Read Online One White Rose by Julie Garwood - Free Book Online Page A

caught his attention. He froze. There was a shadow slowly moving down the path toward the field. He was still too far away for Douglas to see his face, but Douglas knew who was coming. The lone rider had to be Boyle. Dr. Simpson had warned him that the predator liked to look in on the woman he was terrorizing. Oh, yes, it was Boyle all right.
    Douglas's first concern was that Isabel not panic. She'd wake up the baby then, and Boyle would move his men in. Douglas continued to stare at the shadow and made his voice sound as mild as Parker's snore when he spoke to her. "Isabel, will the baby sleep for a while?"
    "Oh, yes. He was up most of the night. He has to catch up on his sleep today." She took the baby away from him and headed for the bedroom. He followed her, waited until Parker was all tucked in, and then calmly told her company was coming.
    Isabel didn't panic. She began to undress instead. "How much time do I have?" she asked. She threw her robe on the bed and started unbuttoning her nightgown.
    "What are you doing?"
    "I have to get dressed and go outside."
    "The hell you do. You're staying in here."
    "Douglas, be sensible. If he sees me, he'll go away. I always go out on the stoop with my rifle. I want him to see me pregnant. I'll need a belt. Will you get one of Parker's out of the box in the corner? Don't stand there. We have to hurry. He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
    "You are not…"
    She ran to him and put her finger over his mouth to stop his protest. "If I don't go out, he'll start shooting his gun in the air. The noise is going to wake Parker. Do you want him to hear the baby? Now, help me get dressed so I can placate the man. Please."
    He pulled her hand away from his mouth and held on to her. "It's out of the question. I'm going out and kill the bastard. You got that?"
    "No."
    "It'll be a fair fight," he promised. "I'll make him draw." She frantically shook her head at him. "Stop being so stubborn. Boyle won't be drawn into a fight. The man's a coward, Douglas. There isn't time to argue about this. You can protect me just fine from the front window. If he looks like he's going to hurt me, then you can come outside and make him leave. You aren't going to kill him though. Do you understand me?" The set of his jaw told her he didn't understand.
    "Please? Restrain yourself for my sake. All right?"
    "Honest to God, I sure would like to—"
    She stopped him cold by touching his cheek. "But you won't." He wouldn't agree or disagree. "Maybe," was all he would allow. She rolled her eyes heavenward. "The belt, please. Get the belt." He took his own off and handed it to her. "You're not wearing anything that belonged to Parker."
    The issue seemed to matter to him, and since his pants stayed put on the tilt of his hips, she didn't waste time arguing.
    As soon as he went back to the window to check Boyle's progress, she got ready. She was still swollen around the middle, but not nearly enough to look as though she were drawing close to the delivery date she and Dr. Simpson had given Boyle.
    She joined Douglas as Boyle was just reaching the flat at the base of the hill.
    "Do I look as pregnant as I'm supposed to be?"
    "I guess so."
    She put her hand on his arm. "You're supposed to look at me before you decide." He finally gave her a quick once-over. He didn't like what he saw and frowned to let her know exactly how he felt. Isabel was dressed in a white blouse and a dark blue jersey jumper that ballooned out around her middle, and in his opinion, she was too attractive for the bastard to see. Was she deliberately trying to entice him? No, of course she wasn't. She couldn't help being pretty, and unfortunately, he couldn't come up with any ideas to radically change her appearance… unless she was willing to wear a burlap bag over her head. He didn't bother to suggest it though, because he knew she wouldn't do it.
    "Button up your blouse."
    "It is buttoned."
    "Not the top two," he said. He put his gun back in his holster