Lily's Cowboys Read Online Free PDF Page B

that needed airing out. Lily hurried toward the windows and despite the frigid temperature outside threw open the windows on each side of the bed. Pulling the heavy curtains to one side she knew they would have to go. No more hiding. Twirling around, Lily moved like a woman possessed as she stripped the bed of all its linens and threw them out into the hallway. She grabbed one of the pillowcases and began filling it with empty whiskey bottles. The pillowcase landed with a thump on top of the linens she had thrown out. Next, she gathered up all the old dishes and piled them outside the door. She grabbed, yanked, and dragged everything she could get her hands on out the door as fast as she could. Close to an hour later she figured she had less than five minutes left to get as much as she could out of the room before Allen came out judging from the sounds coming from the bathroom. She planned on charging into the bathroom as soon as he was out and locking herself in it to give herself time to clean it. Then, she would move everything out of the hall and wash, dry, and toss. She had just finished closing the door to the hallway when she heard him moving. She raced to stand just to the left of the door so he wouldn’t see her right away. Holding her breath she waited trembling.

    Allen felt bad about the way he had treated Maggie. He knew he needed to apologize to her; he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. He felt like hell. He had woken up with a hangover and was nauseated by his own body odor. He thought the least he could do was get cleaned up before he faced his aunt. Groaning as he rolled over, he sat up and grabbed his aching head. He sat for a moment until the room quit spinning. Once the room was still he waited a moment more until he could focus his eyes on the door to the bathroom. It was going to be a long trip. If he could make it there without throwing up he might make it through the day after all. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he grabbed the crutches next to the bed. He used them mostly to help him stay upright. Wobbling as he headed for the door, he let out a loud expletive when he ran into the door frame. Dropping the crutches, he staggered to the counter slamming the door to the bathroom closed with one hand and clutching the sink counter with the other.

    Damn, but he felt like shit. Running a hand over his chin, he grimaced when he saw the shaggy beard covering his face. He rummaged around in the bathroom drawer until he found a pair of scissors. It was too long to just shave it, he would have to cut it first then shave. His hair wasn’t much better. Hanging in matted locks from lying down so long and not washing it, he looked like a homeless man out of the movies. Shuddering at the sight he couldn’t help but wonder what he had become. Maybe it would have been better off if he had been killed in the damn jungle with his friends. Shaking his head fiercely from side to side, he almost landed on his ass as his head protested the movement. He took a deep breath and raising a trembling hand he began cutting off his beard. It took him a good thirty minutes to just shave and his face featured a few new cuts. Pulling away from the mirror, he turned the shower on to the hottest setting and waited as the water warmed up. Stepping in, he flexed his shoulders as the warmth from the shower beat down on his sore muscles. He shampooed his hair twice and had to leave the conditioner on for an additional five minutes before he could even run his fingers through his hair. He didn’t get out of the shower until the water turned so cold he was shivering from the chill of it. He felt marginally better and he was hungry, something he hadn’t been for quite some time. He had lost almost forty pounds since his capture and return. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a comb and worked it through his damp hair. He grinned as he thought of what his brothers would say when they saw his hair down past his shoulders. All three of