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Two weeks later, Andrew looked through the window at the street outside. Helen was behind the bar, making a drink for some of the patrons while Arnold cooked in the back. She was heavy with child and ready to give birth. Their first child could arrive any day now. He knew how nervous she was. Alan Greenfall was heading into town on horseback. They’d been warned well ahead of time that the man was bent on revenge. If she went into labor while they were fighting with Alan and anyone he brought with him, things could take a turn for the worse very quickly.
Andrew himself was not nervous. He was confident things would go his way. He and Helen had come full circle from when he was first arrested by her and Oscar. He wasn’t worried about Alan. He’d already had to confront the fact that the man he’d been riding with and was such good friends with turned out to be one of the most infamous villains in the west. Thaddeus Blackwood. Andrew had learned a lot from the recent experiences.
“You doin’ all right, Helen?” he asked, setting the mug of beer he’d just emptied back on the table in front of him. He was easily heard as the other patrons in the saloon were deadly quiet. They all knew what was coming. Even the women and children in Tucson knew what was happening. They were ready for Alan’s arrival. He was proud of them all.
His wife looked over her shoulder at him, nodding. He could see the fear on her face and wished he could make her feel more secure. Normally, she would be right beside him, ready to fight. But she was heavily pregnant and worried about not just her own safety but also that of their first child, a boy if the mid-wife was correct, that they would name Oscar after Helen’s father.
Andrew grinned at his thoughts. Their “first” child. Meaning he planned to have more with her. Many more. He would live a happy, peaceful life with his wife and children, finally leaving behind the life of a gunslinger, both on the side of the law and against the law. Some of the people in Tucson wanted him to take the role of sheriff but he didn’t want it. He didn’t want to shoot anyone anymore. He wanted to learn to run a farm, or train horses, or do something else that would benefit society and his community.
When the entrance door swung open and a man stepped through, his heart jumped into his throat. He tried not to show it on his face. He’d distracted himself with his thoughts. Despite looking out the window for the last hour, he’d removed his focus for just a moment and that was the critical moment Alan Greenfall came into the saloon.
Alan didn’t look the same. His face was badly burned on one side, his ear shriveled to almost nothing, long ugly scars running from his neck, over his cheek, melding his left eye almost completely closed.
He spotted Andrew instantly.
“Howdy,” Andrew said, standing. He said nothing more, just waiting for Alan to make a move. Instinctively, he rested his right hand on the butt of his gun, which was fitted firmly in the holster with the strap unsnapped so he could draw whenever he felt he needed to.
Alan’s eyes lowered to Andrew’s hand and then rose back up to meet Andrew’s gaze.
“I reckon we need to talk,” Alan said, his voice a bit distorted and more gravely than it was before.
“I reckon we do,” Andrew responded.
Alan lifted his chin, taking a few steps toward him. He lifted his hand and also rested it on the gun at his side.
“Just so you know,” Andrew added, “I’m a faster draw than you. So don’t try anything funny while you’re here. There are other patrons and I won’t allow you to hurt any of them or put anyone else in danger.”
Alan stopped directly in front of the window, about five feet from Andrew.
There was silence between them that matched the rest of the people in the saloon, including Helen, who had turned around and was staring at them both.
“Mind if I ask… How did you get out of there alive?” Andrew couldn’t help but notice the burns Alan had sustained.
“Never you mind what happened to me,” Alan responded. “That’s my business, not yours.”
Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Forgive my curiosity. I couldn’t help myself. You are here for revenge, I take it. Rumor mill has warned us first. That’s why we are not surprised by your entrance. Only by your… appearance… if you understand my meaning.”
Alan snorted. “I understand what you mean. Ain’t gonna tell you anything.”
“Okay. You’ve lost your element of surprise. So what happens now?”
“I’ll have your head for destroying everything I’d built up for over a decade.”
Andrew shook his head. “You worked for The Raven. You should have known you’d be destroyed in the end. Good wins. Bad losses. That’s just the way it is. Been that way since God threw the Devil out of Heaven. This ain’t Green Valley. You won’t get your way here.”
“I can hold my own,” Alan stated.
Andrew shifted his gaze to the window, hoping he would see what he wanted to see. And he did. With great satisfaction, a large smile grew on his face. He turned his eyes back to Alan. “Take a gander out the window. Tell me what you see.”
Alan’s jaw visibly clenched. He stared Andrew down for a moment more before turning his head to look out the window. Andrew didn’t shift his own gaze from Alan’s face. He wanted to see the surprise, the fear that would unmistakably be there.
Andrew got exactly what he wanted. Alan’s eyebrows dropped, his eyes squinted, the corners of his mouth, at least the one on the right side, lowered into a fearful frown.
Just outside the window, a line of men had formed. Among the men were young people, in their teens, and women, all of them holding rifles and pistols aimed at the front of the saloon.
After pondering what his fate would likely be, Andrew saw Alan swallow hard.
“You won’t succeed if you think you’ll get revenge here, Alan. You’re done. You’re finished. You will never get what you want. I suggest you leave Tucson and never return. Unless you want to die on this day and we bury you in the hard, cold ground in Cooper’s Field with the rest of the unknown buried. We won’t give you a decent burial. We won’t give you the time of day. You won’t get a tombstone. No one will know who you are. No one will come to your funeral.”
