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Western adventure Western romance
Amazon
Lulu
Category:
Western
Type: Fiction
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
Will Ryder sets out in the company of Ruth the crazy but charismatic woman who has drawn him to her like a magnet, in search of a gang of criminals who robbed and left him for dead on a bar-room floor.
Once again, Ruth's unique brand of violent justice compels her to force a reluctant companion to accompany her and travel thousands of miles through the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah in search of a gang of criminals who wronged them.
As is usual where the crazy girl is concerned, the journey is strewn with violence and death as well as many lighter and even amusing moments along the way.
Eventually the pair catch up with their quarry in a mining town in Utah where their search comes to a bloody and violent end.
Excerpt
On the fifth day, I found that I was becoming delirious and had probably walked in circles for all I knew, I didn’t even have any urine left to drink so all in all, things were looking pretty bleak and I figured that barring a miracle, I was done for. One thing was for certain, I didn’t feel I could go on, my throat felt as though it was clogged with dust and my whole body felt numb and lifeless as I stood rooted to the spot swaying on almost dead legs and knowing that once they gave way, that would be the end for me and I would never be able to get up again.
That was the point at which the grullo decided to take charge, he had followed behind me for god knew how many miles, stopping when I had stopped and following behind when I managed to somehow, get my legs moving again.
However, by this point, I had completely forgotten he was even there until he brushed by me nearly knocking me over in the process, then stood with his rump inches from my face and his head turned to look back in my direction.
I stood swaying with the effort of trying not to fall to my knees as I tried to make sense of the damned fool horse standing looking back at me with his tail swishing in my face. If my senses had been anywhere close to normal, I would have realised what a damned fine and intelligent animal he really was and that he wanted me to hang on to him. But I didn’t realise that until I began to fall and staggered forwards a pace. I instinctively grabbed a hold of the first thing within my reach to keep from falling, which was his tail and as soon as I did, he started forward walking slowly and I had no option than to stagger on legs I could barely feel, behind him.
We must have looked a strange sight, with the horse leading the man instead of the other way round. But if there is a horse god, he can have me as one of his converts, because that half human animal led me to a sandy wash that was half full of water with mesquite and ironwood trees lining the banks and shrubs and cactus sheltering beneath the branches. I had no idea how the water had been retained in the wash. Normally, after filling up from flash floods the water that filled these dry stream beds would drain away or evaporate within hours or less. However, at that time I didn’t care one way or another how the water had still remained there, all I could sense was the life giving liquid waiting for me to plunge my head beneath the surface and take in huge gulps of the stuff to ease my burning throat and dry mouth.
I stumbled and fell as we neared the water but hung on to the grullo’s tail and allowed him to drag me down to the water on my stomach where he waded into the wash leaving me on the bank taking huge gulps of the life giving liquid. That turned out to be not such a good idea because I vomited most of it back up.
After a while, I tried again but this time I was careful to sip slowly and take in a little at a time which helped considerably because then, I was able to keep it down and I began to feel a little better. However, I didn’t want to overdo it again despite feeling as though I would like to drink a gallon of the stuff. Instead, I rolled over onto my back and allowed the small amount of water I had taken in, to rehydrate me in a small way before sipping some more of the warm brackish liquid. Thanks to the ironwoods there was shade in abundance and when I had had what I considered to be a safe intake of water, I reclined on my back in the shade with my naked feet in the water and allowed my weary body and mind, to relax. Pretty soon, I slept and did not wake up until the sun was very low in the sky.
I decided to spend some time here while I recuperated enough to regain, at least some of my strength so that I may resume my journey and find some kind of civilisation. My feet already felt better after the warm water therapy.
There was kindling in abundance from the mesquite and ironwood trees, though I was not sure if the ironwood would actually burn. As a matter of fact it took the mesquite branches a long time to catch, but once they had, they burned slowly and brightly so that the fire, I figured should still be alive the next morning without having to add much fuel to it.
