Quicksilver Passion Read Online Free Page B

him.
    She paused again. The half-breed came out of the hotel coffee shop on the other side of the street, then stopped, stood looking at her.
    Ma’am,” he yelled in that thick Georgia drawl,if I may be of service to a lady—”
    No, thank you,” she snapped back, taking another tentative step. She didn’t appreciate such sarcasm, although he didn’t look as if he meant anything by it. She knew therespectable” people of this area would not consider her alady.” Besides, she didn’t want his big hands on her body.
    Silver managed to take two more precarious steps and was beginning to hope she might make it to the sidewalk with no more than soiled shoes. Then she stepped into a hole.
    The man leaned against the general store’s sign, smoking a cigarette and watching her. Others had stopped to watch, too. But the local men knew her well enough not to offer. They knew how Silver felt about a man’s touch.
    Silver struggled to raise her foot out of the mire and lost her shoe. She stood there like a crane on one leg, struggling to maintain her balance. What the hell did she do now?
    He tossed away his cigarette.Still don’t need any help?”
    No, thank you.” In an agony of decision, she looked around, trying to decide what to do.
    But at that moment, he strode out through the mud, swung her up in his arms, and carried her to the sidewalk.
    Silver kept her body rigid as a dressmaker’s dummy, quaking inside with the horrible memories the feel of a man’s body against hers brought back. The heat and the strength of the rugged man seemed to burn through both their clothing.
    She was actually trembling as he slowly stood her on her feet. He looked down at her a long moment, evidently puzzled by her fear.
    I’ll get your other shoe, ma’am.” He spoke in a soft, reassuring drawl as if speaking to a frightened child.
    Silver didn’t say anything. She stood there with nails digging into her palms, watching the giant of a man stride out to retrieve her shoe. He was one of the biggest men she had ever met, she thought, watching him walk. A big man like that could hurt her worse than that one in Chicago or even her stepfather. . . .
    Here it is, Miss Silver, but it needs a lot of cleaning.” He doffed his Western hat and almost bowed, holding the shoe out.Maybe I should accompany you back to the Nugget—”
    No, I’ll be fine.” She jerked the slipper out of his hand and put it on, very aware of men stopping to stare curiously at the pair. This must be the only man in the Rockies who didn’t know how Silver Jones reacted to being touched.Thank you for your help, Mister . . .”
    Evans. Cherokee Evans.” He bowed again with that gallantry that seemed to come natural to any Southern male—even a half-breed.I’m always happy to help a lady.”
    No, he wasn’t being sarcastic. His dark eyes were honest, friendly. Too friendly. She must not encourage him. Next thing she knew, he’d want to share her bed and Silver had never done that with a man—willingly.
    She gave him a nod of dismissal and turned toward Tabor’s store.
    But Cherokee Evans rushed to open the door for her.I allow as how I was going in here for supplies, too.”
    What could she do? There was no law against a man going into a store. Silver decided to ignore him. Maybe he’d take the hint. She walked to the back counter.
    Immediately, Haw’s sour-faced wife, Augusta, looked up, saw her, frowned, and suddenly discovered something in the back of the building that needed immediate attention, probably so she wouldn’t have to wait on Silver. It had happened before.
    Such treatment fromrespectable” women no longer hurt Silver; she’d grown used to it. The only satisfaction she got was knowing that often therespectable” women’s husbands were frequenting the Nugget Saloon at night while their wives thought the men were at a town meeting or working late.
    Cherokee followed her. Either he didn’t realize Silver was ignoring him, or he refused to