Cooper (The Landon Saga Book 3)

by Tell Cotten

  “Coop?” Yancy asked, and his voice was strained.

  “I’m here.”

  “Hit bad?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Where?”

  “Where else?” I snorted in disgust.

  “Hip?”

  “Least it’s the other one this time,” I said. “You?”

  “Shoulder.”

  “Bullet go through?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Hope Rondo finds that doc,” I said.

  “If he can’t, mebbe Josie can work on us,” Yancy suggested.

  “Lord, please no,” I prayed.

  “Well, they’ll either save us or they won’t,” Yancy said, and then Josie reached us.

  Chapter sixty-eight

  Rondo fetched the doctor, and he patched us up as best as he could.

  The bullet had gone clean through Yancy’s shoulder. It was painful and bothersome, but the doctor promised a full recovery.

  As for me, this time the bullet was lodged in my hip, and the doctor had to dig it out. My hip was sore and bruised, and I could hardly walk.

  A day later, Yancy sat on the bench in front of the livery stable. I had rolled my bedroll out beside him, and I was lying on my back with my hat over my eyes.

  It was a clear and still day, and the sun felt good.

  “Somebody’s coming,” Yancy woke me from my nap.

  I was groggy, and I glared up at Yancy.

  “It’s a street,” I said. “Folks do that.”

  “I think you’ll want to see this,” Yancy replied.

  With a lot of effort, I sat up and looked.

  Three horsemen were riding into town. Lee was in front, followed by Brian and Sergeant Wagons.

  Both Lee and Brian led a mule, and I spotted my bundle of pelts on the mule that Lee led.

  I couldn’t help but grin as they rode up. They pulled up in front of us, and it was silent as we studied each other.

  “You two look horrible,” Lee finally said.

  “I imagine we do,” Yancy admitted, and added, “But we’re still breathing, and they ain’t.”

  “I wish I could have seen that,” Lee said wistfully. He looked around and asked, “Where’s Josie and Rondo?”

  “Josie’s inside taking a nap,” I said. “Rondo was getting impatient to see Rachel, so he headed on home.”

  Lee chuckled at that and nodded.

  “Did you find the money?” Yancy spoke up.

  “We sure did,” Lee looked proud.

  “Jessica will be happy to hear that,” Yancy said.

  “Yes, I think she will.”

  Yancy nodded and looked at Sergeant Wagons.

  “Did you find Stew?” He asked.

  “I sure did,” Sergeant Wagons beamed.

  “And?”

  “Wagons killed him, Yancy,” Lee spoke up.

  A startled look crossed Yancy’s face. He stared at Lee, and then he looked back at Sergeant Wagons.

  “You killed him?”

  Sergeant Wagons was excited, and he nodded and blurted, “I told him he was under arrest, but he went for his gun instead! So, I shot him.”

  Yancy scowled, and it was silent as he thought on it.

  “That’s hard to believe,” he finally said.

  “It’s true,” Lee spoke up. “Wagons killed him.”

  “This changes things,” Sergeant Wagons spoke back up, and he puffed his chest out and tried to look important.

  “Is that so,” Yancy said flatly.

  “There’s talk about a sheriff’s election coming up,” Sergeant Wagons continued. “I’ll be in that election. I hope you can handle that.”

  “I’ll try,” Yancy said, and his face was emotionless.

  Lee couldn’t contain a huge grin as he dismounted. He tied the mule to a hitching post and climbed back on his horse.

  Meanwhile, Yancy just sat there with a blank look as he tried to grasp the situation.

  I cleared my throat and said, “Are you boys headed out?”

  “Yep,” Lee nodded. “We’re sorta anxious to get this carpetbag to Jessica.”

  “I can understand that,” I said.

  Lee nodded and glanced at Yancy.

  “So long, Yancy,” he drawled.

  Yancy was silent, but he did manage to nod back.

  Lee grinned again and kicked up his horse.

