Mountain Splendor: Long Hope Mountain Gal

Mountain Splendor: Long Hope Mountain Gal

Mountain Splendor: Long Hope Mountain Gal, (Peggyâ€™s 6th novel, a mountain western), 88,465 words, 290 pages (paperback)

Ramona pretends to be a man to get her dead husband's next job assignment, guiding a group of Northerners touring the Appalachian Mountains.

Excerpt from page 10:

He watched me from the corner of his eyes as I dismounted and walked up to him.
â€œYou Barlow?â€ I had a naturally deep voice for a woman. Husky some called it, but I tried to make it sound more manly.
He nodded, looked at my horse and then at my clothes, all a trademark of Jake Triplet.
â€œWhereâ€™s Jake?â€
â€œDead,â€ I answered, and saw a faint flicker of surprise pass over his face. I took it to mean he was calculating the loss of money as well as desperation in finding a new guide before morning.
â€œWho are you?â€
â€œHis kin. I come to take his place.â€
â€œTake Jake Tripletâ€™s place?â€ he said the words like he was trying to understand them
â€œYeah,â€ I said. â€œTake his place.â€
â€œYou any good?â€
â€œHalf as good as Jake, thrice as dependable.â€
He frowned. â€œYou know the land?â€
â€œWouldnâ€™t be here if I didnâ€™t.â€
â€œYou can shoot?â€
I nodded.
â€œFight?â€
â€œSome. Never had the need, often.â€
â€œYouâ€™re young. Not even peach fuzz on your chin, but then Jake didnâ€™t have much either. Reckon Indians arenâ€™t hairy. You part Indian?â€
I said nothing as I watched his face. I needed money, and he needed a guide. Besides, if he didnâ€™t take me on, he had lost his down payment to Jake, and heâ€™d have to find somebody else on short notice.
He was thinking like I was thinking.
â€œDonâ€™t reckon I have a choice but to send you. If I had a choice, I wouldnâ€™t.â€
I didnâ€™t like him saying that, and I wanted him to know it. â€œIâ€™m betterâ€™n Jake.â€
â€œYouâ€™re better than nothing, hopefully. Iâ€™ll pay you at the end of the trip. Let you prove yourself first. Iâ€™m not throwing my money away at a snotty nose kid thatâ€™s all mouth and no do.â€
What he said made me hot under the collar, but I wasnâ€™t going to let him rile me. Jake always said a mad man had lost his control. I shook my head. â€œYou pay me half at the start. Give one of the men the other half to pay me at the end. Tell him if he tries to cheat or not pay me, heâ€™ll be regretting it while his blood leaks into the ground.â€
â€œNope. At the end.â€
I turned my back to him, took the horseâ€™s reins and swung into the saddle.
â€œWhoa up,â€ he hollered as I rode off.
I stopped and let him catch up to me on foot.
â€œLetâ€™s talk about this.â€ He sounded wheedling, and I didnâ€™t like that. I liked a man to talk out right.
â€œI donâ€™t play games,â€ I said, and saw respect flicker in his eyes. â€œHalf in the beginning and half at the end or Iâ€™m gone from here.â€
He quoted a price. I shook my head. â€œSame as you were going to pay Jake.â€
â€œHow do you know what Jake was to be paid?â€
â€œHe told me.â€
I saw hesitancy in his face and knew he was a business man that valued his dollar greatly.
â€œYouâ€™d better be good.â€ His voice was hard-edged. â€œJake worked for me a long time to get that amount.â€
He didnâ€™t have to tell me how long Jake had worked for him. I knew. â€œIâ€™m good,â€ I told him and knew I wasnâ€™t lying.
â€œHow did he die? Ambushed?â€
â€œHorse killed him.â€ He didnâ€™t need to know details.
â€œThat one?â€
â€œNo.â€
He turned to the sale-lot of horses. â€œPick out the two best horses in there.â€
I looked down into his eyes. I didnâ€™t like him testing me, but I understood. I rode to the lot, whistled and watched as the horses moved about, kicking up the smell of fresh manure.
â€œThe buckskin gelding, the sorrel mare.â€
â€œWhy?â€
â€œThe buckskin is muscled, tough, and donâ€™t spook at anything. The mare is a mite timid, but alert and willing to please. The buckskin will do the job, but the mare will bust her heart for you.â€
â€œWhich one would you take?â€
â€œBuckskin.â€
â€œWhy?â€
â€œHeâ€™ll do the job and nothing more.â€
He laughed. â€œWhatâ€™s your name?â€
â€œRa Triplet,â€ I told him the truth. I was Ramona, but had been called Ra since I had my memory about me.
â€œBe here at six oâ€™clock in the morning.â€
Country USA
Manufacturer Moody Valley
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2006-01-29
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Moody Valley
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2006-01-29
Format	Kindle eBook

Mountain Splendor: Long Hope Mountain Gal

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