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!
Andrew sat back, kicking his legs up on the railing that surrounded the porch of his ranch house. He squinted out into the distance, lifting a bottle of beer to his mouth. The year was 1910 and things had changed much in the last nearly thirty years. His memory was fading. But there was one person he’d never been able to forget. Thaddeus Blackwood.
Thad’s banker, the last man Andrew had dealt with back in those days, Alan, had died while in prison after a violent assault by two other inmates. His throat was slit by a shank one of the men had created after breaking off a piece of wood from a stool and peeling back the wood until it had a sharp end on one side.
Whenever Andrew thought about Thad, he couldn’t associate the crimes committed by The Raven with the man he’d once known so well. Or thought he knew so well.
Andrew saw a cloud dust in the distance. Someone was coming down the lane in front of his house. They were still far away but he was expecting visitors.
“Honey, I think they’re coming! I see a dust cloud out there.”
He heard no response. Turning his head so his voice would carry into the house, he called out, “Helen! They’re almost here!”
The screen door swung open and his wife came through, a delighted look on her face. He still couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Even after twenty years. She’d retained her youth well. He couldn’t say the same about himself. His old wounds hurt, his knees were giving out and although he looked fit and trim, he dealt with a lot of pain daily.
His mind was sharp and that was all that mattered in the end. It wasn’t like he needed to fight outlaws anymore.
Helen was wiping her hands on a towel, staring out at the dust cloud. She turned her eyes and looked at him. He smiled lovingly, lifting one hand to her, which she took.
“That might not be them,” she said, squeezing his hand. “It could be anyone. We aren’t the only ones who live on this road.”
Andrew shook his head, getting to his feet. “Nah. That’s them. I can feel it in these old bones of mine.”
Helen rolled her eyes, still smiling. “You aren’t old, Andy. I don’t know why you keep saying things like that.”
He leaned to give her a kiss on the cheek, which she accepted with a graceful expression. His love for her still made him feel warm inside. It was still as strong as it was the day they’d discovered how they felt about each other.
When a wagon came into sight, Andrew gave her a knowing look. “Toldja,” he teased, elbowing her gently. She just laughed.
He went down the steps, pushing his fingers into one strap of his suspenders, lifting the other one to wave. Their son, Oscar, and his family were due for a visit. It always made both him and his wife so happy when they had their children in the house, though they were grown and had families of their own. After their firstborn, Oscar, they had two more children, Lillian and Benedict. Lillian was newly married and pregnant with her first child. Benedict had gone traveling overseas, using his bounty hunter job as an excuse to get out of Arizona and seeing the world. At least, different parts of America. He had yet to go overseas.
“There’s my boy!” Andrew yelled out as Oscar pulled the wagon up to the front of the house. Oscar’s grin widened when he met eyes with his father.
“There’s my pa!” Oscar responded, as they had exchanged these words every time they saw each other. Oscar jumped down from the seat without turning to offer his wife assistance first. He jogged to Andrew and the two men met in a warm, hearty hug, both of them slapping each other on the back. “I’ve missed ya, Pa. I’m glad to be back home for a little while.”
Andrew didn’t regret the tears that came to his eyes. He wiped them away to his son’s laughter, patting Oscar on the cheek.
“It’s good to have you home for a while, my boy. Hello there, Miriam.” Andrew bowed like a gentleman to Oscar’s wife, who was tall and slender like his son. Their twin sons and younger daughter spilled out of the back, their smiles as wide as their father’s.
Helen greeted Miriam and the children with her arms spread wide, gathering them all in a hug, giving Miriam kisses on both cheeks.
“Come in, come in! I’ve got some special cakes for the kids. I hope you don’t mind, Miriam!”
Miriam just laughed, using both hands to usher the excited children to the steps.
“Mama, can we have the snacks now?” their daughter asked, clasping her hands together in front of her. “Pleeeeeasse?”
The boys joined in even though Miriam was already nodding and giving her permission.
