Bounty Hunter Proposal Read Online Free

coming to town because they expect a hanging.”
    Isabelle felt crestfallen. She hadn’t expected that sort of news. “Oh, dear. I hate to hear about that sort of thing.”
    “It’s a good thing. The man’s worse than a criminal.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    Shorty’s mouth quirked, and he huffed a few heavy sighs. “The fellow’s a murderer, and he killed women.” He turned to her, his eyes etched with worry and anger. “They caught him just outside of town. So I’m mighty glad he’s behind bars. The man’s an animal. I might just go and help build the gallows myself.”
    “I see,” Isabelle said. Shorty usually didn’t say more than a few words at a time, and it was painful to hear him so eager to help put another man to his death. “I’m sorry I asked.”
    He didn’t reply. They reached the outskirts of town, and he put the horses into a trot. The harness jingled, and the wagon rumbled along the rutted road. Behind them, sitting in the tiny Colter Canyon jail, was a criminal so monstrous he even scared Shorty. She shuddered and tried to banish the thoughts from her mind. Sometimes, she decided, it was better not to ask too many questions.

Chapter Five
    Matthias Hudson settled on the barstool of the Magnolia and ordered a whiskey. Usually he didn’t have a drink at noon, but after the last few days, he decided he deserved a whiskey, maybe two.
    “Care to buy a girl a drink?”
    Clarice’s voice never failed to bring a smile to his lips, especially since it had been three or four years since he’d been in Colter Canyon. He turned to find her standing beside him, looking smug. She probably imagined the money she might win from him in a few hands of poker.
    “Clarice,” he said amiably. “You know I’m madly in love with you, and it hurts my feelings you even ask. Of course I’ll buy you a drink.”
    The Magnolia’s Madame wore a gown that lifted her breasts and cinched in her waist to a narrow span. She had girls working at the saloon that were half her age, but not one could brag about such an enviable figure. While she was still beautiful, it wasn’t her looks that he liked best about Clarice. It was her sharp mind and dry sense of humor.
    Clarice sat down beside him and leaned forward. “Is it true, Matt?”
    Matt motioned for the barkeep to bring Clarice a drink and waited until he’d poured the drink and moved on to another customer before asking, “Is what true?”
    Clarice’s eyes sparkled as she took a dainty sip of her whiskey. “Usually I can spot a liar, and I’ve never known you to be one, so I guess it’s just a rumor.”
    “Most likely,” he agreed. “Here I thought you were coming over to congratulate me for delivering Darrell Hughes to Sheriff Reid.”
    Clarice’s lips turned down. “About damn time someone did something about that man. He’s an animal. I could tell right away. He used to come in and try to hire some of my girls. There are men who like it a little rough, and then there are men who like to play with blades. That son of a bitch cut one of my girls. She started screaming, and I had to break the door down to get to her. I knew right away who killed that poor girl in Sandia Springs.”
    Matt nodded. Hughes had killed several women across Texas. Matt knew the details of the killing spree. It was his job to know the men he hunted, their crimes and what they had done and might do. Hughes was one of the worst he’d ever hunted, a man with no regard for life. Matt could tell Clarice plenty about Hughes, but he wouldn’t. Clarice might be the toughest woman he knew, and she cussed better than most men, but still, the details of Hughes’ crimes were better left unsaid.
    He drained his drink and gestured for another. “All right Clarice, let’s talk about something that doesn’t have me thinking about Hughes. Tell me what the rumor is?”
    Her eyes glittered. “That you married Jerome Holt’s widow?”
    He was lifting his glass to his mouth and