“No better way to get acquainted than to be married,” B.W. said.
“I heard that,” Julie said, a big grin on her face. “You must really like those biscuits.”
“Well?” B.W. said, looking at Fannie.
“You’re serious?”
“I am. Time I started my own family.”
Fannie stood there staring at B.W., studying him like it was the first time she ever saw him. “You really mean it?” she asked.
“I do,” B.W. said.
“I must be crazy but I’ll do it,” Fannie said. “I will marry you.”
“And go to California?” B.W. said.
“Yes,” she said, pushed the plate of biscuits over and slid in beside B.W. and they embraced and kissed.
Julie poked Rance in the ribs and pointed toward B.W. and Fannie.
“Okay, as soon as we can find a preacher,” he said.
The sound of hoof beats interrupted the moment and Rance walked over to the closed doors and peeked through the cracks. “We got company and it’s the wrong kind,” Rance said. “It’s that Captain Welch with soldiers and civilians, maybe twenty or more.”
B.W. reached out and picked up his shotgun. “Open the doors,” he said. “We can’t outgun ‘em, but maybe we can scare the hell out of ‘em.”
“Julie, you and Fannie get the kids and get up in the loft,” Rance said. “You too, Tommy.”
Fannie slid out of the wagon and her and Julie gathered up the kids and climbed up in the hay loft, Tommy following.
“Riley, we kind of boxed you into this,” Rance said. “You know this means you got to leave too if we get out of this alive.”
“It’s alright, I ain’t takin’ any more from them,” Riley said. “Better to be dead than a coward.”
Riley and Rance loaded their shotguns, opened the doors and stood by the wagon with B.W. stretched out in the wagon, the barrel of his shotgun on the sideboard pointed toward the doors as Welch and the rest rode up. Welch held up his hand and they all stopped in front of the open doors.
“Came to arrest you for murder,” Welch said.
“The colonel said we were free to go,” Rance said.
“He was called away to Washington. I’m in command till he gets back, and that may be a month, gonna hang you ‘fore then.”
“You’re gonna have to come and get us,” B.W. said and cocked the hammers on the shotgun.
“You think you can hold off all of us?” Welch asked.
“No,” B.W. said. “But I can damn sure kill you first.”
“And while he’s doing that, me and Riley are goin’ to pick out who else goes with him.” Rance said.
“You ready to die, captain?” B.W. said. “Cause I am. We may all have already seen our last good day.”
“You’re crazy,” Welch said.
“Probably,” B.W. said. “Make your play if you’re goin’ to. I’m gettin’ an itchy trigger finger.”
Several of the riders began to move away from Welch and two turned their horses around and galloped away.
“These scatterguns can take a lot of you with us. Better think about that ‘fore you start shootin,’” B.W. said.
“Let ‘em be, captain,” one of the riders said. “I ain’t dyin’ for Travers.”
“Good advice,” Rance said.
Welch sat on his horse real still, looking at the shotgun B.W. had trained on him, sweat popping out on his face. He licked his lips, raised his left arm slowly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Okay,” he said. “No sense anybody dyin’ today. You got till morning to be out of town.”
“Thought you might see it that way,” B.W. said, eyeing Welch, his finger on the triggers of the shotgun.
“Let’s go,” Welch said and they turned their horses around and rode away.
“Could tell he was goin’ to back down by the look in his eyes,” B.W. said.
“What if he didn’t?” Rance asked.
“Guess we all would be dead, including him.”
“I truly believe you could scare the hell out of the devil.”
“Give it a try if I had to,” B.W. said. “Where’s Fannie? I think she said yes.”
“I did,” she said and climbed down from the loft and got back in the wagon with B.W. He laid the shotgun down and picked up a biscuit. “Tommy, do me a favor. Get me a cup of water.”
“Sure,” Tommy said, climbed down from the loft, dipped a cup in the water bucket and took it to B.W.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m getting married. I got to make a fast recovery.”
“Me too,” Rance said, smiling at Julie.
“We got to go to the capital in Austin and file the papers for Tommy’s inheritance of Travers’ property. The colonel gave us a clean bill of health to do it. Wait for an answer,” B.W. said. “ If he gets it, he’s going to be a rich young man. He don’t even owe me a fee for doing it”
“How long will it take,” Rance said.
“Don’t know,” B.W. said. “Rather do it personally so I know it’s officially on file. If he wins he’ll never have to worry ‘bout money again.”
“Do we have to come back to Texas?” Rance said.
“No, just make sure it’s in the works. Don’t think he would want to come back. Too much pain left here. Can sell it for millions.”
