Karen Michelle Nutt by A Twist of Fate

started in on the bore of the gun.
Since he didn’t openly tell her to leave, Arianna decided to stay. She found a nice spot on a bundle of hay and continued to watch him work. She wondered if he brought the pistol with him when he went pirating. She shoved the horrific image aside and cleared her throat. "I don't believe I like those women very much.”
In spite of Arianna’s reserve, Keldon seemed not to miss the exasperation in her voice. He glanced up at her.
“They're... well they're...” She struggled for the right words. “How should I say it…” She met his gaze then snapped her fingers. “Self-centered people."
Keldon’s lips twitched. "Aye, that they are."
Arianna thought about the old saying or at least, what she thought was an old saying. Birds of a feather flock together . “Am I like them, too?”
 
Keldon tilted his head to one side, curious about her newfound revelation. Her large blue eyes held his, hope lingering in their depths. For a moment, he thought to shield her from the truth, to lie about how horrible she was to live with.
He shook his head of the fanciful thought. He could ill afford to show compassion with her. He decided to tell her exactly how she behaved. He didn’t care what Leighton expected him to do. He wouldn’t lie. One day she’d regain her memory and his hell would begin all over again. For protection, he’d keep his heart hardened against her. "Do ye really want me to tell ye?” He waited for her to answer, giving her one last chance to tell him no.
She pursed her lips and nodded.
“Then aye, ye’re like them and worse. Ye’re a spiteful uncaring woman, Annabelle.” Even to him, his voice sounded harsh. Her head bowed, but not before he witnessed the raw hurt, he inflicted. A flash of guilt gripped his insides and he looked away. He thought he'd take great satisfaction in wounding her, but instead he felt hollow inside.
Her weary sigh made him look at her again.
"Why did you marry me, Keldon, if I was such an awful person? Why?"
Why couldn't she let this go? He didn't want to discuss their marriage.
“Please tell me.”
He should refuse her.
“Keldon, please, I must know.”
"It was arranged by our fathers.” Bitterness laced each word.
“You weren’t happy with the union?”
A low moan from one of the stalls interrupted before Keldon could reply.
Arianna rose to investigate, obviously forgetting her own problems for the moment.
"What's wrong with the cow? Is she sick?”
"She's in the birthin’ stage.” Keldon had joined her.
"She looks so small."
"Aye. That she is. I’m a wee bit worried. She may be needin’ help."
She glanced over at him. “Have I ever seen a calf being born?"
He found her childish enthusiasm intriguing, making him wonder if Annabelle had been this innocent before influences and her father’s indulgence made her selfish. "No’ that I be knowin’."
"Then it's settled," she announced.
"What is settled?"
"I’m staying."
By her stance of hands on her hips, he realized she wouldn’t reconsider. The fact she entered the barn in the first place, surprised him, but of late, everything she did puzzled him. He wondered how a simple bump on the head caused her to change and he wished this wondrous transformation could be permanent.
"Ye can stay," he said with a shrug. He appreciated the company, but he would never tell her so.
For hours, the animal labored to expel her burden. Arianna and Keldon waited, both anxious as the minutes passed with no results.
Arianna turned to Keldon. “There’s something wrong, isn’t there?”
"It's as I feared,” Keldon commented more to himself than to anyone. He glanced at the pistol he’d been cleaning. He dreaded the thought of using it.
"I don’t like how you look, Keldon. What’s wrong?"
He didn’t answer but moved toward the laboring animal, careful not to startle her. His examination proved he’d been right. The calf faced the wrong way, making delivery impossible. He shook his head. The poor