Free Shades of Gray by Carol A. Spradling Page A

I said, you may consider yourself a guest of Oak
Willow until you feel well enough to leave.”
    She sighed,
grateful for his invitation no matter how feeble it sounded. 
    “However,” he
added, dashing her last shards of hope.  “Your stay here is conditional.”  He
moved closer to the bed and glanced down at her ankle.  It had slipped out from
under the cover during her imagined, branding fantasy.  She absently pulled it
back under the blanket.  “As you are aware,” he continued, “you appeared on my
doorstep under excessive conditions.  I am not a nosey man, but if I am to act
as your guardian, I feel I have a right to know what led up to your arrival.”
    She knew he
was right no matter how uncomfortable it would be to tell him.  She stared up
at the man looming over her and narrowed her own eyes in thought.  Although,
she did owe him an explanation, she considered the amount she should disclose.
    He leaned
against the bedrail and crossed his arms over his chest.  Clearly, he was ready
to listen.
    She shrugged
her shoulders and decided on full honesty.  If she revealed everything to him
now, she wouldn’t have any need to fear his wrath at a future date.  She
dropped the blanket to her lap and watched as his gaze fell with it.  She
smirked inwardly.  There was no need to give him full control of their
conversation.
    She started at
the beginning, filling in the details about her reluctance to initially accept
Reece’s offer and added her opinion of how comfortable he made her feel upon
arrival.  She tensed when remembering how her fiancé’s aloof demeanor had
changed to threatening and terrifying.
    Gray’s jaw
clenched as he sat on the end of the bed.  Kat bent her knee and pulled her leg
to the side, giving him room and permission.
    “I thought his
demeanor was due to unfamiliarity,” she said.
    Gray stared at
a knot in the wood floor.  The way he concentrated, she imagined a small blaze
igniting within seconds.  “Why did you stay with him?” he finally asked.
    She hoped that
wasn’t judgment she heard in his voice.  She shook her head and lifted her
shoulders.  “I had no immediate fear for my safety and although I thought him
standoffish, I would honor my commitment.  It wasn’t until I pressed him to
summon the pastor that he became outwardly annoyed with me.” 
    “The pastor?”
    “I have no
intentions of being any man’s kept woman.”  She emphasized the words, hoping he
heard her meaning.  “Unfortunately for me, Reece was adamant about sampling the wares before legalizing his side of our arrangement.”
    Gray’s head
turned, and his eyes filled with an odd mix of compassion and anger.  “Did he.
. . ” he asked.  The words seemed to stick in his throat.
    “No.”  Kat
touched a hand to her brow.  Although still tender, the swelling had receded
enough for her to see more clearly.  A meaty lid, hung low over her vision,
framing everything she saw with a fringed canopy.  She tilted her chin up to
get a better look at Gray.  He sat stoically as though gauging the depth of her
story.  Leaning forward, she provided a closer inspection of the evidence.  “He
did make a strong effort to ruin my reputation,” she said.
    Gray’s
shoulder tensed and his fingertips curled under.  He looked as though he fought
the urge to touch her.  Large and strong, his hands had been tender when he
dressed her wounds.  She wondered how long it had been since he had needed to
show that side of his passion.  She slid her leg up and rested her chin on her
knee.  “You must know him,” she said.  “Do you think he had any intention of
being honorable?”
    His features
tightened, and his skin drew taut across his cheekbones.  “Nothing about Reece
Mullins is honorable.”  Gray pulled the blanket away from her foot and leaned
forward.  His face remained emotionless as he examined her limb.  He nodded as
though content with its progress, and then pulled the cover back