Page 2 (1/2)

Chapter One

Luke Butler walked out of the General Store and looked at the sun already beginning to lower in the western sky He knew if he was going to get back to the ranch before nightfall, he needed to get a move on

He strode to his wagon and began adding the provisions he had just purchased to the ones already taking up space in the conveyance

The trip into the small town of Burnet, Colorado was a monthly chore that had to be done As much as he wanted to be self-sufficient on his ranch, there were some coe of: coffee, tobacco, and women, to name a few

He'd been here for a full day and night and was itching to get back home He'd had his irls the evening before, his banking business had been taken care of this , and the supplies he needed as well as what his housekeeper had requested were loaded and packed

Glancing up at the sky once again, he didn't expect rain but didn't want to take any chances He was standing at the back of the wagon covering it with canvas with sure, quick movements when the sheriff approached him Luke had lived in this part of Colorado ht, even if he hadn't spoken to thein he knew better than most and respected h as nails, yet honest approach

"The stagecoach is late," the lawon

Luke finished securing the strap, shoved his hat up and narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him as he zeroed in on the heart of the matter "How late?"

"Late Four, five hours" The otherthrough his tone

"Any reason to think it couldn't be routine trouble? Broken wheel? Bad axle?" Luke searched for another reason the stage could be late before allowing his ured out for himself

The other lanced up and down the dusty street and stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head and a frown blackening his already dark countenance "I got a gut feeling, Luke A bad one"

"You already check to see if it left on time?" Luke asked

"Yeah, the telegram said it was on schedule Even with a busted wheel or some such, it should be here by now"

Luke studied thethe street and was now facing him fully Irritation trickled down his spine as he realized the stagecoach delay would cost hihtfall, he turned his attention to the innocent people on the stage ere being more inconvenienced than he was If they were even still alive

Lifting hiht, he sucked in a breath and asked the question any decent man would "You need my help?"

"I'd appreciate it I need to spend what's left of the daylight I got rounding up so out at first light with fresh horses and a new day to track the men that did this"

Luke appraised the other man steadily "You need me for the posse?"

"I need you e route until the fork at Silver Creek, that'd help If there was an ambush, that's the probable place It's a detour that'll cost you some time, but it'd ht"

Luke nodded his head in agree to the problem at hand "And if I find foul play or run into trouble?"

"Shoot first and ask questions later," the other man responded in all seriousness

Luke swung up into the buckboard "If I coht and send one of my men to see you come sunrise"

The sheriff gave Luke a gri left alive are slim"

Luke's ed the truth in the other e your , you knohere to find me"

Emma Martin lay huddled in a s with a rifle she didn't kno to use cradled in fingers that had gone nuo Every few h to stretch her fingers and to keep the blood flowing

She was cold fronized as shock, her body ached as never before and although she refused to dwell on it, she was scared to death

The sun had been a fiery ball of orange as it sank below the horizon some five minutes before Now all that was left of the day was a vivid splash of purple and orange lining the clouds in the western sky

Had she ever watched the sunset fro to end? It was supposed to be a pleasant experience Any other ti dark was just onefor her to fear Nohen she needed the sun, needed the daylight, seeing how quickly that burning circle had fallen over the horizon was an added trauma to her already lacerated emotions

It would be full-on dark soon, with only a crescent ht

She studied the stagecoach standing still and straight in theopen And then her eyes tracked slowly back and forth, from the west toward the town they had been headed to, and then toward the south where the two ecoach driver had disappeared

How long before help would coer after the last two people had departed at the previous stop

Now she was all alone in the middle of nowhere

Her injured leg pained her, the chill of the night was setting in, and the lifeless body of the driver was a sad and constant reminder of the destruction she had witnessed and the dire circumstance she was in

It had taken awhile for her to conquer her fear that the outlaould come back and to climb down from the coach by herself without any steps to aid the process

By the tied to check to see if she could help the poor driver, his body was already turning cold She'd shut her eyes and said a quick prayer for his soul as she pried the rifle fro stiff in death

She'd had to get away froe because she hadn't felt safe in the enclosed area Anyone could have found her there and she would have et The thieves could come back Any lawless person could trap her there and she'd have no protection

She'd felt open and exposed inside the stage, even though rationally, she kneould have protected her fro outside in the open

But she'd felt closed-in, trapped So she'd taken the rifle,of rock that gave her a e and shelter It was the best she could do for now

She needed to be able to stand up and run if she had to, even while she knew she'd never be able to get anywhere quickly with her da

The injury she'd lived with for ten years was being felt in a neay today Before it had always been a nuisance, an irritant that she carried with her The limp she suffered slowed her down somewhat, and she had to suffer the looks of pity she saw on the faces of strangers

But today it washer fro her she couldn't run if she needed to, and she couldn't begin to think about burying the body of the innocent unned down

The ache in her leg was a reminder of her limitations As nore it, it was now glaringly obvious she was hae wouldn't be

But there was no use dwelling on what she couldn't change

She had other things to focus on Although she was terrified thoseher and coht from her mind because there were more immediate needs that concerned her

She would need water soon; she'd already seen a rattlesnake and now that night was falling, she could hear the coyotes in the distance The howling of coyotes was altogether different when you were outside alone at night as opposed to being inside a snug house with a roaring fire