Taft Ranch: A Thunder Mountain Novel

by Smith, Dean Wesley

  She took a long cool drink from her canteen, put it back on her bike, then with her hands in the air, started up the road toward the compound. Walking like that told the people watching she knew she was being watched and only wanted to talk.

  At least she hoped that’s what it told them.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres.

  At the moment he produces novels in several major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, a superhero series starring Poker Boy, and a mystery series featuring the retired detectives of the Cold Poker Gang.

  His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.

  During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, he wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.

  He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.

  Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series.

  For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com.

  Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith

  The Thunder Mountain Universe:

  Thunder Mountain

  Monumental Summit

  Avalanche Creek

  The Edwards Mansion

  Lake Roosevelt

  Warm Springs

  Melody Ridge

  Grapevine Springs

  The Idanha Hotel

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  Copyright Information

  The Taft Ranch

  Copyright © 2016 by Dean Wesley Smith

  First published in Smith’s Monthly #33, WMG Publishing, June 2016

  Published by WMG Publishing

  Cover and layout copyright © 2016 by WMG Publishing

  Cover design by Allyson Longueira/ WMG Publishing

  Cover art copyright © Katya Triling/Dreamstime

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Table of Contents

  About this Book

  Dedication

  PART ONE

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  PART TWO

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  PART THREE

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  PART FOUR

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  PART FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  THIRTY-FIVE

  THIRTY-SIX

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  PART SIX

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  THIRTY-NINE

  FORTY

  FORTY-ONE

  STAR MIST teaser

  SECTION ONE

  PROLOGUE

  ONE

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  About the Author

  Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith

  Copyright Information