Gunslinger Bruno Turnbull has always lived by his wits. A man driven by the dream of owning a ranch, Bruno is led to the boomtowns of the West, where he quickly learns that he must either stay tough or die. But just as he saves enough money to buy a ranch, his dream is stolen. Now he needs a new plan. Unfortunately, it comes with a hefty price. With a reputation as the fastest gun in town, Bruno has gained the respect of the lawless element in the gold camp. When those skills bring him the chance for quick-but not quite legal-money, Bruno initially turns it down. But with the temptation of easy money dangling in front of his nose, Bruno must decide if is willing to trade honesty for his dream-just as he meets the spirited Kitty Duncan. He secretly wonders if she's the one for him; before he has a chance to answer his own question, however, Bruno is led down a dangerous path where he soon discovers his destiny has been changed forever. In this inspirational western tale, only time will tell if both Bruno and Kitty will embrace the faith-filled journey offered to them by several strangers and transform their lives for good.

GUNS OF THE HEART

When a Gun is Not EnoughBy Kermit L. Krueger

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Kermit L. Krueger
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-8483-0

Chapter One

The rider paused at the top of the grade to survey the land before him. It had been a long ride and his destination was very close. It had been weeks since he had left Bodie, but Bruno Turnbull was not a man to be easily turned from his purpose. For the past weeks he had lived on hatred and the man he sought would soon be his.

A soft wind moved the boughs of the trees as he started down the grade. The rock-strewn trail was difficult and the horse stumbled, but quickly regained his footing. Reaching down, the man patted the animal on the neck. "Easy Hawk, it won't be much further and you will get your rest. God knows you've earned it."

Bravely the horse gathered himself and moved forward. Bruno had been fortunate to find such a game animal; in the two years he had owned Hawk the horse had proven his courage many times. He had won the horse in a poker game that had nearly cost him his life when the Hawk's former owner had accused Bruno of cheating. Life in Bodie had been tough from the day he had come to that town; in the two years he had lived there he had worked himself up from a hand in the mines to a mule skinner and finally to the job of bouncer in the Lucky Boy Saloon.

Born in New York, Bruno had been raised by an alcoholic father and an abused mother. Life had been `Hell on earth' from his earliest memories and there were times that he had wished he had never been born. When a man is addicted to the bottle it becomes a family member and it takes over the time that belongs to the children. As a result, the chance to know what a loving father was like had been stolen from him. Money was often in short supply, so to make up the difference his mother had taken a job scrubbing the floors in an office building that was close to their home. As a result Bruno found himself alone and neglected much of the time and he wished there was some way he could rescue her from the trap they were in. When he was 12 Bruno pleaded with her to leave with him so they could find a new life that would be free of overwork and neglect. It broke his heart to see the pain in her eyes when she struggled to explain that she had a duty to stay by her husband's side. In spite of his best efforts to change her mind, she resolved to stick it out. Finally, in desperation, he gave up. Against his mother's wishes, he quit school and began looking for a job. The opportunities for a young man in the city were very limited; he managed to come by a few small jobs, but the pay had been disappointing. Soon he discovered that breaking into houses and stealing valuables paid much better and he developed a system to know when there was no one at home and the risk of being caught was small.

By the time he turned 15, the strains of a life of overwork and abuse caught up with his mother and after a short illness she died. With her death, all loyalties to his father were severed and the decision was made to strike out on his own. One thing he had learned from his mother was to save money and from his various enterprises he had managed to put away a little savings of his own. His prospects in the city were not improving and the thought of living out his life there was not an option he cared to entertain. He knew it was time to leave. The sooner he could shake the memory of this place from his heart, the better he would like it and a dream had been growing inside of him. Somewhere in the world there was a place where he could be free to follow his dream and build a life for himself. For some time he had been reading stories in the magazines and listening to the tales of how people lived in the West and his heart was drawn to that magical land of excitement and adventure. Great fortunes were being made in the mining camps and cattle industry and the stories he heard told of much free land that was still there for the taking. Living in the city was slowly draining the life from him and he had used up all the patience he could muster. The crowds of people and the shabby tenements that his family had lived in were not the life for him. Now was the time to make his move and if he didn't act now he would become a prisoner of this cramped and regulated life. His mind was made up, it was now or never.

In 1863 he packed his meager belongings and headed west. For several years he had been hearing of the great silver bonanza on the Comstock and how men were getting rich. Following the dream, he soon found himself in Virginia City. For the first weeks in the silver camp he wandered the hills, digging holes and anticipating a great new strike. With no real knowledge of how to prospect or even how to recognize what would be a rich find, his efforts had been in vain. After much effort and frustration he had to admit that his knowledge of prospecting was not going to make him rich. Besides, all the good claims had been taken and if he was going to eat it was time to find a job. He found one in the Shamrock mine and entered a world that was totally foreign to him. The mine was dark and dusty and he was given no quarter because of his youth. Without options, he quickly made the adjustment and a new toughness began to grow in his spirit that was necessary if he was going to survive. The work was backbreaking, but a couple of years of swinging a double jack had built him into a lean, powerful machine.

During that time he had continued to save a little money each week and his stash of gold coins had grown. He knew the future of a miner was not very bright and his dream of a ranch of his own began to grow. Even with free land, it would take a good bit of money to start his own outfit and borrowing the money was out of the question. He would be beholden to no man. No matter how much time it took, he was going to make it on his own. The days of free land would not last forever and he knew his window in time would soon close. He became even more frugal and the pile of golden coins continued to grow. Even though the clock was against him, he was making steady progress and failure was not an option. By 1874, the mines of the Comstock were so deep that the removal of the water had become a real problem. The rich ores had also begun to run out and one by one the mines began to close. With the slowdown the jobs were also disappearing and it was time to look for greener pastures. For years he had been hearing of the rich gold strikes in California, so he saddled Hawk and headed west. For several years he drifted from mining camp to mining camp until he found himself in the booming gold camp of Bodie. With no better place to go, he decided to try his luck there.

The mines at Bodie were much different than the ones he had worked in the other camps. They had been in operation for many years and the shafts were already very deep. Here the rock was much more stable and the square sets that had been used for support in the Comstock were not needed. The working sections of the mine were also very deep and the heat that was produced was unbearable. Bruno found the adjustment hard to make, but the dream of the ranch kept the steel in his resolve and he learned to live with it. It had been hot in the Comstock too, but the winters were not as harsh, making it easier to handle the extreme temperatures. Bodie was further north and the winter winds that blew across the barren flats were much colder. Many miners died from the pneumonia because of the drastic changes in temperature when they left the mines. Bruno had never had a problem with the heat...