White Owl Read Online Free Page A

sixteen two years ago, her dear mother—in a whispered voice when no one was around—had told her a bit about what a woman was expected to do with a man once they married. But never had Rose imagined that a man could be that large and—and to think what he did to a woman with that—oh!
    She wiped away the beads of sweat on her face. There was nothing she could do about the rivulets of perspiration that trailed between her breasts and down her body beneath her clothes.
    What is wrong with me? she wondered. The memory of him should be so frightening that she needed to erase it from her mind completely. But rather than being scared stiff from the close call she had just had, her body seemed to act as if it had actually enjoyed the experience. Now, that was a terrifying thought.
    In spite of herself, Rose turned around in hersaddle and looked behind her again. A sudden feeling of disappointment flooded through her. It was quickly followed by disgust and anger. There really must be something wrong with her. The Ute brave had as much as defiled her body and threatened to kill her father, yet she was still hoping to see him again?
    “Lord forgive me,” Rose cried out as she glanced up at the sky.
    With Milk Creek far behind her, Rose let Molly’s gallop slow to a steady trot. Although she attempted to convince herself that she should probably tell her father about the Ute’s threat, she also knew that she would not say a word to him unless it became absolutely necessary. Paddy Adair’s uncontrollable temper was something Rose preferred to avoid at all costs.
    As she rode up to the barn, Rose was amazed that neither of her brothers or her father was anywhere to be seen. To her relief, she realized that they must still be working in the hay fields or out on the range checking on the cattle. The extra time was more than she could have hoped for because it gave her a chance to compose herself a bit before she had to face any of them. She took her time to wipe down Molly, water her, and give her an extra pitchfork of hay. She also gave the mare a half a bucket of oats—a real treat that the horse only got occasionally.
    Once she had taken good care of her horse, Rose took a few more minutes to tidy herself up. She removed her hat and ran her fingers throughher hair to untangle the long tendrils as best she could. Her riding skirt was dusty, but fortunately, there did not seem to be any tears. She brushed it off until there was not a trace of dust left. But her blouse was filthy and ripped in several places. She put her cropped jacket back on to cover up the tattered blouse. Would everything else that happened today be so easy to cover up?
    “Well, there you be. I was comin’ to check out in the barn to see if you were back yet. You were gone an awful long time again.”
    Rose clasped the front of her jacket tightly together with one hand and forced herself to smile at her mother when she met her at the front door stoop. “I’ve been out in the barn for a long time. I figured Molly deserved some extra grooming today.”
    Colleen’s smile was genuine as she draped her arm over her daughter’s shoulder and walked into the house with her. “You and that horse. Sometimes I think you love her more than me.”
    Rose chuckled. “That’s ridiculous, Mother. I love you just a little bit more.” To her surprise, her voice sounded almost normal. Inwardly, there was not one thing that seemed even remotely normal. She avoided looking at her mother because her cheeks felt like they were on fire. “I’m going to change and then I’ll be back to help you with dinner,” Rose said as she rushed to her room.
    “Aunt Maggie would be mighty pleased to see you wearin’ that fancy riding outfit, even if there is nobody else around to see how pretty you lookin it,” Colleen called out to her daughter just before she disappeared into her bedroom.
    By the time the Adair family had settled down for dinner, Rose was beginning to recover