Winning The Bounty Hunter's Heart (Mail-Order Brides of Salvation 4) by Faith Parsons

Author:Faith Parsons [Parsons, Faith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sweet & Clean, Texas, Frontier, Small Town, 1890s, Western, Romance, Christian, Historical, Mail-Order Bride, Marriage Of Convenience, Salvation, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Series, Bounty Hunter, Settle Down, Train Robbers, Action, Adventure, Austin, Train Robbbed, Taken Hostage, Infamous Brumley Gang, Law Enforcement
Publisher: Faith Persons
Published: 2015-11-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The boat rocked up and down as Blondie struggled to untie the rope that anchored it in place. The other end was tied to the oar loop on his side of the river. Meanwhile, Butch forded the river with one of the horses. Was he planning to take off with some of the loot, and leave the rest of the gang to split up what was left in the boat?

No, once the horse was safely on the far bank of the river, he returned, soaked from the shoulders down.

The wagon driver set all but two of the horses free.

With a jerk, the boat started to move with the current, pulling the rope tauter. With obvious effort, Blondie hoisted the rope over his shoulder and turned upriver. As if he planned to be the boat’s anchor.

Shorty tied a rope to the other oar loop, grabbed what looked like a horse harness, and then jumped into the river. Arms flailing, he managed to make it to the other riverbank without losing his grip on the rope or the harness.

By the time he finished strapping the harness on to the horse and attaching the rope to it, Colleen had figured out their plan. They weren’t going downriver, they were going upriver. If they led the horses along the shallows, there’d be no tracks on this side of the river. The posse would assume they’d either had a boat waiting and had fled downriver, or would look for tracks on the opposite side and see nothing.

She and Jack were doomed.

Shorty and Blondie led the horses upstream. Except for Butch, the other bandits walked in the shallows themselves, ankle-deep to knee-deep. It was slower going, having to carefully test each footstep. But pursuit was at least a day behind, and they were leaving no trace that would signal that they’d gone upstream. And with most of the gang walking, the boat might actually be light enough that the horses could handle the load.

Butch stood in the bow of the boat, holding a long pole. The boat began to inch upriver.

So, now what’s the plan, Colleen? Because you’re not going to sit here and wait to find out what happens when the boat reaches its destination.

But what could she do? Butch was only a few steps away. Shorty had retied her hands and Jack’s before he’d gone to the other shore. And it had been a very long two days, with little food and less rest.

She glanced at Jack. He looked worried.

“What’s wrong?”

“You mean besides the fact that we’re dead?”

“I realize no one’s coming to save us,” Colleen said.

“That’s right.” Butch joined in from the front of the boat, not even bothering to turn around. “But don’t worry. If you tell me the truth, I’ll kill you quick.”

Colleen shivered.

She noticed that Jack sat closer to her than before. Improperly close. His right arm and shoulder pressed against her left. Her mouth opened to protest, but what was the point?

A reputation, good or bad, was of no use to a dead woman.

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