Foxfire Bride by Maggie Osborne Read Free Book Online Page A

family. He took care of me for a lot of years. Now it's my turn to look out for him." In this light Tanner's eyes looked almost amber. Not that she cared. She didn't know why she had even noticed.
    When Tanner didn't say anything, Fox continued talking. "I figure Hanratty and Brown are just this side of the law. Very likely they cross back and forth over the line."
    A flicker of amusement crossed Tanner's expression. "Why would you say that?"
    She met his glance before she pushed to her feet. "A man doesn't hire a preacher to guard his gold. You hire somebody who's used to shooting first and asking questions later."
    Tanner stood, too. "Tough as shoe leather, aren't you, Miss Fox?"
    "Miss Fox?" She smiled. "And tough? Life could have worked out differently, but it didn't. So, yes. I'm plenty tough, Mr. Tanner. That's what's kept me alive. By the way, we're going to pick up the pace tomorrow. There's been some trouble with the Paiutes so I want to get to Fort Churchill. That's about a thirty-mile ride."
    "Thirty miles," Tanner repeated, staring down at her. "More than twice today's distance."
    "I know. I said we'd take it slow for a few days. But it's smarter to spend tomorrow night under shelter rather than sleeping in the open." Annoyance thinned her voice. "Why do you keep looking at my hair? Is there something wrong with it?"
    "Not at all. Your hair is a beautiful gold and red, particularly in the firelight. And a braid suits you."
    Compliments cut the ground out from under her and left her with hot cheeks and speechless. Flustered, she walked away from him abruptly, calling good night over her shoulder.
    For a time it appeared she was too rattlebrained to find her bedroll. When she did, she swore for a minute, then pulled off her boots and was folding back the blankets when she discovered the gloves.
    "Peaches? Are you asleep? What's this?"
    "It's gloves filled with bacon grease. You wear them while you're sleeping. Rub a little of that grease on your cheeks and lips, too. Just in case."
    The dilemma she'd been discussing with Peaches was how to present herself when she shot Hobbs Jennings. If Fox killed Jennings looking like she did now, as herself, no one would care about her. The newspapers would dismiss her as an aberration, a wild woman, and they wouldn't wonder about her reason. But if she killed him looking like herself, Jennings would see how differently her life had unfolded from what it should have been. Jennings would see what he'd done to her and he'd be sorry.
    On the other hand, if she transformed herself into a conventional young lady, even a young lady with rough edges, the newspapers wouldn't dismiss her as easily. They would clamor to know why a respectable young miss had killed a prosperous businessman, thereby giving her the opportunity to tell everyone what a thieving bastard Hobbs Jennings was. She wanted the truth about him in print. The difficulty with this option was that if she looked like a respectable young lady, it wouldn't appear that Jennings had injured her as much as he had. Maybe she wouldn't even be believed.
    "I don't know," she said, holding the gloves to her nose and sniffing. Not too bad. The grease hadn't turned rancid.
    "We have talked this subject into the ground, Missy." Fox heard a yawn. "You should give yourself a choice. Avoid the sun. Soften up your hands and face. I'm going to sleep now so don't go talking anymore."
    "Avoid the sun," Fox muttered. Like that was possible.
    "Wear the sun protection lotion I fixed up for you."
    Peaches's advice about providing herself a genuine choice made sense. She thrust her hands into the gloves and made a face as grease oozed around her fingers and up under her fingernails. She suspected that trying to smooth her cheeks and hands would be about as effective as trying to pretty up a goat by trimming its hooves, but she guessed she'd give it a try.
    Tossing her braid over her shoulder, she eased down into her bedroll and closed her eyes.