Lew Osteen

The Joshua Trail Lew Osteen

THE JOSHUA TRAIL, the second book in The Joshua Trail Series, begins where SIX NOTCH ROAD left off. Eli Lynne is determined to end his quest for the elusive Jules Joshua despite risking the loss of his wife's love and the good life. With only rumors, tall tales and a string of back shot dead men to guide him, Eli heads to Mexico to see Jules dead and cut the last notch into his gun handle. Meanwhile, Stella begins plotting her revenge for being scorned. She knows she can hire a man to be killed for a bottle of good whiskey. She sets aside $10,000 to see Eli killed and have it done well." ... Eli Llynne had been right all along. Jules Joshua was not dead, he was in Mexico. Jules, as Eli had been, was befriended by the hard rock miners of Hornitos who thought they were rendering assistance to one of their own. Jules could talk mining lingo and they accepted him as a miner who had experienced a bad cave-in. Jules blamed the death of his brothers on "Mexican claim jumpers" and weaved a tall tale about how he had fought them off despite interference from Eli Llynne. Since Eli was unconscious, Jules story went unchallenged - until he robbed and shot the doctor who was attending him ..."" ... The horrors of the potato famine that had caused Stella's family to leave Ireland had permanently warped her soul. She had seen friends and relatives die of starvation and had vowed it would never happen to her. She had endured the terrible Atlantic "coffin ship" passage as a young woman and had known what it was like to huddle in the cold, damp darkness below the decks of the stinking overcrowded ship. She had walked among human excrement and wallowed in vomit. She had endured the vituperative scorn of those who despised her people. Stella had never known what is was like to be a child ..."" ... Jules did not take his eyes off of Maria for a second. He took his new Colt from his belt and lay it on the table in front of him. He pondered where he would place the shots that he would use to kill Juan and have her all to himself. A kill shot was to be last, after bullets tore flesh and broke bone to cries of agony. He shivered with pleasure as he thought of how he would take Maria without the slightest smile of consent. He wanted the spit of hatred to ooze on his cheek, feel her fire-red fingernails tearing at his flesh and have her screams echoing in his ears as he took her in his time and for as many times - as it pleased him ...