Belle Gone Bad Read Online Free

Belle Gone Bad
Book: Belle Gone Bad Read Online Free
Author: Sabine Starr
Pages:
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trail.”
    â€œThank you.” Mama Lou smiled. “Mercy, pack your saddlebags. You’re going with her.”
    â€œWhat!” Belle gasped.
    â€œI can’t go.” Mercy didn’t think he could stand a hard ride with a woman like Belle. “I’ve got too much art to finish here.”
    â€œAnd I’m not taking a tenderfoot with me,” Belle added.
    â€œYou can and you will.” Mama Lou put her hands on her hips again. “Mercy’s getting weaker by the day. The quicker you get him to Diana, the quicker she can heal him.”
    â€œIs she a doctor?” Belle asked.
    â€œShe’s the kind of doctor Mercy needs.”
    â€œWe can’t lose him,” Big Jim said. “He’s our friend. Besides, he’s got too many paintings to finish for the Bend.”
    â€œWhen did Delaware Bend become the art capital of Texas?” Belle asked.
    â€œYou’ve missed out on a lot,” Mama Lou said.
    â€œThe Red River Saloon is more famous than ever,” Big Jim explained. “Temperance Tempest marched here with the Texas Society for the Promotion of Temperance. She chopped my bar right through Lulu’s belly button. Folks come from far and wide to see it.”
    â€œI came back to repair the bar,” Mercy explained.
    â€œAnd he’s painting a portrait of Temperance Tempest to hang over my bar,” Big Jim added.
    â€œAnd one to put in the Lone Star Hotel’s Temperance Tempest Room,” Mama Lou said. “And I want a painting for my café.”
    â€œI guess I did miss out on a lot.” Belle glanced at Mercy. “Did you fix the bar?”
    â€œI did.” Mercy shook his head. “But that brought on a host of other problems.”
    â€œDang fools!” Big Jim turned toward his saloon. “You can look at how Mercy fixed the bar while he packs up his art supplies.”
    â€œI don’t want to see it,” Belle said.
    â€œI’m not leaving the Bend,” Mercy added.
    Mama Lou pointed across the street at Manny’s Livery Stable. “Mercy, stop being ornery. You’ve got no choice and you know it. You need horses.”
    Mercy caught Belle’s eye. “She’s right, as much as I hate to admit it.”
    â€œI’ll give it forty-eight hours,” Belle agreed.
    â€œDouble that and you’ve got a deal.” Big Jim held out his hand.
    Belle shook it. “But I want everybody to understand that I’m doing a favor for old friends. I don’t know Mercy. If he keeps up with me, okay. If not, he gets left behind.”
    Mercy glared at her. “If Belle makes my life miserable, the next painting you see will be one of her. And it’ll be suitable for the finest house on Fort Smith’s Bordello Row.”

Chapter 4
    â€œI ’ll hear no more of you two sniping at each other. Diana comes first.” Mama Lou dusted her palms together.
    â€œThat’s right.” Big Jim pushed open the batwing doors of the Red River Saloon. “Let’s get Mercy packed up.”
    Mama Lou sailed into the saloon with her head held high and Big Jim on her heels.
    Belle hesitated. She wanted to help her friends, but they were interfering with her own important plans. She’d stopped by the Bend to pick up supplies and say hello. Now she was setting off on an unknown path with a stranger. Yet she’d only agreed to four days. If she hadn’t found Diana or her trail by then, she’d be free to go her own way.
    She glanced at her traveling companion, wondering what she was getting into with him.
    Mercy swept an imaginary hat from his head, extended his hand toward the doors, and gave an elegant bow. “Please precede me, fair damsel.”
    She couldn’t keep from chuckling at his humor. “You won’t catch me with that old ruse.”
    â€œRuse?”
    â€œA gentleman opens the door for a lady. As she steps ahead, he puts his six-shooter to
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