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Authors: Shannah Biondine
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how terrified she'd been at the news he'd been injured or her overwhelming
relief at learning he was all right. She certainly couldn't say she was
thrilled to see him again. Yet it was true, against all logic. Her heart had
begun to beat faster the moment their eyes met. It was insane. Especially after
seeing the toll of his profession firsthand. She should be running down Main
Street as fast and as far from this lunatic as she could get.
But one look at
Rafe's dark eyes, his square jaw and slightly crooked nose…One touch from his
damned talented lips, and she was limp jelly. Every other man just faded into
obscurity, ceased to exist. Phenomenal, since Rafe wasn't exactly handsome. The
new faro dealer at the Scarlet Lady was better looking. So was Joe Brooks, if a
woman measured by facial features alone. But she didn't, and Rafe was pure male
animal. Too much male animal.
She dodged his
grasp and struck out again, ignoring his footfalls beside her. Pretending she
wasn't secretly pleased he was headed back to the saloon, despite the fact she
hadn't given him even the slightest encouragement. Telling herself step by
stubborn step that she shouldn't feel attracted to a man so deceptively ordinary .
She had no business with this man—whose speech rippled and flowed like a wide
creek in the summertime—because it was a lie of the most insidious kind. Theirs
was no safe association. That same man was likely to blast a stranger to
Kingdom Come without a second thought.
She shouldn't feel
drawn to Rafe. And she absolutely, without equivocation shouldn't even consider
allowing him to spend another night in her bed. But she was.
The whole town
believed he was her husband. Everyone would expect to see them together. Frazer
would expect it. He'd told her to fetch her husband. She had myriad thoughts
swirling through her mind, none of them framing a cogent explanation as to why
Rafe would be up and walking around, but not staying with her at the Scarlet
Lady. None of them adding up to a tale Frazer would buy.
She inhaled
harshly. "What do you want me to say? That if I'd walked into that surgery
and the doctor had pulled a sheet up over you on his table, I would have torn
it back and wept over your dead body, like a real wife?"
Rafe thought there
was more sarcasm than reality in that barb. Best to sidestep the gunshot
argument. Women could be damned unreasonable about firearms. "Maybe we
should talk about this later. My arm's throbbin' and you'll be late. If Frazer
gets after you about this, I'll either have to shoot him or pay him to lay off.
Got a preference?" He grinned even before she gave him the answer he
expected.
"I think
there's been enough shooting for one day. Come on."
Rafe chugged back
three shots of straight Kentucky bourbon at the bar while Sparkle changed into
her costume. He wasn't feeling much pain or anything else by the time Frazer
and a faro dealer carried him up to her room, stripped him, and tossed the
blanket over him.
Sparkle found him
sound asleep when she came upstairs after her shift. She was exhausted, but
pleased to tuck a nice roll of bills into her cache box. She'd donned her
nightgown and settled beside Rafe when she heard his hoarse whisper.
"Darlin', my arm's killin' me. Can you get me some more whiskey?"
She brought the
bottle of laudanum and he took a dainty sip. "You can do better than
that," she scolded mildly. "I don't want you waking me up again in an
hour."
"Don't like
medicine, but I don't want to trouble you." He grabbed the bottle and took
another drink.
Sparkle put the
vial on the bedside table near him and sighed as she climbed back under the
covers. "Rafe Conley, I swear I'll divorce you one of these days if you
don't hang up that goddamned gun."
CHAPTER 6
Sparkle opened the
bedroom door at the soft knock. Ruby Ann stood in the hallway with lunch on a
tray. "How's he doin', Sparkle?"
"He'll be all
right." Sparkle yawned. It was almost noon, but she'd only
how terrified she'd been at the news he'd been injured or her overwhelming
relief at learning he was all right. She certainly couldn't say she was
thrilled to see him again. Yet it was true, against all logic. Her heart had
begun to beat faster the moment their eyes met. It was insane. Especially after
seeing the toll of his profession firsthand. She should be running down Main
Street as fast and as far from this lunatic as she could get.
But one look at
Rafe's dark eyes, his square jaw and slightly crooked nose…One touch from his
damned talented lips, and she was limp jelly. Every other man just faded into
obscurity, ceased to exist. Phenomenal, since Rafe wasn't exactly handsome. The
new faro dealer at the Scarlet Lady was better looking. So was Joe Brooks, if a
woman measured by facial features alone. But she didn't, and Rafe was pure male
animal. Too much male animal.
She dodged his
grasp and struck out again, ignoring his footfalls beside her. Pretending she
wasn't secretly pleased he was headed back to the saloon, despite the fact she
hadn't given him even the slightest encouragement. Telling herself step by
stubborn step that she shouldn't feel attracted to a man so deceptively ordinary .
She had no business with this man—whose speech rippled and flowed like a wide
creek in the summertime—because it was a lie of the most insidious kind. Theirs
was no safe association. That same man was likely to blast a stranger to
Kingdom Come without a second thought.
She shouldn't feel
drawn to Rafe. And she absolutely, without equivocation shouldn't even consider
allowing him to spend another night in her bed. But she was.
The whole town
believed he was her husband. Everyone would expect to see them together. Frazer
would expect it. He'd told her to fetch her husband. She had myriad thoughts
swirling through her mind, none of them framing a cogent explanation as to why
Rafe would be up and walking around, but not staying with her at the Scarlet
Lady. None of them adding up to a tale Frazer would buy.
She inhaled
harshly. "What do you want me to say? That if I'd walked into that surgery
and the doctor had pulled a sheet up over you on his table, I would have torn
it back and wept over your dead body, like a real wife?"
Rafe thought there
was more sarcasm than reality in that barb. Best to sidestep the gunshot
argument. Women could be damned unreasonable about firearms. "Maybe we
should talk about this later. My arm's throbbin' and you'll be late. If Frazer
gets after you about this, I'll either have to shoot him or pay him to lay off.
Got a preference?" He grinned even before she gave him the answer he
expected.
"I think
there's been enough shooting for one day. Come on."
Rafe chugged back
three shots of straight Kentucky bourbon at the bar while Sparkle changed into
her costume. He wasn't feeling much pain or anything else by the time Frazer
and a faro dealer carried him up to her room, stripped him, and tossed the
blanket over him.
Sparkle found him
sound asleep when she came upstairs after her shift. She was exhausted, but
pleased to tuck a nice roll of bills into her cache box. She'd donned her
nightgown and settled beside Rafe when she heard his hoarse whisper.
"Darlin', my arm's killin' me. Can you get me some more whiskey?"
She brought the
bottle of laudanum and he took a dainty sip. "You can do better than
that," she scolded mildly. "I don't want you waking me up again in an
hour."
"Don't like
medicine, but I don't want to trouble you." He grabbed the bottle and took
another drink.
Sparkle put the
vial on the bedside table near him and sighed as she climbed back under the
covers. "Rafe Conley, I swear I'll divorce you one of these days if you
don't hang up that goddamned gun."
CHAPTER 6
Sparkle opened the
bedroom door at the soft knock. Ruby Ann stood in the hallway with lunch on a
tray. "How's he doin', Sparkle?"
"He'll be all
right." Sparkle yawned. It was almost noon, but she'd only
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