, it was none
of Ben’s business. He should have politely excused himself to go
back to his cabin and fine tune his presentation, but instead he
found himself outside, in the cool morning air…with Carrie.

Chapter Six
    Carrie wanted to take it back. As usual, she
had opened her mouth and the words had just come flying out. Being
twenty-two, she considered herself older and wiser, even though her
father had told her that she still had a lifetime of learning to
do. At times, she was her own worst enemy. Her father had told her
that, too, and so had Alice. That much they did agree on. The fact
was that Alice didn’t deserve the way Carrie had snapped so rudely
that she wasn’t her mother. What was with her and this need to
always set the record straight? She just hated lies and deceit—yet
here she was, walking side by side with the enemy. How screwed up
was that?
    “You’re probably wondering why I said that
Alice isn’t my mother,” she began.
    He matched her steps, his hands shoved into
both pockets of his dark brown coat. She could smell the rich
leather, and his scent was intoxicating—even the hint of soap and
water, the fragrance she recognized from the brand of soap Alice
bought. She’d never had her senses stirred by a man’s scent before,
and she found it unsettling. She had to swallow before she could
glance his way.
    He was frowning, shaking his head. “No, I’m
not,” he replied.
    “Oh, I just assumed…” Now she was flustered,
feeling like such a fool.
    He stopped her by putting his hand on her
shoulder. “Why?” he asked. He was so dynamic, nothing soft about
him. His attention was on her like a hundred-watt bulb, and it was
causing her to lose her train of thought. She couldn’t remember
ever being this scattered.
    “Well, you asked me if I wanted to go for a
walk. I just assumed you wanted to know. I’m sorry, I guess I
jumped to the wrong conclusion,” she snapped.
    What could she say to make herself look less
like an idiot?
    ****
    “I was thinking you could use some fresh air
and that Alice and Jack could use some space. That’s all,” Ben
said.
    In truth, that hadn’t been all, but he
wasn’t about to tell her that. He wanted to know why she was part
of this protest, what was going through her mind right now, what
made her tick, why she had such