Andrew watched the children, his daughter-in-law and his wife go up and into the house. “Are you hungry?” he asked, turning back to his son. Pride filled his heart whenever he looked at Oscar, who was a surprising dead ringer for Helen’s father, whom he’d been named after. “Your ma has a big table of food ready for your family in there. I’m sure you’ll be left with a cake or two if you want it.”
Oscar laughed. “Nah, I’m not particularly hungry right now. I’m sure there will be some left for me in a bit. I wanted to talk to you first.”
Andrew lifted his eyebrows. “Oh? What about?”
When Oscar went to the steps, Andrew went up beside him.
“I was wonderin’ if you remember much about the time you spent with The Raven.”
Andrew was drenched with curiosity. “Now what’s got you thinkin’ about that? That was before you were even born.”
Oscar sat in the chair opposite the one Andrew had been sitting in. He knew his father well. He leaned on one armrest, his eyes on the wooden floor of the porch. He pinched the air between two fingers as he explained.
“You know I’ve been offered a position on the Daily Gazette, right? You remember that? The Pheonix Daily Gazette?”
Andrew nodded. He was extremely proud his son was a writer. It meant a good income for the family and his life was never in danger.
“I remember,” he replied. “Go on.”
“I’m gonna write a series of articles on the outlaws of the late 1800’s and I want to start it with The Raven. You knew him well, when he wasn’t The Raven, or at least, you didn’t think he was. Would it be too much to ask you to give me some details? You wouldn’t mind, would you?”
Andrew’s first instinct was to immediately say yes to whatever his son asked of him. But before he could answer, Oscar went on.
“I want you to think about it first, Pa. I don’t want you to delve into any memories that might hurt you. I know you were shot by him and he betrayed you. He betrayed your trust and everything. You usually say yes to anything I ask but in this case, I want you to think about it first. I’ve been doing my own research and believe me, in all the history books that mention The Raven, your name is in there, too. So I want you to think about it before you say you’ll do it. It might bring up some bad memories for ya.”
Andrew chewed on the inside of his lower lip, pondering what his son had asked of him. “That was a time long ago, son. I’m not sure I’ll remember many details to give you.”
Oscar nodded. “I know you might have some trouble. What I wanted to do was ask specific questions. That way the burden wouldn’t all be on you to recount everything the way it happened.” He sat back in the chair, his eyes still on his father. “I don’t want to bring up bad memories but… well, I think it’s all real interesting. And it’s been almost thirty years since you captured him and he asked you to leave him in that vault to burn alive, him and his men. Seems to me that was a pretty brave thing to do. I wouldn’t want to burn alive, that’s for sure.”
Andrew shook his head. “It was a tragic end to a successful life as a bandit, one hidden away from society. He actually moved in the community as a virtual unknown while bein’ a wanted criminal at the same time. Not many men could have pulled that off.”
He hated the note of admiration in his voice. His feelings, even after all these years, was mixed.
“You really thought he was your friend, didn’t ya, Pa?” Andrew heard the compassion in his son’s voice.
He nodded. “Yeah. I really did.”
“I might make my articles into books, especially if I can get enough information and stories from you and the others who knew him. You wouldn’t mind that, would ya?”
Andrew chuckled. “As long as I get my cut,” he teased. “You know I always gotta get my cut.”
“Come on in and eat something, boys!” Helen said loudly through the screen door. “I’m sure Oscar would like a beer, too. Come on in out of the heat! We got fans blowin’ in here!”
Andrew got up at the same time as his son. They went inside as Helen directed.
“You’ll never guess what our son’s got goin’ on right now, Helen. He’s gonna be a famous author!”
Oscar laughed, giving his mother a hug as he went past her. “I don’t know about that, Pa. But I’m sure gonna try!”
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.
Extended Epilogue is a repeat of last chapter___so actually there is no extended epilogue.
So sorry Jocelyn! There was a mistake here. I replaced it, thank you for letting me know!