The Outlaw Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

know it was her, the golden-haired woman whohad flitted through his dreams. There was a spark deep inside him, in a place her fingers hadn’t touched.
    He’d been awake for awhile and when he was finally ready to open his eyes, she was the first thing he saw.
    “I’ve come to wash and shave you.”
    “No!”
    “No? Well I’m sorry, but I don’t intend to touch you again until I get rid of the smell that’s plaguing my mother’s clinic.”
    “That’s not all you’re going to have to get rid of,” he growled, “if you don’t bring me a chamber pot.”
    Stunned by his announcement, Josie stared dumbly for a moment and then scurried to the washstand, returning with a china pot.
    “Help me sit up!” he said.
    She slipped her arm beneath his shoulders and lifted, avoiding his stormy gaze. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d cleaned up after him, but he’d been unconscious then. Now he was—she looked at his heaving chest—one very conscious, virile man. She guiltily cast her eyes to the ceiling as she strained to lift his back.
    “What the hell?” He swore and came to a sitting position. “I’m naked as a damn jaybird. Where’re my clothes?”
    “I burned them.” She handed him the pot.
    He took it, almost dropped it, and cursed again.
    “Let me hold it,” she said, trying to sound like Dr. Annie would have.
    “Close your eyes,” he demanded. He was hopping mad.
    The sound she heard brought an unwelcome blush to her cheeks. She wouldn’t have thought, after his fever, that he’d have stored so much bodily fluid. He must have swallowed more of the broth than she’d thought. Finally, there was silence.
    “Are you done?” she asked.
    “I am.”
    Josie covered the chamber pot and lowered it to the floor. She put her arm around him for support as he leaned back. His strength surprised her. Something almost physical sparked between them, hot and strong. He interrupted the moment by reaching for the sheet. “I assure you, Mr. Callahan, you have nothing I haven’t seen.”
    “And I’ll bet you took a good look, didn’t you?”
    Her face flamed. “I would never take advantage of you,” Josie said haughtily. “After all, I am a well-respected member of the community. A lawyer, in fact.”
    He frowned. “None of the lawyers I know are women.”
    Josie fumed. “Well, if you are Sims Callahan, you’d better hope and pray that you’ve finally met one because the sheriff’s got a posse out looking for a couple of outlaws—the Callahan brothers, Sims and
Ben.
Seems they’ve disappeared along with a saddlebag full of money that was supposed to have paid for a herd of cattle. When you were brought to the house, you were out of your head. You kept calling out for someone named Ben. I’m thinking that means you’re Sims.”
    “They didn’t find Ben?”
    “You were the only one that Bear Claw found.”
    Callahan wrinkled his forehead. “Who’s Bear Claw?”
    “He’s the chief of a Sioux tribe who lives on part of our land. He’s a friend of ours—and yours too, now.”
    Callahan lay still, absorbing all of this new information. A sea of questions swept through his mind. What had happened to Ben? Did he get away? Or was he lying out there somewhere, full of bullet holes? He felt like a caged bear. Helpless. Unable to do anything. “Get me some clothes, Miss—what is your name, anyway?”
    “It’s Josie Miller,” she replied. “Miss Miller to you.”
    “And my horse?” he asked, ignoring her response.
    “You have no horse. At least, Bear Claw didn’t bring it in. And it wouldn’t matter if you did. You wouldn’t get ten feet before you’d be food for the coyotes.”
    “You don’t understand,” he said, and tried to sit up once more. Dammit, he had to get out of here. Ben’s life was at stake.
    “No, Mr. Callahan,
you
don’t understand. You’ve been more or less unconscious for four days, and you’ve lost a lot of blood. You’re tough, but right now you’re very