Shades Of Gray
Secrets Ate At His Soul…And Derek Fontaine wanted only to escape them. Now a legacy from the father he'd never known had brought him to a ramshackle ranch in Texas–and introduced him to Amber Laughton, who possessed a loving spirit that acted as a soothing balm on his wounded soul.Cast out by a society with its own secrets to safeguard, Amber knew nothing of trust, let alone how to trust a man who didn't see her for the woman she truly was. But with her future resting in his protective hands, Derek awakened an all-consuming passion in her. And made Amber determined to claim the love she'd been denied for so long….
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“You don’t want to talk to me, do you?”
His eyes glittered with challenge, daring her to answer.
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you never seem satisfied with what I say.”
It was enough of the truth for now. She just didn’t add that a part of her was very busy noticing him as a man. She had from the very beginning. And that his physical presence made her suddenly aware of herself as a woman.
She swallowed and added, “And because you never take anything at face value. You always seem to suspect a hidden meaning, an ulterior motive—and you make me…uneasy.” It was a better word than nervous. Or self-conscious.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have to look for hidden meanings if you would talk to me. If I didn’t have to pry out every bit of information you held…!”
Harlequin Historicals is delighted to introduce new author Wendy Douglas
Here is what some of her fellow authors have to say about her debut novel
SHADES OF GRAY
“A heartwarming voice and a story about the power of love.”
—New York Times bestselling author and three-time RITA Award winner Jennifer Greene
“An exquisite love story of hope and healing, and a stunning debut for Ms. Douglas!”
—Romantic Times Career Achievement Award winner
Mary Anne Wilson
#599 THE LOVE MATCH
Deborah Simmons/Deborah Hale/Nicola Cornick
#600 A MARRIAGE BY CHANCE
Carolyn Davidson
#601 MARRYING MISCHIEF
Lyn Stone
Available from Harlequin Historicals and WENDY DOUGLAS
Shades of Gray #602
For Doug
For giving me the time and freedom to finally achieve my dream. For teaching me about the miracles that come from taking chances. And for being my best friend…my very own hero. I love you.
Acknowledgments
This book was a labor of love, a book of my heart. Even so, I could not have written it without the help and support of some amazing people: Alison Hart, who volunteered to read the manuscript and offered unlimited time, advice and understanding. (Thanks, Petunia.) Tracy Green, Cheryl Johnson, Lynda Mikulski and Carolyn Rogers, who brainstormed, listened, read and critiqued my baby with sincere enthusiasm and encouragement. Mary Anne Wilson, who taught me that a hard man is good to find—and knew just the hard men I would need for this book. Dana Stabenow, who made exactly the suggestion I needed, just when I needed it, to find the right ending. Laurie Miller, who generously shared her medical knowledge, particularly with home remedies suitable for the post-Civil War era. My Texas “expert,” Betty Sue Crain, who offered pictures, maps, stories, an exclusive Texas tour in seven whirlwind days, and for cooking dinner—more than once—so I could keep writing. The “Thursday LaMex girls,” Kathy Hafer and Jean Whitley, for proofreading and years of unflagging support. (Margaritas are on me next week!)
Contents
Prologue
Texas, April 1868
He rode damn near to the edge of nowhere before he found it. For days now, the landscape had sauntered by with indifferent sameness, offering little more than mesquite, prickly pear cactus and Indian paintbrush. Finally, a new image appeared in the distance.
The Double F Ranch.
Derek Fontaine reined his horse to a standstill and examined the far-off buildings. At the same time, he grappled with the sound of a hundred noisy voices, all shouting inside his head and demanding his attention. The lies, the accusations…the angry recriminations. He’d been so sure he could hold them under the strictest control—and had done so for years. Suddenly they were back…and for what?
He scowled at the scene before him as the memories forced themselves upon him: the lies from all the years they’d pretended Richard Fontaine was his uncle; the unfair accusations he would never forget; the names with which they had branded him. Troublemaker, traitor…bastard.
Betrayals all, and from those he’d trusted most. His own family.
The anger and loneliness of a childhood spent unwanted and unloved festered up inside him like an old wound that had never quite healed. Derek swallowed, forcing back the memories as he had always done before. He couldn’t afford to open himself up to it all again, reexamining those tired, ancient emotions when he’d come so close to losing himself to it once. Later, when the pain finally went away, or when he regained his strength, he would think about it.
But not now. Now he had all he could manage just trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here.
“That it?”
Derek blinked, turning as he swept a distracted gaze over his companion. Gideon—the only name he’d given, back three hundred miles or so—said nothing more. Willing enough to shoulder his share of the work and more, and evenly divide the few costs they’d incurred along the trail, he had also established himself as a man of few words. He didn’t disclose personal confessions and he didn’t ask questions. That suited Derek just fine.
