The Coyote Tracker Read Online Free Page B

love she felt, and it was in Pearl’s demeanor at the time to make her mother happy, regardless of her own feelings.
    â€œThe last thing you need to worry about is disappointing me,” Josiah said. He was tempted to kiss her, but that would have crossed too many boundaries in the public eye—and his own.
    One of the problems they faced was finding time alone. Since they were not teenagers, and had been married previously, they both understood the needs of a man and a woman and had previously found the right time and place to be intimate, to make love, before this day, though only once.
    Now there were social requirements. Requirements of the boardinghouse Pearl had no choice but to live in and the restrictions in the small house that Josiah shared with his son, Lyle.
    Neither Lyle nor Ofelia, the wet nurse and caretaker who had come with Josiah from Seerville, would understand the presence of a woman staying overnight and sharing his bed. And Josiah would not expect such a thing of Pearl. Not now, if ever, until their life had taken a more formal path. Courting Pearl openly was the first step on that path, and it seemed like they were getting off to a rocky start.
    They had chosen a difficult time to make their relationship public, but neither of them was foolish enough to ignore the reality of the situation they had put themselves in.
    â€œYou know I want to kiss you right now, don’t you?” Josiah asked.
    Pearl looked Josiah directly in the eye, her face wanting and vulnerable at the same time.
    He shivered at her beauty, even though she was distraught. There was no way a man like him should be courting a woman like Pearl, as far as he was concerned. His good fortune was not lost on him for one minute.
    â€œPlease don’t,” Pearl finally said.
    Josiah smiled knowingly and was not the least bit offended. “I should take you home.” He stood up, her hand in his hand.
    Pearl hesitated. “I’m sorry. I have ruined the day you planned.”
    â€œAs far as I’m concerned, there’ll be plenty more days to come. You didn’t ruin anything.”
    â€œYou’re sure?”
    â€œI am,” Josiah answered, helping Pearl to her feet, “absolutely sure. Now, let’s get you back to Miss Angle’s.”

CHAPTER 3
    It was like Josiah and Pearl walked through a curtain of silence as soon as they turned the corner off Congress Avenue.
    The boardwalk was full of people who had all come to a full stop, and it was eerily quiet for such a large gathering. Most of the crowd had dropped their heads at the first sign of the funeral procession, even though it was a small one, bearing very little importance or status, from the looks of it.
    Stuffed near the back of the onlookers, pressed against a building, Pearl eased her hand into Josiah’s. He flinched at first, then welcomed her touch, the warmth of an offer of comfort, and her need of it, too.
    The coffin was made of simple, fresh-cut pine, carried on the shoulders of four hulking men, their unemotional eyes boring straight ahead, dressed like they had just stopped the day’s work in a livery or roofing a new building, to make the journey to the cemetery. Their boots were muddy, their sleeves rolled up, and their shirts were sweat-stained. Hats shielded their eyes from the sun, and their guns were in open sight, holstered on their hips.
    Josiah didn’t recognize any of the men and found it odd that the procession had stopped everyone in his or her tracks—until he looked beyond the coffin and saw that Blanche Dumont was leading a small pack of mourners.
    A sighting of Blanche Dumont was rare, though not entirely unheard of. She was, in less gentle terms, a keeper of whores, a madam. She ran a house of soiled doves in the First Ward, not far off the trail that led tired and excited cowboys alike into town in search of a good time. The cowboys were looking for a chance to blow off steam and to part