Callahan's Gold (Southwest Desert Series Book 3) by Mary Tate Engels Read Free Book Online Page B

loomed another range of blue purple mountains. To the west, the Huachuca Mountains; to the south, the Mules; behind them to the east, the Dragoons. Dodge stopped a couple of times to show her abandoned gold mines, now fenced off to protect the public.
    He ambled frighteningly close to the open pits, standing with legs widespread. "Glory holes, they're called. Gold seekers thought these mines would bring them absolute happiness. Many lost their lives instead."
    "Like Sharkey," Tory nodded solemnly. "Some of them look like simple holes in the ground, made by some animal, not a gold mine."
    "They're deceiving. The wooden structures have all rotted away over the years. Each hole usually leads to a labyrinth of tunnels deep into the earth. That's why they're so dangerous. Many an unsuspecting hiker has fallen to a horrible death by plunging down ten to a hundred feet. The government now requires fencing abandoned mines."
    "Well, the place looks deceivingly barren and empty," Tory commented as she noticed the gathering of dark clouds in the distance.
    "Monsoons," Dodge commented. "The heat draws moisture up from Mexico and gives us much-needed rain this time of year."
    "Well, at least the heat's good for something," Tory mumbled as she wiped a strip of moisture beads from her brow.
    They stopped again, this time to inspect a time-ravaged adobe structure used by miners seeking that elusive gold.
    "This cabin was built over a hundred years ago by a German mining engineer named Brunckow. He used this very fireplace to assay his ore before Tombstone was a town. But old Brunckow never got to enjoy his wealth because he and his men were murdered right here on this spot."
    "Murdered here?" Tory looked around as if to find some clue to the crime. There was nothing, just the wind whistling through vacant window frames.
    "It's rumored that as many as seventeen men were killed on this property over the years. That's why Brunckow's cabin is known as the bloodiest cabin massacre in Arizona. But the mine here produced enough gold to sustain and encourage those determined miners who came after him."
    Tory looked at the worn walls of the forlorn building, and a chill ran through her. "Are you trying to scare me off, Dodge?"
    "Not at all, Tory. But I want you to realize that this may be a dangerous mission into the mountains. When word gets around that there's gold to be found, you never know what can happen. It's just a fact, proved by history."
    "I don't scare easily, Dodge."
    "Good. Because only those who were determined enough to rough it out found their treasure."
    "If it's there, I expect we'll find it."
    He caught her eye. "You don't really think it's there, do you?"
    "Not really," Tory admitted as she let her fingers trail over the gritty adobe bricks. "But I'm willing to go along with the game, just in case."
    "Damn!" he muttered. "Craziest thing I've ever heard. This trip up the mountain won't be a picnic, Tory. I'll be hanged if I'd bother with it if I didn't know—for certain—there was gold waiting for me!"
    "And you know for certain there's gold?"
    He looked at her coolly for a moment. "Yes ... I know it."
    She gave him a smooth, easy smile. "Well, your confidence is enough for me, Dodge. Shall we go?"
    He followed her to the Blazer, studying the young woman who was the offspring of Sharkey Carsen. Obviously, Tory Carsen Talbot had a mind of her own and was quite determined and opinionated. Like her father.
    He had to give her credit for having enough spunk to leave her familiar life and travel to this godforsaken place. It seemed strange, though, that on something as important—and possibly dangerous—as trekking up the mountain after gold, she was willing to defer to him. She claimed she didn't believe there was any gold. But, Dodge wondered, maybe that's what she wanted him to believe.
    At any rate, all this only made him want to know more about her.
    Later that afternoon, loaded with enough jeans, shirts, and jackets to keep