Wildest Hearts by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online

therefore keep your opinions to yourself.”

    A slow, malicious smile curved Sybil's mouth. “Well, well, well. What goes around comes around. Sixteen years ago you accused me of marrying your father for his money. And now here you are marrying a woman in order to control the business she's inherited. Isn't this fascinating? How long before she finds out she's been had in more ways than one?”

    “As usual, you've managed to overstay your welcome.” Oliver picked up a small trowel and went back to work.

    “Don't worry, I'm on my way.” Sybil started toward the door of the greenhouse. She paused at the far end and glanced over her shoulder. “Just one more thing, Oliver. Did you know Valerie has a new boyfriend?”

    “No.” He didn't care for the purr of anticipation in Sybil's voice.

    “I think it might be serious this time. She shows all the signs of a woman in love.”

    “She'll bring him by to meet me if it's serious.”

    Sybil's smile was catlike. “Don't hold your breath waiting for her to get your approval on this one. She already knows you won't like him.”

    “Another unemployed artist?” Oliver asked without much concern.

    “No. He's from the academic world. Teaches art history at the university.” Sybil paused just long enough to get his full attention. “His name is Carson Shore.”

    Oliver went still.

    “That's right, Oliver. Your sister is dating Paul Shore's son. Rather touching, isn't it? Reminds me of the Romeo and Juliet story. Very romantic. Do you suppose Valerie and Carson will succeed in uniting the two warring houses of Shore and Rain after all these years?”

    Sybil went out the door and closed it loudly behind her.

    Oliver stood quietly amid his ferns and recalled the day when he and Sybil had opened hostilities.

    So long ago, he thought. Sixteen years. Sometimes it seemed like forever. At other moments it seemed like only yesterday.

    He had been twenty-one at the time and enrolled in the botany department at the University of Washington. He had been looking forward to graduate work and eventually a Ph.D. in his chosen field. His imagination had been captured by the anticipation of unlocking the myriad mysteries of the plant world.

    He'd had dreams of exploring the handful of exotic rain forests and jungles still left on the planet. He'd planned to spend his life searching old-growth forests for just a few of the millions of secrets still held fast in them. He knew the secrets were out there. Every botanist knew it.

    Hidden deep in the ancient green worlds shrouded in endless twilight were the cures for terrifying diseases, clues to ways to feed an evergrowing population, answers to questions about the fundamental nature of life. Long ago Oliver had determined to be a part of the adventure that awaited scientists who were committed to uncovering those secrets.

    Oliver had lived on campus at the university since his sophomore year. He had moved out of the big house on Mercer Island not only because he wanted to be close to the school's libraries, labs, and greenhouses, but because that was the year his father, Edward, had chosen to marry a woman half his age.

    Oliver had disliked Sybil on sight. She had been twenty-eight and at the peak of her beauty. He had taken one look at her and been certain she had married his fifty-seven-year-old father because of the Rain family fortune.

    But Oliver had also realized with the intuition that was to serve him well in the business world that there was no point trying to convince his father that he'd been married for his money.

    Edward had always been a distant, remote figure at best. He had been far more dedicated to making money than he had been to his wife and children. Oliver and his much younger sisters, Heather and Valerie, had learned their lessons in family love and unity from their mother. Mary Rain's death in a car accident two years before Oliver had graduated from high school had devastated all three of her