  Brian fell in behind him, but Sergeant Wagons paused.

  “Goodbye, sir,” he said, and saluted.

  Yancy’s face remained emotionless as he saluted back.

  “Tell the folks at Midway we’ll be back soon as we can ride,” he said.

  “Sure,” Sergeant Wagons said, and he kicked up his horse and followed after Lee and Brian.

  We were silent as we watched them ride out.

  I glanced at Yancy, and he seemed to be at a loss for words.

  ***

  Brian looked at Lee as they rode out.

  “Are you ever gonna tell Yancy?” He asked.

  “Tell Yancy what?” Lee asked.

  “That Stew was shooting blanks.”

  Lee listened to the question. He turned it around in his head, examined it from all angles, and decided.

  “Nope,” he grinned.

  Chapter sixty-nine

  For the next two days, we hung around Kolorado’s livery stable.

  We could tell that Kolorado wasn’t too keen on us being there, but we were in no shape to ride.

  Josie and I were mighty excited about getting our pelts back, and to pass the time we started planning the cabin. Yancy listened to us, but he didn’t comment much.

  At suppertime on the second day, we limped over to the café and had some mystery stew.

  Josie sat beside me as we ate.

  “We need to get back to Midway,” Yancy declared. “We’ve been gone long enough.”

  “The way we look, I doubt the town will feel much safer when we get back,” I replied.

  “I’ve got a job to do,” Yancy declared.

  “What job?” I was curious.

  “Somebody helped Stew escape,” Yancy explained.

  “Who says he had help?” I frowned.

  “That barn didn’t burn by itself,” Yancy declared. “Somebody set fire to it, and I’m going to find out who did it.”

  I took a swig of coffee and cleared my throat.

  “I’m not sure you want to find out,” I said quietly.

  Yancy shot me a startled look.

  “You know something I don’t?”

  It was silent as I searched for the right words.

  “Well?” Yancy frowned.

  “There’s only one person that didn’t want Stew dead,” I said. “At least for a while.”

  “Who?”

  “Jessica Tussle,” I announced. “At the time, Stew was the only one who knew where her money was.”

  “She wouldn’t,” Yancy objected.

  “Mebbe so, mebbe not,” I replied. “But, if you’re going to look into this, she’ll have to be a suspect. Right now, she’d be the only suspect.”

  It was silent as Yancy thought on that.

  “Stew’s dead, Yancy,” I said. “Lee and Brian wouldn’t lie about that. Does it really matter what happened in Midway?”

  “The law was broke in my town,” Yancy declared. “It’s my job to find out who did it.”

  “So you’d arrest Jessica?” I pressed.

  Yancy pinched his face in thought, and it was silent for a long time.

  “I’ll have to think on it,” he finally said in a subdued voice.

  I nodded and smiled as I took another swig of coffee.

  Epilogue

  Lee, Brian, and Sergeant Wagons rode into Midway two days later.

  Lee kept his word.

  A large crowd gathered as they pulled up, and Lee announced that Sergeant Wagons had killed Stew Baine.

  That, along with the fact that he had helped save the town from burning, instantly made Sergeant Wagons a
legend. The nickname ‘The man who killed Stew Baine’ stuck, and the local newspaperman was planning a headline saying just that.

  Lee and Brian asked around, and they discovered that Jessica and J.T. Tussle were staying at the hotel while Tussle recovered from his wound.

  They tended to their horses, and they walked over to the hotel and asked the clerk for their room number. They went upstairs, and Lee knocked on the door.

  They heard footsteps, and Jessica opened the door. She spotted the carpetbag, and her eyes grew wide.

  “You found it,” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Lee grinned.

  She grinned and beckoned them in. They entered, and she shut the door behind them.

  “Sit down,” she offered, so they did.

  Jessica looked anxious as she looked at the carpetbag.

  “It’s all there?” She asked.

  “It sure is,” Lee smiled.