Deep in his chest, a nervous twitch stirred as Andrew wondered if Alan had the guts to turn his gun on Helen, who was still behind the bar but showing her large belly clearly.
“Best to get you outside and down to the jailhouse now so you can be processed before your body is riddled with the bullets of the residents of this town.”
Alan said nothing, scanning the crowd outside with both eyes for a moment longer before turning his gaze back to Andrew.
The silence felt heavy to Andrew. He waited for Alan to make a move, to say something… anything.
Finally, the ex-banker took his hat from his head and pressed it against his chest. “I came to get what is owed to me. That’s all.”
Andrew felt resentment in his chest. He frowned. “What? You are owed nothing by anyone in Tucson.”
“You took my livelihood from me,” Alan replied in a hard tone. “You took my home, my family, my wife deserted me, took my two boys with her and disappeared. You took my employer away and threw dirt on my name so I can no longer get a position doing what I do best.”
Andrew shook his head, what little fear he had completely dissipating. “You are owed nothing by me, by my wife, by the people of Tucson. You will step outside this saloon and be taken into custody for the crimes you committed. We owe you nothing.”
“You ruined my life!” Alan barked, pointing at Andrew with his hat. “You were a partner to The Raven, yet you are revered and worshiped by these people.” He swept that same hand out across the saloon, taking in all the people there, who had stood up while watching the exchange between Andrew and Alan. Andrew knew they were prepared to fill Alan with as many bullets as the people outside.
Andrew lifted his hand and counted with his fingers as he spoke. “First of all, these people do not worship me. I’ve taken no role as a lawman here. Secondly, they are all aware that I was a partner to Thaddeus Blackwood and that I was unaware of his status as The Raven. And lastly, they don’t worship me. They worship God.”
Alan snorted. “They believe you didn’t know who Thad was? You’ve surrounded yourself with idiots and fools.”
Andrew patted the air toward the people in the saloon, a few of which had swiftly pulled their guns, grunting objections to Alan’s insult. “Settle down, my friends. His words do not define who you are. They define who he is.”
The sound of metal sliding into leather was distinct as the men slid their guns back into the holsters.
“You will not get your way here, Alan. I’m surprised you came into town alone. I thought you’d formed your own gang of men to come and take your revenge.”
“They were to follow me in after a few minutes,” Alan said, turning his head once more to look out the window at the townspeople lined up, ready to take his life if they heard the signal. “I have a feeling they were stopped.”
Andrew grunted laughter. “Yes. I’m sure they were.”
Without waiting another moment, Andrew put two fingers in his lips and let out a sharp, loud whistle.
After a short pause, the front door opened again and Sheriff Carlton came through, striding right over to Alan, pulling his arms back to tie his hands with rope. He spoke around Alan from the back.
“You’re finished, Alan. Your men are with my deputies, already in the cells in the jailhouse. You’re the last one, the last man who made deals with The Raven. You got any last words to say to this man?”
Alan shook his head, distorted his mouth and spit on the floor near Andrew’s feet.
Andrew curled his nose in disgust, refusing to look down at it.
“Get him out of here,” he said. “The sooner he’s out of town, the better.”
“Let’s go,” the sheriff growled, jerking on Alan’s arm. “Get goin’. Go.”
“I’m goin’!” Alan responded angrily, stumbling toward the door because of the force with which he was pushed. “You ain’t gotta push me.”
Once he was gone, everyone in the saloon sat back down. Andrew felt the sigh of relief that went through the entire building. He looked through the window to see everyone who had taken a stand to protect him and the citizens of Tucson were following Alan and the sheriff to the jailhouse, calling out insults and laughing, some of the clapping at the same time as they chanted, “Off to the jailhouse you go! Coward, yer yellow, lowest of the low!”
Andrew moved from the table where he’d been sitting to the bar of the saloon, sliding his empty mug across to Helen. The saloon owner came out of the kitchen. With the door open even for a moment, Andrew could smell the roast, the potatoes, the vegetables, the baking cakes. The combination of scents made him hungry.
“Everything okay out here?” he said.
Everyone laughed.
“You missed it, Jack,” Andrew stated. “Everything is okay now. Right, my dear?”
“Yes, Andy,” Helen responded, leaning as far as she could toward him over the bar, which wasn’t far with her belly so large. He made up the difference and gave her a kiss on the lips.
“You two figure out a name for your kid yet?” Jack asked with a grin.
“Yes,” Helen and Andrew answered at the same time. They looked at each other, smiling wide.
“You tell him,” Andrew said.
“According to the midwife, we’re having a boy. We’ll see if she’s right when our baby comes. But if he is a boy, he will be named Oscar Andrew Fredericks. After my father and his father.”
“Lovely.” Jack stepped over to Helen, kissing both her cheeks, squeezing her arms gently. “I miss your pa,” he added. “I hope your baby is just like him. It will be like having Oscar back.”
Helen sighed softly, turning to fill up another mug with beer for her husband.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Guns and Justice in the West", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed my new western adventure story as well as my extended epilogue! Let me know what you think below.