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sheriff, but I ll be back. Caleb bent and placed a kiss on Sarah s lips.
 You rest. And when I get back, Joshua and I are going to very much
enjoy getting our hands on your wet, naked body.
Sarah stared at the closed door for a long minute after Caleb
closed it behind him. Joshua s soft chuckle made her blink and look at
him.
 You re asleep on your feet, Sarah. Come on, let s both stretch
out on this softer-than-the-ground bed. We ll rearrange the order of
things and nap first.
Sarah hadn t even noticed the bed. Looking at it now, she thought
they might just all fit on it, if they lay on their sides.
She dropped her hat on one of the chairs, then sat down on the
edge of the bed. She sank into the mattress and sighed. The mattress
was made not of ticking but feathers, an unexpected luxury in a
frontier town.
 I just realized how much I miss my own bed, she said around a
yawn.
Joshua knelt by her feet and helped her take off her boots.
 You ve been wonderful, sweetheart. Up you go.
 I m still dressed.
 And so will I be. That s right, stretch out but move over.
Sarah yawned again, then watched as Joshua tossed his hat aside
and kicked off his own boots.
 After that wonderful sleep last night, I shouldn t be so tired.
 It s because you know the trail ride is over. It ll be train from
here to Waco. We both know you re not looking forward to the last
leg of this journey. That will make you tired, too.
Love Under Two Gunslingers 135
Sarah sighed as she set her head on Joshua s shoulder.  You re
right. I m really not looking forward to facing Tyrone J. Maddox.
She intoned it in such a way as to try and make him sound less
threatening to herself. She wondered if he could feel the slight
tremble just saying the man s name aloud caused. Then he proved he
did.
 You don t have to be afraid, Sarah. You re ours, and we protect
what s ours. We ll keep you safe. We won t leave you alone with
him, not even for a heart-beat of time.
Sarah snuggled into Joshua, the strength of his arms a wonderful
reassurance. She wasn t certain what the future would bring, but she d
come to trust the brothers Benedict.
* * * *
The town had changed since he d been here just a year and a half
before. Caleb noted the new buildings, the somewhat tidier streets,
even as he assessed the people around him. It was late afternoon on a
warm early summer day with not that many people about.
He looked for familiar faces. Sheriff MacFarlane in Springfield
had shown him a few wanted posters, reminded him of some of the
criminal element roaming the south-west at the moment. They didn t
know about every man who d sell the use of his gun for a few dollars,
but they had a good idea of some of them. So as he made his way
along Main Street, he kept his eyes open and his senses on alert.
Caleb encountered no one who looked familiar on the street.
Inside the sheriff s office proved another matter entirely.
 Hey, Red, he greeted, shaking the sheriff s hand,  I d heard
you d hired on here. Caleb met Red Hall, a former Texas Ranger, a
couple of years before when he and Joshua were working as members
of the U.S. Marshall s service on an assignment in El Paso. The
sheriff of Denison was also a friend of Adam s, a double connection.
136 Cara Covington
It was the second man in the sheriff s office, sitting in a chair with
one leg up on the desk, whose presence surprised Caleb.
 Well, I ll be damned! I haven t seen you in a long time,
Masterson. I thought you were wearing a badge up in Kansas.
The dark-haired, mustachioed man got to his feet, his smooth,
boyish face breaking out in a smile.
 Benedict! I knew you were headed this way. Red just filled me in
on your situation. Where s that card-playing brother of yours?
 Back at the hotel, keeping an eye on Sarah.
 Got a room over there myself. Yeah, I was wearing a badge in
Kansas but not anymore.
 I heard about Ed, Caleb said. The man s brother, himself a
marshal, had recently been gunned down in Dodge City.  Damned
sorry, Bat. He was a hell of a good man.
 Appreciate the sentiment, Caleb, thanks. I got the bastard who
killed him. You can be sure of that.
 So I heard, and good for you.
 Bat and I were just talking about your problem, Caleb, Sheriff
Hall said.  I ve been keeping an eye out as best I can for any known
criminals. Truth is, no new ones have come to town in the last few
days that I m aware of.
 We re keeping alert, Joshua and I, assuming that something more
is going to happen and happen here. Last chance, really, before we get
to Waco. Caleb said.
 And you re pretty certain whoever wants Mrs. Maddox dead has
to kill her before Waco? Hall asked.
 Seems most likely, Caleb said. He had a theory but didn t want
to reveal his thoughts. Theories weren t proof, after all.
 Course, if whoever is after the lady were crafty enough to hide
out at one of the whorehouses here, we d likely never see him, never
even know he existed. Masterson said.  A man could lose himself in
that part of town, not coming up for air until it was time to do the
job.
Love Under Two Gunslingers 137
 Thought about rousting the establishments over on Skiddy Row,
but it would cause a lot of trouble I d like to avoid. We have a
working agreement, and I don t want to be the one to break it. The
Sheriff shook his head, then shot Caleb a hard stare.
 That s the kind of thing you and Bat can do, though. Take a look-
see over on the wild side. Find out if anyone has someone hiding
behind her skirts, so to speak.
 I m heading on over to Bobby s place to get me a steak in a
couple hours. He still has that restaurant a few doors down from
where we re staying. Perhaps we can meet up, then take a tour?
 We ll all meet you there. Maybe you and Joshua could take that
tour after dinner. He s a better card player than I am.
 Taking turns with the lady? Guarding her, that is? Masterson
asked.
Caleb hadn t thought it would be possible for him to feel
embarrassed, but damned if Bat s comment, backed up by twinkling
eyes and his legendary sense of humor, didn t do just that. He felt
himself begin to bristle against the innuendo and fought back the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]