Claudia Dain Read Online Free PDF Page A

matter. So he was handsome. Lots of men were handsome. Bill was handsome, though in a different way. Jack Skull was rougher, though his features were finer, more cleanly cut, and his eyes the soft blue of a hazy summer sky. And the way he'd looked at her, as if she were the only person in the world he wanted to be looking at, as if he'd come to Abilene just to find her.
    Anne shook herself mentally. He was rough. His hair was long and tangled, his clothes dusty, and his expression forbidding. That's what he looked like and his manners were made to match. Tangled. Dusty. Frightening.
    He was not the sort to stay in Abilene, which made him just about perfect.
    "So he's still in town?" Anne asked as she and Sarah left the platform.
    "For now," Sarah said with a knowing look. "But he's bought a horse; that must mean he plans to use it."
    "He might have checked into the hotel, though."
    "He might have."
    Sarah couldn't shake the smile that shadowed her lips and gave up trying after a while; there was little enough to smile about in her life. She might as well enjoy the sensation. If Anne was taken with the good-looking bounty hunter, it wouldn't do her any harm; besides, he didn't seem as ornery as folks made him out. And he was such a pretty man. Why, if she wasn't an old woman, she might try to corral him herself.
    "It was kind of him to give Emma money for her horse; she surely needs it," Anne said as she casually looked up and down the street.
    "Well, he bought the horse, Anne; it wasn't a donation."
    "Still..." Anne looked into the window of the Demorest Restaurant. He wasn't there.
    "Still?"
    "It's just that... he can't be as bad as people say. No one could be that mean. People just like to talk."
    "You're the one who saw him push that man from the train. I only saw him lead a horse he'd just bought. And that was bad enough."
    "Was he cruel to the horse?" Anne asked, stopping to look at Sarah.
    "No, there's just something about the man, beyond his pretty face, that makes you pause. Still"—Sarah took a deep breath to feed her resolve—"he's a comely man and sure to leave town. You could do worse. And to tell you the truth, I think half of what they're saying about him is empty talk to pass long hours. I looked him over good and proper; he don't have the look of a killer. Just don't think he's more than he is and you'll save yourself some hurt."
    "I won't," Anne promised absently, resuming her stride.
    * * *
    The Cattlemen's Hotel was the only hotel left in Abilene; it was also on the edge of town, as far away from the grumbling humanity of Abilene as he could get and still stay in Abilene. The exterior was shingled and painted, the porch shady and well swept, the glass dusty. The interior was worn but respectable with red carpet and one tufted chair in the small lobby. He'd seen a dozen hotels just like it. His reception was exactly what he was learning to expect.
    "And you wish to stay how long?"
    "As long as it takes," Jack said, his throat hoarse.
    It was clearly not an answer that pleased the proprietor.
    "I will require some information as to the duration of your stay. You are not our only patron."
    Jack looked around. He couldn't hear another person. The lobby was empty. The porch was empty. Jack looked at the man behind the counter and kept his silence. The man behind the counter developed a twitch underneath his left eye.
    "Here's a week in advance. I'll let you know if I'm staying longer."
    The proprietor held his tongue. It was a good thing.
    Jack had just about had it with Abilene and her prickly residents.
    He climbed the angled stairs that led to the second floor; the sixth one creaked. He would remember that. His room was on the north side of the building, facing the street. There were two windows, a bed, a washstand, and a rack for his clothes. It was a respectable room; the bedding looked clean and, better yet, smelled fresh. He turned around and locked the door and headed back out to buy supplies for his