Unforgiven Read Online Free PDF

another?”
    “Yes.” Their voices echoed one another, but neither offered more information than that.
    As he continued to watch her, her eyes moved to and then from him over and over. She was so exceptionally nervous around him. Of course she would be, and in one moment, the sight of her brought him pain, and then it brought anger and utter sadness. She was an emotional roller coaster to him, and in a flash of anger, he turned his eyes to Veronica. “Didn’t know you hired felons.”
    Bailey gasped as Veronica’s eyes widened, and he watched as Bailey shook her head before walking out the door behind her. Darren followed suit and left through the opposite door, leaving Veronica staring after him. He paid quickly, but not quick enough.
    “So, felon, huh?” It was Veronica.
    He just stared at her, saying nothing. The flirtation was gone—dead and gone.
    “You didn’t answer my question earlier. About going out sometime?”
    “I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m really busy at the hospital right now.” He turned and walked away, and Veronica again stared after him, stunned.
    Macy was sitting beside him in his Infiniti SUV. Thank God for leather; she was so damn excited, her drool was practically a steady stream onto the seat beneath her. But Darren wasn’t thinking much about his faithful, albeit brain-dead companion; he was thinking about her. Veronica . . . or was it Bailey? He’d been prepared to accept her proposal, but then Bailey appeared . . . again. After six years, he’d managed to see her twice in less than three days. He was starting to feel haunted. He hated Bailey. Seeing her made him want to put his fist through a fucking wall, and yet, he’d rejected Veronica instead. Why? Not that he hadn’t taken his shot at Bailey too, but why did he suddenly find Veronica reprehensible?
    Staying away from Bailey was the only way he was going to keep his sanity. At least now he knew he was going to have to find a new vet in order to make that happen. Fuck. It might be a relatively small town, but he wasn’t catching a break.
    He pulled from the parking lot with Macy slobbering out the passenger window, and as he started driving toward his home, his mind wandered. She looked the same. Her skin was just as smooth as it had always been. She’d never worn much makeup, never really needed it to be cute. He remembered seeing Jess and Bailey dressed for prom one year, waiting for their dates to arrive. He’d been blown away by how much different she’d looked with actual makeup on. She was stunning, but he’d never gotten used to it. He’d always liked her fresh-skinned with nothing more than glossy lips and her bright, round eyes.
    She used to wear her long chestnut hair straight as a board and all one length. It had shone and been as glossy as she always kept her lips. Her hair was still long, but she had layers that made it look full and wavy, and it still shone like silk as it cascaded down. She still looked young and innocent, and it was confusing. He wanted to hate her—he did hate her, and yet . . . she looked so damn much like the girl he’d grown up with—that sweet, smart, somewhat shy girl he used to think about far more than he had any business thinking about.
    He nearly missed his turnoff and had to slam on his brakes, pinning Macy to the passenger seat with his forearm to keep the girl from flying forward. His home was buried in the Ozark woods on the hills that overlooked Lake Savoy below. He built his home a year before when he decided he was going to stay in Savoy. He didn’t have to, of course, and once his residency was finished in Little Rock, he’d considered moving on, but leaving his family behind wasn’t something he wanted to do anymore. There had been a time when he’d wanted to end up somewhere, anywhere, far from Arkansas, but he was a country boy at heart—Ozark country if nothing else, and he needed to be home now.
    The home was built within the tall,