Under A Prairie Moon Read Online Free Page B

poisoned. Two of our cowboys have been shot at. Crowkiller is obviously here to put a stop to such goings-on. The thought makes my skin crawl.
    April 18th.
    He has invaded my home. He takes his meals with us, rather than with the hired hands. He sleeps in the downstairs bedroom. Every time I look at him, I feel the sting of his rejection. And always, in the back of my mind, is the knowledge that I offered myself to him, and he refused. He watches me constantly, his eyes hot. I should hate him. I do hate him, and yet I have never known anyone like him. He scares me, and yet I think of him constantly.
    May 1st
    His eyes follow me whenever I am in the room. His very presence is a constant torment. I wonder that no one else is aware of the vibrant attraction between us. The very air seems to hum when we are in the same room. His image haunts my every waking thought, I dream of him every night, dreams that leave me feeling weak and helpless and yearning for his touch.
    May 12th.
    I saw him practicing with his gun today. He is a deadly shot. Almost faster than the eye could follow, he drew his gun and fired six times, hitting the six bottles he had placed on the corral fence. Greased lightning, one of the men said. I can only agree. Watching him draw and fire filled me with a strange excitement. I wonder how many men he has killed. He moves as stealthily as a cat.
    June 30th.
    Asked Russell to take me into town today, but he said he was too busy. I pouted, and he said he would find someone to take me. Almost fainted when Dalton brought the carriage around. My heart was pounding wildly as he helped me onto the seat, then vaulted up beside me.
    Have never been so aware of any man as I am of him. When we are not together, I think of him constantly. When he is near, my whole being seems to come alive.
    He lifted the reins and clucked to the horse, his every movement fluid. The silence between us was thick enough to cut. I could think of nothing to say, so I stared straight ahead, acutely aware of his thigh brushing my skirt, his shoulder bumping against mine when we hit a rut in the road.
    Never has the ride to town seemed so long.
    “Where to?” he asked.
    “The…the millinery shop, please,” I said, hardly able to speak.
    He reined the horse to a halt in front of the shop. I watched his hands, big brown hands, loop the reins around the brake. He vaulted to the ground, then came to help me out of the carriage, and I felt those hands at my waist.
    “How long will you be?” he asked.
    “I don’t know. An hour?”
    He nodded. “I’ll meet you here in an hour then.”
    He looked down at me, a faint smile on his lips. “The store’s that way,” he said.
    Embarrassed to be caught staring, I turned away as quick as I could. In my haste to get away from him, I tripped on my hem and would have fallen if he had not caught me. He held me for a long moment, a knowing look in his eye. Oh but I hate that man! I hate the way he makes me feel.
    Later, on the way home, he stopped beneath a shady tree and without a word, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. “Is that what you’ve been wanting?” he asked, looking smug.
    And I slapped him. Slapped him as hard as I could.
    He looked at me a moment, one brow quirked, and then he laughed out loud. Laughed! At me!
    “Take me home,” I said, hating it that my voice was shaky, that he had laughed at me, that I wanted more than just one kiss.
    “Yes ma’am,” he replied insolently.
    The ride home seemed to take forever. I hope I never see him again.
    Dalton didn’t come to dinner tonight. Later, I overheard Russell and the foreman talking. Apparently Dalton is “taking care of business”, whatever that might be.
    Kathy stretched a kink out of her back. There was little doubt in her mind about the kind of business Crowkiller had been taking care of. Poor Lydia. How awful it must have been for her to be hopelessly smitten with a man she so clearly considered inferior. He must have