September Morning by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online Page A

stubbornly.
    “If he does, he'll wish he hadn't,” Phillip said. “And if you buy that dress, Kathryn, I'm going away for the weekend.” He made a mock shudder. “I can't stand the sight of blood.”
    “Blake won't do anything,” she said smugly. “Not in front of his guests.”
    “Blake will do anything, anytime, in front of anybody, and if you don't know that by now, you're even crazier than I thought you were.” He shook his head. “Give it up, Kathy. Blake's only trying to do what's best for you.”
    “That's beside the point, Phillip,” she replied, smoothing the velvet under her slender fingers. “I don't want to spend the rest of my life being told what to do. Blake's not my keeper.”
    “If you go out after dark in that dress, you'll need one,” he murmured, staring at her.
    She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “You're a nice man.”
    “Kathryn, are you sure…?”
    “Don't be such a worrywart,” she told him. She motioned to the saleswoman. “I'll take all of them,” she said with a smile. “And that green velvet one, as well.”
    Phillip frowned. “What green velvet one?”
    “It's ever so much more daring than this,” she lied, remembering the high halter neckline and soft lines of the other dress she'd tried on. “It doesn't have a back at all,” she added in a wicked whisper.
    “Lord help us!” Phillip said, lifting his eyes upward.
    “Don't bother Him,” Kate said, “He has wars and floods to worry about.”
    “And I have you,” he groaned.
    “Lucky man,” she said, patting his cheek before she went to charge her purchases. “Come on. You have to sign the ticket.”
    “Whose name would you like me to sign on it?” he asked.
    “Oh, silly!” she laughed.
    ***
    She and Phillip had managed to sneak in the back way and dart upstairs to dress for dinner without being seen. Recklessly, Kathryn slid into the burgundy velvet dress after she had her bath, and tacked up her long hair in a seductively soft bun on top of her head with little curling wisps trailing down her blushing cheeks. She used only a little makeup—just enough to give her a mysterious look, a hint of sophistication. The woman looking back at her in the mirror bore no resemblance to the young girl who'd left that room the same day to go shopping.
    Satisfied with what she saw, she added a touch of Givenchy perfume and sauntered downstairs. She heard voices coming from the living room, and Blake's was among them. She felt suddenly nervous, uneasy. That would never do. She lifted her head, baring the soft curve of her throat, and, gathering her courage, walked straight into the white-carpeted, blue-furnished room.
    She noticed two things immediately: the possessive blonde clinging to Blake's sleeve like a parasite, and the sudden, blazing fury in Blake's eyes as he looked at Kathryn Mary.
    “Oh, there you are, darl…ing,” Maude said, her voice breaking on the word as she noticed the dress. “How…different you look, Kathryn,” she added with a disapproving glance.
    “Where did you get that dress?” Blake asked in a harsh, low voice.
    She started to speak, then darted a glance at Phillip, who was burying his face in his hand. “Phillip bought it for me,” she said in a rush.
    “Kathryn!” Phillip groaned.
    Blake smiled, like a hungry barracuda, Kathryn thought shakily. “I'll discuss this with you later, Phil.”
    “Could we make it after Kathryn's funeral?” Phillip asked, with a meaningful glance at Kathryn.
    “Aren't you going to introduce me to your guests?” Kathryn asked brightly.
    “Dick Leeds and his daughter, Vivian,” Blake said, indicating a tall, white-haired man with twinkling blue eyes and the equally blue-eyed blonde at Blake's side. “This is Kathryn Mary.”
    “Kilpatrick,” she added proudly. “I'm the youngest, next to Phillip.”
    “How do you do?” Dick Leeds asked pleasantly, and extended a thin hand to be shaken. He smiled at her. “Not a Hamilton, then?” he