  “This is sorta a big moment for us, ma’am,” Brian added. “This is the first honest thing we’ve done in quite a while.”

  “And you’ll be well paid for it,” Jessica said.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Lee and Brian grinned.

  Jessica grabbed the carpetbag and held it in her arms. Several seconds passed, and she looked at them thoughtfully.

  “There’s a lot of money here,” she said.

  “Sure is,” they agreed.

  “What do you plan on doing with your share?”

  Lee and Brian were silent as they tried to come up with a good lie. Finally, Lee just shrugged sheepishly.

  “We’ll probably whoop it up a little,” he admitted. “Do you want me to explain it more than that?”

  “No, that explains it well enough,” Jessica frowned disapprovingly.

  Lee and Brian looked ashamed, and they suddenly became very interested in the floor.

  Jessica waited a moment, and then she unleashed her plan.

  “My father was a shrewd business man,” she said. “And, so am I.”

  “I would agree with that,” Lee spoke up.

  “He taught me a lot about business affairs,” Jessica continued. “But, I am a woman in a man’s world. I need help.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Lee asked.

  “I want the three of us to invest this money into a hotel,” Jessica declared. “And I mean a very fancy hotel, with a restaurant and a poker room. A hotel that will make us all a lot of money.”

  “A hotel?” Lee asked, surprised.

  “I want to build the fanciest hotel Texas has ever seen,” Jessica continued. “I want it to be an elegant and respectful business. Nothing shady or dishonest.”

  “No saloon girls?” Lee smiled.

  “That is correct,” she declared.

  “What would you want us to do?” Brian spoke up.

  “I want you two to operate the hotel,” Jessica explained. “I would be the majority owner with sixty percent. You two would receive twenty percent each, and you’d also receive a monthly salary.”

  “I don’t know a thing about the hotel business,” Lee objected.

  “I’ve heard you are a very good poker player,” Jessica said.

  “You heard right,” he smiled.

  “You would run the poker room, and Brian would operate the hotel and restaurant.”

  Jessica glanced at Brian.

  “Didn’t you once run your own hotel in El Paso?”

  “I did,” he nodded, and added, “But it wasn’t elegant.”

  “I’m sure you could do it,” Jessica replied.

  “What would you do?” Lee wanted to know.

  “I would remain a silent partner,” Jessica announced. “I wouldn’t want anyone, including my Uncle, to know I am involved.”

  Lee and Brian glanced at each other, and it was silent as they thought on that.

  “So, what do you think?” Jessica asked. “This is your chance to quit the outlaw business and make an honest living.”

  “Playing poker everyday doesn’t sound too bad,” Lee said. “I’m in if Brian’s in.”

  Jessica looked at him.

  “Brian?”

  “I ain’t getting any younger,” he admitted. “And, the outlaw business just ain’t what it used to be. It’d be nice to sleep under a roof every night. So, I’m in.”

  Jessica smiled, and she walked forward and shook their hands.

  “Partners it is then,” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” they smiled.

  “One last thing,” she said. “I don’t want this hotel to be here in Midway. I have–,” she paused and smiled, “–other interests here, and I don’t want this hotel to get in the way of that.”

  “What other interests?” Lee asked.

  “That’s for me to know,” she replied.

  “I think I could guess,” Lee smiled.

  “So, we need to choose another location,” Jessica said as she ignored Lee’s comment.

  It was silent as they thought on that, and Lee snapped his fingers.

  “I know the perfect town,” he announced.

  “Where?” Jessica asked anxiously.

  “It’s a cow town that should bring in plenty of money on paydays,” Lee explained. “Place called Empty-lake.”

  “That’s where Rondo is from,” Jessica recalled.

  “Yes,” Lee’s eyes twinkled, “it sure is.”

  About the Author

  Born in West Texas, Tell Cotten is a seventh generation Texan. He comes from a family with a ranching heritage and is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas. He is currently in the cattle business, and he resides in West Texas with his wife, Andi, and their two children.

