Doubting Thomas (Tarnished Saints Series) by Elizabeth Rose Read Free Book Online

about Elijah being his son, but he knew for certain the baby who died in Fawn’s womb was not his. Fawn liked to sidle up with the truckers passing through, stopping at Burley’s strip joint every so often. He should have divorced her the first time Burley came to his door looking for her. Instead, he’d laid the man out with a few good punches, and warned him to never return or say a word about his wife’s infidelity to anyone.
    Yes, he should have divorced Fawn right then and there, but he didn’t. For the sake of his youngest son, he’d stayed married. She was the mother of little Eli and would have probably taken the boy away from him. So instead, he’d pretended he didn’t notice her putting on her makeup and sexy clothing to go grocery shopping. Instead, he’d bitten his tongue and buried himself in his work, keeping to himself, trying to protect his own image. Trying to protect Eli from growing up in a house of ill repute.
    Sweet Water was a gossipy town, and he had no doubt everyone already knew more of Fawn’s escapades than he did. But hell if he had decided to divorce her. It would have only given them one more thing to talk about.
    He looked away from Angeline, not wanting to think about women. It would only get him in trouble. That’s when he heard the soft crunching of the underbrush behind him. He turned to see the two wild, stray dogs that had maimed the deer, coming quickly through the forest. They were headed right toward Angeline.
    “Look out!” he shouted.
    She whirled around at the sound of his voice. Her green eyes widened when she saw him, then widened further when she spotted the dogs.
    “Don’t run,” he said, but she didn’t listen. Branches tore at her hair, and thorns from wild roses caught on her slacks as she hurried in the opposite direction. She screamed when the two large dogs followed.
    “Fast! This way,” he instructed.
    He rushed forward and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her toward the tree house. Even if she stopped running now, it was too late. The dogs had sensed her fear and he wasn’t sure what they’d do if they reached her. They made it to the tree, and he wrapped his hands around her small waist and hoisted her up in the air. “Climb the ladder,” he told her. She clumsily tried to do just that. He stepped in front of the dogs, wishing to God he had his gun right now to scare them.
    “Go away!” he shouted to the animals, and stood his ground, protecting the woman.
     
    Angel watched in horror from the tree house as Thomas Taylor risked his life to save her. The dogs were barking and growling, hair standing up on their necks. If she wasn’t mistaken, foam dripped from their mouths too. The things could be rabid, yet Thomas stood there, weaponless, not even picking up a stick or a stone to defend himself.
    The dogs encircled him, but he didn’t move. He didn’t take his eyes off them for a second. She wanted to call out to him, but didn’t. If she was to distract him now, it could be deadly. Instead, she closed her eyes and prayed.
    The animals went suddenly silent. She opened her eyes and looked past the branches of the tree. They were gone. So was Thomas. She looked out over the far edge of the tree house, and when she’d turned back he was standing next to her, his large body slightly bent under the low roof.
    “That wasn’t a smart thing to do, running from those dogs,” he growled. “Never show fear.”
    Angel’s heart pumped furiously inside her chest. She shouldn’t show fear toward him either. She struggled to regain her breath to answer.
    “Easy for you to say. You should have used that gun of yours to shoot them. Those dogs are dangerous and should be removed.”
    “Some people say the same about me, Ms. DeMitri. Guns aren’t the answer. Those dogs don’t deserve to die any more than you do.”
    “Is that why you didn’t hit them with a rock or a branch?”
    He looked at her through squinted, perusing dark eyes, and she suddenly