Rawhide Man (Silhouette Desire No. 157) - Softcover

Diana Palmer; Susan Kyle; Diana Blayne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671495992 ISBN 13: 9780671495992

Publisher: Silhouette, 1984

Synopsis

Agreeing to marry a woman he does not love in order to claim her oil shares, a determined man is unaware that his wife of convenience truly wants him and hides a secret fear that threatens to destroy her. Reissue.

About this title

About the Author

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood. Today, she is an award-winning bestselling author, speaker, virtual assistant, and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Colorado. They have a daughter and a son, and an Australian shepherd named Roxie. She has published 14 books. Read more about her at her web site: www.amberstockton.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Brandywine, Delaware, 1890

"Richard! Come quick!"

At her aunt's shriek, Grace Baxton threw back the bed-clothes and tumbled to the floor of her bedchamber with a thud, the pain of impact sending a searing burn from her left elbow to her shoulder. The faint sounds of commotion downstairs penetrated her groggy mind and sent Grace into action. She made a frantic attempt to de-tangle herself from the mass of sheets and coverlets, only imprisoning herself further before escaping. At nineteen years of age, regaining her equilibrium turned out to be harder than she'd thought. Finally free, she jumped to her feet, grabbed her wrapper, and raced from the room, fastening the belt as she ran toward the main staircase.

She held tight to the banister, lest she stumble again, and caught sight of her uncle rushing from the direction of the drawing room, the sides of his unfastened black wool smoking jacket flapping back against his arms. Grace followed close on his heels the moment her feet touched the lower floor of their home.

"Charlotte, what happened?" Uncle Richard spoke without preamble the moment he entered the formal dining room.

"See for yourself." Aunt Charlotte extended her right arm toward the three-door vitrine cabinet with the mirrored backing. "Elise alerted me only moments ago."

Grace stood and stared, her tightened throat making it almost impossible to breathe. The blood drained from her face, and she grabbed hold of the nearest Queen Anne chair to alleviate her sudden light-headedness. Raising her other hand to her face, she wiped the sleep from her eyes, blinked several times, and fought back a yawn. Grace couldn't wrap her mind around the truth. The maidservant must be mistaken. One of their male servants always remained downstairs at night to prevent such an occurrence. Yet no manner of denial would erase the reality her eyes beheld at that moment.

How could something like this have happened? And while they all slept comfortably in their beds, completely ignorant of the intruder one floor below, making his way through several rooms and probing through their personal possessions. It made Grace's skin crawl, and a shiver traveled up her back.

Robbed.

Even just thinking the word brought a sour taste to Grace's mouth. She wet her lips and swallowed several times—as if that would make the circumstances less grave. Not exactly a desirable way to begin this cool May morning.

"Aunt Charlotte?" Grace croaked. "Your filigree China?"

"And my fine silver." A pause. "The tea set as well."

Her beloved aunt clutched an embroidered handkerchief to her lips. Her russet locks fell in soft waves down her back, evidence of a morning hair-pinning interrupted. She moved her hand away from her mouth and turned pain-filled eyes toward Grace.

"But that's not all," Charlotte added.

Grace followed her aunt's gaze toward the curio cabinet in the corner. Her right hand flew to her mouth as a gasp escaped.

"No!" She stared at the empty case, the tightening in her chest returning. "Not the books, too." Her aunt had spent a great deal of time tracking down several of those titles. And one in particular had been in the family for generations. Surely they weren't as valuable to the thief as the silver and dishes. "Why would someone steal those?" Whoever robbed them couldn't have known of their sentimental value. "They are precious to us, but to some unknown vagabond?"

"I can scarcely believe it myself." Charlotte waved her fingers and beckoned Grace to come closer. The woman who had been like a mother to her for the past eight years wrapped an arm around Grace's shoulders.

Her aunt wasn't one for verbose speech, but her unspoken actions said more than any words could. Grace draped her left arm around her aunt's waist and leaned her head onto the woman's shoulder, offering what comfort she could. Charlotte tilted her own head to rest her cheek against Grace's hair. The action made Grace self-conscious of her own state of undress and unkempt appearance. She reached up to touch her tousled caramel ringlets, grimacing at the telltale knots in desperate need of a brush. Harriet would see to that soon enough. They had more important matters at hand.

"What are we going to do?" Grace spoke to no one in particular.

Uncle Richard came to stand on Aunt Charlotte's other side and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving his wife a gentle squeeze.

"First things first, we are going to send Matthew for the constable." His voice took on a decided edge. "Then I will send out Bartholomew and Marcus to pay a visit to the area pawn broker shops. Whoever this thief is, I cannot imagine he would have taken all of this for himself." Uncle Richard fastened his jacket. "If we act quickly, we may very well have a chance to retrieve some of these items."

"Oh, Uncle Richard, do you truly believe that's possible?" For the first time that morning, a glimmer of hope entered Grace's heart. Perhaps those precious books weren't lost forever.

"Only time will tell, Grace, but we will not leave a single stone unturned in our quest to return our possessions to their rightful place."

Aunt Charlotte pulled away from Grace and moved to stand facing her husband. Uncle Richard immediately pulled her to him and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. "We will get through this. I promise."

"I know. It is rather disconcerting to be facing this, that's all." Her aunt closed her eyes and leaned against Uncle Richard. "Thank you for being my strength."

"Always," he replied.

Grace felt like an intruder on the private exchange. She took a step backward, intending to slip out of the room and leave them alone. A moment later, though, her aunt and uncle turned toward her and opened their arms at the same time in her direction. Grace stepped into their embrace and cherished the immediate security it offered—despite the recent breach of the place she'd always considered a safe haven.

Edition details

• Publisher: Silhouette
• Publication date: 1984
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671495992
• ISBN 13: 9780671495992
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 187