To Love and Cherish by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online

promised in marriage to Danny, as if it were real.
    â€œShelby,” he said quietly.
    She stopped, but she didn’t turn.
    â€œShe loves him,” King said quietly. “You don’t. Not in a way you should to be considering marriage.”
    Did he really see that deep, she wondered incredulously. She swallowed. “How do you know what I feel?”
    â€œLast night when I came out of the living room, he was kissing you on the forehead,” he replied. “That told me all I needed to know.”
    She turned, meeting his solemn gaze. “I don’t understand.”
    â€œIf you were engaged to me, there wouldn’t be any chaste little kisses onthe forehead, Shelby,” he said tautly. “I’d take your mouth and have you begging me for more. And we wouldn’t be sleeping in separate bedrooms.”
    Her face flamed, but she didn’t take her eyes away. “You flatter yourself,” she said shakily.
    â€œI said ‘if,’ honey,” he reminded her coolly. “I wouldn’t take you with an oil well thrown in.”
    She turned away from him.
    â€œRunning away?” he taunted. “Where to now?”
    â€œTo get an inner tube,” she said through her teeth.
    â€œOh, hell, no, you don’t!” he bit off. He moved forward, catching her arm in a steely, painful grasp and whirled her around so that he could see her mutinous young face.
    â€œLet go of me,” she said tightly. “You aren’t my keeper!”
    His eyes narrowed and becamesearching. “Did I hit a nerve, honey?”
    â€œPlease don’t call me that,” she said, averting her eyes as she stiffened in his grasp. “You make it sound cheap.”
    His fingers tightened. “Aren’t you?”
    â€œLeave me alone,” she pleaded in a broken whisper, closing her eyes on the sight of that darkly tanned hand wrapped around her small wrist. “Please, King, can’t you just leave me alone!”
    â€œI wish to God I could,” he growled enigmatically. He let go of her wrist. “You’ll stay with me, young Shelby. I’ll be damned if I’m letting you near the water.”
    â€œAfraid I might win?” she taunted, darting a tremulous glance in his direction as he fell into step beside her.
    He glanced down at her with anunreadable expression in his dark eyes. “I just might be,” he said quietly.
    Â 
    Danny hadn’t come downstairs when Shelby got to the breakfast table the next morning, earlier than the rest of the family. King was still there, just folding his morning paper as he finished the last of his coffee and reached for the pot to refill it.
    He looked up as she froze in the doorway.
    â€œDon’t start backing up, baby,” he remarked softly. “It’s too late now.”
    She moved to the table and sat down gingerly, feeling every muscle in her body tense as he stared at her, at the picture she made in her white blouse and slacks, complementing her darkness. He was wearing work clothes this morning; blue denim that was expensively cut, but still had the look of utility. His shirt was openhalfway down the front and his bronzed chest was damp, as if he’d already been outside in the heat.
    â€œDanny’s not up yet?” he asked casually.
    â€œI don’t know,” she murmured, reaching for the cup of coffee he poured and handed to her. An impish smile touched her mouth as she took the china cup and saucer in hand. “I think he’s recuperating from Mary Kate Culhane.”
    He actually laughed, a sound so rare it brought her curious eyes up to meet his.
    â€œMaybe he is.” He tossed down the rest of his coffee. “Want to come watch us brand cattle, city lady?”
    She gaped at him. “Could I?” she asked incredulously.
    â€œNot in that gear,” he replied, frowning at her white clothes. “You’ll need jeans and thick socks, boots, and a