Black Conley Read Free Page A

put two and two together, and I came up with four and not some other number."
    Black's smile was unnerving. “I take it you told him what he could do with his offer, and did so in no uncertain terms."
    "You bet I did. He's probably still nursing the burns from the coffee I dumped over his head."
    "Like I said, I need a job for the winter and I came here to work. You can depend on me doing a good work for you; just don't get in my way while I'm doing it. If I ain't mistaken, you need my guns more than you do my skills at ranchin'. I'll make certain you get both. I can live by your rules, Ma'am, and I can take care of that little problem. I won't kill the bastard, but I can make him wish he'd never messed with your or the Double Bar B. Just point me to the bunkhouse and I'll stow my gear as soon as I take care of my horse."
    "We haven't used the bunkhouse in years. This place has six bedrooms and I usually only have four to five girls working for me at any given time. Right now there's only four, so I have an empty bedroom. As soon as you get your horse stabled, come back up to the house and I'll get you settled."
    He nodded and left the warmth of the kitchen. She couldn't miss his tight ass and the broadness of his shoulders. She wondered what he would be like in bed.
    Where did that thought come from? I must be losing my mind. The last thing I need is a man in my bed. Ten years ago I promised myself never again to be taken in by a sweet talking man. I refuse to go back on my promise.
    Belle's mind drifted to the years she spent in the East with her Aunt Mable. She'd been but five years old when her mother died. Her father knew he couldn't run a ranch and take care of a child at the same time, so he wired his wife's sister to come out and get Belle. In Aunt Mable's home, she'd received the love and attention she deserved as well as a good education.
    She'd been sixteen when Preacher Martinson's son, Ronald, came sniffing around her aunt's door. Ronald had been handsome and when their meetings turned sexual, he assured her that there was nothing wrong because they were in love and as soon as her aunt agreed, they'd be married. He'd known the right way to seduce her, and she'd been ripe for the picking. In the months that they experimented with sex, she'd been transformed from girl to woman. When she told him she was carrying his child, he denied that it could be his.
    As soon as news of her condition became public knowledge, Preacher Martinson and the good women of the town branded her a whore. It was then that her aunt sent her to a convent not far from their home. There, she'd abided by the strict rules of the nuns and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who was taken from her within hours of the birth. She prayed that her child had been given to a loving home.
    Once she left Ohio, she came back to the Double Bar B and her father, vowing never to let another man touch her that way again. She'd kept her vow, and wasn't even tempted by the sweet-talking men from the East who wanted her more than they did the other girls.
    So why did Black make her drawers wet when he took her hand to shake it? Just the thought of him sleeping down the hall from her was enough to make her change her mind and reopen the bunkhouse. Of course, she knew she wouldn't do that to him. The bedroom wasn't being used, so why heat another building all winter? She'd just have to make certain the man kept his distance from her and occupied himself with the other girls.
    Once she told Black where his room would be and watched him walk toward the barn, she went upstairs to tell Kate about the new man. “That stranger who just rode in is here for a job. He's a gunslinger. Can't say I'm upset about him coming here. I gave him the room across from yours. You being forewoman here, I thought you should know."
    "A gunslinger, you say? What's his name?"
    "He calls himself Black Conley. I've heard of him. Seems he's killed over thirty men, and all in fair fights, if