Rags to Rubies Read Online Free

to be the very nourishment her plants needed to thrive.
    He wondered if Grace had a man in her life, who should be protecting her, but he had a gut feeling that she was a woman who took care of others instead. She had the confidence of someone who had taken on adult responsibilities at a young age, not unlike himself.
    “Would you like me to come in and check the house for you?” he asked.
    “Oh, no. Really. It isn’t necessary.” She fumbled in her purse for the key. “See, the door is locked. Everything is secure. I think I just got spooked earlier, with Zia Bruna and those silly predictions.”
    “Allow me.” He held out his hand for her key, unlocked the door, and dropped it back into her slightly trembling fingers.
    “Thank you again,” she said edging past him into the foyer.
    “I wonder if I might ask a favor, Miss Hathaway? Would you be willing to show me around the area, help me get the lay of the land, so to speak?” It was a weak excuse, but he wanted to see her again. He wasn’t sure why. If he had any decency, he would let this one alone.
    The lift of her brows registered her surprise. She hesitated but then responded politely, “Of course I could. It’s the least I can do, considering the bother I’ve made of myself tonight.”
    “Would tomorrow be convenient for you?” Jared asked, realizing that would be only several hours away. He was already looking forward to it.
    “I work until five o’clock, but if you would like to come by then, I’ll be glad to give you the fifty-cent tour. D.L. Hollister & Company, Five Hundred Wabash, off Wacker Drive.”
    Jared nodded his head and said, “Until then, Miss Hathaway.” He turned away as she closed the door.
    Before descending the brick steps, he paused to inspect the porch light. He raised the glass on the new fixture and twisted the bulb clockwise. It illuminated instantly.
    He wondered why anyone would want to harm someone like her. He had enemies and they were well deserved, but she seemed harmless. And who was the dark figure following her tonight? He would make some inquires. Until he got answers, he’d have Sallie’s men keep an eye on her place. Obviously the little minx needed some protection.
    Jared glanced back at Grace’s front door, mildly surprised at his concern. He’d always been alone; another’s well-being was outside his realm of sensibility, but it brought back something in his psyche. A faint memory. A comforting song in another language, a rocking chair, the warmth of soft fabric.
    He raised the collar on his jacket and strode toward home, dismissing the maudlin recollections. He was no longer a child, and those memories were best forgotten, buried deep by life’s realities.

Chapter Three
    Grace leaned back against the foyer door for several moments trying to clear her head. De Warre’s effect on her was incredibly pronounced. Her heart raced. Her mouth was dry. She shivered from something that started in her lower extremities.
    Lordy, lordy . With a voice like thick honey, he probably had the uncanny ability to unravel any woman at will.
    When he’d escorted her to the door and held out his hand for her key, she thought her knees were going to buckle. She hoped, for Pete’s sake, she hadn’t babbled. Even through her cotton sweater, Grace felt the heat of his hand on the small of her back. The foreign feel of such a casual gesture made her realize how long it had been since a man had touched her even in friendship.
    She had tried to deduce something about the sort of man he was from the items scattered about his library. The titles of the books on the shelves were impressive. He seemed to be well read, interested in a variety of subjects. Or were the heavy tomes simply for decoration? An esoteric collection, to say the least. As unusual as the enigma he seemed to be.
    Each of her neighbors had a different opinion of de Warre, though none of them had actually met him. Her own opinion, like that of the others, was