Wild Roses by Hannah Howell Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t meet him under different circumstances. Don’t worry, Ella, there will be another one.”
    A voice in Ella’s head adamantly declared that she did not want another one, she wanted Harrigan, but she fought hard to silence it. She would put that man right out of her mind. She was not one to bemoan what she could not have and Harrigan Mahoney would not be allowed to change that. He was out of her life now and would not return. A chill ran down her spine and she decided that was a statement she would need to repeat a few times. Ella fixed her gaze upon the land stretching out ahead of them and sternly resisted the urge to look behind her.

Chapter Four
    Harrigan sighed, tipped his hat back, and wiped the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. Luck had been with them so far. The train had reached the next stop in under an hour, he had gotten some of his ticket money back, the horses and supplies had been easy to acquire, and Ella’s trail was clear to follow. He prayed that good luck would continue. A quick look at George told him that his partner was not as pleased with their good fortune as he was and Harrigan sighed again.
    â€œGeorge, I wish you would shake free of that gloom that’s settled over you,“ Harrigan said. ”We both agreed to do this job for Harold Carson. We both need the money.”
    â€œI know,” George replied, then shook his head. “I know I reveal no secrets when I confess that I have grown to like this job less and less. And, now that I have seen Miss Louise, I begin to feel like the basest of traitors.”
    â€œYou only saw the woman once, when she stupidly got her foot stuck on the railroad tracks.”
    â€œOne look is all it takes sometimes.”
    A part of Harrigan agreed and he brutally silenced it. “George, Louise Carson is unquestionably a lovely woman. She is also the woman who tried to shoot a hole in my leg, who has been galloping over the countryside with four young men of dubious background, and who stuck herself in front of a moving train.”
    â€œAll of which reveals spirit and a deep sense of responsibility for her niece’s safety.”
    Harrigan briefly lifted his hat and dragged his fingers through his hair. “You have picked a damned poor time to suffer a first love.”
    â€œAnd what makes you think it is my first?”
    The bite in George’s soft, melodious voice caused Harrigan to stare at his friend in surprise. “I meant no insult. Hell, George, I’ve known you for what, seven years or more, and you’ve never had much to do with the ladies. I just assumed you were, well, too quiet or shy. Considering you’re only two and thirty, I just figured the way you’ve behaved for the last seven years is the way you’ve always acted.”
    Harrigan watched the tight anger slowly leave George’s face and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had never considered the possibility that George would have a sore spot somewhere, and he was not really pleased to have found it. At the moment, it seemed like George was the only one who was not angry with him, and he did not want to lose his only ally.
    â€œSorry,” George murmured. “I was married once, you know.”
    â€œMarried?” Harrigan was so shocked he nearly choked on the water he was drinking. “You’re a widower?”
    â€œNo, I got divorced.” George smiled faintly at Harrigan’s open-mouthed astonishment. “I shocked myself nearly as much at the time, but it did not stop me. That is, however, why I moved from Boston to Philadelphia. No one blamed me for divorcing the woman. In truth, they all sympathized. That might be one reason that I could no longer abide living there.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œI just grew weary of finding my side of the bed occupied with another man. I think I might have been inclined to stay, to try and win her back, if it had been the same man.