Megan Chance by A Heart Divided Page B

wanted me to trust you, you wanted to be friends. But friends don't hide themselves from one another."
    Across the room Charles motioned for her to be silent. "Leave the man be, Liebling . He is tired tonight, and I would welcome a little peace."
    "As you wish, Onkle ." Sari stepped back, turning to the stove. "Good night, then."
    "Good night."
    She waited until she heard Conor's footsteps cross the floor, until the door was shoved tight again against the elements, before she turned back to face her uncle.
    "You keep defending him, Onkle ," she said softly. "Why is that?"
    Charles shook his head. "You do not understand."
    "No, I don't," she agreed. "I don't understand. You know how I feel about him, you know what he did to me, to Evan. And yet you act as if it doesn't matter to you."
    "That is not true," Charles said wearily. He walked to the table and sagged into a chair. "He is our best hope, Sarilyn. He can protect us against them."
    "So that's it?" Sari asked carefully. "You're afraid of the sleepers? Of Michael?"
    Charles nodded. " Ja ."
    She laughed shortly. " Onkle , you are a poor liar. Why don't you just admit that you think I'm wrong? You think I should forgive him, that I should take him back into my life as though he never did anything wrong."
    " Nein , I do not think that!" Charles shook his head vehemently. "Roarke was wrong to hurt you so. I do not deny this. But you are wrong to think he cannot change. You are like—" He struggled for the words."He cannot make you happy because you will not let him."
    "I can't help it, Onkle . I don't trust him."
    "Then let him prove he can be trusted. Do not refuse to let him try." Charles smiled gently. "You loved him once, Liebling . Sometimes love hurts, eh? You do not think your Tante and I did not have bad times?" He shook his head sadly. "There were times when I hurt her as badly as Roarke hurt you. Times I will always regret."
    Sari took a deep breath. "I don't know if I even have it in me to try," she said. "Sometimes the memories are so strong ..."
    "I doubt you are the only one who feels that way."
    "You think he feels sorry?" She asked bitterly. "I don't believe it."
    "And because you will not believe it, you make it so." Charles sighed in exhaustion. "Give him the chance to show you he is not the same man. Show him the woman he fell in love with."
    "Fell in love with? He has never loved me."
    "He did in Tamaqua." Charles disagreed. "He does now."
    "He's told you this?"
    "I am not blind. Not yet."
    "Then your eyesight is fading quickly. Conor Roarke used me. I was a way to avert suspicion."
    "In the beginning, ja ."
    "That poem turned your brain to scrapple, Onkle ," she shook her head. "If I wasn't listening to you myself, I wouldn't believe you've said these things."
    "The day will come." He waggled a finger at her. "The day will come when you will see I am right."
    "You've missed your calling," she softened. "You'd be better suited as a Wahrsager , telling fortunes for a nickel."
    "You are hard-hearted, Liebling ." Charles rose, the smile in his eyes belying his harsh words. "You are little better than a fishwife, but I bless the day you came to us."
    "So do I, Onkle ." Sari smiled. "So do I."
     
    H er uncle's words spun in her mind, a ceaseless rhythm Sari could not ignore or deny. "He cannot make you happy because you will not let him...."
    She no longer knew what to think. What if her uncle was right? She'd been telling herself for months that she wanted an apology, wanted Conor to regret what he'd done—what he'd forced her to do. Well, he'd apologized, and try as she might, she saw no lies in his eyes. What else did she want? Why couldn't she just accept that he was a fallible man who'd been caught in a bad situation? Why couldn't she believe that he'd returned to make amends, to protect her? Why couldn't she let her anger die?
    Because it was safer to keep it alive. Sari stared at the ceiling, at the cotton muslin that swayed in the air wafting beneath