Time had not healed all of Brock’s wounds, and he still felt angry and frustrated. The man known as Christian Emerson had beaten him so severely it had taken months to recover. Brock was still ailing when Big Jim and Charlie died, and the gang rode east without him. He had been left with no choice but to return to Casper for care. He was in no shape for a longer journey. Brock wasted most of his money on food and recovery. The townspeople no longer feared him and regarded him as little more than a nuisance.
Emerson, after humiliating him, checked in on him every now and then to make sure he wasn’t stirring up strife. Brock hated the man with a passion. If he hadn’t lost his guns, he’d have been of half a mind to shoot Emerson on his way out of Casper. But when he heard the stories about what Emerson had done to Charlie and the gang, Brock changed his tune. He had to give credit where it was due in at least one respect. When he’d stabbed Emerson on the mountain and left him for dead, he never expected there was a chance he would survive.
In the weeks that followed the shootout, Brock kept mostly to himself. When he was healed, he left. The townspeople were glad to see him go, and he was glad to leave. Shortly after departing Casper, he was robbed by a man almost half his size. Brock could have taken the man apart, but the thief kept his gun trained on him the entire time. With no guns of his own, Brock had no recourse but to give up what was left of his money. After that, he swore he would purchase a new weapon as soon as he was able.
The wind shifted. Thunder echoed softly in the distance. Storm clouds gathered on the horizon, though the sun still shone brightly over the city. Brock continued on his way. He stopped in the saloon to inquire about the Pennington brothers and get a drink.
Following the robbery, Brock was forced to take a job in the first place he came to. He ended up working as a ranch hand for an unpleasant man well into his seventies. After scraping up enough money to buy a pistol and supplies, he headed east. Brock tried his hand at honest work for a time but found himself on the wrong end of the law once more after getting into a quarrel with another farmhand, which ended in death. Now he was looking to join up with his old gang. If the rumors were to be believed, Quinn had himself a sweet operation going, and Brock wanted in.
He finished his drink and ordered another. He left with no word of the Pennington brothers, though he was determined to keep searching. Jefferson City was a big place, and he had enough money to remain for a time. He stared at the Missouri sky. Rain fell in the distance, heralding the approach of the storm. Brock trudged off in the direction of his horse. He would put the animal up for the night, find lodging for himself, and decide what to do from there. He kept his head down as he passed by the jail, surrounded by a sea of wanted posters.
Brock would never quite know what made him glance up, but in the years to come, he would think about that moment often.
Thunder cracked loudly overhead, and shade from storm clouds spread across the city. Brock found himself drawn to a familiar face on one of the posters. Rain started falling on him, but he hardly noticed.
The face of the man on the poster seared into his memory like a cattle brand. While the outlaw’s face was younger and clean-shaven, there was no mistaking the visage. It was the man called Emerson.
Wanted, the poster read, for the crimes of desertion and treason against the United States government. There was a two hundred and fifty-dollar reward posted. Brock read the name on the poster aloud. A smile spread over his face.
“Burr,” he whispered. “Christian Burr.”
Acknowledgments
A few years ago, I was watching a contemporary western with my father. It was a particularly bad film, and I thought to myself, Surely I can write a better western than this.
I set out with that task in mind and ended up penning a manuscript titled “Absolution,” a sprawling historical thriller set in the post-Civil War American West. “Absolution” was my second complete manuscript, and it needed a lot of work. I preferred to move onto other projects, so after collaborating on another project with a friend, I started on The Keeper of the Crows, which eventually became my first published book.
But something about Christian Burr—the protagonist of “Absolution”—stayed with me. “Absolution” begins with Christian living in Casper, and I found myself wondering how he ended up there in the first place. Thus, Atonement was born.
I would like to thank the members of my family who read this book before anyone else: my mom, Pam; my sister, Megan; my father, Robert; and Connor Romines, my cousin. Additionally, I would like to thank Linda Egbert for reading an earlier draft, and my father for helping to inspire this project in the first place and for confirming accuracy in regard to firearms. I couldn’t have done this without your feedback and encouragement.
Thank you to everyone at Sunbury Press who helped make this book a reality.
Whether you’re someone who discovered me through The Keeper of the Crows, or an entirely new reader, I hope you enjoyed the book. If you like what you read, I encourage you to follow my Amazon page to receive email updates about my next books. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] and share your thoughts—I love interacting with readers!
Until we meet again,
Kyle
Also by
Kyle Alexander Romines
———
The Keeper of the Crows
The Chrononaut
A Sound in the Dark
Bride
About the author
Kyle Alexander Romines is a teller of tales from the hills of Kentucky. He enjoys good reads, thunderstorms, and anything edible. His writing interests include fantasy, science fiction, horror, and western.
Kyle’s lifelong love of books began with childhood bedtime stories and was fostered by his parents and teachers. He grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, RL Stine’s Goosebumps series, and Harry Potter. His current list of favorites includes Justin Cronin’s The Passage, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Bone by Jeff Smith. The library is his friend.
Kyle is a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, from which he received his MD.
He plans to continue writing as long as he has stories to tell.
You can contact Kyle at [email protected]. To sign up to receive author updates and stay posted on Kyle’s work—and receive a FREE electronic copy of his science fiction novella, “The Chrononaut”—go to
http://eepurl.com/bsvhYP.
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NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Kyle Alexander Romines
Cover Copyright © 2018 by Sunbury Press, Inc.
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ISBN: 978-1-62006-817-5 (Trade paperback)
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018945611
FIRST MILFRED HOUSE PRESS EDITION: June 2018
Product of the United States of America
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Set in Bookman Old Style
Designed by Crystal Devine
Cover by Amber Rendon
Edited by Jennifer Cappello
Continue the Enlightenment!
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