Read Online A Woman Called Sage by DiAnn Mills - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: DiAnn Mills
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brother-in-law and an uncle. Too often his role brought him to Frank and Leahs doorstep to help John with work on the ranch. Now Parker simply felt an obligation to his brothers widow to do all he could to help her in her plight.
My minds wandering when I have more important things to do.
Parker wished he knew what the McCaws wanted. For sure a swap lay ahead. Since Aiden hadnt indicated what to bring, the exchange had to be some kind of information. But what? A chest full of gold made more sense than this. If Aiden merely wanted Sage and him dead, then hed have taken care of Parker the previous night and killed Sage while she was in the mountains on his trail.
Lord, looks like were riding into a death trap with no choice in the matter. And hed be riding with a woman. God knew how he felt about a female slowing him down. Most women couldnt take the rugged mountains. Take his mother, for example. After Parker and Franks father died, their mama tried living in Colorado. But when the weather dropped below freezing and stayed there, she caught the next train back to Virginia. And even Leah had stayed in Rocky Falls only because of Frank.
Then again, Sage Morrow didnt strike him as most women. Sage wasnt a delicate creature whod be a burden. She was strong and resourceful. It amazed him that shed survived the many times shed set out to bring in a wanted man. She set foot in areas that most women shuddered at the thought of. Those were tales, but Parker now believed they held a lot of truth. The image of the defenseless woman who needed a man to protect her ended when he met Sage Morrow.
Glancing out the window to where the sunset streaked across the horizon in slowly deepening orange tones, Parker realized he had to make himself get out of bed. Only a fool would wait till morning to try to move. He breathed in and out several times to brace himself for the pain ahead. But he had to tolerate the agony in order to build up his strength. He gritted his teeth and sat up. Tears filled his eyes, and they had nothing to do with his family. Reaching over to grab the back of a chair, he forced himself to stand. One step at a time. He could do it. He had to.
T EN
D arkness shrouded the hotel room as Sage allowed the events of the day to wash over her. For certain she wanted to leave in the morning before sunrisewithout Parker. He needed to mend instead of chase his nephews and the outlaws. In the shape he was in, hed get them both killed. Shed deal with the snakes of the McCaw gang in her own way.
Bess, the woman who worked the registration desk of the hotel and saloon and who had invited Sage to eat with her, had given Sage directions to Leahs ranch. From there shed follow the Mc-Caws trail. Finding those children was her priority. Once those boys were safe, shed deal with Aiden and whatever he wanted. The hours spent running down the gang would provide time to figure out what the outlaw alluded toand if Charles had been involved with the wrong people. The thought of her husband riding with outlaws sliced through her heart. Surely it couldnt be truebut the suspicions stacked against him. Perhaps learning the truth now equaled finding his killers.
The sorrow in Leahs eyes haunted her. Enough problems faced children growing into adults without outlaws using them for target practiceand the McCaws would do that very thing. Sages parents had lost five children before her birth, and they still grieved each small body. The time had come to pay Mama and Papa a visit, and she would do so after business ended in Rocky Falls. Long ago shed forgiven them for not liking Charles; they all needed each other. Would they recognize their daughterin the bounty hunter? Theyd worked so hard to calm her wildness and mold her into a white woman. Mama, with all of her Ute blood, believed the ways of the white man were the ways of the future. She taught Sage about her Indian heritage, and Papa taught her about the white. But always the emphasis was on
My minds wandering when I have more important things to do.
Parker wished he knew what the McCaws wanted. For sure a swap lay ahead. Since Aiden hadnt indicated what to bring, the exchange had to be some kind of information. But what? A chest full of gold made more sense than this. If Aiden merely wanted Sage and him dead, then hed have taken care of Parker the previous night and killed Sage while she was in the mountains on his trail.
Lord, looks like were riding into a death trap with no choice in the matter. And hed be riding with a woman. God knew how he felt about a female slowing him down. Most women couldnt take the rugged mountains. Take his mother, for example. After Parker and Franks father died, their mama tried living in Colorado. But when the weather dropped below freezing and stayed there, she caught the next train back to Virginia. And even Leah had stayed in Rocky Falls only because of Frank.
Then again, Sage Morrow didnt strike him as most women. Sage wasnt a delicate creature whod be a burden. She was strong and resourceful. It amazed him that shed survived the many times shed set out to bring in a wanted man. She set foot in areas that most women shuddered at the thought of. Those were tales, but Parker now believed they held a lot of truth. The image of the defenseless woman who needed a man to protect her ended when he met Sage Morrow.
Glancing out the window to where the sunset streaked across the horizon in slowly deepening orange tones, Parker realized he had to make himself get out of bed. Only a fool would wait till morning to try to move. He breathed in and out several times to brace himself for the pain ahead. But he had to tolerate the agony in order to build up his strength. He gritted his teeth and sat up. Tears filled his eyes, and they had nothing to do with his family. Reaching over to grab the back of a chair, he forced himself to stand. One step at a time. He could do it. He had to.
T EN
D arkness shrouded the hotel room as Sage allowed the events of the day to wash over her. For certain she wanted to leave in the morning before sunrisewithout Parker. He needed to mend instead of chase his nephews and the outlaws. In the shape he was in, hed get them both killed. Shed deal with the snakes of the McCaw gang in her own way.
Bess, the woman who worked the registration desk of the hotel and saloon and who had invited Sage to eat with her, had given Sage directions to Leahs ranch. From there shed follow the Mc-Caws trail. Finding those children was her priority. Once those boys were safe, shed deal with Aiden and whatever he wanted. The hours spent running down the gang would provide time to figure out what the outlaw alluded toand if Charles had been involved with the wrong people. The thought of her husband riding with outlaws sliced through her heart. Surely it couldnt be truebut the suspicions stacked against him. Perhaps learning the truth now equaled finding his killers.
The sorrow in Leahs eyes haunted her. Enough problems faced children growing into adults without outlaws using them for target practiceand the McCaws would do that very thing. Sages parents had lost five children before her birth, and they still grieved each small body. The time had come to pay Mama and Papa a visit, and she would do so after business ended in Rocky Falls. Long ago shed forgiven them for not liking Charles; they all needed each other. Would they recognize their daughterin the bounty hunter? Theyd worked so hard to calm her wildness and mold her into a white woman. Mama, with all of her Ute blood, believed the ways of the white man were the ways of the future. She taught Sage about her Indian heritage, and Papa taught her about the white. But always the emphasis was on
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