Wolf's Tender

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Book: Wolf's Tender by Gem Sivad Read Free Book Online
Authors: Gem Sivad
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
couldn't rescue her students without Charlie Wolf and his bounty hunter friends.
    "I bought you a dress,” he said gruffly. Confused, she stared at him and then down at his buckskins that she wore.
    "I like what I have on better. It's easier to get around.” She ignored his proffered offer of clothes and went into the empty school dormitory, where green-eyed flies crawled insolently over the day-old porridge on the long breakfast table.
    By this time, someone would have notified the school trustees that the school had been attacked. The headmistress, Eleanor Beecham, who would have arrived in a fortnight with the remainder of the girls, wouldn't come. Naomi didn't know what would happen next.
    She pushed the porridge bowls aside and laid her head on folded arms, overcome by her own feeble attempts to help the girls.
    If these men found her students and freed them, then her sacrifice had been worthwhile. The three men were dubious heroes at best. It was telling that Charlie Wolf was the most civilized-looking of the three. Her eyes slid over him rapidly and on to his cousin.
    Deacon McCallister's hair poked from under his hat, ragged as though roughly sawed off. The whiskers on his face curled in a scraggly beard hiding most of his features. Only his bitter blue eyes and low-slung gun distinguished him from the usual cattle bums who drifted from town to town.
    Samuel McCallister was almost pretty in his handsomeness, with yellow hair that curled around his shoulders, a lithe build, and well-chiseled features that flashed a frequent grin. But his eyes remained cold when he smiled and left Naomi wondering if his grin was even a reflection of humor. His gaze chilled her, especially when he smiled.
    Naomi didn't trust the bounty hunters, but she didn't doubt their ability to deliver the service her body had paid for. They would find the Comancheros and defeat them in battle, saving the young ladies of Sparrow Creek Academy. What would happen after that, Naomi couldn't guess.
    She was startled from her reverie when a body blocked the light streaming through the open door. She turned her head on her arms and then sat upright, waiting. With the three men digging, it hadn't taken long to bury Patrick.
    He threw her his saddlebag. “Better get dressed.” He stood watching, and she was too weary to argue that the buckskin worked better where they were going. His next words surprised her.
    "Put the long johns on under the pants. It'll take up some of the slack and give you some extra padding between your rump and the saddle. You'll thank me tonight."
    They didn't have time to waste on her missishness, so she removed the pants, and he left her dressing, returning to his cousins. She followed his progress as she hopped on one leg and then the other, pulling the leggings up and then the deerskin pants back over those.
    After her first moments of consternation, she pulled on her boots and tentatively moved toward the door. Her trunk was upstairs in the dormitory with the students’ belongings. She hesitated and then ran across the floor and up the steps. The outlaws had been up here. The bedding was scattered, as were her clothes and personal items.
    "You can't take much with you. We're riding light and fast if you want to catch up to your friends.” She flushed at his admonishment. Again, he'd crept up on her without her hearing a thing.
    Swiftly she grabbed a carpetbag and stuffed underclothing and blouses lightweight enough to cram into the bag. One brush and comb, soap.
    She carried it back where he stood watching. He shook his head. When she walked down the steps, she had the brush, comb, soap, two drying cloths, and a blanket. She'd tucked her Godey's Lady's Book in the waist of her pants.
    She knew he was right, but it did not make her like him the better for it. But, he would save the girls because of their bargain. For that she would listen to his advice. She followed him to the horses, appreciating the freedom of movement that

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