Way Out West Read Online Free PDF Page A

Then there are the
occasional guests who stay anywhere from a weekend to a month.”
     “Wow,” was all Callie
could say. Why anyone would pay for this kind of hardship was beyond her. At
least she was getting paid and it was a one shot deal.
     “Well, here we are,” Rand announced as he reined the horse to stop in front of the saloon. “Your home away from
home.”
     She looked up at the
gray two-story building with its decorative swinging doors, large storefront
windows, and expansive balcony. “Saloon” was painted in bright red on an uneven
board just below the balcony while the rest of the building looked drab with
its weathered clapboards and olive green shutters and doors. The boardwalk in
front stood three steps above street level and was populated by an assortment
of characters.
     Home? Callie had never
felt farther from home.
     Rand dismounted and
tied the stallion to the post before coming back to Callie. “Here, let me give
you a hand down.” He stretched his arms up, reaching for her waist.
     She tried to shift her
weight to make it easier for him, but felt numb on her right side where she’d
leaned against the curve of the hard saddle during the slow bumpy journey.
     “I think my leg is
asleep.”
     “Well, hang on to me
when I put you down.”
     The heat of his hands
on her again sent shivers along her spine. His gaze washed over her as he
lifted her high and slowly brought her down to eye level. He paused, staring
deeper and deeper into her eyes while her feet dangled off the ground. Was this
how a man like Rand, a gentleman, liked his women? Held up high, feet never
touching the ground. Her breath eased out of her chest as he finally lowered
her to her feet.
     “You made it, safe and
sound. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked, his smile revealing his even
white teeth.
     “I guess not, but—” as
she put weight on her leg, she felt it give under her. “Oooh! It really is
sound asleep.” She stamped her foot, trying to get the blood circulating again.
     “I wouldn’t do that if
I were you,” Rand warned.
     “Why? I need to get the
blood going down the leg.”
     “You might be getting
blood into your leg but you’re getting something else on your shoe.”
     Callie looked down at
the brown, squishy mound and gasped. “Ughh! Horse sh—”
     Rand clamped his hand
over her mouth, gently. “Unh, unh, unh. A lady doesn’t talk like that in public.”
     She squirmed out of his
grasp. “Then the horse shouldn’t do it in public!”
     Ignoring the pins and
needles crawling down her leg, she scraped her foot in the dirt, one hand on
the stallion for support. But her quirky moves made the horse nervous and when
he sidestepped, she lost her balance completely, landing atop the fresh
droppings.
     “Ughh! Get me out of
here!” she pleaded, the pungent smell already churning her stomach.
     Rand quickly reached
for her hand and pulled her up as though she were a feather. Without releasing
her, he stared with amused eyes as she fumed with anger.
     “I warned you.”
     “Well, you could have
been more specific,” she shot back.
     Still staring, he
murmured, “But then I would have missed that fire in your eyes.”
     Callie glared back at
him, ready to blast him out, but his eyes burned with something she couldn’t
quite put her finger on. Whatever it was warmed her all over. Even her hand
tingled where it melded in his unreleasing grip.
     She shook her head. Maybe
she read too much into this. After all, everyone liked him. And why not? He was
kind, gentle, pleasant, polite. Or was it just make believe like this town? Was
there another side to the unknown gambler?
     “Ohh, never mind,” she
grumbled, looking down at her soiled hip. “If you would please give me my
parcel, I’d like to go inside and change out of this mess.”
     From the saddlebag, Rand retrieved the package containing the only items she’d been allowed to bring in: personal
toiletries,