The Gunslinger (Barnett Ranch) (2 page)

             
Jax finished his breakfast and carried his plate to the kitchen.  A young girl about fifteen was busy washing dishes as they came in.  Jax tipped his hat to her and went to check the woodpile.  He didn’
t mind chopping wood.  I
t reminded him of his youth.  That was a time when his whole world revolved around farm chores and his mother was still the
re to guide him.  His father
ran off and joined the army, so it was just him and his mother.  He often had to do chores that were for a grown man, but he gritted his teeth and done it anyway. 

             
The war had eventually taken his father from them and soon his mother followed.  A neighbor took him in and taught him to shoot, and from then on
, his life had
changed forever.  He struck out on his own, and never looked back.  He found himself in one scrap after another, fighting for his life.  He was fast and as soon as word spread about just how fast, more people would come to fight him.  One by one he’d laid them in their grave, and they dubbed him the Angel of Death.  His mother had always called him Angel, but he could never call himself that again. The Angel of Death left a stigma on h
im that made him sick. 

             
Jax put all that bottled up frustration into chopping wood.  By the time he was through there was more than enough for the rest of the day.  He stacked the wood closer to the back door so that the ladies cooking wouldn’t have to go far to retrieve it.  He wiped the sweat from his face and neck with his bandanna.  He found a water trough and wet it so he could cleanse the grit off him.  Then he tied the wet bandanna around his neck.  He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows to cool off some. 

             
Mrs. Ellen
popped her head out the door to find him.  “Well my, my, you’ve sure been busy.  I reckon you won’t have to chop anymore of that wood for a week.  That’s mighty fine work.  I was hoping
you might give me a hand with something.  I need to go over to the general store and I would like it if you would escort me over there.  I noticed some of those trail hands have already rode into town.  They don’t bother with an old lady like me but I still prefer male company when they’re about.”  “Yes ma’am, we can go whenever you’re ready.”  “Well come on then.” 

             
She wasn’t kidding about the trail hands.  They were wild and rowdy.  They
cursed around women, spit wher
ever they
felt like it and when they were drunk, they shot up the town.  It weren’t that they were bad men.  They were all young and rowdy, and generally tired of the trail.  Most of them just got a little too excited when they saw a woman after being on the trail so long without anything but cattle to look at. 

             
He guided
Mrs. Ellen
across the street, to the stares of everyone around.  They must have thought it strange to see such a fine older lady with the likes of him.  He was dangerous and everyone could see it, except
Mrs. Ellen
it seemed.  She just chattered right on, ignoring everyone’s looks and praising him for being such a gentleman.  He knew better though.  He was no gentleman.  There wasn’t a gentle bone in his body, but
Mrs. Ellen
reminded him of his mother.  She stirred up old memories that made him want to be gentle. 

             
The clerk at the general
store
looked confused.  It was amusing to Jax how the man’s face contorted as he tried to understand. 
Mrs. Ellen
ignored him and rattled off the things she needed.  The clerk rushed to box them up.  “
Mrs. Ellen
, I’ll have this delivered as soon as my help arrives.”  “No need for that, Mr. Tanner can carry it for me.  He hired on t
o help out at the restaurant.”  Jax picked up the heavy crate and followed
Mrs. Ellen
back across the street. 

             
She prattled on about the restaurant among other things, but Jax wasn’t listening.  His eyes were roaming the street.  The men he’d seen earlier were standing outside the restaurant doors waiting for them to open.  They were perched in chairs and propped against the post. 

             
Mrs. Ellen
opened the door and turned the closed sign around.  “We’re open now, gentlemen.  I expect you to behave around the ladies though.”  She gave them each the once over and waited for them to acknowledge their understanding before walking
inside.  Jax followed her with the crate, and set them down as quickly as he could.  He wanted to keep an eye on these fellows.  He walked out of the kitchen and propped himself up against the counter.  He made his presence known by resting his hand on the hilt of his pistol and stared a hole in the table of men.  It was meant to let them know, there would be no foolishness in this establishment. 

             
He was quite surprised when he heard a gun cock behind him.  He moved his hand from his side and slowly turned around.  The biggest surprise was who held the gun.  He’d been expecting an old enemy, or a friend of the cowboys sitting at the table.  What he had not expected was to find a woman holding a gun on him.  She was dressed the part of a wom
an who’d been ra
ised on a ranch.  She wore tan leather
chaps over a
pair of boys jeans
.  She wore a gun belt slung low on her hips and a floral print button down shirt graced the top of her attire.  On her head
,
she wore a cowboy
’
s hat, inst
ead of a bonnet and her face had turned dark
from the sun.  Her eyes were a light brown with a greenish tint and her hair hanging down her
back was straight and dark brown
.

             
He lifted his hands higher, and was about to ask her who she was when she beat him to it.  “Who are you and just what kind of trouble do you think you’re going to start in here?”  “Lady, I’m not looking to start any trouble.  I’m here to prevent it.”  “I asked you who you are?”  “If you’ll put that gun away, I’ll be glad to tell you my name, but if you don’t you’re bound to find out after I take it from you.”  She huffed, “I highly doubt that.” 

