A Gideon Johann Boxed Set Book 1 - 4 (A Gideon Johann Western 0)

by Duane Boehm

  “There seems to be a lot of pieces that don’t fit these days,” Finnie said.

  Gideon let out a sigh and eyed the couple sitting across the desk from him. “You two need to talk to each other and the sooner the better.”

  Chapter 8

  Having finished the Sunday dinner, Abby and Joann cleared the dishes before joining Gideon and Zack on the porch to watch Winnie and Chance play tag with their dog Red. The children proved no match for the coonhound as he deftly cut and darted from their reach. Chance, only walking for a month, continuously fell on his butt or tripped and landed face first in the yard. Each time he would stand back up, grin, and resume his pursuit of the dog.

  “That little fellow sure is determined,” Zack remarked.

  “He’s like his daddy. He’s hardheaded,” Abby said, smiling at her husband.

  Gideon lit his pipe, getting it to burn to his satisfaction, before saying, “It seems to have served me well over the years.”

  “That’s debatable. I’m just now getting you trained proper,” Abby said.

  Grinning at his wife, Gideon said, “You just like to showoff for Zack and Joann. They know that I got you wrapped around my finger.”

  Joann waved away the plume of smoke hovering around her head from her father’s pipe. “Zack and I are arguing over when to begin building the cabin. I think we should start now and he thinks we should start in the spring. What do you think, Daddy?”

  “I tend to agree with Zack. I think that you’ll be hard pressed to get a cabin built before winter sets in,” Gideon said.

  “But you built this place in the fall and got it done, and with the reward money, we can hire to have some of it done for us,” Joann said.

  “You don’t have that money yet and I have no idea how quickly it will come. And you’re forgetting that this place already had a well and we were able to reuse the fireplace with only a few repairs. You’d be best to get your well dug this fall before the water levels rise in the spring so you can get it deep enough and then be ready to begin building in the spring. Zack can go ahead and start cutting trees,” Gideon said.

  Sounding as if she only meant to be half–joking, Joann said, “I should have known that you would agree with him. You always take his side.”

  “You asked and I told you what I thought. Somebody has to help keep you from running all over him,” Gideon said.

  “He gets his way plenty. He’s not washy like he used to be. In fact, he gets kind of bossy sometimes. I probably should have been happy to leave well enough alone,” Joann said.

  Zack looked at his wife with bemused affection and shook his head. “Let’s take the kids for a walk. I’ll carry Chance. He looks about tuckered out,” he said and rose from his seat to go pick up his baby brother–in–law.

  After they had gone, Abby said, “I’ve been thinking about that reward money too. With that money, we could expand the ranch and you could resign from being sheriff. Ranching is a lot safer life.”

  “I thought about that too, but I owe the city council. They appointed me to fill Sheriff Fuller’s position when I needed a job and with the understanding that I’d run for the position. I can’t resign less than a year after getting elected. And the fact of the matter is that I’d be okay at ranching, but never as good as Ethan, but I’m a pretty darn good sheriff,” Gideon said.

  “I was afraid you’d say that. I was hoping maybe you were getting tired of people trying to kill you. I know that I am,” she said.

  “Oh, I’m tired of that part of it, but I think that I help make Last Stand a better place to live. Besides, if I resigned, then Finnie would probably get the job and half the town would never understand what their sheriff was saying with that Irish accent,” Gideon said before taking a puff from his pipe.

  “I guess you’re right, but I like raising cattle. At least Chance is getting big enough that I can put him in the saddle and he can ride with me to check the herd. I miss doing that regularly. We won’t have to feel so guilty about hiring help for the herd when we need it either,” Abby said.

  “No, we won’t. We also need to figure out something we want for ourselves and spend some of that money on it. There’s no need to hoard all of it,” Gideon said.

  “I love you, Gideon Johann,” she said before sitting in his lap.

  “Sure, crawl in my lap when we have company. That doesn’t do me any good,” he said.

