Desire in Deadwood Read Online Free PDF Page A

food.
    “Six years ago?”
    “Yes sir. I didn’t know him real well.”
    “Why I’m mighty sorry to hear that, son.” Nate patted Aaron’s back. “And I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs Campbell.” He held her eyes until she felt that she must look away or arouse suspicion amongst the other diners.
    “Thank you, Mr Hamilton.” She watched him tucking into his meal and wondered how he could muster any appetite at all. Since she’d first seen him here in Deadwood, she had been unable to eat well. Her clothing was already looser than it had been when she’d left Custer City and she did not relish the thought of losing her feminine shape. She had been proud of her curves and the way that they had drawn Nate to her all those years ago. Even though she had born a child, pregnancy and labour had only developed them further. But what did it matter, she sagged in her chair, for Nate did not see her as he once had. She was sullied goods and no longer the voluptuous object of his idolatry.
    “Aaron, dear?”
    “Yes, Mama?”
    “Could you go check that I shut the window? There’s a storm brewing up outside and I don’t want the rain coming in.”
    The boy looked at his unfinished dinner then back at Evelyn.
    “Be quick and it won’t get cold.”
    “Yes, Mama.” He jumped up and gently tucked his chair under the table.
    A droplet of moisture trickled down between Evelyn’s breasts and her corset clung to her clammy ribcage. The room was now unbearably warm, yet it felt good to be with Nate, to be near him, even when being so close to him was torture for her body, mind and soul.
    “All eyes are on us, Mrs Campbell.” His voice was soft and he gestured around the room with his glass.
    She inclined her head.
    “You’re attracting a lot of attention.” He paused. “But I guess you’re used to that.”
    “And I doubt that our walk together from the Gem this afternoon did anything to quell their curiosity, Mr Hamilton.”
    He smiled.
    “It isn’t funny!” She slammed her hand down on the table. The noise silenced the other diners like a gunshot and they openly stared at Evelyn and Nate, their curiosity fired. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. The tension in her neck made it feel stiff and brittle, as if the slightest movement could snap it like a twig.
    “No”—he shook his head but his eyes laughed—“of course not. So why did you get rid of the boy?”
    She took a deep breath. “I needed to ask you not to question him about his father. It upsets him.”
    “Him or you?” He leant forward, resting his arms on the table, his left hand almost touching her right one where it sat next to her unused fork.
    “Well…”
    “Because he didn’t seem very upset.”
    “They weren’t really very close. Henry didn’t have a lot of time for him…towards the end.”
    “Why not?” He moved his hand slightly so that his fingertips brushed against hers. The heat from his fingers burnt her and she felt a familiar tingling between her legs. In spite of the tension, in spite of her distress, her body was wanton and sensual, eager to betray all reason by reuniting with this man in a fire of passion.
    “Evelyn”—he nudged her hand—“I asked why not.”
    She pulled her hand away from his and lifted her fork then pushed her food around the plate. “He was unwell and Aaron was just a baby. He needed a lot of time and attention and Henry wasn’t up to it.”
    Nate gave a harsh laugh. “Well that’s what you get for marrying out of your generation!”
    “Look, Mr Hamilton, I admit that he was older…”
    “You can say that again!”
    “Only…a few years.”
    “He was nearly fifty.”
    “I was hardly a child.”
    “You were twenty-one, Evelyn!”
    “And a grown woman with responsibilities. I had to make a decision.” She shook her head, willing him to understand without asking for a more detailed explanation.
    “Do you miss him?” He narrowed his eyes.
    “Of course”—she blinked