Longarm and the Missing Husband by Tabor Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

bag to put together a pot of coffee.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” she asked.
    â€œNothing’s wrong, exactly, but we’re short on water. Tomorrow sometime we ought to get into the hills. Ought t’ find some live water there, maybe even a well. But we can’t count on that, an’ we need it more for the horses than for ourselves.”
    â€œAll right, but promise me I can have a bath when we have the chance. I dream of bathing, splashing water everywhere. And drinking all I want without you glaring at me for taking too much.”
    â€œAll I said was—”
    â€œI know perfectly good and well what you said, and you were rude. You didn’t have to snap at me like that.”
    â€œHuh,” Longarm grunted. “It worked, didn’t it?”
    The day before, Beth had started to drink deeply from their supply of water, too deeply in Longarm’s opinion. He had simply mentioned the fact to her. Perhaps a little forcefully. He hadn’t actually shouted at her, and he really did not understand why she went on so about it.
    â€œTomorrow,” he said.
    â€œLord, I do hope so. If you don’t want me to make coffee, what will we drink?”
    â€œA swallow o’ water.”
    â€œThat’s all? One lousy swallow?”
    â€œThat’s right. Just one.” He managed a smile. “But you can eat all you want.”
    â€œOh, thank you ever so much.” Beth went on with her share of the camp chores, but he could tell from her stiff, jerky movements that she was thoroughly peeved.
    They did not speak again for a considerable spell.

Chapter 24
    â€œWhy are you putting the fire out?” Beth complained. “It helps at least a little to keep the cold away. Besides, I like it.”
    â€œWe’re done cooking,” he said. “Don’t need a fire now. An’ in flat country like this, a fire can be seen for miles around. If anybody’s looking for us, this fire would tell ’em right where we are.”
    â€œWhy should anyone be looking for us?” Beth asked.
    â€œDamn if I’d know, lady, but why would that fella try to kill you back in Rock Springs?”
    â€œWill you quit thinking such a thing? He was just a robber. You stopped him. That is all there was to that.” Beth took the pins out of her hair and shook her head, sending a cascade of curls down to her shoulders.
    When she reached up to remove the pins, the cloth of her bodice was pulled tight over her tits. Longarm responded with yet another hard-on. Beth either did not see or pretended not to.
    Despite the rough conditions of the trail camp, she stubbornly changed into her nightshirt in the evening, shedding the dress and the rough trousers she wore underneath.
    Longarm thought she looked ridiculous when she was riding. Her legs looked normal enough, but she had her dress bunched up at her waist so she could straddle the horse.
    Come evening, though, she first got out of the trousers, then when she prepared to bed down, she went through the peekaboo routine with the nightshirt and pulling her undergarments out from beneath it. Out away from town, with so little water for two humans and three animals, she could not wash out her unmentionables, but that did not stop her from taking them off at night.
    And this evening she was more peek than boo, he thought. Or possibly it was only his imagination as he watched her disrobe and crawl into her bedroll.
    Whatever she showed or did not show, he was plain damned horny and wanting some relief from that state of being.
    He thought about saying something to her about that. Hell, she was married. She should understand how men are.
    But he was interrupted by the bullet.

Chapter 25
    He heard the whip-crack of it passing by and the thump as it hit the ground somewhere off to his right, so the shooter was to Longarm’s left.
    â€œWhat was . . .”
    Beth started to rise. Longarm threw himself on top of her and