Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the woman beside him. “I agree. I’m thankful the driver allowed us to get out and walk on some of the roughest areas. Thought my teeth would rattle out of my head a couple of times.”
    Christy smiled but didn’t comment.
    His female companion had kept to herself most of the trip, clutching the man’s arm whenever the coach lurched or jolted. She stared across at Christy’s neckline and her eyes widened. “That’s an exquisite cameo.” She leaned forward and squinted. “Are those pearls around the edge?”
    Christy touched the brooch. “Yes. It was a gift from my grandmother before she died.”
    The woman sat back, a genial expression lighting her face. “It looks valuable. I’ve heard Tombstone is quite a wild city. You might want to be careful where you wear it.”
    “Thank you. I hadn’t thought of that.”
    The group inside the stage settled into silence, and Christy was left alone with her thoughts. This brooch contained so many loving memories from her childhood when her papa’s mother still lived. She’d stayed with them from the time Christy was eight until she turned twelve and her grandmother had passed. Every year on Christy’s birthday she’d been allowed to wear the piece for the entire day.
    That last day, as the sweet older lady rested in her bed, she’d pressed her cameo into the young girl’s hand, closing her fingers over the small treasure. “It’s yours, my love. It’s been in my family for three generations. Maybe someday you’ll have a daughter you can give it to. Tell her about me, will you, child?”
    Christy had treasured the cameo and kept it close from that day forward, always anticipating the time she’d have a family and be able to pass it along with the fond memories of her grandmother. Now she wondered if it was too late. She was twenty-five years old and the closest she’d ever come to marriage was Ralph, back in Last Chance. Some would say she was an old maid and beyond hope, but in her heart-of-hearts she still believed the right man would come.
    A loud “whoa” emanated from the driver, and the team slowed its pace. “Hold on, folks. We’re goin’ down a pretty decent grade,” his voice boomed from on top of the box. “When we reach the bottom it’ll be some better. You can get out and stretch your legs a mite if you’ve a mind to, before we start up the other side.”
    The stage tilted and slowed its forward progress, as the driver continued to haul back on the reins and call to his horses. Once again Christy gripped the opening in the door as the wheels encountered ruts and rocks, jostling the passengers from side to side. Why hadn’t the man allowed them to walk this stretch? It seemed the horses would have less work holding back the extra weight in the coach if it were empty. She was tired of being thrown into the man next to her, although from the smug expression she’d noticed a time or two, he didn’t seem to mind.
    A gunshot from somewhere ahead electrified the five travelers inside. The man she shared a seat with leaned toward his window and peered outside. “By Jove, it looks like a holdup! There’s a man with a rifle standing in the middle of the road.”
    The stage didn’t slow, and another gunshot cracked. “Stop your team, or we’ll shoot one of the horses,” a rough voice echoed against the hillside.
    “I ain’t stoppin’ for nobody.” The driver shouted the words, and a gun barked from on top of the stage.
    Christy’s heart jumped, and a knot formed in her stomach. They were so close to Tombstone, and now someone wanted to rob them? Half of what she had left was inside her small purse. She unpinned the cameo from her dress and held it in the palm of her hand. Bandits would surely notice a piece of jewelry this fine, and she couldn’t allow it to be stolen. Slipping her reticule from her wrist, she placed the brooch inside, then searched the interior for a place to hide it. Nothing presented itself as an option.
    The seat.