Runaway Read Free Page A

said nothing as he joined his friend at the bar and ordered a whiskey. The trek to find Mose had been long and hard, but it had been worth it. He took a deep drink of the potent liquor and wondered if he could go back to ranching after all that had happened.

Chapter One
    Three Years Later
Black Rock, Texas
    It was late on a hot summer night, and the mood was wild in the Tumbleweed Saloon. The notorious outlaw Dan Cooper and his gang had ridden into town earlier that afternoon. They’d robbed a stagecoach the week before and had gotten clean away. They’d come to Black Rock looking for a good time, and they’d found it there at the Tumbleweed. They had been drinking and gambling and enjoying the company of the buxom saloon girls, who were eager to please the free-spending outlaws.
    It wasn’t often that Dan and his men could relax and let their guard down this way, but in Black Rock the sheriff, Hal Brown, was a known coward. They’d had a few run-ins with him in the past, and he’d learned to make himself scarce whenever the Cooper Gang showed up.
    Dan Cooper wasn’t a big man, but there was an edge of danger about him—about the way he held himself and the way he wore his gun—that made him an imposing figure as he sat at the table, drinking his whiskey and playing poker.
    The red-haired saloon girl Lila wasn’t afraid of Dan, though. She’d been with him in the past and couldn’t wait to get him upstairs again.
    “What do you think, Big Dan?” Lila purred enticingly as she came to stand close beside him. “You gonna win this hand and come upstairs with me? I’m tired of waiting.”
    Dan was well aware that Lila was very talented at pleasing a man. He’d partaken of her services many times before during visits to the Tumbleweed, and he enjoyed being with her, but right then he had to concentrate on playing out his hand. “You bet I am. Just stay right here with me and bring me some good luck.”
    “You know I will,” she whispered seductively.
    Dan turned his full attention back to the poker game, taking care to keep his expression carefully guarded as he studied the cards he held in his hand. This had been a good night for him. The winnings piled high on the table before him were proof of that, and he was certain his luck was only going to get better. Lifting his gaze, he looked over at the two men sitting at the table with him and saw their tense expressions. Dan smiled to himself, for he knew they wouldn’t be sitting there much longer—not with the hand he was holding now.
    “I’ll raise you,” he said in a calm, even tone, determined to take them for all he could. He enjoyed the look of shock on the other gamblers’ faces when he pushed all of his cash to the center of the table.
    “What—?” Will Taylor, the local blacksmith, was angry.
    “You heard me,” Dan said arrogantly.
    Even though he had two pairs, Will knew there was no way he could match Dan’s bet. Barely controlling his disgust at losing all his money, he threw in his hand and shoved his chair back away from the table. “I’m out.”
    Dan turned to Chuck Davis. He didn’t know Chuck well. They’d just met for the first time that day. Chuck was just passing through town and had come in for a drink, then ended up in the game.
    “What about you?” Dan asked.
    Chuck kept his cards close to his chest as he looked over at Dan. He’d always considered himself a good poker player, but it was hard for him to tell if the other man was bluffing or not. Chuck glanced back down at the three nines he’d been dealt and believed he held the winning hand. He counted out what money he had left in front of him and then looked up again to meet Dan’s cold-eyed stare. “I’m low on cash, but I can bet my ranch.”
    “How big a ranch you got?” he challenged.
    “The Circle D is big enough to match your bet,” he replied firmly. He knew better than to show any sign of weakness around a man like Dan Cooper.
    “Where is this ranch of