His Forbidden Touch by Kate Collins

Author:Kate Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: kate collins historical romance suspense sexy historical novel womens fiction linda obrien
Publisher: Kate Collins

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Luther’s reaction was so bizarre that Mariah simply stared at him. It seemed almost as if he were daring Laz to attack.

Looping the rope around the dog’s neck, Mariah pulled Laz to the back and shoved him through the connecting door into the kitchen. Annie stood just behind her.

“I’ve never seen Lazarus behave that way,” Annie said in a whisper. “What could have caused it?”

“Did Luther provoke him?”

“Not at all. I was petting Laz--you know how he has to have attention when he comes in--when all of a sudden he turned around and began to growl.”

“It’s very odd,” Mariah remarked. “Laz singled Luther out.”

“Why don’t I put Luther into the surgery first?” Annie suggested. “He’s probably shaken up.”

Mariah wasn’t so sure. She washed her hands and returned to the waiting room to apologize to everyone for the disturbance and to assure them that Lazarus was safely confined.

“I’m very sorry about my dog,” she told Luther, as she walked into the surgery. She put on her spectacles and unwrapped the gauze covering his arm. “I don’t know what made him behave like that. He’s normally quite friendly. I apologize if he frightened you.”

“I wasn’t frightened.”

Mariah glanced at Luther curiously, but he merely smiled as though he thought the whole incident was amusing.

“At least your arm seems to be on the mend,” she commented.

“I don’t think so. It’s giving me lots of pain.”

Mariah examined the stitches again. “I don’t see any signs of infection. I’ll give you some salve to put on it twice a day. Just make sure you keep it covered.”

“I’ll come back and let you take care of it.”

She opened the medicine cabinet and took out a jar of the pungent salve. “There’s really no need for me to see you again.”

“Yes there is. I don’t want to get blood poisoning.”

“All right, Mr. Sinton; come back tomorrow and I’ll look at it again.”

“It’s Luther, remember?”

Mariah said nothing as she returned the jar to the cabinet. She couldn’t explain why Luther made her so uneasy.

“My mama said to thank you for fixing up my arm,” Luther told her as he hopped off the table. “She really liked your daddy, you know. He used to come see her once a week. She’s got lots of ailments. She was just saying today how your daddy always took care of the stone men--not just their ailments, but their problems, too. You know what I mean. I wonder what your daddy would have said about the explosion, especially what with the gossip going around about it not being an accident and all.”

Mariah folded her arms and studied him. “My father didn’t take much stock in gossip. He always went after the truth.”

“That’s why everyone liked him. That’s what you’re doing, too, isn’t it? Going after the truth?”

“I’m trying my best.”

“I think people like to gossip so they feel important. I know a lot about dynamite, you know. My daddy was one of the first charge men to work for C& S. You’d have to be awfully smart to set the dynamite off and make it look like an accident.

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