The Irish Devil by Diane Whiteside

Author:Diane Whiteside
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: American Light Romantic Fiction, Historical romance, Man-woman relationships, Frontier and pioneer life, Irish - Arizona, Mistresses, Contemporary, Romance - Historical, General, Romance, Romance: Historical, Arizona, Fiction, Historical, Romance & Sagas, American Historical Fiction, Frontier and pioneer life - Arizona, Widows, Love stories, Fiction - Romance
ISBN: 9780758207937
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2007-09-30T07:00:00+00:00

An hour later, William and Evans escorted Viola through the depot. The men who saw them paused to touch their hats to her, then returned to their duties. They behaved exactly as they had before she started sleeping with William, as if it was nothing unusual to see her leave an unmarried man’s house in the early morning. Something inside Viola relaxed almost imperceptibly at their easy acceptance of her.

Everything else was a pleasant bustle: the wagons custom-made by Murphy & Sons of St. Louis to meet Donovan & Sons’ famously high expectations, the mules bred for Donovan & Sons’ demand for speed and stamina, even the teamsters joking as they returned from their regular target practice. She’d heard gossip for years about the firm’s high requirements and the almost military demand for discipline. Meeting those standards was what kept Donovan & Sons in business, delivering freight to even the riskiest parts of the West.

“Mr. Donovan.” Lowell, one of the teamsters, appeared beside them. He touched his hat to Viola but his attention was entirely on William. “Can you settle a wager for me?”

“Another bet, Lowell? What is it this time?” William’s voice was indulgent and patient.

Viola’s mouth twitched. Lowell’s interest in betting on anything was famous, even here on the frontier where everyone, both men and women, gambled.

“How many strokes with a whip would you need to cut a newspaper into pieces? I said six, but Harrison said four.”

“Do you want me to demonstrate here and now?”

“Yes, sir.” Lowell had the appearance of a puppy about to wag its tail.

“With your help, of course. Very well.”

Lowell took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yes, sir.” He stepped into the middle of the yard and shook out a single sheet of newspaper, his movements only slightly rushed. The other men gathered around, staying well back from Lowell.

“Wait for me on the porch, would you, Mrs. Ross?”

Viola nodded and moved to the better vantage point. She’d heard gossip of William’s skill before, that he could take a fly off a horse’s ear and similar feats. But she’d never seen him in action.

William shook out his whip casually. Viola’s knees weakened at the elegance of the movement, the restrained power of the whip in his strong hand. It was a deadly weapon but none of the men seemed afraid of it.

He flicked it several times, keeping it close to the ground. “Will you count, Evans?”

“My pleasure.” Evans stepped up next to Viola.

Lowell faced William, the newspaper stretched between his hands. William took a step forward, cracking the whip as he did so, but the teamster didn’t flinch. The newspaper split cleanly in half.

The sound of the whip ran through Viola’s bones.

“One.” Evans’s voice was slightly bored.

Lowell held a remaining half sheet between his hands. Another crack and another piece of newspaper fell. Viola gripped the rail harder as arousal shimmered within her.

“Two.”

“Three.” Lowell was completely calm, his breathing unhurried, as he stretched smaller and smaller pieces between his hands.

“Four.”

William was as serene as when he’d returned from Mass.

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