Lady Gone Bad Read Online Free Page A

get his own money.
    All in all, Rafe couldn’t trust the boy. But he owed the kid for saving his neck. He felt responsible for getting them both into trouble. Rafe was better off in Texas. If the boy was an outlaw, he’d do better in Indian Territory. Might be safer for them both if they parted company.
    First, they had to get rid of the lynch mob.
    “You got a name?” he asked.
    “Kid’ll do.”
    Rafe glanced over at the boy’s delicate profile. He was struck by a sudden idea that, like the last piece of a puzzle, put everything into place.
    Maybe, just maybe, this clever boy was a girl.

Chapter 5
    L ady wished the lawman hadn’t said his name. Rafe. A name was powerful, too personal to share quickly. A gift of spirit. She preferred people know her as Lady rather than by her real name. Ma and Da had trained her not to give up anything easy, especially her name, when she might end up with nothing but that name, good or bad. They knew about losing everything, but they’d started over and worked hard together. Always together.
    She blinked back tears as she stopped Jipsey on the edge of the cliff above the Red River. Rafe halted beside her. She pushed down her rising emotions. Some days she felt so tired she simply wanted to join her parents in their final resting place on a peaceful hilltop. But justice drove her onward.
    “Justice,” he said, patting the gelding’s neck.
    Startled for a moment, she thought he’d read her mind.
    “Easy boy.”
    She realized the honey chestnut was his justice. She had a much different kind in mind.
    The Red River was no friend today. She’d watched for an easy place to cross since dawn. But after recent rains, the river ran high and wide, lapping over sandbars on the way to Louisiana where the clay-reddened water cut south to join the mighty Mississippi River.
    Now that the sun was setting in the west, she had to cross. No choice. She couldn’t chance the river after dark. Dusk offered protection. She’d be able to see, but the lynch mob couldn’t hit their targets so easily in dim light.
    “We better get going,” Rafe said.
    Lady indicated a beaten trail to the river. “I’m headed down. Lynch mob’ll tail me.” She pointed down the road. “You can make Paris tomorrow.”
    “What if they catch you or wing you?”
    “I’m fast.” She kept her face hidden in the shadow of her hat, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her face or voice.
    “I’ve seen better crossings.”
    “Out of time. Dark soon.” She didn’t understand why he seemed so reluctant to ride away.
    “Two guns are better than one.”
    “Why risk it?” She couldn’t believe he wouldn’t take the easy, safe way out of their situation.
    Rafe pointed back at the dust cloud dogging their tracks. “You saved my life.”
    “Make it count. Go to Paris.”
    She set heels to Jipsey and started the slippery descent down the winding dirt trail. She rode under the green branches of pine, oak, sweet-gum, bois d’arc, and other trees. She ducked low so as not to be swept out of her saddle. She caught the sweet scent of wildflowers. Birds stopped singing as she passed under their perches.
    When she heard Rafe follow, she cursed under her breath. Why hadn’t he taken the easy way out? She fumed as she rode. He was nothing but trouble. Now he seemed intent on being a gentleman who wouldn’t let a kid go alone into danger. Felt he owed a debt. What were the odds? A rattler held nothing on a maverick lawman. No telling what he’d do if he discovered her true identity. She had to lose him somewhere in the Red River Valley.
    At the bottom of the cliff, she let Jipsey pick her way into the current, trusting the mare to know the best way to cross. As they splashed deeper into the river, muddy red water quickly rose up to the chestnut’s belly. Dead leaves and branches swirled around them. A musky scent filled the air.
    Lady heard Rafe’s horse enter the water behind her. She urged Jipsey up onto the first long