CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The horses swept across the yard like a flood. Their hooves banged against the ground as Slim urged them to move in a fast gallop. They knocked over the buckboard and trampled both men to death.

“Oh Jess! The horses are…”

“Justice. Pure justice, after what they did to your horses,” Jess stated. He then clouded the yard with a spray of bullets. Slim jumped from his horse and hid behind corral. The shooters at the water trough never had a chance in the crossfire.

“Who’s that?” Laura asked.

“The cavalry,” Jess replied with a grin.

One by one Jess and Slim picked off the gunslingers. The silence after the gunfight was jarring. Slim glanced all around him, not daring to show himself until he was sure none of the killers were left. Jess moved from window to window searching but he saw only dead bodies.

One man had escaped their attention. Jack Phillips stood in the grove of trees. He had two choices. He could run and keep running or he could stay and fight. He knew the tide of the fight had turned against him. He had used the woods as a shield as he had watched the attack. Now he quietly moved through the forest. As he neared the stranger, who was helping Harper, he searched for the last of his men. Where was Montana? He had seen him the gunfighter sneak around to the back of the house, but now there was no gunfire coming from that direction. The coward! Montana must have run away. Or he was dead. Phillips hoped for the later. After all he had paid this man the highest wage of all. Phillips pointed his gun at the stranger’s back.

“Look out, Slim!” Jess yelled as he stood up in front of the window and took aim.

Slim turned quickly facing Phillips. He dove to the ground and rolled as he fired his gun. Phillips fell dead to the ground, his own bullet striking inches from Slim’s head.

“Jess! The house! We have to be sure the fire is out...” Then Laura was gone, racing out the front door.

Slim saw movement, his gun rising quickly, but seeing the woman, he lowered his weapon.

“Jess!”

Jess nodded from the window. He then leaned against the wall, his gun still clasped in his hand, ready to fire. He knew he should follow her and help if there was danger from flames, but first he had to will his heart to beat slowly. Now that the fight was over, fear stepped in. He had not thought they would win. He had faced death many times and had resigned himself that one day he would not be able to walk away from a gunfight, but to see a woman in the midst of such destruction had left him shaken.

To see that woman come so close to death had left him weak from fear. He had come close to killing her himself, and the thought of what he almost had done to protect her from men like Montana shook him worse than the actual fight.

“Howdy, Jess.” The voice was quiet, even friendly.

Jess froze.

“Drop the gun,” Montana ordered.

The gun fell from Jess’ hand, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

“Now turn around real slow.”

Jess followed the instructions.

Montana stood in the entrance of the back door. He filled the frame.

“Phillips is dead,” Jess announced.

“I know. I seen him fall. Never thought you’d come out on top of all of this. We had too many guns for you to win.”

“Got to admit, I was surprised too,” Jess replied. His body ached from being so taut with tension while his eyes watched Montana’s every movement.

“Some gun fight, huh? But that kind of woman, well she’s worth the fight,” Montana complimented.

“I reckon she is.”

Montana sounded sad as he stated, “Jess, you know I got to kill you.”

Jess heart began beating fast. “The fight’s over. Like you said, Phillips is dead and we won.”

“But I ride for the brand. You know that. I’m a gunslinger. What kind of jobs would I get if you win and I lost? I got a reputation. I live by that reputation.”

“Every one loses at one time, Montana.”

“Not me. Never have. I got hired on to kill you. That’s what I got paid for. Not to keep Phillips alive but to kill you, and I aim to do my job. Wouldn’t be good business for me not to.”

Jess glanced out of the corner of his eye. Through the window, Jess could see Slim checking on the fallen men to be sure they were dead. So Slim didn’t have a clue to what was happening in the house. If Jess could keep Montana talking until he could ease in front of the window, then Slim would notice.

“Don’t take another step, Jess. You stay put. I’m on to your ways.”

“Montana...”

“I’ll kill you like I’d want you to kill me. Won’t be much pain,” Montana promised.

Jess tried to think of words to dissuade this killer but he couldn’t find any argument of reason that would work.

“Jess, I checked and...” Slim had not seen Montana until he stepped through the door.

“Keep your hands high, mister,” Montana instructed, “and get over there beside Jess.”

Slim’s hands were raised but only slightly. Slim didn’t move. A look of calculation crossed Slim’s face.

Montana pulled back on the hammer of the gun. “Better do what I say, mister, unless you want to meet your maker right now.”

Still Slim didn’t move.

“Slim!” Jess said quickly. “Do what he says ‘cause he means everything he says.”

Without hesitation, Slim raised his hands higher into the air and slowly walked to Jess, until both men stood side by side, their bodies almost touching.

Jess said hurriedly. “Montana, this ain’t Slim’s fight.”

“Who’s Slim?” Montana questioned.

“My boss,” Jess explained while at the same time Slim said, “Jess’ friend.”

Montana’s eyes traveled from one to the other. “Well now, seems Slim put himself into this fight,” Montana observed.

“I’m asking you to let him ride out,” Jess pleaded. “He ain’t even from here. He’s from Laramie. Let him go back home. You got nothing to fear from him.”

“Don’t see how I can do that,” Montana said. “You see I plan to take the woman with me. I’m going to tame her, Jess.”

Jess couldn’t stop the look of fear flashing on his rugged face.

For a second, just a brief second, Montana looked shocked seeing that expression racing across Jess’ face. He had never seen Jess afraid. Even now when Jess was sure to die, Jess had not shown fear.

