by Jodi Thomas
Nothing would keep her in the same town with him. She’d wait until Lamont and the army officers left the station, then she’d saddle up and ride. As long as she headed south, she knew she’d be going home. She wanted no one seeing her in the same town with her almost-husband. In fact, she never planned to see him again for as long as she lived. As soon as she got home, she’d burn his letters and marry the first man who asked her before the ashes were cold. Any man, anywhere would be better than the braggart she’d seen in the passenger car.
Beth set her mind. If no one asked her again, she’d never marry. Being alone had to be better than being with the wrong person. Her papa had made sure she had her own money, so she didn’t need Lamont.
She patted Brandy Blue. “Let’s go home, boy. I need to ride the hills of Whispering Mountain and forget what a fool I’ve been.” Smiling, she wondered if her wish and the horse’s weren’t the same, for he didn’t like the train, or the night, or the storm.
Between the drafty slats, she saw men climbing onto the back of the train as it pulled away from the circle of lantern light. Not passengers, she thought, invaders. They moved like rats in the dark, slipping in between the cars and crawling up ladders to the roof.
One broad-shouldered man in a long, black leather coat tried to pull another off the step, but the first jerked away and climbed aboard. They seemed to be arguing about something, but she couldn’t hear their words. A moment later the man in black reluctantly followed. The flash of a red bandanna tied around his throat seemed somehow out of place in the night.
Holding her breath, Beth realized that they had to be robbers. They’d probably stop the train miles from anywhere and rob, or maybe kill, everyone. She’d seen an army guard loading something in the mail car that looked like a strongbox. It must be a huge payroll, or gold, to be worth the risk of a midnight robbery. The officers with Lamont could be part of the guard, but they’d been drinking, thinking themselves safe tonight.
Beth pulled her senses about her like a cloak. Her survival depended on her being totally aware of everything and everyone around her. She’d grown up on a ranch when Texas was wild. She had to be ready to run or to fight. Without taking her eyes off the entrance to the car, she checked the gun belt around her waist.
She had to warn the others on the train.
But, how? Even if she could cross between the cars to the mail car, they wouldn’t let her in. The door was bolted solid. Behind her, only cattle cars followed. No one would hear a shot in the storm and she didn’t know if she was strong enough to hang on if she tried to cross over the top of the mail car.
In the last flash of light from the water tower’s lantern, she saw the broad-shouldered man in black take a few steps up to the roof of the mail car. He and his friend had made it over the freight car’s roof without her even hearing them. He was pulled on the arm of what seemed the younger of the two robbers as if trying to pull him down, but was ignored. He tried once more to draw the other man back against a course already set. The younger one shook his head and jerked away, vanishing into the night.
She thought she heard the one left behind yell, “Ryan, no,” but his cry was lost in the wind.
The one called Ryan would be moving to the engine, she reasoned. He’d stop the train at gunpoint, then the others would move from car to car robbing and killing anyone who tried to stop them.
As the train picked up speed, Beth noticed several horses being held by a shadow rider fifty yards from the track. They looked half-wild and in poor condition, except for a Pinto with front stockings, who almost bolted from the others, giving the handler fits. The horses finally galloped in the same direction as the train. They wouldn’t be able to keep up for long, but all they had to do was follow the tracks to find where the robbers had stopped the train.
Holding Brandy Blue’s neck, Beth tried to think of what to do. She closed her eyes, remembering who she’d seen on the train when she’d walked through looking for Lamont. Three passenger coaches. The first had four or five salesmen with their wares and a couple of gamblers passing the time with card tricks.
The second coach held families. One couple with a tiny baby. Another with two boys small enough to use a bench as a bed. She thought there was a third couple, but she couldn’t remember how many children. Sprawled near the doors, cowhands slept, probably heading to Dallas to work the trains going east.
The third one housed Lamont and the army officers.
Assuming all the men were armed, the passengers outnumbered the robbers, but the bandits had surprise on their side.
They might never make it to her. Surely even the drunk soldiers around Lamont would fight. But, if robbers made it to the mail car and broke in, one of the gang was bound to notice her position. Any light would show her outline next to the horse.
The old conductor had complained that this run wasn’t making any money hauling folks or stock, so they had to be after whatever was in the strongbox.
Beth moved, feeling her way in the darkness. She checked the railing against her horse. She wanted him boxed in if the train came to a quick stop. She’d known even as a child that the horses had to be taken care of first. Her father was a powerful rancher who never raised his voice to his daughters, but one lift of his eyebrow would send all three back into the barn to finish brushing down their mounts or make sure they’d stored everything correctly. Now, his attention to detail might save her life.
The train was traveling slower than usual because of the storm. Even without robbers onboard, they were all in danger. She might be able to jump and roll free from the train at this speed, but she couldn’t risk Brandy Blue and she wouldn’t leave him. Lamont had wanted them to ride back to her ranch together after they’d married and spent a few days in Dallas. As soon as he got to know her family better he’d hinted that they might settle in Austin.
She knew now that he ultimately meant to take her away from Texas. Away from her home. Away from all she’d ever known and loved.
Closing her eyes, Beth fought down fear. Lamont and his men were right. She was an idiot. If the robbers thought she was a man, they’d probably shoot her on sight. If they discovered she was a woman traveling alone or that her last name was McMurray, they might hold her for ransom, or worse.
Slowly, she straightened. Whatever happened, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. Moving to the front of the car, Beth tried to guess how far they were away from town. Halfway. More. It was hard to tell.
Silently, she slipped onto the platform between the cars and struggled to see around the mail car without getting soaked. Knowing the six bandits were somewhere up front, maybe already in the passenger coaches, maybe riding between or above waiting, made Beth’s blood cold.
Carefully, she leaned around the edge one more time, hoping to see the lights of a town. Wind and rain splattered against her face and knocked her hat backward. Beth closed her eyes and smiled remembering something her papa told her about facing trouble head on no matter the storm. He’d said buffalo face the storm, and McMurrays were every bit as stubborn as buffalo.
Just as she pulled back into the blackness, the train seemed to buck in the wind, like a toy being tossed. Brakes squealed in a panicked cry and the cars shook violently.
Beth fought to keep her balance as the train left the tracks. Car after car slammed into one another.
Like the wing of a giant bird, something flew over her, turning the night another layer of midnight as strong arms circled her from behind. A moment later she was airborne as if flying away from danger.
She heard boards splintering like twigs as whoever held her twisted so that his body hit the ground first. The jar of it knocked her against the hard wall of his chest. Her scream blended with Brandy Blue’s cry. Something hit her head as the man holding her rolled across rocky ground with her tucked into his arms.
A moment before she blacked out, Beth realized that she wasn’t facing a train robbery, but a train wreck. The broad-shouldered man she thought she
might have to kill may have just saved her life.
Table of Contents
Praise for Jodi Thomas
Titles by Jodi Thomas
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Special excerpt from PROMISE ME TEXAS