  “There’s always later,” Abby said

  “Don’t think that I’ll forget,” Gideon said, grabbing her ass and looking at her grin. He loved the way that her eyes lit up when she smiled and her toothy grin.

  “On the subject of Finnie, have you talked to Mary lately?” Abby asked.

  “Yeah, I talked to her the other day and if you’re hinting at whether I know that she is carrying a child or not – I figured it out all by myself,” Gideon said.

  “Wow, I’m impressed. Did you give her any advice?” she asked.

  “I told her that she needs to talk to Finnie about it. He wants to marry her, but the coward is afraid to ask and I think that he will be thrilled to have a baby. Both of them need to learn to tell the other what’s on their mind,” he said.

  “I hope that you’re right. I love Finnie, but I can see why Mary worries about how he will react. He sure can be a hard one to figure out,” Abby said.

  Abby remained sitting in Gideon’s lap as they watched the others return from their walk. Chance slept with his head resting on Zack’s shoulder. Winnie, having become possessive of Joann since her sister’s marriage, clung to her sibling’s hand.

  Joann put a hand to her hip. “Well, aren’t you two lovey–dovey? You better be careful or somebody might end up with a playmate,” she said, nodding her head towards Chance.

  “It looks to me like Zack is a natural. Playmates can come from all kinds of places,” Abby said.

  “Abby,” Gideon chided. “We don’t need to hear such talk.”

  Abby and Joann burst into laughter while Zack looked as uncomfortable as Gideon did.

  “Daddy, it is a natural thing and it’s part of marriage. You can’t just pretend that it’s not so,” Joann said.

  “Honey, daddy’s can pretend all we want that it ain’t so,” Gideon said.

  Abby climbed out of Gideon’s lap.

  “Zack, if you would bring Chance into the cabin, we can lay him down,” Abby said.

  As soon as Abby and Zack disappeared into the cabin, Gideon said, “Winnie doesn’t have school Wednesday. When you come over to watch them, do you think you can hitch the wagon and take her and Chance to town to get your picture made? I bought Abby a gold picture locket and I want the three of you in it. Hiram knows about it. Chance likes to ride and will sit in Winnie’s lap.”

  “Sure, I think we can pull that off,” Joann answered.

  “Winnie, we have to keep this secret. We’re going to surprise your momma,” Gideon said.

  “I can keep a secret,” Winnie said.

  Chapter 9

  After finishing breakfast in the back room of the saloon, Mary watched as Finnie strapped on his holster and noticed his new revolver. The well–oiled, shiny butt of the gun stood out in sharp contrast to the previous scarred and weather–beaten one that he carried.

  You’ve got a new revolver,” Mary remarked.

  Finnie looked down at his new gun before gripping it and pulling it out of the holster. “Yeah, I’ve been saving up for it. I’ve been fancying Gideon’s for a long time and got one just like it. I won’t have to carry two sizes of cartridges now. My rifle and it take the same.”

  “It’s very nice as far as guns go. I guess with your new found wealth, you deserve a new gun,” she said.

  The look on Finnie’s face betrayed his surprise and he hesitated before speaking. “I guess you heard about the reward money,” Finnie mumbled.

  “I did. I would have thought you would want to share such exciting news with me. It’s not like I was going to ask you for part of it,” she
said.

  Finnie pulled his shoulders back and straightened his posture. “It’s not like you share what you make on the saloon with me,” he said defensively.

  “That’s true, but my income is not nearly as exciting as your reward. We could have celebrated your turn of fortune. It makes me feel as if I’m not that important to you,” Mary stated.

  “Not that important? What about you? I don’t have a clue on how you feel about us,” Finnie said, indignation rising in his voice.

  “Don’t have a clue? Why would you not know how I feel?” Mary said, her voice getting loud.

  “Well, do you know how I feel?” he asked.

  “I don’t know anything anymore,” she yelled. Her dark eyes flashing anger.

  “And what’s the difference then?” Finnie yelled back.

  “You thickheaded Irishman. Get out of here before I take that new gun you’re so proud of and shoot you with it,” Mary hollered.

