Read Online The Brides Of Tombstone 01 Mail Order Outlaw by Cynthia Woolf - Free Book Online Page A

saddlebags, while Lizzie made up the cot.
    “It’s a good thing Atina didn’t want us to starve. There was enough for a couple of days if we hadn’t been so hungry today. Of course, we didn’t know we’d be spending the night here.”
    “She always packs too much,” Lizzie laughed. “But in this case, the quantity will be appreciated. We’ll need it for tonight and tomorrow. I’ll make sure to quit earlier tomorrow, so we can beat any storms home.”
    There was a brilliant flash of lightning followed almost immediately by the roar of thunder over-head. Then the rain started. Light at first, but as the day grew darker, the rain picked up speed. Soon Ed could hardly hear Lizzie over the din of the rain pounding the tin roof.
    She took a couple of plates off the shelf above the kitchen counter and dished up the food, before handing him one.
    “Thanks.” He set his plate on the table and then held her chair out.
    “You’re welcome. Do you play cards?”
    They both sat and began eating, the niceties second to their hunger.
    “Some.” He figured that was a better answer than sure I play poker all the time. “What kind of cards? I warn you, I’m a very quick study.”
    “How about a little stud poker?” She put a bite of cheese in her mouth.
    Watching her eat was almost sexual. And then her tongue darted out and licked a bit of butter from the sandwich off her lip. He had to close his eyes for a minute to get hold of himself. Lord, what he’d like to do with those lips. He could almost feel their softness beneath his. He took a breath and remembered this was Lizzie, his fiancée. Or Mal’s. Damn, he was beginning to hate the man, forgetting for a moment that he was the man.
    “That I know how to play. San Francisco is home to lots of gambling establishments. Not that I frequented them.” Shaking his head, he held up his hands. “But I did often enough to learn how to play poker.” He took a piece of the venison and put it in his mouth. The meat was nearly as good cold as it had been hot the night before. Atina was a great cook. Her food sure beat the hell out of his or Harvey’s cooking.
    “Good.” Lizzie rubbed her hands together. “I haven’t been able to play in a long time.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I always win. No one wants to play with me.”
    “Right,” Ed laughed at her confident tone. “Tell me the real reason.”
    “That is the real reason.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Why would I lie? You’re my fiancé and will find out anyway.”
    “Well, don’t go easy on me. I want to beat you fair and square.”
    “Be assured, if you beat me, you did it honestly.” She shook her head. “I don’t throw games for anyone.”
    That was another thing Ed loved about Lizzie. In the month he’d been there, he’d never seen her give anything but her best. Whether it was working with the cattle, mucking stalls or helping Atina with the laundry tubs, Lizzie gave it her all.
    Lizzie grabbed the deck of cards from the shelf above the stove and the box of matches and took them to the table.
    “Let’s play for matchsticks. We’ll each start with thirty.”
    “Fine by me.” Ed counted out the matches for each of them while she shuffled and dealt the cards. “I’m going to make some coffee.”
    “Good idea, the hot liquid will help us keep warm.”
    They played a couple of hands and munched on cookies, before the coffee finished making. Ed won as many as he lost. Lizzie was a good poker player.
    “So Mal, are you a bluffer. So far you haven’t been. When you bet you have it.”
    “Oh, I bluff now and again.”
    “Just on cards?” She sipped her coffee and eyed him over the rim of her cup.
    “What? What do you mean?” He knew the jig was up. She’d figured out he wasn’t Mal and he’d have to come clean. Would she marry him anyway? His heart pounded hard in his chest and he was sure she could hear it.
    “Just that you seem to be better at some things than you let on. Like hunting.