Read Online McLeod, Anitra Lynn - Dirty Cowboy (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) by McLeod-Anitra-Lynn - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: McLeod-Anitra-Lynn
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you.”
“Did you now?”
Dalton nodded. “I shifted, and of course I couldn’t remember anything, which is another reason I don’t shift often.”
“It wipes your memory away?”
Dalton nodded. “I remember. Eventually.”
“That’s why at the spring your behavior was so curious. I thought whoever left you there had beaten you.” Everett left off that he’d been afraid they’d done something much worse to him.
“That spring damn near killed me.” Dalton sat up but turned so they were facing each other in the flickering light. “I hit it, and it started to pull me in. The only way to save myself was to shift.”
“But why were you just laying there?”
“It had been years since my last shift, and I couldn’t remember how to be human.”
“Why were only your feet in the water?”
“I kept my feet in the water to prevent me from shifting back. I wanted to try to remember my history.”
“Did you?”
“Not right away, not until I was with you for awhile. When I did remember, I realized I didn’t want to.”
“Bad memories?”
“Beatings, hatred for being different. That ever happen to you?”
Nodding slowly, Everett understood exactly what he meant. “There was a feller in San Antonio who seemed interested in me. He was always smiling and seemed, encouraging, I guess. And so one night, when things were quiet, he and I went for a walk. Not too far, just a ways into the woods. He was aggressive with me, and talked dirty, which I liked, but when I asked him to give back to me, he beat me senseless.” Tilting his head back, Everett pointed to the scar under his chin. “He wore a ring that left that mark.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.” Dalton leaned up and kissed the scar.
“You’re sweet.” Everett kissed the tip of Dalton’s nose. “But that man taught me to be leery of men who seem too welcoming.”
“I learned that, too.” Dalton rubbed his cheek against Everett. “Like you, I was always longing for someone to be with, but finding only heartless men who would use me and then cast me aside.”
“What made you come back to me?”
“I shifted without knowing why, and then I saw your light. Something warm filled my chest, so I moved toward that glow. When I heard you whistling, my body shivered, and then I saw your face.” Dalton cupped his chin. “I remembered watching you chasing dust devils and wanting to go near you, but I was confused.”
“Confused by what?”
“Wanting you when as a dust devil I want for nothing.”
“I thought I had gone mad and imagined you.”
“I thought that, too.”
They made a lazy kind of love then slept entwined. After dawdling in the morning, giving the land time to dry out and warm up from the rain, they finally set off.
Each night when then stopped, Everett built the fire, Dalton cooked, and together they rolled around in the back of the wagon. Where before Everett hated traveling, he didn’t mind so much with Dalton. They fell into an easy rhythm, spending most of their time in companionable silence.
After standing to get the lay of the land, Dalton settled into the seat next to Everett. “Looks like a town up ahead.”
“Finally!” Everett had had enough of the lonesome prairie to last a lifetime. “A bath, good eats, and a real bed.”
Dalton nodded excitedly. “Although, to be fair, I don’t mind my dirty cowboy.”
Everett got a little lost whenever Dalton looked at him like that. And his chest felt funny. All tight and loose at the same time, like his body just couldn’t make up its mind about how it felt.
When they climbed to the top of the gentle hill, Everett saw the town in the distance, but a lone man stood in the middle of the trail, blocking the way. It was the same gunslinger who had accosted them before.
“Been waiting for you two to show up.” He spit a big wad of brown into the dirt. All Everett’s hopes and dreams for a happy life splattered like the wad of tobacco juice. “That trick you
“Did you now?”
Dalton nodded. “I shifted, and of course I couldn’t remember anything, which is another reason I don’t shift often.”
“It wipes your memory away?”
Dalton nodded. “I remember. Eventually.”
“That’s why at the spring your behavior was so curious. I thought whoever left you there had beaten you.” Everett left off that he’d been afraid they’d done something much worse to him.
“That spring damn near killed me.” Dalton sat up but turned so they were facing each other in the flickering light. “I hit it, and it started to pull me in. The only way to save myself was to shift.”
“But why were you just laying there?”
“It had been years since my last shift, and I couldn’t remember how to be human.”
“Why were only your feet in the water?”
“I kept my feet in the water to prevent me from shifting back. I wanted to try to remember my history.”
“Did you?”
“Not right away, not until I was with you for awhile. When I did remember, I realized I didn’t want to.”
“Bad memories?”
“Beatings, hatred for being different. That ever happen to you?”
Nodding slowly, Everett understood exactly what he meant. “There was a feller in San Antonio who seemed interested in me. He was always smiling and seemed, encouraging, I guess. And so one night, when things were quiet, he and I went for a walk. Not too far, just a ways into the woods. He was aggressive with me, and talked dirty, which I liked, but when I asked him to give back to me, he beat me senseless.” Tilting his head back, Everett pointed to the scar under his chin. “He wore a ring that left that mark.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.” Dalton leaned up and kissed the scar.
“You’re sweet.” Everett kissed the tip of Dalton’s nose. “But that man taught me to be leery of men who seem too welcoming.”
“I learned that, too.” Dalton rubbed his cheek against Everett. “Like you, I was always longing for someone to be with, but finding only heartless men who would use me and then cast me aside.”
“What made you come back to me?”
“I shifted without knowing why, and then I saw your light. Something warm filled my chest, so I moved toward that glow. When I heard you whistling, my body shivered, and then I saw your face.” Dalton cupped his chin. “I remembered watching you chasing dust devils and wanting to go near you, but I was confused.”
“Confused by what?”
“Wanting you when as a dust devil I want for nothing.”
“I thought I had gone mad and imagined you.”
“I thought that, too.”
They made a lazy kind of love then slept entwined. After dawdling in the morning, giving the land time to dry out and warm up from the rain, they finally set off.
Each night when then stopped, Everett built the fire, Dalton cooked, and together they rolled around in the back of the wagon. Where before Everett hated traveling, he didn’t mind so much with Dalton. They fell into an easy rhythm, spending most of their time in companionable silence.
After standing to get the lay of the land, Dalton settled into the seat next to Everett. “Looks like a town up ahead.”
“Finally!” Everett had had enough of the lonesome prairie to last a lifetime. “A bath, good eats, and a real bed.”
Dalton nodded excitedly. “Although, to be fair, I don’t mind my dirty cowboy.”
Everett got a little lost whenever Dalton looked at him like that. And his chest felt funny. All tight and loose at the same time, like his body just couldn’t make up its mind about how it felt.
When they climbed to the top of the gentle hill, Everett saw the town in the distance, but a lone man stood in the middle of the trail, blocking the way. It was the same gunslinger who had accosted them before.
“Been waiting for you two to show up.” He spit a big wad of brown into the dirt. All Everett’s hopes and dreams for a happy life splattered like the wad of tobacco juice. “That trick you
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