             
Mrs. Ellen
stepped through the doors from the back and stopped dead in her tracks.  “Virginia
Elizabeth
Barnett
, take your gun off that man, this instant.”  “I caught him trying to make trouble with his hand on his gun staring at the customers.  Now, I aim to see him out of here, Granny.”  “Virginia, I hired him to keep the customers from making trouble, and the only one that’s going anywhere is you and you’re going right back in that kitchen.  Do you hear?”  “But,”
Mrs. Ellen
cut her off.  “No but, nothing.  Get yourself back in that kitchen.”  Virginia eased the hammer back in place and put the pistol back in its place. 

             
“I’m sorry about that.  I told you she’s been raised a heathen.  I aim to turn her into a lady, if it’s the last thing I do. 
Well, I’ll let you get back to watching the customers, although I think she may have just blown your cover.”  Jax turned around to find the table of cowboys all laughing at him. 
It was just his luck that a woman
who couldn’t be
no older than nineteen would be the first person to ever sneak up behind him. 
He resumed his position and pulled the hammer back on his pistol.  The table of cowboys stopped laughing at once. 

             
Most days Jax sat in a chair out front whittling a stick.    He only came inside once in a while to pick up a broom or keep an eye on a pack of rough looking cow
punchers, which
stumbled in for a meal.  Virginia figured he had to be the laziest man she’
d ever lay
eyes on and she told him as much. 
Then again, she’d never been around when he chopped wood, so she really wouldn’t know that he could work as hard as any other man could.  No, he was doing what
Mrs. Ellen
was paying him to do, and though it irritated him to hear her call him lazy, he let it go.  He couldn’t watch the customers if he was busy doing other things. 

             
She constantly insisted she could do his job better than he could, and he never felt the need to correct her.  He didn’t need anyone knowing about his past.  He feared if he let them see him use his guns they would figure it out, and word would get out that the Angel of Death was here and he would have no peace. 

             
Besides anyone who had any sense could see he’d been a gunslinger.  It didn’t take a genius to notice he had the traits of one.  The way he wore his guns, and watched in silence was more than enough to send off warning bells.  The only one who didn’t see it was Virginia.   She taunted him constantly.  If she’
d been a man, he’d have dealt with it already.  He found her constant belittling of him irritating. 

             
He’d put up with it for four days and he needed a break.  He headed for the livery to get his horse, so he could take a ride.  He was sure the stallion needed to release some pent up frustration of his own, being surrounded by mares all day and being confined to a stall was probably about to do him in.  Jax threw a saddle on him and mounted up.  The horse danced a jig, and Jax settled him down.  He held him back until they reached the edge of town, then he kicked him into a gallop and they both took their frustrations out on the open range. 

             
He’d passed a creek on his way into town and decided that would be a good place to stop.
The people in town called it Chugwater creek and some referred to it as
Chugwater
springs.
He pointed the horse in that direction and gave him another kick.  It felt good to release all that pent up frustration.  He was at the creek before he knew it.  The horse was blowing hard, so he slowed him to a walk.   He dismounted and led the horse around until he found a nice place to rest. 
Then he turned the horse loose to graze.  He was ground tied so Jax didn’t worry.  He took out his Bible and read the psalms.  He couldn’t concentrate on his reading so he put the Bible away.  He picked up a few rocks and skipped them across the water.  Still he was frustrated, so he picked out a target and took aim with his gun.

             
He didn’t hear the horse and rider come up behind him, until he heard the voice.  “So, you really are good with that thing?”  
He
spun on his heels.  Virginia sat on top a bay mare with black points and the only white on her was a star on her forehead.  “Damn,” he whispered under his breath. He’d come out here to get away from her and she’d followed him here.  “What are you doing out here?”  “Same as you, I imagine.  I was pretty surprised to find you out here.”  “Well, you aren’t the only one surprised.” 

             
He hoped she would leave but
he was disappointed when she climbed off her horse and found her way over to him.  “How about a little friendly competition” she asked.   “No, besides, you shouldn’t be out here with me.  It doesn’t look right and you could ruin your reputation.”  “Please, I live on a ranch.  I’ve been alone with men more times, than I can count.”  “Maybe, but you’ve never been out alone with me, and I’m not taking any chances of a town getting riled up and forcing my hand in marriage to a woman I can’t even stand.”  “Ouch, that hurts.  Oh well suit yourself.”  She climbed back on her horse and spun her around then stopped, took out her pistol and fired a shot into the ground in front of him.  “Everyone around here knows I can take care of myself, and I can take care of my granny’s restaurant.  You’re not needed.”  “I guess we’ll see what your granny has to say about that.  She’s the one that hired me, not you.”  She kicked her horse into a gallop and headed back toward town. 

             
“Good riddance!”  He was glad to see her go.  She was infuriating. 
He’d been somewhat harsh with her but he had no need for her and refused to have people dream up all kinds of things between them.  He was right to send her away.  Why she couldn’t see that, he didn’t know.

             
He’d been up since early this morning to look at a small place on the edge of town.  He was
,
told it had a few acres with it and a small barn, to stable his horse.  The house was in need of repair but he could rent it
until he found something better.  He made a deal with the homeowner that if he fixed the house up he wanted the first month’s rent
,
free.  They shook hands on it and he even signed his name to a piece of paper with
Mrs. Ellen
as a witness.

             
The place wasn’t much to look at but it would suffice for now.  He was tired of staying at the hotel and he wanted his horse to be able to stretch his legs. 
He had some repair work to do on the fences as well but he would have to do that in the evenings after he left the restaurant.