Love Under Two Gunslingers Read Free

smelled like a flower-filled spring meadow .
    Caleb scowled, willing the unwanted thought away. Joshua pushed past him, taking the path to the street at a fast pace, setting the valise he carried on the back of the buckboard next to their two small bags.
    “Oh. Is there even room for me?”
    Mrs. Maddox had come up behind him, and stood so close he could feel the heat of her body against his back. Her scent surrounded him, making his blood heat and his cock begin to twitch.
    “Sure there is,” Joshua answered. “You can sit on the seat beside Caleb. I’ll just hop on the back here.”
    “Oh, well that’s fine then.” She went around Caleb and stood looking at the buckboard as if she’d never seen one before. Caleb approached her, and wondered just how fast the week could pass.
    “Mr. Benedict, if you would be so kind?”
    Caleb girded his loins even as his hands reached for her. It took only a moment to lift her and set her on the seat, but that moment burned the feel of her, the heat and the allure of her, into his soul forever.
    She’s a married lady, you moron .
    Caleb considered himself a man of honor. But as he rounded the rear of the buggy and prepared to take the reins, he couldn’t help but wonder if his honor could stand the test of Sarah Maddox.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Liam Larson would do anything for his lover.
    All his life he’d been alone and lonely with no hope, really, of ever finding anyone who would love him the way he needed to be loved, until Jamie came along.
    Growing up, he’d never doubted his fate. Unattractive, sickly throughout his childhood, he’d been rejected even by his own family. If those to whom he’d been born didn’t really want him, how could he expect anyone else to?
    Liam had determined while still a boy that although he wouldn’t be wanted, he would be needed. He worked hard, applying himself first to his parents’ farm, and then to whatever job he could find. And then history stepped in and changed his life.
    The war, so devastating to the country, proved to be his salvation. He’d been an excellent shot even before enlisting. Under the tutelage of the United States Army, his skill flourished, and with success came the first real acceptance and respect he had ever known. Army life suited him. He liked the rules and the regulations, the rigidness that made every man the same as every other. He liked the sense of camaraderie that facing danger and harsh conditions bred. He’d been mustered in with men he’d never met, stationed in places he’d never been. He fit in.
    Under these most unlikely conditions and circumstances, while stationed in
Missouri
, he’d met Jamie. There existed no doubt in Liam’s mind. They’d been destined to find each other and belonged together.
    God had given him this exquisite creature, and Liam knew he could never do enough to be worthy of that gift. He would never take his beloved for granted, and anything, anything at all Jamie wanted, Jamie would get.
    Liam reread the note the telegraph office had just delivered to his room. The message, succinct and to the point, announced that events had begun. Nodding to himself, he stuffed the note into his pocket.
    Liam left his room in the small hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, conscious of his surroundings yet focused on his mission. His mission for Jamie.
    He knew where to find the men he sought. This particular saloon, Murphy’s, had its share of patrons morning, noon, and night. Some arrived early and stayed late, rarely getting up from their stools or chairs except to go piss out the back, making room for more drink. Or taking a quick trip up the stairs with one of the whores, working up a bit of a thirst, then coming back down, again for more drink. One could find places like Murphy’s in every state and territory, hell, in every city in the nation. Places where, for the right price, one could buy anything at all.
    Liam’s first sight of Dick Morgan and his gang didn’t fill