Those Jensen Boys! by William W. Johnstone

ought to take an interest in.”
    â€œNo way to prove it,” Corcoran said glumly. “And when you’re talking about crooked lawmen like Claude Wheeler or incompetent ones like Jed Kaiser over in Bleak Creek . . . well, it doesn’t take long to realize you can’t count on the law for much of anything around here.”
    Emily said, “Maybe not, but we can’t just give up, Pa. This stage line is your dream. We have to keep fighting for it.”
    Corcoran’s head jerked up and his eyes blazed with anger. “We Corcorans have never given up,” he snapped. “We’ve always been fighters, ever since we came over from the ould sod. But now—” The momentary anger seemed to go out of him, leaving him deflated again. “Now that it may cost you girls your lives, it’s just not worth it anymore.”
    â€œYou can’t think of it like that, Pa,” Bess said. “Emily and I know what the risks are. You know we’ve always been willing to help. That’s why we volunteered to take the run to Bleak Creek.”
    â€œIt’s not a matter of whether or not you’re willing,” Corcoran insisted. “I won’t stand by and watch the two of you get hurt.” He nodded slowly but decisively as if his mind were made up. “Sam Eagleton gets what he wants. I’ll go see him tomorrow and find out if he’s still willing to buy the line. Chances are he won’t pay as much as he offered before, but I don’t care about that anymore.”
    Bess and Emily stared at him as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Bess looked like she was about to cry, and Emily seemed to be on the verge of exploding in anger.
    Ace and Chance looked at each other. Chance nodded, and Ace said, “Hold on a minute, Mr. Corcoran. I know you don’t want your daughters risking their lives taking the stagecoach through anymore . . . but how do you feel about Chance and me giving it a try?”
    The two young women looked at him in surprise, but Corcoran frowned and asked, “Are you saying you and your brother want to work for me, lad?”
    â€œYou need a driver and a guard,” Chance said. “There are two of us.”
    â€œHave either of you ever actually driven a stagecoach?”
    â€œWell, no,” Ace admitted. “But if—” He stopped as Bess glared at him.
    â€œBut if what? If a girl can do it? Is that what you were about to say, Ace?”
    To tell the truth, it was, but he wasn’t going to confess that, not with Bess staring daggers at him. “No, what I was about to say was that if Bess could give me a few pointers, I’ll bet I could do it.”
    â€œAnd I know how to use a shotgun just fine, so no problems there,” Chance added.
    Bess said, “Handling a team isn’t easy, especially on a road like the one leading down from Timberline Pass.”
    The thought of taking a stagecoach down that zigzag road high above the valley was enough to make him nervous, but he said, “I’m willing to give it a try.”
    Corcoran scratched his bearded jaw. “Let me think it over. The next run isn’t scheduled for a couple days. That gives us some time.”
    Emily said, “I think it’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. You won’t let us do it, your own daughters, but you’ll trust the future of the line to a couple complete strangers?”
    â€œAh, but they’re not strangers,” Corcoran pointed out. “You and Bess know them. And there’s one more advantage to hiring them.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” Bess asked.
    â€œWhen Eagleton has them killed, I’ll be mighty sorry . . . but it won’t break my heart like it would if it was you two girls.”
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    Joe Buckhorn had told Corcoran that the boss had turned in for the night. It was a convenient fiction. Rose Demarcus hadn’t come down yet from