Free West of Paradise by Marcy Hatch Page B

they get her?” he asked.
    “Leavenworth. Some bounty hunter’s bringin’ her to Abilene.”
    “Was he comin’ by stage or train?”
    “Don’t know, but Marshall Harris said they’d have a trial jus’ as soon as she got there an’ that she’d be sittin’ in a box by next week.”
    Will grinned at his companions. “I guess I’ll be goin’ for a ride,” he said. “An’ you, boy, are gonna do me another favor.”
    “Sure, anything,” the boy said.
    ❧
    Will shrugged into his coat and grabbed his hat. He took a last gander around the shack he’d spent the last few months in and walked out the door without a single regret. He’d been holed up in this place long enough, grubbing for gold in that backwash they called a river, and freezing his fingers off in the cold mountain water. He was skinny and dirty, and he knew he looked like hell but he was going to get that woman no matter what it took and pay her back for what she’d done.
    He smiled, thinking of his revenge, and the boy that rode with him shivered. It was a dark smile, one that held no joy.
    “What do you think, Tommy,” Will said after they’d ridden a while. “Think she’s still got any of that loot?”
    “I don’t know. The wire didn’t say nothin’ ’bout that.”
    “I bet she does. An’ if it ain’t with her then she’s probly got it hid somewhere. I’ll get it out of her, one way or the other.”
    “How are you gonna get her?” Tommy asked. “She’s gonna have the law all around her when she gets to Abilene. They’ll have her locked up tight in the jail.”
    “I don’t know how—yet,” Will said. “You sure you didn’t hear nothin’ else about how she was comin’ in?”
    “No, sir, jus’ what I told you.”
    “Well, I guess you’re gonna have to do some sniffin’ for me. Can you do that, boy, without lookin’ nervous?”
    “I guess so.”
    “There’ll be somethin’ in it for you if you can. Either a bit of that loot or a bit of her.”
    Tommy smiled a little smile of his own at that.
    “You’d like that, huh? An’ let me tell you right now she’s as sweet as molasses. You could drown in that woman an’ die a happy man. Why, after I’m through with her I’ll even hold her down for you. Now, are you ready to ride? I mean really ride? I ain’t got time to waste, boy, an’ every minute we trot along like school marms the closer she gets to Abilene.”
    “I’m ready,” Tommy said.
    “Good, then let’s go.” Will kicked his horse into a full gallop and Tommy followed suit.
    All the while they rode Will thought about Alanna McLeod and everything they’d done together right up until the time she left. He thought about her face and her skin and the way she smelled like perfume. He thought about the silky feel of her hair in his hands and the way she smiled with those red, red lips. He thought about the way she walked ahead of him, swishing back and forth, knowing he was watching.
    And he thought about the first time he’d seen her. The way he’d surprised her and how she’d sized him up in two seconds and smiled coolly. He’d shrugged and backed off, but for some unbeknownst reason she’d come after him. It was in Kansas that things went bad. Some nosy gunfighter had surprised them all on that train, killing three of their gang before Alanna shot him.
    After that their pictures turned up on the wanted posters and things got dicey for a while. There were times he’d wondered whether she was going to ditch him. By the time she did he’d been sure she never would. He supposed the last little job they pulled had done it. Someone on the stage had whispered his name; and four days later he woke up to an empty bed, empty pockets, and the law hot on his heels.
    After that he’d laid low for a while, spent some time in Mexico before slipping back across the border and making his way north. He’d grown a beard and lost more than a few pounds, so that by then most folks didn’t even recognize him.