I still had some jerky in my saddle bags as well as a small cotton bag of coffee, so after retrieving my coffee can from my bedroll, I was able to make a pot of steaming hot coffee which went down very well after all I had been through. But before that, I removed my saddle and bridle from the grullo and he immediately rolled in the sand for many minutes. I didn’t have the heart to hobble him after he had brought me to water and probably saved my life. Anyhow, I supposed if he had wanted to wander off he could easily have done it while I was asleep. So I left him to his own devices while I built the fire and enjoyed my coffee and jerked beef.
Once the sun had gone down completely, I climbed into my bedroll and tried to sleep, but having slept for a few hours earlier, it was hard to come by, so I lay awake gazing into the comforting glow of the fire.
After a couple of hours or more, I found myself drifting into the mists of sleep only to be suddenly awakened by the sound of the grullo snickering softly. My eyes shot open and I listened intently. That horse would not have made a sound unless there was some kind of threat in the vicinity. He wasn’t particularly spooked and he hadn’t removed himself from where he stood, but I could see by the glow of the fire, that he was alerted to something out in the desert by the way he his head was held high and his ears were swivelled to the front. Maybe it was a hungry coyote looking for rodents which I figured would be in abundance in the vicinity of the water and undergrowth. I pulled my colt just in case there was any threat, then waited and listened for the sounds of approaching danger.
However, it wasn’t danger so much as mental anguish and torment that found me that night when the first of the women, little more than a girl really, around fifteen or sixteen, called out in a distinctive Mexican accent, that she was alone and unarmed before she walked into the glow of the firelight and stood head bowed where I could see her.
‘Please señor,’ she implored quietly. ‘I need water and food, please help me.’
I climbed to my feet with my colt trained on her and backed carefully, into the shadows away from the glow of the fire. It was possible she was being used as a decoy and had a companion who was watching and waiting with a weapon ready to get off a clear shot.
‘Move closer to the fire where I can see you properly,’ I hissed.
She edged closer to the flames which enabled me to see that she was dark with long hair and from what I could see by the flickering flames, a pretty face.
‘What are you doing out here alone?’ I asked as I looked around the shadows for an accomplice.
‘My horse went lame and I have been left afoot for many miles, if I had not seen the glow of your fire I would have wondered right by without knowing there was water here.’
‘Are you carrying a weapon?’
She held her arms akimbo before replying.
‘No Señor, I am unarmed as you can clearly see.’
I could not clearly see because the way she was dressed, gave rise to many thoughts of places she would be able to conceal a weapon, but being the gentleman that I was, I was loath to order her to lift her skirts.
However, she had other ideas, for before I had a chance to question her further, she bent at the waist to grip the hem of her skirt and lifted it high above her waist.
I gaped in awe as the flickering firelight partly illuminated her naked thighs and the rise of her buttocks just below the material of her skirt.
‘My god,’ I gasped. ‘You aint wearing any underwear.’
I was clearly stating the obvious, but I had been so surprised by her sudden exhibition and exposure of her nakedness, that I simply said the first thing that entered my head. It wasn’t as though I had never seen naked legs before or even thighs. I had seen many naked whores in my time, but she looked like a well-bred young lady and seeing her that way, shocked me into an inability to be alert and that was my downfall and obviously, what she had planned.
She twirled around giving me a good view by the glow of the fire and I experienced a very uncomfortable feeling at her brazen display.
‘You see,’ she said. ‘There is nowhere I would be able to conceal a weapon.’
All I could do was to stand and stare despite the embarrassment I felt about someone so young exhibiting herself in such a way and I stupidly, allowed the hand holding my gun to drop by my side and that was my downfall, for at that moment, a husky and erotically feminine voice whispered in my ear favouring me with the heat of her hot breath on my cheek. I would have found the experience incredibly arousing as she pressed her womanly body against me, were it not for the tip of a very big and sharp knife that she had inserted, seemingly, very deep into the skin of my neck effectively cooling my ardour.
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