Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona Read Online Free PDF

Her bag was small and might fit. She turned and jammed the bit of cloth between the seat and its back, stuffing it hard into the crack. The two men continued to peer out the window, but the woman’s gaze followed her movements. Christy raised her eyes and met the woman’s, giving her a tight smile.
    “Do you think they’ll kill us?” She whispered the words and clenched her hands in her lap.
    Christy shook her head. “Not if we do what they say. If they stop the stage, obey their orders and don’t argue or complain. Most robbers won’t harm a woman.”

    Nevada’s chin jerked up at the gunshot. He’d almost crested the hill, and he dug in hard, scrambling through the brush and over the top, pulling his horse behind him. They hit a patch of loose rock and slid for several yards, his gelding scrambling to remain on his feet. He held fast to the reins and jumped to the side, getting out of the way as Nugget lunged over a boulder and skidded to a stop. “Whoa, boy. Easy now.” Stroking his mount’s neck he waited, surveying the area below. On the far side of the gulley, a brace of horses pulled a stage down the hill, the driver hauling back on the reins trying to slow the team. Three men wearing sackcloth masks waved their guns and shouted, but the driver didn’t appear to notice.
    What had he stumbled into? This wasn’t a group of cowboys intent on arresting a killer and carting him to town. Nevada reached for his gun and peered more closely at the stage. Looked like three men riding on top with others inside, like they did when transporting a Wells Fargo payroll to the mines outside of Tombstone.

    Another gun exploded nearby, and Christy felt a searing pain in her arm, just above the elbow. She gasped and cried out, staring at the blood now soaking her sleeve.
    The woman across from her screamed and then started to shriek, her voice escalating in fear. “They’re going to kill us all! Help! Somebody help us!” She buried her face against the chest of the man sitting next to her, but her now muffled screams continued.
    The stage rattled and jumped over rocks in its hasty descent into the shallow valley below. Christy wrapped her gloved fingers around her arm, staring at the stream of blood gushing from the wound. She’d been injured more than once in her life, but nothing like this. Something akin to terror gripped her mind, and she struggled to push it aside, tightening her hold on her arm and praying it would slow the bleeding. She couldn’t die out here in the wilderness, only a short distance from her family.
    She hadn’t had nearly enough time to experience life—at least not the kind she’d always hoped and planned for. Scenes from her past rushed at her faster than the jostling coach, reminding her of the years wasted in shameful living. She’d finally found her purpose in helping her mother recover her health, and hopefully gaining some kind of family relationship where none had existed before. Bleeding to death before she even arrived was not an option.
    The stage finally drew to a halt, and loud, angry voices erupted outside. Christy sat up straight and gazed around. None of the passengers appeared to have much courage—even the men wilted into limp caricatures of the male race. If she had to demand that someone take care of this wound to ensure her safe arrival at her mother’s bedside, so be it. If the outlaws didn’t kill them all first.

    Nevada scrambled the rest of the way down the hill, pulling his snorting horse with him. No way could he slip away now, not with women on board and someone possibly hurt. He eased his gun out of his holster. It was three against one, but he had the element of surprise.
    He crept forward, dodging from bush to bush. The man he recognized as the leader had his gun aimed at the stage, as did the other masked man standing off to one side. The third had disappeared, and Nevada stopped to get his bearings.
    A masked man stepped out from behind a boulder, gun