NoRegretsColeNC by Christina Cole Read Free Book Online

right through me about the letter. And now, you’re seeing through me, too.”
Hattie turned to face him. “I’m quite shaken, actually.”
    “About
what?”
    She
whirled about in a whoosh of skirts and petticoats. “Is it true? All that I heard?” She steepled her hands in front of her face, as if in supplication. “Please, say it isn’t
so.”
    Perplexed,
he narrowed his gaze. His tongue came out to wet his lips while he puzzled over
her odd behavior.
    “I have
no idea what you’re talking about.”
    Color
rose to her cheeks. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. Really, I wasn’t. It’s wrong to
deliberately listen to someone else’s private conversation. But I happened to
overhear what was said between you and Dr. Kellerman.” Each word carried a
solemn weight.
    “I
still don’t understand.” He made an awkward shrug. Movement of any kind caused
excruciating pain. “What I mean is , we weren’t
discussing anything that’s not common knowledge. You’ve known all along what a
good-for-nothing drunkard I’ve become in recent months.”
    Her
eyes widened to pools of gray. “For pity’s sake, don’t be so wrapped up in
yourself. I’m not talking about you, Willie Morse.” Her face scrunched up.
Willie couldn’t tell if she was about to let go of a laugh or burst into fresh
tears. A breath shuddered from her lips. Her breasts rose and fell. “I’m
talking about Dr. Kellerman. He’s a good man. A fine doctor.”
    “Yes,
he is.”
    “You
called him a drunkard! And worse still, you called Mrs. Kellerman, a—” She
shook her head, obviously unable to utter the word.
    “A
whore.” He
spat it out for her. “Just being honest, Miss Richards.” He brought his hands
up, folded them together, and rested them on his chest.
    The
shock on the girl’s face amused him, brought back some of the pleasure he used
to find from taunting others. She didn’t deserve to be bullied or teased, but he couldn’t stop. For the first
time since he’d stepped out in front of that oncoming freight wagon, he felt
his old self stirring about inside of him. Not the drunken, down-on-his-luck
Willie Morse of late, but the one who used to always take command of
situations, the one with the quick wit, the sharp tongue, the ability to put others
in their place. The one who truly lived his life with no
regrets.
    “You’re
lying. It can’t possibly be true.”
    “How
long have you been living in Sunset? Not very long,” he pointed out, giving her
no opportunity to answer. “You didn’t know Dr. Kellerman before. You didn’t
know Charlotte Kellerman, either.”
    Hattie
sank down at the foot of the bed, obviously forgetting the rule that she was
not supposed to be sitting there. “How could it be? It doesn’t seem possible.
They’re so kind, so considerate. They do so much to help people, and yet you’re
telling me they were both good-for-nothing sots?” She shook her head. “No,
you’ve got to be wrong. I refuse to believe it.”
    When
she rose to her feet, her demeanor changed completely. She’d obviously come to
a conclusion she found acceptable, and she now considered the matter settled.
The girl would believe only what she wished. A dangerous
precept, in Willie’s mind.
    He
snorted. “You’re such an innocent. Is it for real, Miss Richards? Or is it only
an act?”
    Bewilderment
shone in her luminous eyes. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you mean.”
    Truly,
she didn’t, and Willie almost regretted his hasty remarks. Almost,
but not quite. Maybe Miss Hattie Mae needed to take a good, long look at herself . Although innocence counted as a virtue in a
young woman, it should be tempered with a willingness to accept reality. A
female left herself vulnerable otherwise.
    “What I
mean,” he replied, stretching slightly in hopes of finding a more comfortable
position, “is that you’re so insistent about seeing what’s good, you don’t
consider any other possibilities.”
    “Are
you saying it’s wrong to