Read Online All or Nothing by Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig - Free Book Online
Authors: Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig
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they’d set to it right away. But tonight, all the rules had changed.
Dim light filtered through the open tack room door. Reggie, Ross, and Stable Master Alex McDole were following his strict orders not to disturb the woman inside. Now, all three looked to him for what to do about it.
Bowen sensed their eyes like hot pokers in his back. He turned to face them. “The sun will bake the mud enough to flake it off in the morning. It’ll be fine until then.”
“I could get started cleaning, if you let me in the danged tack room,” Reggie said.
Bowen stepped between him and the door. “Not an option, Thompson. Stow it in the barn. I’ll see to other business in the morning.”
Bowen’s upper lip curled in annoyance at the look Reggie shot Ross.
“Yes, sir, Cap.” Reggie looked like he was fighting a grin. He pushed his hat back on his head and sighed heavily before relocating everything for a second time. The lean and lanky Alex hurried off to help.
Bowen turned his scowl toward Ross, but his friend wasn’t so easily intimidated. “You got something to say, MacEvoy?”
Ross stretched his back. “She’s not business, Bow. She’s a woman. And right now, she’s cold and scared.”
He knew his bluff had been called. “She’s gotten herself in quite a mess, hasn’t she?”
“She trusts you, Bowen. Lord only knows why.” Ross clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll have to warn her about the post commander.”
“RuthAnne can hold her own against that mongrel. She got away from El Tejano, didn’t she?” He edged closer to the tack room door for a better view.
RuthAnne slept slumped in a chair, a blanket clutched under her chin like a child. Her damp hair dripped a puddle on the floor, obscuring her face.
“Like it or not, Cap, she’s your responsibility now.” Ross’ voice echoed in his soul.
Bowen eyed the straw tick cot in the corner of the room where he’d spent many a night waiting for a mare to foal. She should be sleeping there. Why was she still sitting upright? Did she expect him to wake her? “That doesn’t look comfortable...we should move her.”
“You asking me? Or telling?”
“You’re the married one, Ross. You know how to treat a woman...”
Ross let loose a hard laugh in answer. “So it’s better if I do it? If Josie found out, she’d have my hide. You know how pregnant women are, Bowen. She’s liable to shoot me.”
Bowen raked a hand through his dark, curling hair, his voice gruff. “Just see to it RuthAnne’s comfortable and stand guard, too.”
Ross gave a mock salute. “Yes sir, Captain Shepherd. Oh, and, Bow? You can bet Josie’s gonna hear about this. That way she’ll make you sleep out on the porch with the dogs next time you visit, ’stead’a me.”
Bowen couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Ross duck through the tack room door and out of sight.
Chapter 9
The bugle call startled RuthAnne awake. “Reveille.” It took a moment for her to remember where she was. Though she had fallen asleep huddled on the chair and wrapped in the horse blanket, someone had moved her onto a soft bed of straw and covered her with a clean gray coverlet.
Groggy and damp, she surveyed her surroundings. Dust motes danced in the morning light that streamed through the window. Bridles, halters, and ropes hung from pegs along the wall. Well-oiled black leather saddles rested on wooden stands. A pile of gray, horsehair-covered woolen saddle blankets sat next to the door. She noted “US Army” in block letters stamped on each one. The kerosene lamp, now dark, stood on the table beside her, and the cane chair where she’d waited for the captain sat empty right beside it.
A man’s throat cleared from the open door, and RuthAnne nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Good morning, Mrs. Newcomb.”
Speechless, a common side effect of being in the same room with this hulking man, she could only choke out his name. “Captain
Dim light filtered through the open tack room door. Reggie, Ross, and Stable Master Alex McDole were following his strict orders not to disturb the woman inside. Now, all three looked to him for what to do about it.
Bowen sensed their eyes like hot pokers in his back. He turned to face them. “The sun will bake the mud enough to flake it off in the morning. It’ll be fine until then.”
“I could get started cleaning, if you let me in the danged tack room,” Reggie said.
Bowen stepped between him and the door. “Not an option, Thompson. Stow it in the barn. I’ll see to other business in the morning.”
Bowen’s upper lip curled in annoyance at the look Reggie shot Ross.
“Yes, sir, Cap.” Reggie looked like he was fighting a grin. He pushed his hat back on his head and sighed heavily before relocating everything for a second time. The lean and lanky Alex hurried off to help.
Bowen turned his scowl toward Ross, but his friend wasn’t so easily intimidated. “You got something to say, MacEvoy?”
Ross stretched his back. “She’s not business, Bow. She’s a woman. And right now, she’s cold and scared.”
He knew his bluff had been called. “She’s gotten herself in quite a mess, hasn’t she?”
“She trusts you, Bowen. Lord only knows why.” Ross clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll have to warn her about the post commander.”
“RuthAnne can hold her own against that mongrel. She got away from El Tejano, didn’t she?” He edged closer to the tack room door for a better view.
RuthAnne slept slumped in a chair, a blanket clutched under her chin like a child. Her damp hair dripped a puddle on the floor, obscuring her face.
“Like it or not, Cap, she’s your responsibility now.” Ross’ voice echoed in his soul.
Bowen eyed the straw tick cot in the corner of the room where he’d spent many a night waiting for a mare to foal. She should be sleeping there. Why was she still sitting upright? Did she expect him to wake her? “That doesn’t look comfortable...we should move her.”
“You asking me? Or telling?”
“You’re the married one, Ross. You know how to treat a woman...”
Ross let loose a hard laugh in answer. “So it’s better if I do it? If Josie found out, she’d have my hide. You know how pregnant women are, Bowen. She’s liable to shoot me.”
Bowen raked a hand through his dark, curling hair, his voice gruff. “Just see to it RuthAnne’s comfortable and stand guard, too.”
Ross gave a mock salute. “Yes sir, Captain Shepherd. Oh, and, Bow? You can bet Josie’s gonna hear about this. That way she’ll make you sleep out on the porch with the dogs next time you visit, ’stead’a me.”
Bowen couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Ross duck through the tack room door and out of sight.
Chapter 9
The bugle call startled RuthAnne awake. “Reveille.” It took a moment for her to remember where she was. Though she had fallen asleep huddled on the chair and wrapped in the horse blanket, someone had moved her onto a soft bed of straw and covered her with a clean gray coverlet.
Groggy and damp, she surveyed her surroundings. Dust motes danced in the morning light that streamed through the window. Bridles, halters, and ropes hung from pegs along the wall. Well-oiled black leather saddles rested on wooden stands. A pile of gray, horsehair-covered woolen saddle blankets sat next to the door. She noted “US Army” in block letters stamped on each one. The kerosene lamp, now dark, stood on the table beside her, and the cane chair where she’d waited for the captain sat empty right beside it.
A man’s throat cleared from the open door, and RuthAnne nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Good morning, Mrs. Newcomb.”
Speechless, a common side effect of being in the same room with this hulking man, she could only choke out his name. “Captain
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