Shades of Gray Read Free Page A

three cases. 
She huddled one bag under each arm, and clutched the last satchel in her hand. 
Wobbling away from him, she looked like a pack mule heading into the unknown. 
The rain fell heavier, and she hurried her steps.  If she knew what kind of man
she ran to, she would leave everything she owned to get away from him.
    Gray waited
for her to disappear into the store.  She hesitated before entering, but didn’t
look back.  He grabbed the rope handle on the side of his box and swung it onto
his shoulder.  Tucked behind the crate, her hat lay pressed against the wall. 
Apparently, her covering wasn’t important to her.  Gray scooped the garment up
and glanced toward the store.  It wouldn’t be long before she would know that
feeling on a more personal level.  Everyone has to walk out the consequences of
their actions.  He hoped she was prepared for the road that lay ahead of her. 
His carriage waited to return him to his.

 
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Katherine
Bailey’s bare feet pounded the ground in uneven rhythms.  Thorns and briars
tugged at her nightdress, snatching at bits and pieces of flannel.  She puffed
short quick breaths of air, and pushed herself deeper into the thicket.  She
didn’t have much of a head start.  Reece had only been dazed when she escaped. 
Grabbing the handiest item in the bedroom, she had swung the weighty bed warmer
with a two-fisted grip.  Hot with coals, the metal pan had sprayed the room
with embers, emptying fully when it clanged against his head.  The wood floors
would most likely be scarred, but shouldn’t burn.  She hoped Reece would carry
a similar reminder of her determination to leave his presence.
    Dogs barked in
the distance, and hoof beats thundered close behind the growling mongrels. 
Loud curses filled the air.  Reece was closing in.  She spied a small opening
in the nearby thicket and ducked into the copse.  Hurrying away from the
clearing, she dodged vines and trees.  Her pulse thumped in her ears and
drowned out the memory of her beating.  At least that was one thing she could
be thankful for. 
    She slowed
long enough to gain her bearings and focused on an overgrown bush.  The dense
foliage would conceal her body, but it would also prevent a speedy exit.  To
her right, a small cave seemed to offer a place to rest and hide.  Her body
begged for her to consider the second choice.  Opting for the cavern, she
scrambled over a downed log, hurried into the secluded interior, and flattened
herself against the stone wall.  She closed her eyes and inhaled long, slow
breaths.  Hidden from sight, she should be able to hear if anyone drew near the
opening.  Fresh air blended with a sour odor, and she rubbed her nose to fend
off the offensive smell.  Something in this cave needed a good airing, but
hopefully the stench would prevent the dogs from locating her. 
    She pulled her
ripped bodice back up on her shoulder and eased her eyes open.  The vision in
her right eye appeared hooded.  She lifted her hand and delicately touched a
finger to her brow.  The swelling was worsening.  The lid would be closed shut
before daybreak.  Dropping her chin to her chest, she sank to the floor.  Two
and a half days ago, she had come ashore, full of hopes and dreams and now, she
hid in a cave and feared for her life.  She ran a hand through her hair, her
fingers catching at her forehead.  A wet stickiness oozed between the tips, and
she pressed the heel of her hand against her scalp.  Blood trickled down her
arm. 
    When Reece had
entered her bedroom uninvited, she hadn’t seen the riding crop.  Of course, to
wake from a sound sleep with a man straddled across her waist had been enough
of a shock.  Maybe it was naive of her to think he wouldn’t be armed.  Not sure
how she had accomplished it, she had wrestled her way out from under him and
lunged for the door.  Caught short by a sharp blow between her shoulder blades,
she had pitched forward, falling