The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,188

Eulis was having thoughts of Letty that were anything but proper. He couldn’t help but wonder if Preacher Howe’s weakness for women was rubbing off on him. He’d never had these problems before. It didn’t occur to him that the reason he’d been uninterested in women before, was because whiskey had captured his heart. But now that the whiskey was a thing of the past, his normal manly urges were resurrecting. And, added to that was his growing admiration for Letty. Except for when they’d been caught in the buffalo herd, she’d never wavered in her belief that they would endure.

By Eulis’ best guess, they should reach the location of the gold strike within the week. He’d been told back in Dripping Springs that it was at a place called Cherry Creek, near the town of Denver City, and while he’d never been there, he’d been given some landmarks to look for, one of which they’d passed just this morning.

He glanced over at Letty, who sat beside him in the wagon seat with the rifle across her lap. With her wrist still too painful to drive the team, she was riding shotgun, and taking the job as seriously as she took everything else.

“How you doin’?” he asked.

“Fine,” she said, without looking at him.

“Need to take a break?”

“No.”

Eulis wanted to get a rise out of her. He didn’t like getting the silent treatment, and because he missed the old Letty and her fiery temper, he pushed.

“You don’t even need to pee?”

Letty flinched as if she’d been slapped. Before she could think to ignore him, she was already mad.

“No, I don’t need to pee! Is that what you think of when you look at me? Poor stupid woman… tips an outhouse over on herself cause she had to go. Causes a terrible fuss on the stagecoach because she has to pee again.”

She hit him on the arm and then hunched her shoulders and looked away.

If someone had stuck a knife in Eulis’s gut, he couldn’t have felt any worse. He’d only wanted to tease a smile onto her face, not hurt her. He pulled the mules to a stop and tied off the reins onto the brake, then got down out of the wagon.

When he started to walk away without speaking, Letty looked up and yelled at him.

“Where are you going?”

He turned around and grinned.

“To pee. You wouldn’t give me an excuse and I’m not tough enough to wait it out like you.”

“Oh.”

She sat and watched until he moved behind some bushes then she got down and walked a short distance in the other direction. Trees were absent and undergrowth was sparse. The only thing she could hide behind was a large rock, so she headed for it.

She had her belt untied, and was holding her pants up as she moved to the other side of the rock. And because she was looking over her shoulder to check on Eulis, she missed the fact that she was no longer alone.

“Lord, have mercy, I am saved.”

Shocked by the sound of a man’s voice, Letty squealed, and grabbed the gun with both hands. As she did, her pants fell down around her ankles. Then she saw the man and her mouth went slack in disbelief.

“Good God in heaven…”

“Emory James at your service, ma’am. Excuse me if I don’t stand up, but as you can see, I am somewhat at a disadvantage.”

“EEEuuullliiisss!”

The scream brought Eulis out of the bushes on the run. He thought of the rifle and groaned. Letty had their only weapon, and if she was in dire straits, then they were for sure in trouble.

When he didn’t see her at the wagon, his heart dropped. Then she screamed again. He turned, saw her running out of the trees, holding her pants up with one hand, and waving the rifle with the other, and started running.

“Eulis! Eulis!”

He caught her on the run, yanked the rifle out of her hand, and shoved her behind him.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“There’s a man behind that rock.”

“Did he hurt you? Tell me, honey… did he hurt you?”

She was tying her belt as fast as she could and shaking her head in denial.

“No, no, I’m all right, but he’s… he’s…” she shuddered, unable to finish what she’d been going to say, grabbed Eulis’s hand, and started leading him back to the rock.

Eulis came with her, but he wasn’t as sure of the urgency as he’d been before. As soon as they reached the rock, he stopped.

“Wait. I’m goin’