Read Online Heaven Scent by SpursFanatic - Free Book Online Page A

Henry
bellowed. “It is of utmost import and seriousness.”
    Turning, Rafe walked back to the desk.
His height made him eye level with Worthington. He stared at the
man, hands on hips, waiting for him to speak.
    “I’ll get right to the point,” Henry
said, pulling the spectacles off his nose and tossing them onto the
desk.
    “By all means…”
    “I’m willing to give Sutherland all of
my shipping. Are you interested?”
    Rafe’s heart rate kicked up a notch. Of
course he was interested. Signing all of Worthington’s business
would be a godsend.
    But, Rafe knew a catch when he heard
one. He had to tread lightly where Worthington was concerned. His
daughter had gained her sly intelligence from somewhere.
    “Go on,” he said with a brief
nod.
    “Not only am I willing to give you all
of my shipping, I am willing to offer you my prized
possession.”
    Rafe’s gut swirled in dreaded
anticipation. This was not good. The last time he’d felt this way,
he was skinned alive minutes later.
    “And this prized possession
is?…”
    Henry leveled his gaze on Rafe.
“Tarin.”
    Rafe’s gut clenched
painfully before he let out a bellow of laughter. “You could no
more give away
Tarin than I could win a contest for beauty.”
    Breaking eye contact, Henry went back
to work on his papers. “So, you are not interested...”
    Hell. Rafe clenched his
jaw. “I didn’t say that,” he replied. “But you and I both know your
daughter has a mind of her own. She will not tolerate being given away.”
    “I didn’t say give , Mr. Sutherland.”
Henry sat back in his chair and templed his fingers. “I believe the
word I used was offer .”
    Rafe crossed his arms over
his chest. “So, what does offering Tarin, and your shipping business, have to do with
one another?”
    Henry smiled. “The bargain, Mr.
Sutherland, is this – marry my daughter and you have my business
for life.”
    It took all of Rafe’s willpower to keep
his eyes from bulging out of his head. “You can’t be
serious.”
    “I am deadly serious.”
    Rafe dropped his arms. “Why? Your
daughter is a beautiful, intelligent woman.”
    Henry smiled. Rafe ignored
him.
    “Any man in Boston would kill to marry
her. Why would you saddle her with someone like me?”
    Henry sat forward in his chair. “You
are the first man I have met that can handle her. Tarin needs
someone that is her equal. She does not need a man who will bow to
her every wish or one that will try to control her.”
    Rafe thought about last night at the
seminar, and the dinner party at his home. Any other man would have
scolded Tarin for her behavior, or banished her to the
house.
    But he had seen too many women fall
victim to the strong arm of a man. Too many suffer as a result of a
man’s pride. To not help her into the seminar, or not allow her to
state her opinion on the vote, had not even entered Rafe’s
mind.
    Handle her? Hell, he admired her. But
he would not make her marry a man that repulsed her.
    “I may be able to handle her but I am
not the man for the job.”
    “You are if you want my
business.”
    Rafe cursed under his breath as he
moved to the window to collect his thoughts.
    “We both know Sutherland Shipping will
go under within a year’s time if more capital is not gained,” Henry
stated. “There is other business out there, yes, but none as
lucrative and forthcoming as mine. If you take my offer, Isabel and
Patrick will never know life outside the Brahmin.”
    Leave it to Worthington to tighten the
right noose. As the eldest son, Rafe had the responsibility to
ensure his family’s prosperity. And the thought of telling his
mother they had no money was not an option.
    Rafe turned from the window. “Even if I
accepted, Tarin would not willingly marry me. She is too intent on
her career.”
    Henry stared at him long and hard. “She
will marry you – with a little persuasion on your part. Once you
are wed, it will be up to you to keep her happy and with child so,
God