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Back The Last Mile Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Epigraph
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. EPILOGUE
  49. Teaser chapter

Abby let the comment pass. She didn’t want to tell him she already knew her next move. She was going to Mexico to finish what she had started. She hoped he would go with her—she needed him now more than ever—but either way, she wasn’t quitting.

She was King Farrell’s granddaughter. She wasn’t going to let him down. Or herself. Not after coming this far.

She took a deep breath and walked with Gage back to camp.

They still had to face the sheriff. Then a hard, two-day journey out of the mountains to the second rendezvous point, where Walt would pick them up.

Denver was still days away. Abby couldn’t wait to get there.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AFTER SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES FINISHED WHAT SEEMED HOURS OF ENDLESS questions, they took the three men into custody, the charges ranging from assault with a deadly weapon to attempted armed robbery. Gage and their small band finally set out for home but made little progress before nightfall.

Everyone was edgy after their run-in with Peters and his men, and exhausted from the letdown of not finding the Devil’s Gold. Anxious to get out of the mountains, they rose early the next morning and headed out beneath a brutal sun.

The two-day trek was uneventful, or maybe Abby was just getting used to the harsh terrain and living on packaged dried food. At least no one was shooting at them.

They arrived back at the Cedar Canyon Ranch that afternoon, checked on Smiley, who was recovering nicely, and were happy to learn the other mule had made its way back safely. Mort’s braying, joyful homecoming with his four-legged friend seemed to especially please Gage, who had grown fond of the hardworking animal.

Mae fed them sandwiches and potato salad, and Walt gave them the use of an empty cabin so they could shower and put on clean clothes before they left for the airport.

With an extra few minutes to spare, Abby pulled out her laptop and Googled her grandfather’s friend, Silas Cummings, the guy who had left the treasure box. There was scant information about him, nothing at all on social media. Then his obituary popped up. Silas had died two months ago at the age of eighty-one. He had spent his life as an outfitter and guide in the Superstitions. No mention of any living relatives. But in leaving the box for her, giving her the adventure she had always wanted, he had been a good friend to King.

Abby closed her laptop and hurried out to join Gage for a final farewell to the friends they had made on the ranch. She said a teary goodbye to Kyle and hugged him, holding on long enough for Gage’s dark eyebrows to narrow. But a journey like theirs made for lifelong friends, and she hoped Kyle would be one of them.