“They can send it to the address Julie has in California,” Rance said.
“Good, load me up and head for Austin,” B.W. said.
Rance and Riley loaded B.W. on the wagon and they sat his rocker in beside him. Julie sat Mitchell next to her on the wagon seat. Fannie helped the boys climb up beside Mitchell. They watched Tommy carve his name in the livery stable door. He could write his name now. That was a good start, Rance thought.
Rance took Julie’s Colt and handed it to Tommy.
“You have earned the right to carry this on you,” Rance said. “You know when and how to use it.”
B.W. raised up from the wagon. “You damn sure have,” he said.
“Thank you,” Tommy said and stuck the gun in his belt.
“Take us to Austin, Julie,” B.W. said and Julie snapped the reins. The horses did a stutter step and started pulling the wagon.
Two days later, they arrived in Austin with everything they had. They dropped everyone but B.W. off at the church to get ready for the weddings. Rance and Riley carried B.W. from the wagon in his rocking chair inside the capitol building to the estate office where he filed the papers for the inheritance. They carried him back to the wagon, then from the wagon to the church. They had to sit down in a pew to catch their breath.
“Who the hell needs a horse,” B.W. said, smiling like the Cheshire Cat at Rance and Riley.
They had a double wedding ceremony, Tommy was best man for both. After the wedding, they loaded up the wagon. B.W. had the double-barrel beside him. They tied B.W.’s horse to the back of the wagon. Julie and Fannie took turns reining the wagon. The Riley boys played with Mitchell and kept him entertained. Tommy and Riley rode along each side of the wagon, with Rance riding point as they headed for California, each with thoughts of their next big adventure.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John L. Lansdale was born and raised in east Texas. He is married to the love of his life Mary. They have four children. He is a retired Army reserve psychological operations officer and a combat veteran that served three tours in Vietnam with numerous medals and awards. He is a graduate of a Texas police academy and a state certified peace officer. He is an inventor, country music songwriter, performer and television programmer. He produced the television special “Ladies of Country Music” and several other programs. He goes back to the Sun Record days and was introduced to Elvis Presley by Mary on their first date when Elvis was a seventeen-year-old student at Humes High School in Memphis and a ticket-taker at Loew’s State Theater.
John has produced a variety of albums and music videos for country artists in Nashville along with so
ngs for movies, with one as recently as 2018 titled “Tremble” for an upcoming film. He has hosted his own radio shows and won awards for radio and television commercials. He was a writer and editor for a business newspaper. He has worked as a comic book writer for Tales from the Crypt, IDW, Grave Tales, Cemetery Dance and many more. He co-authored Shadows West and Hell’s Bounty with his brother Joe. He is the author of Slow Bullet, the four-part Mecana detective series, Long Walk Home, Zombie Gold and several others.
John’s novel Slow Bullet was reviewed by Publishers Weekly as a must read page-turner with constant action and compared his work to that of popular 1950s author Mickey Spillane. The novel Long Walk Home was a finalist in the fiction category for the National Indie Excellence Awards. The novel Zombie Gold received great reviews including a Booklist review that praised it as a superb story with characters that came alive. Kissing the Devil received praise a pulp novella. All titles are still in print with new ones on the way.
John was recently inducted into the Gladewater Museum. His motto is: Never Give Up.
THE MECANA SERIES
by JOHN L. LANSDALE
HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR – Book #1
Dallas PD Detective Thomas Mecana is on the hunt for a serial killer terrorizing the Lone Star State. Joining him is Darcie Connors, a young officer working her first murder case. With hard work, and some luck, Mecana and his partner discover a most-unusual serial killer case with murder in its very genes.
WHEN THE NIGHT BIRD SINGS – Book #2
Detectives Thomas Mecana and Darcie Connors are on the trail of a new suspect. With an ever-growing suspect list, Mecana must toe the line between friend and foe. Each action leaves them sitting in the crosshairs of danger. One wrong move could mean the end.
TWISTED JUSTICE – Book #3
Dallas Homicide Detective Sunday Verves is looking into the suspicious deaths of local drug runners when she discovers a potential suspect that hits too close to home. When the trail leads her south of the border, she enlists some old friends to track down the suspects.
THE BOX – Book #4
Detective Thomas Mecana and the gang get back together for another case. Mecana soon finds the case is bringing back old evidence. This horror-filled novel brings the Mecana Series full-circle to where it all began.
STAY CONNECTED
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BOOKVOICE PUBLISHING
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JOHN L. LANSDALE
www.bookvoicepublishing.com

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