  “Tell me what the difference is. Let’s talk about this,” Finnie said, his voice somewhat calmer.

  “Finnegan Ford, get out of here,” she yelled before darting up the stairs to their bedroom.

  Grabbing his hat, Finnie pulled it down so hard that it rested against the top of his ears before storming to the jail where he startled Gideon and Doc by slamming the door.

  “What’s got a burr under your saddle?” Gideon asked.

  Finnie related the events that had just transpired before dropping into the seat beside Doc and sinking into it.

  “I told you that you should tell her about the reward. You two really need to talk things out,” Gideon said.

  “Well, obviously you were right, but I did try to talk to her and it got me nowhere,” Finnie said.

  “Finnie, Mary has as much common sense as any woman that I know, but she’s still a woman and they’re emotional creatures. I can tell you from experience that when they get like that, you have to wait for them to calm down before trying to reason with them. I don’t always follow my own advice, but I should,” Gideon said.

  “And I gave up the bottle for this,” Finnie muttered.

  Doc slapped his leg and chortled. “I’m glad I chose the life of a bachelor. You two should hear yourselves. Pathetic.”

  Finnie glared at the doctor in indignation. The morning had barely begun and he had already about had his fill of people. “Yes, because it would be preferable to grow to be a grumpy old man like yourself. Maybe if you had known the comfort of a woman, you wouldn’t be so grouchy.”

  “If Mary finally tires of that blathering Irish accent and shoots you, I just might let you bleed to death,” Doc said.

  The Irishman looked at the doctor and then began laughing and rubbing his chin. “You’re right. I am pathetic, but so are you.”

  “Probably true. I guess men and women have been driving each other crazy since Adam and Eve,” Doc said.

  “Were you their doctor too?” Finnie asked.

  The doctor tried not to smile at the Irishman’s witticism, but failed.

  “Doc, did you ever come close to getting married?” Gideon asked.

  The doctor smiled wryly. “Let’s just say that if I did, that it was so long ago that I don’t remember.”

  “Well, I hate to break up this party of pathetic men, but Finnie and I are going to ride back out to the Weaver place and have another look around,” Gideon said.

  Doc took his leave and Finnie left to retrieve his horse from the livery stable. When he returned, he and Gideon rode towards the Weaver ranch. Cooler weather had set in with the coming of September and the leaves were starting to turn. The day made for an enjoyable ride and they never discussed Mary any further, but kept the subjects to the coming winter and guns.

  Weaver’s place sat undisturbed and looked the same as the last time they were there. The cabin remained as before, lacking both clutter and filth. The lack of a struggle in the house and the half–eaten plates of food on the table still left Gideon believing that the murderers were people that the victims knew. He could see no other way that the couple could’ve been lured outdoors to their unsuspecting deaths.

  “Let’s look around outside. There’s nothing in here to help,” Gideon said.

  The two men traipsed around the yard looking as if they were hunting night–crawlers in the daytime. Near the hanging tree, Finnie came to an abrupt stop.

  “Gideon, come here,” Finnie called out.

  Walking over, Gideon spotted the hand carved cross on a leather string that Finnie had found. He bent down and picked up the necklace. The cross measured about three inches long and was crude in workmanship and dark with age. The string looked as if it had been stretched to the point of breaking.

  “Finnie, this is very interesting,” Gideon said.

  “Do you think that it belonged to either Roy or Sissy?” Finnie asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never heard tell of Roy being a religious man and I don’t think Sissy ever converted to Christianity, but I’ll ask around and see if anybody knows. Good job in seeing it,” Gideon said.

  “Well, if it belonged to the killer, he sure had a peculiar way of practicing his religion,” Finnie said.

  “Exactly,” Gideon said. “Let’s head back to town.”

  Once back in town, Gideon spent the rest of the day visiting the town merchants and preachers. Nobody recalled ever seeing Roy or Sissy wearing a cross or attending church, but several people remembered Sissy wearing Indian beads. Gideon stuck the necklace in his desk, more perplexed than when the day had started.

