Boot Hill Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

bit."
    A small sense of relief allowed a morsel of tension to ease
    from his tight body. At least most of her flesh was covered.
    His eyes caught the gown again. "You don't have any
    clothes?"
    "Of course I do." She lifted the other leg to roll up twelve
    inches or so of extra material. "It's just that they're all at
    Danny J's."
    Slapping the trunk lid shut, he sat down on the top. A knot
    twisted in his stomach. "You're one of Danny J's girls?"
    "No." She shook her head. "I didn't plan on running away
    last night, so I didn't take the time to get dressed."
    He drew his brows together, tried to figure out what she
    meant. Was she running away before she became one of
    Danny's girls, or after?
    She continued rolling the pant legs. "You see, Aunt
    Corrine's been hiding me since I arrived. Actually, I got to
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    Boot Hill Bride
    by Lauri Robinson
    town the same day you started to build here." She settled her
    feet on the floor. They looked extremely tiny poking out
    beneath the thick cuffs she'd created on the bottom of the
    pant legs.
    "No, I don't see. What do you mean, hiding you?"
    Her chin dipped. "She didn't know what else to do with me.
    I didn't either. It wasn't at all what I expected."
    "What you expected?"
    She gave a negative gesture and grimaced.
    Was he truly this dense, or did she really not make any
    sense? "I think we need to back up a little. Start over."
    "Uh? Start over?"
    "Yes, start over." Voices from outside mingled in, but he
    wasn't ready to face the mob again. "Your father..." A foul
    taste filled his mouth, and his eyes strained as they popped
    open. "Wait a minute. Thurston Fulton is your father?"
    She nodded.
    "The Thurston Fulton who's running for governor of
    Kansas?"
    She nodded again.
    "The Populist?" Howard cringed at his tone. The newly
    created political party had been playing havoc on the plains.
    They were worse than any vigilante gang and, unfortunately,
    had more power behind them.
    She grimaced—an odd little look he didn't know how to
    interpret.
    "Doesn't he live in Topeka?" he asked. That's where most
    of them did their scheming. Populists felt the government
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    Boot Hill Bride
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    should control all railroads and banks and were making a
    mess of things for the cattlemen and city folks alike.
    "Yes, and so did I, until a few weeks ago." A long sigh left
    her chest.
    He pushed his political views aside, focused on Randi.
    "Why don't you start right there?" A twitch pulled at his brow.
    "Tell me what happened a few weeks ago and end your story
    with how you ended up in my bed last night."
    "Well, all right. Let's see..."
    He glanced up. Let's see? Oh, God, what had he done
    now? Was he a complete idiot? Was she a politician too?
    Could talk for hours without saying a darn thing?
    She wrung her hands together. "Well, I think I need to
    start with last summer."
    "Huh?" The throbbing in his temples was back.
    "You see last summer my mother passed away. She'd
    been sick for some time, so it was really a blessing. But
    terribly hard."
    "I'm sure it was. I'm sorry."
    "Thank you," she acknowledged with a slight head bow.
    "You see, my father was already signed up for the Governor's
    race. His party elected him just the day before she died.
    People don't want to elect an unmarried man, so he had to
    marry Belinda. She's been involved in politics for years, so
    she was the best choice. But they had to wait a respectable
    mourning period before getting married. People wouldn't like
    if he disrespected Mama by getting married too soon, either."
    Howard's mouth had fallen open. He slapped it shut, and
    holding the back of his head, waited for her to continue. She
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    Boot Hill Bride
    by Lauri Robinson
    honestly couldn't believe what she was saying, could she? No
    one was that naive, were they?
    "They decided six months. So in February, he married
    Belinda. That's when she told me I'm too old to live with them
    and needed to..." she paused for a few seconds, then said,
    "move