Read Online The Outlaw and the Lady by Lorraine Heath - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lorraine Heath
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darkness she now inhabited. Even moving intothe boardinghouse had not provided her with the independence she craved. The owner, Mrs. Gurney, cooked all the meals and cleaned the rooms. Angela felt as though she’d only braved a tiny step when she longed to take a flying leap.
“They might be Shelby’s men,” he murmured. “There was one waiting outside the bank.”
“Did you kill him for aggravating you?”
“I only knocked him out. When he came to, he would have gone for the others. It is unlikely Shelby would only send one.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent a hundred. After all, you killed his son.”
“You are remarkably informed.”
“I’m blind, not ignorant.”
She heard his knees pop as he stood. “They’ve picked up our trail. Let’s go.”
She held her ground as he walked away.
“If you cause me to lose any more time I am going to bind your hands and stuff a gag into your mouth,” he threatened.
“ Now who’s bluffing?” she muttered, rising to her feet, not willing to test his words. It was bad enough to be shackled by the darkness. She hated having her hands bound. If only she had a stronger power of persuasion. “Were you able to identify anything else about them?”
“No.”
The horse snorted and slapped his hoof at the ground.
“How far behind us are they?” she asked as she stopped beside him. He had such a palpable presence that it unsettled her. She was drawn to himlike metal to a magnet, always knew when he was near, didn’t have to reach out to know that she stood within his shadow.
He hoisted her onto the saddle. “About three hours.”
“How can you see them if they’re that far away?”
“Because my sight is as the crow flies, and they must travel a serpentine path.” He mounted behind her, and her rebellious body eased into the familiar contours of his.
“Still, to be visible, they had to start out before the bank opened,” she argued.
“I thought we’d already established that.”
Beneath her, the horse began to walk.
“I’m just trying to reinforce my theory that they won’t harm me.”
“You think you could survive three hours by yourself, waiting for them?”
“Yes,” she blurted, without hesitation, hope swelling within her that freedom was at hand.
“Too bad I am not ready to give you up.”
Lee studied the tiny lights glittering in the black sky. The light of the quarter moon guided his way as much as the stars. He gauged his location in comparison to his destination. If it were not for the woman, he would not be worried. He had always known he was living on borrowed time, had always known that sooner or later, he would have to pay the price for his actions that long ago night.
Although he often felt that he’d been payingthe price for five years. Hoping to avoid capture, he kept himself isolated. No woman warmed his bed. No woman smiled when she caught sight of him.
He never had the delicate scent of a woman wafting around him as he did now. Her fragrance reminded him of his mother’s flower garden in late spring. Did he keep this woman nestled within his arms for her protection or his salvation?
Her silence was almost as torturous as her nearness. “Three hours,” he said quietly.
She stiffened and turned slightly. “What?”
“It has been three hours since we left the ridge. It seems like a long time to wait alone.”
She slumped against him. “They would have found me by now.”
“If you were still alive. If no snake or wildcat had crossed your path. You prefer a wild animal to me, though, eh?”
“Definitely.”
He smiled in the darkness. She had such spunk, this small woman he held tightly, more tightly than he needed to, not nearly as tightly as he wanted to. After so many hours of travel, she still carried her unique faint fragrance.
His bristly chin continually caught on her tangled hair. Her lovely dress of soft material that he did not know the name for was smeared with dirt, sweat, and his
“They might be Shelby’s men,” he murmured. “There was one waiting outside the bank.”
“Did you kill him for aggravating you?”
“I only knocked him out. When he came to, he would have gone for the others. It is unlikely Shelby would only send one.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent a hundred. After all, you killed his son.”
“You are remarkably informed.”
“I’m blind, not ignorant.”
She heard his knees pop as he stood. “They’ve picked up our trail. Let’s go.”
She held her ground as he walked away.
“If you cause me to lose any more time I am going to bind your hands and stuff a gag into your mouth,” he threatened.
“ Now who’s bluffing?” she muttered, rising to her feet, not willing to test his words. It was bad enough to be shackled by the darkness. She hated having her hands bound. If only she had a stronger power of persuasion. “Were you able to identify anything else about them?”
“No.”
The horse snorted and slapped his hoof at the ground.
“How far behind us are they?” she asked as she stopped beside him. He had such a palpable presence that it unsettled her. She was drawn to himlike metal to a magnet, always knew when he was near, didn’t have to reach out to know that she stood within his shadow.
He hoisted her onto the saddle. “About three hours.”
“How can you see them if they’re that far away?”
“Because my sight is as the crow flies, and they must travel a serpentine path.” He mounted behind her, and her rebellious body eased into the familiar contours of his.
“Still, to be visible, they had to start out before the bank opened,” she argued.
“I thought we’d already established that.”
Beneath her, the horse began to walk.
“I’m just trying to reinforce my theory that they won’t harm me.”
“You think you could survive three hours by yourself, waiting for them?”
“Yes,” she blurted, without hesitation, hope swelling within her that freedom was at hand.
“Too bad I am not ready to give you up.”
Lee studied the tiny lights glittering in the black sky. The light of the quarter moon guided his way as much as the stars. He gauged his location in comparison to his destination. If it were not for the woman, he would not be worried. He had always known he was living on borrowed time, had always known that sooner or later, he would have to pay the price for his actions that long ago night.
Although he often felt that he’d been payingthe price for five years. Hoping to avoid capture, he kept himself isolated. No woman warmed his bed. No woman smiled when she caught sight of him.
He never had the delicate scent of a woman wafting around him as he did now. Her fragrance reminded him of his mother’s flower garden in late spring. Did he keep this woman nestled within his arms for her protection or his salvation?
Her silence was almost as torturous as her nearness. “Three hours,” he said quietly.
She stiffened and turned slightly. “What?”
“It has been three hours since we left the ridge. It seems like a long time to wait alone.”
She slumped against him. “They would have found me by now.”
“If you were still alive. If no snake or wildcat had crossed your path. You prefer a wild animal to me, though, eh?”
“Definitely.”
He smiled in the darkness. She had such spunk, this small woman he held tightly, more tightly than he needed to, not nearly as tightly as he wanted to. After so many hours of travel, she still carried her unique faint fragrance.
His bristly chin continually caught on her tangled hair. Her lovely dress of soft material that he did not know the name for was smeared with dirt, sweat, and his
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