The Guardian (The Fast Gun Series Book 13)

A Western Adventure of Danger, Silver, and Survival

Clay Boone has survived the Civil War, fought on the American frontier, and earned his reputation as a fearless gunfighter. But when he meets Helen Carter, a determined young woman traveling west to claim her inherited ranch in Arizona’s San Pedro Valley, his life takes an unexpected turn.

Helen dreams of a fresh start, unaware that ruthless Jace Cross has discovered silver on her land and will stop at nothing to take it. With her life in danger, Clay becomes her protector, drawing on years of experience as a soldier, marshal, and army scout to keep her alive. As deadly enemies close in, the hardened loner discovers something he never expected: someone worth risking everything for.

The Guardian, Book 13 in The Fast Gun Series, is an action-packed Western novel filled with frontier danger, ruthless outlaws, fast guns, and unexpected romance.

Ride alongside Clay Boone in The Guardian and discover whether the West’s deadliest challenges will finally bring this legendary loner to his last stand.

Excerpt from the book

Clay Boone leaned casually against the wall of the Apache Pass Stage Station and watched the stagecoach roll in. The station was a heavily fortified stone building. It was positioned near Fort Bowie to protect travelers navigating the narrow mountain pass. Frequent Apache attacks had deterred settlers from traveling to the new lands and the army had launched a campaign three years ago that was largely successful. Now most of the resisting Apache groups were being relocated to reservations, but the threat still remained. Chiricahua Apache bands were hiding out in the Dragoon Mountains and they still came out to conduct raids before disappearing again.

The campaign had been led by General Crook and Clay Boone had been an army scout. He was just returning from Fort Bowie where he had delivered some dispatches. He was no longer an army scout and he was contemplating his next move. He knew the men at the Station and he had eaten a good meal that wouldn’t be served to the stagecoach passengers. The stage rolled in, and the driver, Abe Kelsey, pulled up in his usual dramatic style sending up a cloud of dry dust. He banged on the coach top and bellowed, “Everyone out! Twenty minutes to wash up and eat some food. No delays, folks! This stage always runs on time.”

There were two men on the roof and they clambered down quickly. The doors of the coach opened and Clay counted nine passengers. The first seven were men and the last man turned to assist two women to step down. One woman was a buxom blonde in her early forties and Clay knew her. She was known as Two-Gun Dolly, because she carried a hidden gun strapped to her right thigh and another in the large bag she always carried. She could access the gun on her thigh through a slit in her dress that looked like a pocket. She had been the Madam in a mining town in Colorado when Clay was the town Marshal and he had known her before that as well.

The last passenger was also a woman, but even the dust and grime that one accumulated by stagecoach travel could not hide her beauty. Clay figured her to be in her mid-twenties, and she was five feet nine inches tall with blond hair under a sunbonnet. She had an oval face with sparkling blue eyes and a dimple in her right cheek. She glanced at Clay and their eyes held for a few seconds. Two-Gun Dolly glanced around, saw Clay, and whispered something to the young woman before they went into the station. A minute later, three men came out of the station and they walked fast to their horses. They stepped into their saddles and rode off at the gallop.