Read Online The Outlaw's Kiss (an Old West Romance) (Wild West Brides) by Anya Karin - Free Book Online Page A

I’ve still got soap on my face.” Father wiped himself off, fixed
his suspenders and answered the door with uncertain lethargy.
    “Good morning to you, sir!” Rawls was far less
gruff than he’d been the last time I saw him, and far less drunk than the first
time when he was being dragged about by his ear by the Sheriff Bullock.
    “Morning to you, Mr. Rawls,” Father nodded. “And
to you, Ernie.”
    “Please, call me Goldtooth. Everyone friendly
does. And he’s just the Captain. Ernie had a part in some of the most important
battles of the Civil War, you know.”
    Father chose not to pursue that line of
conversation, instead directing talk back to the point of the two men’s visit.
“I was just about to head to the claim for the day, what can I help you with?”
    “Eggs?” Mr. Rawls handed a filled and covered
plate to my father. “Bacon in there too. Quite good this morning. Cook outdid herself,
I think. Here, have a seat.” He pushed a chair out from the breakfast table and
indicated father sit in it.
    Captain Ernie’s eyes never stopped moving around
the room. They darted from place to place like a nervous lizard’s. I couldn’t
stop looking at him though. His round, pug-like face and flat button-nose
fascinated me, especially when paired with the rest of his short, stout body
and thick fingers. When his gaze moved to me, I looked away briefly, but of
course that’s where he decided to stop his constant glancing. I felt his eyes
move up and down my person, surveying me; studying me.
    “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “You caught me in
mid-dress. I must excuse myself to finish.”
    “Oh, Clara,” Goldtooth said as he turned toward
me, “I didn’t notice you there. Please, don’t be inconvenienced by our
presence. We won’t be long.”
    Thank the Lord for that .
    Back upstairs, I was still able to hear the
proceedings clearly, but without that lecherous man gazing lustily upon me and
was instantly more comfortable. I busied myself with dressing in my
claim-working skirts and apron to keep from eavesdropping too much. At least
that was my intent.
    “Eggs are quite good.” Father was speaking with
his mouth full. “But what is it I can do for you two gentlemen? Quite a busy
day ahead.”
    “I’ll get straight to the point, Jefferson. May I
call you Jefferson? Good. I’ll get right to it. You’ve no doubt heard a few
choice things about the Captain and myself, judging from the company you’ve
kept since coming to Deadwood.” His voice turned up in pitch at the end of his
sentence. “And I understand that your first impression of me was less than
complimentary. But I’ve come to warn you about those men who you’ve sidled up
against.”
    I tied my apron and gathered my broad-brimmed hat
and sat down on the foot of my bed. As it happened, that was the best place
from which to listen through the floorboards. I tried to stand, but as soon as
my father’s voice came back, more heated than before, I couldn’t tear myself
away, impropriety couldn’t unseat my curiosity.
    “Truly?” Father laughed briefly. “I can’t imagine
Mr. Star, or Mr. Bullock being untrustworthy, given their reputations. They’ve
been nothing but kind since our arrival.”
    There was a patient, rhythmic tapping of
fingernails on the table top.
    “Mr. James – ah, Jefferson – let me be clear.
These people are not who they appear. Seth Bullock ran to Deadwood to get away
from a broken marriage. Did you know that?” Rawls’s voice had gotten strained
and more intense than it had been moments before. “He can’t keep his hands off
of women who he isn’t married to. And if rumors are to be believed, this wasn’t
the first time, nor the second, that his urges got the best of him.”
    “I don’t see how that has any effect on my
dealings with the sheriff, Mr. Rawls.” My father was trying his best to be
patient.
    “Goldtooth.”
    Silence hung between them for a moment. “Yes,
Goldtooth, I meant. But the