Courting the Doctor's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page B

admire a woman who watches out for her neighbor—but lashing out at whomever you deem a threat must get exhausting.”
    Her gaze sought the floorboards. Had she behaved that badly?
    With gentle fingers he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Angry or not, you’re a caring woman.”
    Something about the rapt look in his eyes kept her rooted to the spot, trapping her breath in her lungs.
    “An attractive one too.”
    Heat rushed to her cheeks. No one had said such things to her in years and years. She hooted her disbelief. She wasn’t some naive, giddy schoolgirl. He’d have to find another target to wile with his charms.
    Yet, the compliment clung to her like a terrified toddler during a thunderstorm.
    Tentacles of mistrust wrapped around her every muscle and tendon and squeezed. “Why are you really here? What do you want?”
    “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to sell my remedy.”
    “Is that the only reason?”
    For a moment, she saw a glimpse of hesitation in his eyes. But then he flashed a smile, and despite herself, Mary’s gaze traveled to that tiny hollow in his cheek. Inhaling his scent, pleasant, with a hint of spices, she pressed a hand against her bodice, felt the pounding of her heart through the fabric of her dress. “I’ll pay you thirty dollars to leave…today.”
    He whistled. “That’s a lot of money, ma’am. You mustreally want me gone.” He leaned closer. She couldn’t help noticing his eyes resembled the color of roasted coffee beans. “Why, you make a man feel downright unwelcome.”
    “Ah, you’ve gotten the message.” She raised her brows. “Finally.”
    “It’s a message I won’t be heeding. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready,” he said softly, but Mary didn’t miss the stubbornness in his tone, like he dared her to disagree. Then he grinned. “Have a pleasant day. If I see the owner, I’ll tell him you asked for him.” And with that, he returned to his horse.
    Mary spun on her heel and left the livery, her head held high, her back ramrod straight and her insides quaking like winter wheat in March winds.
    Was Sheriff Rogers right? Did Luke Jacobs have an interest in the orphans?
     
    Luke met his horse’s stare. “You’re a female, Rosie. Do you think she followed me? Or did you believe she had a reason to see the livery owner?”
    The mare nudged his shoulder with her muzzle. Mute. Then she dipped to the bucket for a drink.
    “Guess you gals stick together.”
    For some reason he couldn’t explain, he admired that half pint of a woman with her sassy mouth and flashing green eyes. Maybe because she stood up for her convictions.
    “Don’t worry, Rosie. I have no intention of getting involved with Miss Nightingale. Or any woman.”
    He gave his horse one last pat and then headed for the Whitehall Café, his temporary home. Mrs. Whitehall loved to talk and knew everyone in town. Perhaps she’d offer up additional information that would lead him to his son.
    If not, he wouldn’t stop there. Nothing would keep him from Ben.
    Nothing and no one.
     
    Mary picked up Ben from the Foleys’, gathering him close. He grinned up at her, his dark eyes dancing with mischief. “I’m too big to hug,” he said then belied his words by squeezing her so hard he squeaked with the effort.
    “What did you do today?”
    “I played with the baby kittens. Pastor Foley named a kitty Simon Peter like Jesus’s dis…disapple.”
    “Disciple.” She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “That’s a wonderful name.”
    “So is Ben.”
    “Yes, Ben is a very special name.”
    For a very special child. A child who’d endured more than his share of upheaval. Could the sheriff have misread ordinary interest in the children for more? Mary worried her lower lip. But if his instincts were right, she wouldn’t let that no-good peddler rip apart her carefully constructed, orderly life.
    Nor would she let him near this boy.
    Michael, his green eyes so like her own, his lanky