Read Bone Idol for Free Online Page B

and squeezed. “What an adventure!” he exclaimed, and Albert turned to see his eyes twinkling. “This train will take us all the way out to Wyoming. There are sites there where fossils are practically lying around on the ground for the taking! Our camp will not be far from the tracks.”
    Abruptly, the reverend shook himself. “We must get ourselves settled on the train. We have a long journey ahead of us. There will be so much to see along the way!” Then his brow furrowed, and he looked troubled again.
    He was asleep before the train had been going for ten minutes. He snored gently, his mouth half open, his chin dropped towards his chest. Albert could not for the life of him understand how he could possibly sleep while being jostled and banged around by the frantic, jumbled motion of the train.
    He stood, holding on to a dangling strap to steady himself, and reached out to smooth a clump of his father’s white, baby-soft hair, which was sticking up in a comical cow-lick. He did not stir. He looked so vulnerable asleep, and so old, that Albert’s heart constricted. He was determined he would not let anything hurt the old man, and if he was to protect him—
    whether his father liked it, even whether he knew it or not—Albert had to know exactly what the situation was. Why had Henry decried his father, in print, for all the world to see?
    He left the compartment and slid the door quietly shut, not wanting to wake the slumbering reverend. He did not know where Henry would be, but the windows in each door would enable him to find him easily enough. He made his way unsteadily down the corridor, swaying from side to side and slapping at the walls with his hands to keep his balance.
    The train shuddered and rattled, making an unholy clattering, chuffing noise as it hurtled down the tracks. Even so, when he caught sight of their progress, Albert felt shocked and a bit sick at the speed at which they were travelling.
    He passed several empty compartments before he came to the one where Henry sat looking out of the window, rapt, at the alien landscape that flowed past with such astonishing speed.
    For a moment, Albert took in the way the cloth of his jacket strained across his shoulders, the straight spine, the long, elegant legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle. A funny little bolt of electricity sparked and fizzed low in his body. Hoping he was not blushing, he raised his hand to knock. Then he changed his mind and, sliding open the compartment door, slipped inside.
    Henry turned, startled, then rose smartly to his feet, extending his hand. “Albert?”
    He seemed so quietly pleased to see him that Albert felt almost guilty, as he took his hand, about his mistrust and about what he had come here to say. Henry’s fingers were warm and firm on his, and seemed to linger a touch longer than politeness would dictate.
    He took a deep breath and braced himself, reluctantly looking the other man firmly in the eye. “Mr Elkington—I must speak to you on a matter of some importance.”
    Henry obviously noted the ‘Mr Elkington’ and he cocked his head to one side, a question in his eyes. Then his expression changed and he gave an uncharacteristically playful smile. His voice, when it came, was husky and low. “Whatever you may require of me, www.total-e-bound.com
    Albert, name it.” He spread his hands to either side as though to indicate his person. “I am yours to command.”
    I am yours . Albert’s heart gave a hop, and suddenly his breathing was shallow, as though he could not draw enough air into his lungs. Why was it he thought an answer to his questions was not the only thing being offered? He was being absurd—surely he was being absurd.
    He was unreasonably drawn to Henry, to the hard security of his body, and he swallowed to stop himself from voicing his question aloud—what are you offering me, Henry? What do we have to offer each other? His gaze went to Henry’s plump lower lip, and he saw him notice;