After the Storm: Clean Historical Western Cowboy Romance Novel (Dawson Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free

“How the hell did you get out onto the battlefield?”
                  Hailey said, “It doesn’t matter.  I’ll go back quietly, like the good little girl you want me to be, Kyle, but I’ll never forgive you for this.  Never.”
                  His eyes held true regret.  “I’m sorry you feel that way.  I really am.”
                  Hailey strode away from them without saying anything and Kyle followed her.  “Is that really how you wanna leave things between us, Hailey?  I might die out here.  I sure as heck don’t want us to be angry with each other the last time we see each other.”
                  She turned around abruptly.  “Then you shouldn’t have turned me in!”
                  “I had to!”
                  “Fine!  Go back to fighting!” she said.  “Be careful.”  She hugged him.  “I don’t want anything to happen to you, but I’m mad as hell at you.  You’ll just have to accept that.  May the Great Spirit keep you safe.”
                  He hugged her back briefly.  “You be careful, too.  And try to behave, ok?”
                  She pulled back from him.  “I’ll behave as I want to.  That’s the best I can do.”
                  He laughed and shook his head before running off.
                  Asherman came over to her.  “You do realize you’re in a lot of trouble for impersonating a soldier, don’t you?”
                  Hailey smiled at him.  “I don’t care; I’m sure the press will love my story.  How a girl slipped into battle?  They’ll be really interested in that.”
                  Asherman’s blue eyes narrowed.  “Are you threatening an army officer?”
                  “No.  I’m just suggesting that you send me back to the Red Cross without punishment and I won’t tell anyone how I duped several officers and a lot of other men.  I also won’t tell them that I killed twenty-one Germans while I was a soldier for the past two weeks,” she said.  “And I certainly won’t tell them how I dragged one of our soldiers to safety after he was wounded.”
                  Asherman was shocked.  “You’re making that up.”
                  “No, I’m not.  I’m not gonna stand here trying to convince you, though.  The Lakota don’t lie.  We’re taught to always tell the truth.”
                  “Funny.  You don’t look Indian.”
                  “I’m half Lakota.” Hailey didn’t feel like giving more explanation than that.  “Well, I’m sure you have more important things to do than talk to me.  Like telling our boys what you want them to do on this next offensive.”
                  Asherman was sorely aggravated by her belligerent attitude, but he was also curious about her.  “So you really fought for two weeks and killed twenty-one Germans?”
                  “I don’t know why you should be so surprised that a woman can do that.  The Russians have a lot of women fighting for them.  If they can do it, so can I,” Hailey said.  “Look, am I going back or not?”
                  Asherman said, “Just sit over there for now.  I’ll get Corporal Gaines to take you to the rear.”
                  Hailey went over to where he’d indicated and sat down on the ground cross-legged.  Asherman looked at her for a few moments before going to talk to his corporal. 
     
                  Kyle smiled as he remembered Hailey telling him and Art about what had happened after he’d left her with Asherman.  The woman was a firecracker and TNT combined.  He wasn’t the only one thinking about the strong-willed Hailey; his friend, Art Perrone, one of the few people who knew about Hailey’s short career as a soldier, stood at the ship’s railing,