Lady Outlaw Read Online Free Page B

cowboy hats. All five had guns and wore the same hardened expressions he’d seen on the four stage robbers he’d hunted down, including the last one whose face was on the wanted poster he kept in his saddle bag.
    The tallest of the five stopped within yards of the woman’s hiding place and fired his rifle into the air. “Fun’s over, missy,” he sneered. “We know you’re here, and we want what’s ours.”
    Caleb quickly loaded one of his revolvers and crept closer to the hill’s edge, making certain to stay hidden behind the trees. Would the woman keep silent or make a stand? Either way, Caleb didn’t plan on letting her be caught or shot by these ruffians.
    “I’d watch it if I were you, Bart. You’re surrounded,” the woman called back. To her credit, Caleb didn’t detect an ounce of fear in her voice. “I’ve got the sheriff with me and his posse’s waiting down the trail for you.”
    Caleb scanned the nearby mountainside, but he saw no movement, no reinforcements. She had to be lying. A heavy silence followed her brave words. In the stillness, Caleb heard the distant trill of a bird. He tightened his grip on his gun, fully expecting a volley of shots in response to her bluff. But the quiet stretched on for nearly a minute.
    “You’re lying,” Bart finally shouted back. “And you’ll soon find out what we do with lying, thieving...”
    Time to act. “Howdy, boys,” Caleb hollered from behind the trees. All five men whipped their heads in his direction, disbelief radiating from more than one face. “Nice to see y’all are friends. Makes sharing a jail cell more enjoyable.”
    “It’s the sheriff,” a baby-faced fellow cried. “Let’s split.”
    “Hold on. I still say she’s bluffin’ about him bringin’ a whole posse,” Bart said, scratching his motley beard. His narrowed gaze jumped from the hill, to the clump of trees beside the trail and back in Caleb’s direction.
    Before anyone could make a move, the woman fired a round of shots that hit the ground near one of the bandits. The man let out a loud yelp and jerked his horse away. Caleb aimed at a patch of sagebrush near another of the riders, hoping to spook the horse into bolting.
    The riders attempted to return fire, but the bullets whizzing past them drove them into a tighter group on the exposed trail. Caleb could see the horses—and the riders—getting more agitated by the minute. Before long, one of them turned his horse and galloped away toward Caleb. Caleb let him ride past.
    Another hurried after him. “We’re outnumbered, Bart,” the man screamed over his shoulder.
    Bart fired once more before pointing his horse in the direction the other two had charged. “Let’s go!” He threw an ugly look toward the trees, then up the hill as he retreated, the last two bandits behind him.
    Caleb waited another minute to ensure they didn’t double back. When the trail remained empty in either direction, he replaced his gun in its holster and untied Saul’s reins.
    The woman still hadn’t emerged from the trees yet. Anxious to know if she’d fared well through the gunfight, Caleb led Saul down the incline and across the trail. Skirting the copse of trees, he entered the shelter they formed and found himself staring down the barrel of the woman’s pistol.
    “Whoa—don’t shoot.” He dropped the reins and lifted both hands in the air. Saul whinnied softly beside him.
    “You’re the one who pretended to be the sheriff.” To his relief, she lowered her gun. “I thought I told you to leave.”
    “Are you all right? Why were those men chasing you? Have they...” He rubbed the back of his suddenly warm neck. “Have they laid their hands on you in any way?”
    Her cheeks flushed. “No. Oh, no. They knew I had some money with me—that’s all.” She pushed up her hat, revealing amused brown eyes—not the green he’d expected. “I’d say they got the worst of it.”
    He’d only ever seen one other girl with red hair