Read Rebecca Hagan Lee - [Borrowed Brides 02] for Free Online Page A

boardwalk blocking their path.
    Tessa started at the unexpected attack, half turning to face her accuser.
    “Don’t pay any attention to her,” David instructed. “Chin up, eyes forward. Pretend she isn’t there.”
    “Murderess!” The accusation was louder this time and the saloon girls joined in, echoing their employer.
    Tessa turned to David. He read the anger burning in the depths of her big blue eyes.
    “Don’t say anything,” he warned. “Just look straight ahead.” His fingers tightened on her elbow as he spoke. “Trust me. I’ll handle this. I’ll take care of you.” As soon as he said the words, David knew they were true. He understood that Tessa Roarke could take care of herself, but he wanted, needed, to do it. He wanted to take care of her.
    Myra Brennan took a step forward.
    Tessa held her ground.
    David inhaled, steeling himself for the confrontation, knowing it could get ugly. The mood of the crowd could easily change from curiosity to anger. David released Tessa’s elbow and stepped forward. As he did so, David noticed that Coalie had let go of Tessa’s hand and moved to stand in front of her.
    “Good afternoon, Miss Brennan.” David tipped his hat and smiled his most disarming smile.
    “What’s good about it, lawyer man?” The saloonkeeper’s carefully painted face was a mask of outrage and betrayal. “Certainly not you taking the side of trash!”
    David continued to smile. “Every man and woman,” he said, nodding toward Tessa, “is entitled to the best defense possible.”
    “And people tell me you’re the best,” Myra drawled. “At lawyering. At everything . But I wouldn’t know.”
    David looked at Myra Brennan. She had once been a very lovely woman, but the ravages of time, late nights, liquor, and too many men had left their marks on her face, dulled her brown eyes, and coarsened her pale complexion. David softened his gaze, trying not to show his distaste as he looked at her. “Myra, you know a man in my position can’t afford to play favorites. I treat everyone equally.”
    One of the saloon girls gasped at his words. He’d clearly insulted her. David Alexander uttered those words to Myra Brennan each time she approached him. Nearly every person at the Satin Slipper knew of Myra’s weakness for the handsome lawyer. The lady saloonkeeper had never made a secret of her desire to have the half-breed attorney in her bed.
    Myra didn’t give up easily. “She’s dirty Irish trash. She killed Arnie!”
    David struggled to contain his temper. “She’s no dirtier than the rest of us.” David turned from Myra to face the people crowding around, who were avidly listening to the confrontation. “And the law says she’s innocent until proven guilty.” He turned back to Myra, but this time David didn’t smile or try to hide his distaste. “Good day, Miss Brennan.” He tipped his hat once again in a gesture of dismissal.
    “Always fightin’ for the helpless, eh, lawyer man?” Myra smiled at David as she moved closer. She caressed him, trailing the tip of a red-painted fingernail along his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and the curve of his full lower lip.
    David didn’t move. Myra’s hand brushed over his lip again. The lace of her cuff touched his chin. Resisting the urge to brush her hand away, David concentrated on the fine bones of her wrist. An angry red welt encircled it, marring the porcelain perfection of her skin. He forced himself not to smile. It wasn’t like Myra to reveal imperfections, even slight imperfections.
    “Well, I say, the helpless be damned and the trash, too.” Myra leaned closer to David until her lips were almost touching his. “What do you say to that, lawyer man?”
    David stepped back, away from the predatory female, away from the musky scent of her, which irritated his sensitive nostrils. “I hope you never become one of the helpless, Myra.”
    Tessa stood rigidly viewing the distasteful scene, her anger mounting with every