With Eden’s help Bodie managed to catch three of the stray horses that had belonged to Coyote’s men. Coyote’s corpse was draped over the saddle of one, roped down and covered with a blanket. Bodie collected his saddlebags and rifle and stowed them away on the horse he’d chosen.
“Bodie, I thought you were going to rest?” Eden said as he climbed into the saddle.
“I am. But not here. Come morning this place will be alive with vultures. I may feel like I’m dead, honey, but I’ve still got some life in me.” Bodie indicated the distant, higher level of the rim. “We should find a good place to make camp up there,” he said. “Water and grass, some timber.”
“If you say so,” Eden mumbled as she mounted up. “Come on then, great white scout, make trail for humble squaw.”
They rode north for a couple of miles and then west along the rim, slowly climbing towards the place Bodie had pointed out. The sun was already starting to set when he finally located a likely place for them to make camp. Tall trees speared skywards and the way underfoot was soft with grass and lush moss. They trailed through the timber, making for the gleam of water Bodie had caught sight of. Close by the edge of a rushing stream they drew rein. Leading the animals a little way downstream Bodie unsaddled and tethered them, giving them enough rope so they could reach the water when they wanted. He carried their gear back to where Eden had already built a fire. Bodie passed her the sack of supplies he’d found on one of the horses. Leaving her to attend to the meal he opened his saddlebags and pulled out his shaving gear. At the edge of the stream he lathered his face, then used his razor on the thick stubble. It took some time, what with the cold stream water and the fact that Bodie had started to feel tired. It was a weariness that sank right through to his bones. When he’d finished shaving he felt a couple of pounds lighter. Rinsing off the lather Bodie ducked his head under the water for a while. The cool water against his gritty flesh felt good. By the time he gotten back to the fire Eden had coffee bubbling in a pot. Bodie became aware of his hunger. The smell of the coffee made his stomach growl.
“Bodie, you eat and then you sleep,” Eden ordered.
He watched her pour him a mug of hot coffee. “I could get to enjoy this treatment,” he said.
Eden smiled. “I’ve got to say thanks for pulling me out of Coyote’s camp. Dad taught me to always thank people.”
“You mean I went through all that, getting shot up and all, just for a mug of coffee?” Bodie grumbled.
“You know what your trouble is, Bodie? You want everything at once.”
Bodie took a sip of the hot coffee. “Yes, Ma’am,” he grinned.
She shook her head, laughing softly, and returned to the fire. Shortly the aroma of frying bacon filled the air. Eden, concentrating on her cooking, didn’t speak for a while. When she was ready to dish the food up she said, “See how you like this, Bodie. Bacon is my specialty ...” There was no reply, and Eden glanced up. Bodie was asleep. She shrugged. “Oh, well, I’ll eat the damn stuff myself!”
Bodie slept soundly through the night and well into the following day. It was close on noon when he finally opened his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight filtering down through the tall trees. He lay still, breathing in the pine-scented air, listening to the distant sound of a bird. Close by he caught the smell of brewing coffee.
Pushing away the blanket, Bodie sat up. His body groaned in protest. Judas Priest, he thought, I can’t be so stiff and still be alive Maybe I died and they forgot to bury me.
“Bodie! Hey, how are you feeling?”
He turned his head and saw Eden coming across the grass. She was dressed in a man’s shirt, tied at the waist with a length of thin rope. The shirt reached just far enough down her thighs to be decent, but it still meant that her long, supple legs were bare. As he watched her Bodie realized that his earlier thoughts about being dead were mistaken, because no corpse ever experienced the sensations coursing through his body at that moment.
“I didn’t wake you,” Eden said. She crouched beside the fire and poured him a mug of coffee. “Here, drink this, and try to stay awake this time.”
“Thanks.” Bodie tasted the coffee. “Didn’t I hear you say something about bacon?”
Eden chuckled. “That was last night,” she said. “There’s some left.”
Bodie leaned back, enjoying the luxury of the situation. It wasn’t often he had his meals prepared for him in such idyllic surroundings, by a young and beautiful female clad in a man’s shirt and little else. Eden had washed her hair too. It hung long and shiny down her back, catching the sun as she moved.
“When you’ve eaten I’ll take a look at your side,” Eden said, handing him a plate of hot, fried bacon.
“Sure,” Bodie said, “if you let me look at yours.”
Eden threw him a questioning glance over her shoulder. “What…?” Then she smiled. “I see. And which side would that be?”
“I’ll figure something out,” Bodie said.
