One Pink Rose; One White Rose; One Red Rose by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page B

added a frown to let him know she meant what she said.
    â€œYou were a willing participant,” he said. “Or wasn’t that your tongue inside my mouth?”
    She turned scarlet within a heartbeat. “I was being polite.”
    He burst out laughing. “You are a piece of work, Miss Emily Finnegan. If I were the marrying kind, I’d give good old Randolph a run for his money.”
    She knew something was wrong with the comment he’d just made, but it took her a full minute to figure out what it was.
    â€œClifford O’Toole,” she said then. “Randolph is the man who married my sister.”
    â€œAh, that’s right. The man who jilted you.”
    â€œMust you use that word?”
    â€œNo need to get in a huff about it,” he told her.
    Even though they were a good distance away from the barn, Travis could hear the squeak of the door as it was being opened from the inside, and he instinctively moved closer to Emily so he could shove her behind his back if he needed to. He didn’t think he was being overly cautious, for he had learned from past experience that a few of the folks who visited the Perkinses’ establishment lived like animals up in the high country and were a crude and uncivilized group who didn’t abide by any man’s laws.
    Travis relaxed his guard as soon as he saw the man strutting toward them. It was ornery Jack Hanrahan, whom everyone called One-Eyed Jack for obvious reasons. He was a fright to look at, with long straggly brown hair that hadn’t been washed in years and a permanent scowl on his face that was mean enough to make a person think Jack was going to tear him apart. He was also downright vain about his godawful appearance and didn’t bother to wear an eye patch. He thought a patch made him look sissified.
    Every time Travis looked at Jack, he inwardly blanched. Other men weren’t quite as restrained. They let Jack see their reaction, and that, according to old man Perkins, made Jack all the more vain. He got a kick out of terrorizing people.
    Travis suddenly came up with one hell of a brilliant plan to make Emily come to her senses and realize how crazy her notions about men were.
    â€œMaybe there is a way you can prove your point to me,” he told her.
    â€œThere is?”
    She tried to turn so she could see what Travis was staring at, but he put his hands on her shoulders and wouldn’t let her move.
    â€œDo you really want to show me how effective acting helpless can be around a man?”
    â€œI would if I could. I’ve done a complete study on this topic, and I assure you I know what I’m talking about.”
    â€œYeah, yeah. You studied it. How about proving it with the very next man you see?”
    â€œYou don’t think I can do it, do you? Well, I can, Travis.”
    â€œYou’re that sure of yourself?”
    â€œYes, but only because I’ve watched it over and over again. My sister Barbara could turn all the men in a ballroom into a pack of fleas hopping around her, just like that,” she said and snapped her fingers.
    The comparison of Barbara to a dog made Travis laugh. “God help your husband if he ever does anything wrong. You sure do know how to hold a grudge.”
    â€œAnd just what does that mean?”
    â€œNever mind.” He gloated with satisfaction over what was going to be a well-deserved victory for all men everywhere. “Want to make it interesting and wager on the outcome?”
    Although it wasn’t proper for a well-bred lady to gamble, she was so certain she would win, she couldn’t resist the temptation. Granted, she hadn’t had much practice turning a man’s head by acting helpless or coy, but she had observed the ladies traveling on the train who had blatantly flirted with several men, and she had also watched the master, Barbara, and therefore had complete confidence that she could pull it off.
    â€œHow much would you like