Blood & Dust (Lonesome Ridge Book 2) Read Free Page B

latest. If we’re not…” He let the words hang, but Robert got his drift.
    “Yep, understood.” He gave Connor another nod of the head and went back to bossing around the men and women at the wall.
    Connor turned back toward the middle of town and Abby followed. They found Jasper and the posse he had gathered at the stables. All the men carried rifles or firearms of some sort. Jasper led a horse out to Abby and helped her mount up.
    “I ain’t ridin’ with no woman,” one of the men spat as he balanced his shotgun on his shoulder.
    “Fair enough. You don’t have to,” Connor said.
    Abby opened her mouth to protest as the man leered at her, but Connor held up his hand. She snapped her lips shut and Connor walked over to the man. He held out his hand. “Shotgun.”
    “What?” The man stood toe-to-toe with the sheriff, confusion evident on his face.
    “Give me your shotgun.”
    “What fer?” The man’s fingers turned white as he gripped the stock.
    “Because you’re not going with us. You’re going to find Robert and work the wall while we’re gone.”
    “But… I…”
    “Shotgun,” Connor said again. He stared at the man hard and didn’t move a muscle. It was a battle of wills and he wasn’t about to lose.
    The man finally relented and handed the weapon over. The others watched him slink away.
    “Anyone else have a problem with riding with a woman?” Connor turned his gaze from the man’s back to the rest of the group. Not a one spoke up. “Good.” He walked over to Abby and held up the shotgun. “Think you can handle this?”
    She dipped her head quickly and took the weapon from him. “Yes.”
    The rest of the group mounted up in silence.
    “Head out,” Connor called and kicked his horse into gear. The rest followed behind him, a pack of hunters ready for a fight.

 
     
    CHAPTER 3
     
     
     
    Charity Banks and Jeremiah Gaines lounged on a bed of soft grass underneath a thick canopy of leaves. Around them, a dozen men and women milled in the sun-speckled shade.
    “So, where you wanna head to?” Jeremiah asked the woman beside him as he tore a chunk of flesh from a small arm he held. He secretly hoped it wasn’t a child’s arm, but pickings had been slim after the small horde of undead finished ravaging the few survivors and the party of locals who had come to investigate the train wreck. Only one of the undead was from that group of men. The rest were from the survivors of the train or the small group of houses they hit afterward.
    “Hmm.” Charity shifted so her head rested on his stomach and he absently stroked her blond hair with his bloody fingers. “I would love to take over New York City someday. Show David’s mother a thing or two.”
    Jeremiah laughed. “Not sure we have enough for that right about now.”
    Charity shrugged, but she tensed under his touch. “So? We will eventually. I’m not going to give up just because of one little defeat.”
    Jeremiah chewed and swallowed. “No, I don’t ‘spect you would. But we gotta figger out what we’re gonna do in the meantime. How we gonna get enough.”
    Charity was silent. Jeremiah didn’t know quite how to take that, but he’d been around enough women to know to keep his mouth shut while she worked things out.
    The sun was almost set when she finally spoke again. “How about California?” she asked as she pushed herself to her feet.
    “Callyfernya? Why you wanna go there?” Jeremiah shoved himself up onto his elbows and looked up at her. Charity’s face seemed less ashen in the rapidly fading light and he could almost pretend she was normal.
    The young woman’s lips pulled into a tight frown as she thought for a few more moments. “Well, it’s a lot less populated than any place back east, but it’s still a thriving area. New settlers arrive every day looking for gold, so there will be a fresh supply for awhile. At least long enough to build up a decent army. Then we can work our way back to New York. Plus,