Jan Hudson - The Rebel

Gabe made a step of his hands.

“I can check my own stirrups, and I don’t need a boost.” Belle climbed into the saddle in one easy motion. “They’re fine.”

“Good. The ground is rocky around here, so stick to the paths,” Gabe said as he mounted.

They rode at a granny pace for ten or fifteen minutes—until Belle couldn’t stand it anymore. She resettled the red hat on her head, yelled, “Race you!” and took off like greased lightning.

She glanced over her shoulder to find that Gabe was gaining fast. The mare wasn’t a match for the big brute he rode, so she slowed, then pulled up.

“What the hell are you doing?” Gabe shouted when he stopped beside her and grabbed the reins.

Her eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”

“You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“On a horse? I don’t think so. With equal mounts, I could ride bareback and beat you any day of the week.”

He glared at her for a minute, then his expression softened and morphed into a grin. “You probably could.”

Dear Reader,

When I wrote the first three books about the Outlaw family of Naconiche, a fictitious small town in the Piney Woods of East Texas, I hadn’t planned to write more about them. Folks seemed to enjoy the stories of the three older brothers who were all named for famous outlaws and all in law enforcement—J. J. (Jesse James) Outlaw in The Sheriff, Frank James Outlaw in The Judge, and Cole Younger Outlaw in The Cop—and I received lots of e-mail urging me to give the other two siblings, Belle Starr Outlaw and Sam Bass Outlaw, books of their own. I listened. This is Belle’s book.

Belle, the only female among four brothers, was determined to succeed in law enforcement as well, so she aimed high and became an FBI agent. After a lot of soul searching, Belle rebelled against tradition and left the FBI. She married a Colorado rancher at the end of The Cop, but things went sour quickly. She heads back to Texas to find a new life and ends up in Wimberley, a picturesque little town in central Texas, where she meets her fate among another group of characters as colorful as those in Naconiche—and an angel of a hero. Wimberley is a real town, and you can check it out on the Web. They have real market days there as I’ve described, but if you go looking for the businesses and characters I write about, you won’t find them in Wimberley. They’re all figments of my active imagination. I hope you enjoy Belle’s story.

To love and laughter!

Jan Hudson

The Rebel

Jan Hudson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Jan Hudson, a former college psychology teacher, is a RITA® Award-winning author of thirty books, a crackerjack hypnotist, a dream expert, a blue-ribbon flower arranger and a fairly decent bridge player. Her most memorable experience was riding a camel to visit the Sphinx and climbing the Great Pyramid in Egypt. A native Texan whose ancestors settled in Nacogdoches when Texas was a republic, she loves to write about the variety of colorful characters who populate the Lone Star State, unique individuals who celebrate life with a “howdy” and “y’all come.” Jan and her husband currently reside in Austin, and she loves to hear from readers. E-mail her at JanHudsonBooks@gmail.com.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

1017—THE SHERIFF*

1021—THE JUDGE*

1025—THE COP*

SILHOUETTE DESIRE

1035—IN ROARED FLINT

1071—ONE TICKET TO TEXAS

1229—PLAIN JANE’S TEXAN

1425—WILD ABOUT A TEXAN

1432—HER TEXAS TYCOON

For the members of Austin RWA and my fabulous editor, Kathleen Scheibling

With special thanks to the Pattersons for their help, and to Kit Frazier, who saved my bacon, I dedicate a special sugar dance.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Exhausted from battling the blowing snow of a late winter storm, Belle Outlaw knew that she couldn’t make it another mile. The skies had been clear when she left Colorado, but the weather had turned nasty. She’d hoped to make it to Texas but was now desperate to find a place to stop for the rest of the night. When she spotted a flickering motel sign ahead, she knew her prayers had been answered. Pulling the U-Haul trailer into the portico by the office, she stumbled out of her SUV and rented a room from the sleepy desk clerk.

“Bad out tonight,” he said as he handed her the key to unit ten.

She only nodded.

Somehow Belle managed to drive to a place near the door of her assigned room, lock her SUV and make it inside. She didn’t even try to bring in her overnight bag. It was well below freezing outside, but she was burning up. Fever, she knew. With her luck she’d probably die alone in some ratty motel room in the middle of nowhere, and the maid would find her when she came to clean the room.

She ought to call somebody—but who? She didn’t want her parents to worry about her, and her older brothers had families and didn’t need to come charging to her rescue. That left Sam, her baby brother. Sam Outlaw, the Texas Ranger. Texas Rangers could handle anything.

It took three tries before she managed to correctly dial Sam’s number—and four rings before he answered.

“Oh, Sam. Thank God you’re home.”

“Belle? Is that you? Where the hell else would I be? Do you know what time it is?”

“I give up.”

“It’s one o’clock in the morning.”

“Sorry, Sam. Sorry. I need help. Come get me.”

“Belle, have you been drinking? Where are you?”

“Only coffee. I don’t know. A motel somewhere in New Mexico, I think. Or maybe I made it to Texas. I tried.”

“Where’s Matt?”

“Matt who?”

“Matt, your husband.”

“I have no husband,” Belle said. “Come get me, Sam. I think I’m dying.”

“Belle, hon—”

The phone went dead. She let it drop, fell back on the bed and wrapped the spread around her like swaddling.

“GABE, GABE, WAKE UP!”

Gabe Burrell opened one eye. Where was he? Oh, yeah, Sam’s lake house. “It can’t be time to get up yet, Sam. I just got to sleep.”

“Listen, we’ll have to cancel our fishing trip. I think my sister’s sick and I have to get to her pronto.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Damned if I know. She was talking crazy. But if Belle asked for help it has to be bad.”

Gabe threw back the covers and grabbed his pants. “I’ll go with you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. I traced the number to a little motel in a place that’s a grease spot on the map near Dalhart in the panhandle, but now the phones are out in that area. I think there’s a municipal airport nearby.”