Page 3 of Carly's Heart

♥ Chapter Two ♥

Four Years Ago:

“I don’t know what to do,” Carly complained to Tanya. “Mike just won’t stop drinking. He hits the bottle every night. He claims his job is stressful and he needs to relax.”

Birch froze in the kitchen doorway on the way to grab a glass of water. He probably should make his presence known.

“Is he mean to you?” Tanya asked “Does he hit you?”

“Oh, no! I just don’t like that he drinks and watches TV until he passes out. He gets up, showers, goes to work, and comes home to do it all over again. We barely talk. I’m losing the man I love to the bottle and I don’t know how to get him back.” She sounded on the verge of tears.

Birch wanted to rush to her side and tell her everything would be okay. Over the past two years, they’d become friends of a sort. He pushed down his attraction to her and did his best to treat Carly as a kid sister. At least now he was able to talk to her without stepping on his tongue.

“Oh, Carly. That’s terrible.” Tanya commiserated. “What are you going to do?”

Carly sobbed. “I don’t know.” She wept quietly into her hands. “He won’t admit he has a problem, let alone get help.”

The sight and sound of her misery squeezed Birch’s chest until his heart wanted to explode. He was tempted to go find Mike, and tell him a thing or two about being a good husband. Carly deserved better. His hands fisted against the doorjamb.

“Back off, son,” his father whispered in his ear. “It’s not your business. Stay out of it unless he lifts a hand to her.”

“I wasn’t going to do anything,” he whispered back.

“You were. You’re my eldest child. I know you as well as I know myself. Back away from the situation, and back away from Carly. She’s taken.”

He whirled round to glare at his father. “I’d never fish in another man’s pond.”

“Not in reality, but dreaming about what you can’t have isn’t serving you well either.” He grabbed Birch by the shoulder and led him outside. “Son. I’m warning you. No good will come out of pinning your hopes on Carly. She’s a great girl. We all adore her, but she’s taken. Find someone else. Back away. Stop coming by the house when she’s around.”

“I don’t-”

“You do.” His father frowned. “Next time you see her car, head for your place. Work your frustrations out. The Lord says coveting your neighbor’s wife is a sin.”

Birch frowned. His dad was very religious, but he wasn’t wrong. Guilt wracked Birch’s body and made his chest hurt. Watching Carly was wrong on so many levels, but he felt helpless to resist her lure. She was a siren and every cowboy’s, especially this one’s dream.

“I’ll try, Dad. I’ll try.”

“I’m proud of you son. I know you can do this. Find someone else.” He clapped Birch on the back and went inside. Birch stood on the house’s wraparound porch staring out into the rain. The air was heavy with the hopeful moistness of spring. The grass was greening up nicely, and the family hay was already coming in.

Inside, through the screen door, he heard his father greet Carly with a terrible dad joke. She laughed lightly. The sound slid down Birch’s spine like hot whiskey. He stormed off the deck and headed for the barn. He saddled one of his father’s horses and rode through the light rain to his own ranch. Far away from Carly’s enticing presence.

---