  Tell is the award-winning author of The Landon Saga. His novels have won Gold and Silver in the Readers' Favorite awards, and Tell also won Best New Western in the Laramie Awards and bronze in the Global ebook awards for CONFESSIONS OF A GUNFIGHTER.

  For announcements of new releases and all other information, please join The Landon Saga Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/784798154926122/ or join Tell Cotten’s website http://tellcotten.wordpress.com/

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my wife and family for all their help and support. Without them this wouldn’t be possible. I’d also like to thank God for the gift of writing.

  I’d also like to thank Mike for the great cover.

  And lastly, I’d like to thank Melissa for all her advice, help, and hard work.

  Enjoy this excerpt from Tell Cotten’s upcoming novel:

  Rondo

  Book four in The Landon Saga series

  Law in Empty-lake had once been Lieutenant Porter. But he was a bad man, so I killed him.

  Soon after that Governor Davis sent out a new batch of policemen, and this bunch was mostly honest. I also had a pardon from Judge Parker, so they left me alone.

  But the police force in Texas was mostly corrupt, just like the Governor.

  They were supposed to fight crime and help with frontier defense, but in most towns that didn’t happen. Instead, Governor Davis used his police force to arrest anyone that opposed him.

  But that all came to an end when Richard Coke defeated Governor Davis in 1874. Davis lost in a landslide, 85,549 to 42,663, and so ended the police force in Texas.

  After that, law went back to the way it used to be. Towns elected sheriffs, and there was also talk that the Texas Rangers might get organized again.

  So far Empty-lake hadn’t elected a sheriff. So, when I saw the town council riding out to Mr. Tomlin’s ranch headquarters one evening, I had a good idea what they were after.

  My name is Rondo Landon. I used to be a well-known outlaw, and I was also known as the man who killed Ben Kinrich. I wasn’t proud of that, but it had to be done.

  I was smaller than most, and my hips were narrow and my shoulders were wide. I was also in good shape on account of all the hard work at Mr. Tomlin’s ranch.

  For the past two years I had been an honest ranch ha
nd. And, the only time I’d had to use my well-known white ivory handled Colt was when my cousin Yancy needed some help over in the New Mexico Territory.

  It had been a good two years.

  Rachel and I had grown close, and marriage was on my mind. Problem was, I had nothing to offer.

  I was down at the barn doing chores when they rode in, and I recognized all three.

  Morgan McCann was tall and wide shouldered. He owned the local saloon.

  Dave White owned the general store. He was an older man with white hair and stooped shoulders.

  Fred Stilwell was the youngest. He was a businessman; he owned the bank.

  They dismounted in front of the house. I heard them talking to Mr. Tomlin, and then they came down to the barn.

  Even though I’d been pardoned, most folks were still uncomfortable being around me. In fact, the only folks that treated me normal were the Tomlins, Ross, and Jeremiah Batch.

  They glanced uncertainly at each other, and then Fred Stilwell cleared his throat.

  “Good evening, Mr. Landon,” he said.

  “Call me Rondo,” I corrected.

  “Yes, Mr. Landon,” Fred said, and added, “I mean, Rondo.”

  I nodded and smiled.

  “We’ve come to make you an offer,” he announced. “We’d like you to be our sheriff.”

  “Why me?” I asked.

  “We need someone with your, ah, qualifications.”

  “You mean someone that can use a gun,” I replied.

  “Yes, that is the qualification we were referring to,” Fred smiled timidly.

  I knew there was someone else who wanted the job, so I already had my answer.

  “I appreciate the offer, but there’s another more qualified,” I said.

  “Who?” Fred asked, surprised.

  “Ross Stewart,” I explained. “I might be better with a Colt, but I don’t know much when it comes to the law. Ross is better educated than I am. I think he’s the man you should talk to.”

  They glanced at each other and looked back at me.

  “We discussed Ross, and we like him,” Fred said. “But, we’d rather have you.”

  “Why?” I asked.