Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

city’s noise, as it did to offer a bit of privacy for those enjoying a respite on the long side porch.
    Dr. Garrison was looking over the hedge at the activity out front. The street wasn’t a particularly busy one, but there was the occasional rider or carriage passing by, as well as people walking along the walks. Keelan sat, her back toward the road and the clop of horses hooves and the jangle of carriages. There was less chance of being overheard out here.
    Dr. Garrison pulled his hands behind his back. “Please tell me what is going on.”
    “I leave for Boston in a few days,” she lied. “Slaney has packed our things. We’re going back to England.”  
    He jolted as if struck. “What…why…” he sputtered a moment before he continued. “Miss Keelan, we are to be married. Your home is here.”
    “Dr. Garrison, we discussed this the night of Doreen’s ball. I cannot marry you. Going home to England is my decision. I am going at the request of my…at Papa’s request.”
    His expression tensed further. She waited for him to continue. She’d not spoken to Dr. Garrison alone since the night in the garden, after she privately broke their engagement. In the garden during Doreen’s ball, the doctor’s darker side had surfaced. He’d become almost violent. Even now, there was something a little off in his demeanor, a shift in his gaze, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, which made her even more uneasy in his presence.
    When he finally spoke, his words tumbled together in a clumsy rush. “Miss Keelan, my behavior at the ball was abhorrent and I am here to offer my sincerest apology. I wish to mend our relationship. You were…well…the wine…” He shrugged and dug his thumb into his palm. “Perhaps you weren’t quite yourself, and you said some things you did not mean…and I said some things I certainly did not mean.”
    “Dr. Garrison...” Oh dear, she had hoped he would be as content to break the engagement as she. Granted, she’d been slightly tipsy at the time. Seeing Landon waltz with the stunningly beautiful Annette Camsby had affected her recollection of the amount she’d sipped. The wine had given her the courage to tell the doctor she didn’t love him, and she’d rather not marry him. Unfortunately, she’d done so rather bluntly. The doctor didn’t take the news well. Not well, at all.
      What could she say now, without hurting or angering him further?
      A multitude of expressions crossed his face. They moved across at such a pace, she could barely follow them. Shock…anger…confusion…fear.
    “Please, please accept my apology, Miss Keelan.” He approached her with his hands spread and palms open. “I don’t want to break our engagement. I truly want to marry you. I’ve no one…no one but you, now. My family…” He coughed and blinked a few times. “They all perished at sea a few years ago. I’ve been so lonely. I…I need you with me. Believe me when I say I will take care of you. I promise.” He reached forward and grasped her hands. This was going to be more difficult than she’d anticipated.
    Maybe a different tack will work better. “Dr. Garrison, you don’t want to marry me.”
    “I do! Yes, I do. I will marry you and take you all the way to England.” He sank to one knee. “If the commodore wanted you to go back to Wind Briar, then I’ll take you as soon as we’re married.”
    Wind Briar? Her heart began to pound more closely to her skin. She’d said nothing about Wind Briar.  
    She shook her head. “For reasons I cannot explain to you at this time Dr. Garrison, a marriage between us is impossible.” She couldn’t tell him about her plans to run away with Landon. He’d tell Uncle Jared and then Uncle Jared would have an apoplectic fit and probably insist she marry Dr. Garrison today. Why had he mentioned Wind Briar? An odd feeling squirmed across the back of her neck, making her more wary.  
    Dr. Garrison drew his hands back and clenched