Ryan's Hand Read Online Free PDF Page B

for you to buy yourself a new wardrobe. Also a new hairstyle, cosmetics, anything that will show off that beauty of yours to its best advantage.”
    Cara tried not to show her shock. She said gently but firmly, “Ryan, you know I can’t do that.”
    “You said anything for me, remember? Surely you can shelve that Yankee pride of yours to indulge a dying man’s request. Besides, it’s all been arranged anyway. I knew you would balk at charging anything to me, so I’ve had money transferred to your account. Please don’t refuse what I ask, Cara.” Ryan’s blue eyes were imploring.
    “But, Ryan—”
    “I took the liberty of making the first purchase for you. Will you look on the top shelf of that closet?”
    Reluctantly, apprehensively, Cara went to the closet door and opened it. On the top shelf was a large silver box. Her breath stopped when she hauled it down and recognized on the cover the embossed name of a furrier her mother had once patronized. She threw Ryan an alarmed look. “What have you done?”
    “Open it, love.”
    Cara slowly removed the ribbon, lifted the lid, and pulled aside the silver tissue paper. Her mouth parted in awe as she drew out a superbly cut raincoat the color of pearls, fully lined in sable. “Oh, Ryan…it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”
    “Try it on, love. Let’s see if I chose the right size.”
    “Ryan, I couldn’t possibly accept this.”
    “Of course you can, and you will. I’m a dying man. You must humor me. Now try it on.”
    Cara obeyed him, and in spite of the leaden pain within her, the sensuous feel of the coat stirred long-denied memories of the pleasure of lovely clothes. “It’s so light, yet so warm,” she said in fascination.
    “And far more suitable for you than that monk’s robe.” Ryan held out a hand to her, and she took it and sat beside him on the bed. “Now about the rest of the things you’ll need—”
    “That I’ll need, Ryan?”
    “When I’m no longer here to see after you,” he said reasonably. “I want you to buy clothes for every season. The cruise clothes are out now, so there should be a good choice of summer clothes. Buy lots of those.”
    “Ryan—” Cara stopped him determinedly. “We should concentrate on getting you ready to go home rather than having me gallivanting around buying clothes.”
    “I’m not going back to Texas,” Ryan said quietly.
    Cara stared at him. “What? You’re not planning to stay in Boston, surely. What about Jeth?” Then a shocking thought struck her. “He doesn’t know, does he, Ryan?”
    “No. He believed I had a stomach virus and wanted to come back to Boston to see my doctor.”
    “You can’t mean that you would keep this from Jeth! He’ll be irreparably hurt, Ryan!” Cara got up from the bed abruptly and flung off the coat.
    “All this concern for a man you don’t even like!”
    “He’s your brother, Ryan! Think how you would feel!”
    Ryan’s features tightened stubbornly. “I know what I’m doing, Cara. You have to believe that and trust me. Someday Jeth will understand why I didn’t tell him, why I didn’t stay at La Tierra. Let’s not discuss it anymore, if you don’t mind.” It was the closest they had ever come to a quarrel, and Ryan softened the atmosphere with his engaging smile. “Now get out of here and go shopping. I want to see a style show this evening.”
    Numbly, Cara spent the day doing as she had been ordered. She went to a dozen dress shops in order to make a dent in the staggering amount of money she had been told to spend, knowing that if she didn’t, Ryan would send her out tomorrow on another expedition when all she wanted was to be with him.
    By the end of the afternoon she had completed her purchases and the little Volkswagen—she had refused to drive Ryan’s Ferrari—was filled to its bug top with boxes and bags. On her way back to Marblehead, she stopped by the library to speak to the woman who had been her supervisor for