Nicademus: The Wild Ones Read Online Free PDF Page A

than any she’d seen, he began to nail the wood together. The morning breeze blew his silky hair from the side of his face. She could see his sun-weathered skin and profile. There was a firm set to his jaw as he brought the hammer down over and over again. The sleeves he wore were rolled up high on his arm.
    Cora crossed her arms over her chest and remembered the first day they met. Annabelle walked in, only ten years old and full of spunk. She demanded that she be given a job in the kitchen so she could feed and take care of her daddy. Cora had thought the kid cute. Before she could turn her away a menacing Indian appeared. Cora went for her gun, as did a few other men at the saloon. He was just that frightening. And the town had a bad history with the Maki tribe. Red Sun wasn’t Maki. He grabbed Annabelle up by the waist and tucked her under his arm with the child wailing. His actions stirred up a fit with the locals. It wasn’t until Annabelle announced that he was her father that they all paused.
    Of course the little knotty haired brown girl couldn’t belong to the Indian. But it was clear that they knew each other. Cora later learned that they were from a tribe that had been massacred on the other side of the mountain. The only survivors left. For three years the Indian and the little girl lived up on the mountain until one day Annabelle had run off and come into town. Cora couldn’t communicate with Red Sun, but she tried. He was a stubborn man, full of pride and anger at anyone who tried to show them kindness. But Cora had dealt with the meanness in men before. She could soothe a grizzly if need be. It was a talent taught to her long ago when she too had to fight for survival. Red Sun opened his heart to her. Seven years later they were joined, heart and soul.
    Red Sun stopped, put some nails between his thinly pressed lips and measured the next plank of wood. Cora’s hand went to her throat. She stroked the skin down to her collarbone where his bites had left her skin feeling raw and tender. When he rose and stretched, she got a good long look at his backside. The shirt on his back rippled with the wind, but the tight form of his ass and thighs were perfectly strained for viewing.
    She didn’t tell him about the trough. She didn’t have to. He would be fixing things around the saloon all evening to make up with her. He was her hero.
    Several taps to the door brought her out of her trance. She glanced back. “Come in.”
    Honey poked her head in first and then entered. “Where the hell is Annabelle? She was supposed to do my mending today.”
    “Mend it yourself. The girl is home sick,” Cora said dismissively. When Honey didn’t respond Cora looked away from the window to her unwanted guest. It was then that Cora noticed the gun in Honey’s hand.
    Honey’s temper was a problem.
    She was the only girl under Cora’s protection who was wanted by the law for killing a man. They constantly had to hide her when bounty hunters and other lawmen rode through town. Sheriff Ben turned a blind eye to Honey’s crimes. Once a person of color heard the horrors that Honey endured, they typically applauded the girl for her act of vengeance. Nicademus was the only town where a girl like Honey could survive. The problem was Honey had scars. Deep ones. And it made her often too hard to control.
    “Why are you carrying that gun around?” Cora sighed.
    Honey lifted her hand as if she had just realized she had it with her. She looked to Cora and shrugged.
    “Well, put it away. I’m told the 9 th Calvary will be riding into town tonight. You will need to make yourself unseen. Understood?”
    “Yes, Ms. Kitty,” she grumbled.
    Honey turned to leave.
    “Honey?”
    The young woman paused.
    “Put the gun on the dresser. You can collect it tomorrow after the soldiers leave.”
    Honey looked down at the gun in her hand once more. Only Cora could talk a gun out of Honey’s hand. The young woman reluctantly set the Smith &