  Chapter 10

  Two days after the dustup between Finnie and Mary, Mary remained cool towards him. Her conversations were the minimum necessary to co–exist and he in turn had done his best to avoid her as much as possible. By that night, Finnie decided that it was time to try to get back in Mary’s good graces. He walked over to the table where she sat laughing with Doc and John. A couple of trail crews returning south from cattle drives to Kansas were in the Last Chance that night and gave him an excuse to linger in the saloon.

  “Care if I join you? I thought I’d keep an eye on all the cowboys,” Finnie said.

  “Help yourself,” Mary said. “I just introduced Doc to John. You might as well be next.”

  Finnie leaned over the table, shaking John’s hand, and introducing himself.

  “Good to meet you, Finnie. I’m John. I came all the way from Boston to see your little town.”

  “You’re a far piece from home. What brings you all the way out here?” Finnie asked.

  “It’s kind of a long story, but let’s just say that I have an interest in the west and decided to come see it for myself,” John said.

  “Did you leave family behind?” Finnie inquired.

  Putting her hand upon Finnie’s arm, Mary said, “Finnie, quit asking so many questions. I’m sure John will tell us what he wants us to know in good time.”

  “I don’t mind. I did leave my wife and three children back home and I do miss them terribly,” John said.

  “Doc, didn’t you go to school in Boston? It’s hard to imagine sitting in Last Stand, Colorado with two men that have ties to Boston. What are the odds of that?” Finnie said.

  “I got my medical degree from Harvard. That was a long time ago. I’m sure the town has changed much since then,” Doc said.

  “The metropolitan area of Boston is over a million people now. It surely is a different place than in my childhood. It’s a bit crowded these days,” John said.

  “A million people. I had no idea. I lost track of anybody from those days a long time ago,” Doc said.

  “Speaking of ending up in Last Stand, how did you end up here?” John asked.

  “Some of the pillars of this community decided that the town needed a doctor and one of them came to Boston to recruit one. I grew up in Pennsylvania and the west always intrigued me so I took them up on their offer,” Doc said.

  “Did you ever consider staying in Boston?” John asked.

&n
bsp; “I did at one time, but I realized that I could never be happy there,” Doc answered.

  Two men at the bar began arguing. The exchange quickly escalated into a heated altercation with yelling and swearing. Finnie excused himself from the table and walked over to the two cowboys.

  “You two need to take a breath and calm down. There’s no need for that in here,” Finnie said.

  The taller of the two men shoved Finnie. “I don’t need to be taking orders from some sawed–off deputy. You can go to hell,” he screamed.

  Finnie regained his balance and sent a right hook crashing into the cowboy’s jaw. The man bounced against the bar and then sank to the floor as if lifeless.

  Turning to the other cowboy, Finnie showed him his fists. “Would you like to try one of these on for size or can you behave yourself?”

  “I’m good. I didn’t come here looking for trouble,” the man answered.

  John watched the disturbance with childlike fascination written on his face. “Did you see that right hook? I’ve paid to see professional boxing matches and never saw one like that. I really am in the west,” he gushed.

  “Finnie used to box. He’s not to be trifled with,” Mary said, failing to conceal her pride in Finnie even if she remained miffed at him.

  Looking over to the table, Finnie said, “I shall return.” He grabbed the unconscious man by the collar and dragged him out of the salon towards the jail.

  “So is Finnie your man?” John asked.

  “He is on the good days, but there are times where he comes precariously close to dying at the hands of a saloon owner,” Mary said.

  “I think that is true for all of us men. We do take some training. Don’t you agree, Doc?” John said.

  “Don’t ask me. I gave up on the female persuasion a long time ago. I would say that I’m an incorrigible bachelor,” Doc said.

  “Do you have an opinion on the subject, Mary?” John asked.

  “I’m a widow. My husband Eugene didn’t need any training. He was an easy keeper. Eugene wasn’t as funny as Finnie or as much of a character, but he wasn’t near the challenge,” Mary answered.