The Bounty Hunter and the Heiress by Carol Finch Page A

himself negligently in the doorway.
    The driver looked two sheets to the wind with his glassy eyes and slouched stance. It was no small wonder that stagecoaches occasionally overturned during trips. A besotted driver made matters worse while negotiating rough roads. Six months earlier, he’d heard that the stagecoach from El Paso to Santa Fe had overturned three times. He wondered if George Knott had been driving it.
    Raven recalled the injuries Eva had sustained thus far then he muttered under his breath, “Hell and damnation.”
    He surged to his feet and made a beeline toward George. “If this stagecoach lands upside down during the next leg of the journey I’m coming after you, Knott,” Raven growled as he halted in front of the inebriated driver. George’s eyes widened as Raven bore down on him. “I don’t make idle threats. That’s a promise, guaran-damn-teed.”
    George straightened to let Raven pass through the door.
    â€œI’m grabbing my saddle and luggage and I’m leaving,” Raven called over his shoulder.
    â€œGood. Maybe that bushwhacker will leave us be if you aren’t on the stagecoach,” George mumbled when Raven was a safe distance away.
    Glancing around, Raven tried to locate Eva. Using the horses and coach as a shield—just in case—he stepped up to grab his belongings from the cargo compartment. Reluctantly he dug around until he found Eva’s two bulging satchels.
    â€œI must be out of my mind,” he muttered as he carried the luggage to a nearby tree then dropped them at his feet.
    â€œBoard the stage!” George shouted as he wobbled outside.
    Raven saw Eva emerge from the underbrush. Apparently, she had hiked down to the stream because her face looked freshly scrubbed and her glorious mane of auburn hair tumbled loosely over her shoulders and down her back. When she heard George’s slurred summons, she broke into a run, her flaming hair flying out behind her. She squawked when Raven stepped from the shadows to snag her arm unexpectedly.
    â€œYou’re coming with me,” he said, silently castigating himself for being a hypocrite.
    Her long lashes swept up and she focused those luminous brown eyes on him. “I am? I thought—”
    â€œChanged my mind.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause I’m crazy about you, of course. One day with you and I want you for life,” he said caustically.
    She scoffed at his insincere tone. “Sure you do, Jo-Dan.”
    He bared his teeth. “I told you not to call me that.”
    â€œYou coming or not, Mrs. Raven?” George called to her.
    â€œShe’s with me,” Raven answered for her as he crammed her damaged hat in her satchel. “We’re married, aren’t we?”
    As the coach clattered away Eva flashed him a radiant smile. “Thank you, Raven. You really are a sweetheart. You won’t regret taking this assignment.”
    â€œWhoa, honey,” he said quickly. “I didn’t say anything about taking the case. You can spend a few days at my cabin then I’ll bring you down the mountain to catch the stage.”
    â€œNow wait just a blessed minute!” she protested hotly. “If you aren’t going to help me then I need to be on that stage!” She waved her arms wildly, trying to gain the driver’s attention but George had picked up speed and didn’t look back. Furious, she wheeled on Raven. “Damn you! You purposely misled me. That was a cheap trick!”
    â€œSort of like pretending we’re married?” he mocked.
    If looks could kill Raven was sure he would have been pushing up daisies. Having survived the murderous glare—just barely—he scooped up his saddle and rifle and walked off.
    â€œGordon Carter has nothing on you. You’re a conniving rascal, Jo-Dan,” she spluttered at him.
    â€œI prefer to think of myself as crafty.” He stared pointedly at