“Bodie, I’m beginning to wonder if I’d have been safer in Coyote’s hands. It seems to me I’ve been saved from one savage only to fall into the clutches of another.”
Bodie leered at her. “Yeah, but at least you know me.”
“That makes a difference?”
He put down the empty plate. Reaching out he took hold of Eden’s arm and pulled her to him.
“Bodie, what are you up to?” she asked.
“The Army has a word for it.”
“Oh?”
“Maneuvers. Means making certain moves to reach an objective.”
“Bodie, I know what it means.”
“Good,” he said. He leaned forward, his mouth closing over hers, and he felt the warm press of Eden’s body as she let her weight fall against him. Bodie’s hand eased to the front of the shirt she was wearing, plucking open the buttons. Sliding the shirt off one smooth, curving shoulder Bodie drew his hand down to the supple fullness of Eden’s breast. The rounded flesh was firm and soft. Eden made a gentle sound as his palm stroked across the rising nipple. She put a hand on the shirt and pushed it free from her other shoulder letting it drop from her body.
“Bodie?” she murmured.
“Yeah?”
“I was just wondering…seeing the moves you are making…”
“Yeah?”
Eden stirred sensually as Bodie laid her back against the blanket. “I was trying to figure what your objective might be…” As she spoke Eden felt his hand slide down her naked body, over the silken firmness of her stomach, his fingers reaching, searching, and then she gave a trembling sigh, her body arching in willing response.
They stayed upon the rim for two more days and then moved on. Finding a way down off the rim took them a further day. When they were down Bodie cut off to the south. Another day and a half brought them to the town of Adobe Junction. It was a fair sized place with a rail depot and a telegraph office. On riding in Bodie made directly for the town’s hotel.
“Go and get yourself a room,” he told Eden.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be along. Got some things to attend to first.”
Eden glanced at the blanket-covered corpse of Coyote and wrinkled her nose. “I won’t be sorry to lose him,” she said. Sliding out of the saddle she dusted off her wrinkled dress. “Bodie, don’t be too long.”
Turning his horse Bodie rode down the street to the rail depot. He went inside the booking office and found the telegraph operator. Pulling a message pad across the counter Bodie wrote a few short lines to Major Owen Chantry at Fort Huachuca, telling him that Eden was safe and well. He paid the operator, then made his way along to the ticket desk and bought a couple of seats on the next train going south.
Leaving the depot Bodie rode back through town and located the marshal’s office. Inside he had a few words with the local lawman, a tall, lean, sunburned man by the name of Rice. Following Bodie outside Rice loosened the blanket tied over Coyote’s corpse and took a long look at the blackening face of the dead half-breed.
“Well, I ain’t ever seen Coyote — dead or alive — Mister Bodie, but I’ve heard of you, and your word’s good enough for me.”
“If there’s any problem,” Bodie said, “I’ve gotten a young woman over at the hotel who can confirm it’s Coyote. He took her hostage after he’d raided a stage.”
“That wouldn’t be a Miss Eden Chantry would it?” Rice asked.
“Yeah. I’ve sent a telegraph to her father, so all you’ve got to worry about is the paperwork for the bounty money.”
“Don’t you bother over that, Mister Bodie, I’ll attend to it. You’ll have your money before you leave town.”
Bodie took his horse and returned to the hotel. He found that Eden had booked him a room next to hers.
“You got a good doctor in this town?” Bodie asked the desk clerk.
“Doctor Wallace. He’s a fine man,” the clerk assured him.
“Could you send someone for him? Have him come up to my room.”
“All right, Mister Bodie, I’ll do that. Anything else you want?”
“Hot baths for the lady and for me. And see if you can fix up for some dresses to be sent over for Miss Chantry. And all the other things women wear.”
The clerk nodded, eager to help. “What about you, Mister Bodie? Sol Meyer, over at the store, has a fine line in gentlemen’s clothing.”
“Sure. I’ll leave it in your hands.”
Bodie picked up his saddlebags and rifle, took the key the clerk handed him, and made his way up the stairs to his room. He went in and dumped his gear on the floor. Unbuckling his gun belt he draped it over the end of the bed. The room smelled stuffy. Bodie crossed to the window and opened it. He returned to the bed and stretched out on it.
There were two days to kill before the train arrived. Bodie couldn’t see a town like Adobe Junction being able to offer much in the way of distractions. But then, he thought with a wry smile, that didn’t really matter. It wasn’t as if he was without distractions of his own. With Eden Chantry in the next room, Bodie figured that between them they would be able to pass the time in comparative ease and comfort.