the stage driver shouted out, pulling back on the reins. The tired horses came to an abrupt stop in front of the same Wells Fargo stage office where John and Lily’s coach had halted eleven days prior. The stage jerked a couple times, settling in, and Charity heard the driver press the foot brake down with crushing force. “Rio Wells,” he called out sharply. An employee came out and opened the door for Charity and Theodore. “Have any problems between Draper Bottom and here?” “Trouble?” Theodore asked. He’d been the first one out and reached up to assist Charity. “No,” she said, waving Theodore’s hand away and climbing out easily on her own. “Why do you ask?” “Three people were killed not too long ago coming in from the East.” Charity looked around, taking in the dirty-looking street and the hotel across it. Well, that was certainly reason enough to ask. She was glad she hadn’t known that news before, during the hours of solitude out in the badlands. Then when his words registered, she gasped.
