The Rogue Read Online Free PDF Page A

truck was parked outside. Then Diana spied a light in the tack room at the stables. The sudden sparking of an idea caught at her breath.
    Before discretion or pride could blow it out, she hurried into the house. Her father was in the study doing paperwork, and Sophia had already secluded herself in the privacy of her small room at the rear of the house. Diana walked into the kitchen and cut a slice of birthday cake.
    Wrapping it in a napkin, she took it down to the stable. Diana pretended surprise when she entered the tack room and saw Curly cleaning the equipment.
    “Oh, it’s you. I saw the light and thought Holt was here,” she added in explanation.
    “Really?” He eyed her with mocking skepticism.
    “Yes, really.” Her gaze flashed him a look of provocative challenge.
    “What do you have there in your hand?” Curly glanced at the napkin.
    “A slice of my brithday cake. As I said, I saw the light and thought it was Holt. I was bringing him this piece of cake to give to Guy.” Diana walked farther into the small room shrugging her shoulders. “But since he isn’t here and you are, you can have it, instead.”
    His smile said that he still didn’t believe her story but he would go along with it. “I wouldn’t want to deprive Guy of his treat.”
    “You won’t be.” She offered him the napkin-wrapped cake. “I’ll take Guy his tomorrow. Sophie baked a big cake. It will go stale before the Major and I can eat it all.”
    “I do have a taste for sweet things,” admitted Curly with a glint in his eyes that made her pulse beat faster. A faint tremor of excitement went through her as his fingers touched her hand when he took the cake from her. “So it’s your birthday today, is it?”
    “Uh-huh.” She watched him unwrap the napkin and take a bite.
    “How old are you?” he asked between mouthfuls.
    Diana wished she could lie, but he probably already knew how old she was. “Seventeen.”
    After several minutes, he finished it. “That’s good cake.” He brushed the crumbs from his hands. “I wish I’d known it was your birthday today.”
    “Why?” she murmured a shade breathlessly.
    “I would have bought you a present.”
    “I wouldn’t have expected you to do that.” But wouldn’t it have been wonderful if he had? Diana dreamed silently.
    “What did your boyfriend give you?”
    “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
    “Come on. As beautiful as you are, all the guys at school must be crazy about you.”
    Her heart skipped a beat when he said she was beautiful, especially when the same sentiment was echoed by his look. “They all seem so immature.” Diana tried to sound very adult when she answered. Athis low chuckle, she turned away, hurt that he should find her amusing.
    “That’s a pretty dress,” he commented. “I suppose the Major threw a big party for you up at the house.”
    “No. We just had a quiet dinner.” Her indifferent tone indicated she hadn’t expected anything else.
    “Birthdays should be celebrated with more than just dinner, a cake, and some gifts,” Curly said in a reproving manner.
    “Oh?” She gave him an over-the-shoulder look. “And how do you celebrate your birthdays?”
    “With a few drinks and some dancing, and, hopefully, the right company.” He held her gaze. “It isn’t much of a birthday without those three items.”
    “Mine hasn’t been much of a birthday, then,” Diana sighed, because it hadn’t.
    “Since I didn’t buy you a present, I’ll see if I can’t supply the necessary ingredients for a celebration.” Curly winked and walked to the near corner where several footlockers were stacked. Briefly touching a finger to his mouth in a gesture of secrecy, he reached behind them and brought out a bottle of whiskey. “I keep it here for strictly medicinal purposes—to keep me warm on cold nights,” he explained, knowing the Major was death about drinking on the job. “Tonight we’ll put it to its proper use.” He took two small paper