Suddenly realization set in. Montana nodded slowly, “It’s the woman ain’t it? That’s what’s got you so all fired worried.”

Jess’ look said it all. He wasn’t afraid for himself; he was only afraid for Laura.

“I’ll be gentle, if she’ll let me,” Montana promised. “Might not even keep her. You know once they’re tamed...might just want someone else. It’s the taming part that I enjoy.”

“She’s a lady, Montana,” Jess explained.

Montana grinned. “How much of a lady can she be when she’s tied to you?”

Jess started forward.

“Jess!” Slim warned as Montana tightened his grip on the revolver.

Jess stopped. “Be thankful you got a gun, Montana.”

Montana grinned. “Yeah, I do have the winning hand, don’t I, Jess?”

“You take her and you’ll have every posse in Wyoming after you,” Slim warned.

Montana smiled. “Doubt it. The sheriff was a friend of Phillips. He always believed the best about him.”

“Was the sheriff part of this?” Jess asked.

“No. But he couldn’t bring himself to think less of Phillips, especially since Phillips was such an important man in town.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Slim argued.

“Oh yes I will,” Montana disagreed. “After I burn down the house, no one will even know who survived this. Everyone will think she died in the fire. Fire,” he repeated as if in love with the word. “It was my idea, not Phillip’s to burn the barn. He just wanted us to shoot up the place. Scare you. But I told him that nothing scares Jess Harper. Sorry, Jess, but it’s got to be. If you like I’ll kill your friend first so you’ll know he died without much pain.”

Montana pulled back the hammer on his gun as he pointed the pistol straight at Slim.

Jess stepped in front of Slim, moving quickly, shielding Slim from Montana’s aim.

“Jess, no!” Slim said.

Jess didn’t move away.

“When I knew him, the boy didn’t take to many people. Guess you two are friends.” Montana’s eyebrow rose with amusement. “All right Jess, we’ll do it your way. You get the first bullet.”

Jess tried to bargain, “Montana, when we worked together you always wanted to draw against me. What do you say we see who’s the fastest?”

Montana chewed on his lip. “But this way I know I can’t lose.”

Jess replied, “You ain’t scared are you? You always said you were the fastest gun around. Maybe you ain’t.”

“You forgetting that I use to beat you target practicing. Unless you were dogging it, Jess.”

“Try me, Montana, unless you’re scared. You use to say no man scared you, and you reckoned even when you went to hell that the devil wouldn’t either.”

Montana picked up Jess’ fallen gun. He opened the cylinder. He took out three bullets, dropping them to the floor; then he snapped the cylinder shut. He moved to Jess. “Keep them hands up high. I see you even start to drop…” He slid the gun into Jess’ holster. He backed away, still aiming his gun at Jess. “I left one bullet in the gun.” Montana holstered his gun. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Jess moved away from Slim. He felt the bead of sweat on the back of his neck. He willed his heart to beat slowly. His eyes dropped to Montana’s hand. He had always let the other man draw first, but now Jess’ hand fell to his gun.

Montana’s hand moved as soon as Jess’ hand dropped to the gun, but Jess was quicker. Jess pulled back on the trigger hard, but no bullet fired.

Montana laughed loudly. “Well I’ll be. All them times, you were dogging it! Wanted to have the edge over me, huh?”

Jess glanced down at his gun then looked back up at Montana.

“You didn’t really think I’d give you the advantage by leaving a bullet, did you? I just had to see who was the fastest,” Montana explained. “Now drop the gun, Jess.”

Jess started to let go of the gun. Suddenly he threw the gun hard at Montana and then raced towards him.

The gun bounced off of Montana’s chest. For a split second Montana had shielded himself. One more second and Jess would have been on him with Slim close on his heels, but in that one second, Montana pointed the gun at Jess, stopping all movement.

“Get back!” Montana growled.

Jess and Slim slowly took a few steps backward.

“Guess I can’t blame you for trying,” Montana said. He pointed the gun straight at Jess’ heart. “Adios, amigo.

The gunshot seemed to fill the entire house as its sound exploded in the small room.

For a second, Jess waited to feel pain, but there was none.

Montana smiled. “I always kept hounding you to draw against me, but you’d never fight me, and I wondered why. You never...” The gun fell from his hand as the gunslinger fell to his knees. His eyes were blank as he fell flat against the floor. A large spot of blood was on the back of his jacket. Behind him stood Laura. She held a revolver with both hands.

“I was putting more water on the side of the house when I heard the gun fire,” she explained. “I came around the back side because the door was closer and saw him standing there. I found a gun on one of the dead...” She began to cry. The revolver slid from her grasp. She hid her face with her hands as she sobbed.

Jess rushed to her. She welcomed his embrace.

She said, “I told you that I was a good shot. Especially when it came to shooting gunslingers.”

“That you did,” Jess replied as his hand rubbed up and down her spine.

“But what you didn’t tell me was that even if it’s a gunslinger, it still hurts to kill one.”

“I guess we gunslingers keep that a secret,” he tried to joke but her crying only intensified. “It’s all right, honey. It’s all right. It’s over. It’s finally over,” Jess kept repeating.

For a few minutes Jess allowed Laura to weep. She cried hard as if her heart was broken.

Finally Slim said one word, “Jess?”

“My fiancée,” Jess introduced. “Laura, my best friend, Slim Sherman.”

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Chapter Sixteen