“Climb up and let me check your stirrups.”

      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