The Brides Of Tombstone 01 Mail Order Outlaw by Cynthia Woolf Read Free Book Online

kinds of creatures should I be wary of?”
    Lizzie didn’t say anything else about his mistake, just answered his question, but he knew he’d have to be more careful.
    “We’ve got gila monsters which are a lizard with a poisonous bite and tarantulas, big poisonous spiders, puma—”
    “Do you have any animal that isn’t poisonous?”
    “Pumas aren’t. They’re a big cat, but can be very dangerous if you come upon them. They’ll try and ambush you, too,” she gestured with her arms, like a cat jumping on him from above. “So you need to be aware of your surroundings, especially if you’re out in the mountains, like the ones you crossed coming from Tucson.”
    “I’ll remember to pay attention.” He wasn’t likely to forget since he’d been bitten by a tarantula before and was sick as a dog for a week.
    “For now, I’ll be with you when you go out, but regardless you still need to stay aware.”
    He nodded. “Understood.”
    Ed thought he was doing all right. He seemed to have distracted Lizzie from his mistake of using critters. He had to remember how Malcolm would have talked. Carrying off this new role would be a lot easier if he had the letters Malcolm wrote to Lizzie, but that wasn’t possible…or was it? What if Lizzie had kept Mal’s letters just like he’d kept hers? Could he find them? Even if he did, could he take them without being found out or would it just draw more attention to him? Make Lizzie suspicious, if she wasn’t already. It might be worth the danger.
    * * *
    Critters! Lizzie slammed her brush down on the dressing table. Where did he learn the word critters? Some of the strangest things came out of Mal’s mouth. And then there was the matter of his suit. Had he really washed it or was it not his suit? If it wasn’t his suit, whose was it? No, he had the money from selling the store with him. Where would he have gotten the money if he hadn’t sold the store? So many questions and not enough answers.
    Lizzie woke earlier than normal. Something had awakened her. A noise? She listened. She heard Ed leaving his room. He must need to use the outhouse. Men were so funny that way. They’d rather get up and get dressed to go outside than use the chamber pot. She shook her head and went back to sleep until daylight broke through her window and the rooster crowed.
    Stretching, she pulled herself out of bed and washed her face in the basin she kept on her bureau. The cold water awakened her enough and her first cup of coffee would do the rest. After she dressed in denim pants and flannel shirt, she put on her boots and gun belt. Next she checked the load in each pistol. She had one on each hip, so she didn’t get caught with just six shots. If twelve didn’t do the job she was in more trouble than a gun could help her with.
    Last she brushed her hair and braided it in one long plait down her back. Ablutions complete, she went downstairs and put on the first fresh pot of coffee for the day. The household went through several of the gallon pots. There were thirteen adults that drank the stuff and Jamie did when he thought he couldn’t get caught. Atina didn’t care if he had coffee as long as he drank his milk, too.
    After she put the pot on the stove Lizzie started the bacon in the skillet. The smell of the bacon cooking got her mother up and she came downstairs to finish breakfast while Lizzie went to the barn. She milked the cows and used to feed the livestock too, but now Mal did that.
    For the past few days he joined her in the barn with two cups of coffee just as she was sitting down to the second cow.
    He pitched hay into the mangers for the horses and cows, tied feed bags on the horses with their grain for the day, and pumped fresh water into the troughs.
    By the time he was finished so was she and they would sit on a hay bale, drink their now cold coffee and decide what the day would hold.
    “I want to take you hunting. Let’s see how you are with that pistol.”
    “I