The Lancaster Men Read Online Free PDF

his reaction to Rory’s flight from home.
    They had reached the table and it was impossible for Shari to find out where his sympathies rested before he confronted Rory. Whit was too intelligent not to have guessed Rory had been influenced indirectly by her. Yet he hadn’t seemed upset or angry with her so perhaps he could be won over to Rory’s side.
    Those questions and their answers would have to wait until later. Doré was waiting expectantly for an introduction, prodding Shari with a hard look. That impatience was completely absent when Doré turned her gaze on Whit. The gleam in her blue eyes was subtly provocative.
    Dislike rushed through Shari at how obvious the blonde was acting. Her hand tightened fractionally on his arm as Shari briskly made the introductions.
    “It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Mr. Lancaster,” Doré purred and held out her long-nailed hand, forcing Whit to take it in greeting. “Shari has told us so much about you.”
    “Oh?” He arched another look at Shari, one that questioned and taunted. “Too bad I wasn’t a mousein a corner. It might have been very enlightening to discover what she said about me.”
    The warmth was again in her cheeks as Shari recalled the conversation. The fact didn’t escape Whit’s notice. Doré didn’t like the way Whit had become distracted by her remark and quickly set about to correct the situation.
    “Yes, Shari thinks you are the best brother any girl could have,” she lightly stressed the family relationship.
    Whit smiled as he released Doré’s hand. “That’s quite a compliment.” There was something distant about the second glance he gave Shari. “I hope I can always live up to your expectations.”
    “Have you had dinner, Mr. Lancaster?” Beth inquired.
    “No, I haven’t,” he admitted, then corrected her. “I would like it if you would call me Whit.”
    “Why don’t you join us for dinner, Whit?” Doré invited, quick to dispense with the formal address. “I’m sure the waiter can find us a table that will seat five.”
    “Do you mind?” Whit put the question to Shari, his tone soft and inquiring.
    “Of course not.” Although she guessed that Rory wasn’t too keen about the idea.
    Despite the fact that the dining room was crowded, their waiter succeeded in seating them at a larger table after only a slight delay. Shari was irritated when she realized that Doré had maneuvered it so Whit was sitting beside her. It was also apparent that her friend intended to monopolize his attention.
    “I understand you own a tobacco plantation, Whit.” Doré leaned toward him. “What’s it like? I confess I know absolutely nothing about it.”
    “It’s like any other crop. You plant it, harvest it and sell it.” He summed it up with a minimum of words.
    Shari bent her head to conceal an amused smile. Whit was not like other men. That old technique of getting a man to talk about himself would not work with him. He had seen through Doré’s ploy just as she had done. Shari was silently glad and wondered if she wasn’t being disloyal to her college classmate.
    “You must admit that there is a great deal of romance attached to tobacco plantations, Whit,” Doré insisted, not deterred from the subject.
    “I think that depends on your viewpoint,” he replied and leveled a glance at his half brother. “Don’t you, Rory?”
    Rory pressed his lips together in a thin line. He hadn’t said a word since Whit had arrived. His stiff silence came to an end as he broached the reason Whit had come.
    “If you came all this way to make me go back with you, you might as well forget it. I’m not going back,” he challenged.
    “I don’t think this is the place to discuss it, Rory,” Whit quietly censured him.
    “How did you know I was here anyway?” Rory challenged.
    “Where else would you go?” Whit reasoned. “You had to have a place to sleep. It was logical for you to come here.”
    “You just made a wild guess and got