Melinda Heads West Read Online Free PDF Page B

feet from each other. It was the men who had gone after food for the rest of the group.
    • • •
    Boone studied the scene patiently. Twilight was setting and the darkness would help cover their tracks if the men came back. As much as he hated it, he had the woman to think about now. He wasn’t used to considering anyone but himself, and he liked it a lot better that way. He’d be happy when this journey came to an end and he could say he’d seen the last of this particular female creature. She was a burr in his side.
    “Did you see the second man over there?”
    Boone turned and there was murder in his eyes. “You’re a curse, you know that?” he hissed. “It’s not the thieves you’ll have to worry about if you keep this up!”
    Mindy rolled her eyes. Boone felt his blood pressure rise. If they hadn’t been striving for silence, he would have shot the woman himself. It encouraged him to think for a minute of other quiet ways of doing away with someone. But then he shook his head, dispelling the sweet visions.
    “I want you to stay here by this tree. Please continue to make as much noise as you can.” Boone said, grinning in spite of himself. She was determined to do the opposite of everything he said, so let the bad guys have her. “Just make sure I’m far enough away first.”
    Mindy plopped down by the tree trunk and crossed her arms. It appeared she had finally gotten the message. Satisfied, Boone crept off. He didn’t look back.
    The clearing was silent, except for the sound of the brook babbling by innocently. Both corpses had their eyes open. It appeared neither had seen the end coming. Boone visited each body in turn, closing the eyes and checking the pockets for any important items that might tell who the men were or where to send the personal effects.
    “I knew it! You are nothing but a low-down, good-for-nothing chicken thief! As soon as you get a chance you’re stealing, and from dead men!”
    Boone flipped to his back and jerked his gun out, meeting the angry stare of Melinda, with hands on hips. She reminded him a little of his grade school teacher, who had always believed she knew everything, too. He aimed the gun for the center of her forehead.
    “Bang. You’re dead,” he whispered, then shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you? This ain’t a quilting bee, lady. There are real men out there who want to find the money from the stagecoach — ”
    “Which you have!”
    “ … and they are willing to kill to get it.”
    “Well, then, let’s give it to them!”
    Boone stood and knocked the dirt off his pants. “Now that’s a swell idea! What do you suggest? That we send them a flowery invitation to an afternoon tea here by the creek? Maybe we’ll ask them real nicely not to kill us when they’re all done!”
    “If they only want the money … ”
    “You are a sight! Have you ever been in the real world before? These men aren’t like the ones who come to call on you back home, ma’am . They are killers. They don’t care to hear what you’ve got to say or how your life might be considered valuable to some people back in New York.”
    “Mississippi.”
    “Whatever!”
    Boone suddenly took stock of his surroundings. “Balls of fire, woman! You’ve got us both hollering down the heavens. If those men are anywhere close, they know we’re here now! You work on me like sandpaper, you know that?” He removed his hat and rubbed his head angrily. “Get your bag!”
    “I thought you were going to — ”
    “I said, get your bag! We’ve got to go!” Then catching the look on her face, he said, “Don’t worry, we won’t go too far — there are still two members of our party unaccounted for — Lucas and that Byler fellow. We’ll watch from a distance for a while and see if they show up. Since we haven’t heard any other gunshots, we should be able to presume they’re still alive.” Boone turned to go, mumbling under his breath. “But mark my words. Next time,