Brother's Keeper (6 page)

“You go on up and make yourself comfy, Jess. I’ll wake you before I leave, which won’t be for another three hours or so,” Tony told him.
“Thanks, but make sure you holler up to me, even if you leave for five minutes.”
“I will, don’t you worry none about it.” Jess felt comfortable that he could nod off and finally get some rest. He knew he was going to need it later. He could hear Tony downstairs and he could tell that Tony had took to doing work that caused the least bit of noise and Jess thought that awfully nice of him. Tony was a good man and one that Jess figured he could count on when the going got tough. He finally fell off to sleep with his left hand on his doublebarrel lying across his stomach. He woke to gunfire and Tony hollering up to him.
“Jess! Jess! You better come on down here!” Jess scrambled to his feet and climbed down to the bottom level. “There’s shooting over at the saloon. Been about three shots so far. I was heading over there with my rifle, but wanted to wake you first.”
“Thanks,” Jess said, shaking the cobwebs of sleep off as he slung his shotgun into its back sling. “But why don’t you let me handle it and you wait here with your rifle. You keep a watch on the tops of the buildings just in case they try that little trick they pulled earlier again. This might be another set-up for me.”
“Alright, but I’ll come a runnin’ if you need me.”
Jess headed for the saloon. He kept a close watch on the buildings in case this was another ambush. Tony watched the tops of the buildings but saw nothing going on. Jess walked up to the front door of the saloon and looked inside. He saw LeAnn holding a rag to Andy’s shoulder, which was bleeding quite profusely, from what was obviously a bullet wound. Andy was sitting down at one of the tables and he looked like he was in more pain than a dog walking on rocks with a nail in his paw. The two men at the bar both looked like they had been drinking more than their share of whiskey. Neither of them looked like gunslingers to Jess, but one of them still had his pistol on the bar, obviously the one who had shot Andy. The other man was short and paunchy and he looked like he didn’t want to be there. Jess knew he would not be the problem. Jess walked in and both men looked at him. The one who had his pistol on the bar placed his hand on the butt of the pistol, but he didn’t pick it up. He saw a look in Jess’ eyes that prevented him from doing so. The man did, however, keep his hand on the butt of his pistol and his thumb on the hammer. The other man looked at Jess, but said nothing. He simply put both of his hands on the bar as if to say he wasn’t going to be a part of this. Both men were looking at Jess who walked to his left a little closer to Andy and LeAnn but not so close as to put them in the line of fire. The man holding the pistol spoke. “And who might you be?”
Jess didn’t answer. Without ever taking his eyes off the two men, he asked Andy how he was doing. “How the hell ya think I’m doin’! I’ve been shot, goddamn it! I’m bleedin’ like a stuck pig and that bastard right there shot me,” hollered Andy, glaring at the man at the bar.
“Well, I would not a had to if’n you hadn’t reached for that damn shotgun back behind the bar.”
“I wouldn’t a had to if you’d of shut yer yap like I warned ya.” Andy said, moaning with pain.
“Well, she does have a nice ass! A little extra meat to it, but that’s how I likes my women, strong and meaty,” the man said as he spat some of the liquid from his chew onto the floor. Andy went to say something but LeAnn beat him to it.
“You ain’t gettin any of this ass or anything else for that matter
,
Mister.”
“You know you want it. You’re jest playin’ hard to get. I likes that too.”
“You are nothing but a filthy pig! You get the hell out of here!”
“And who’s gonna make me?” the man said in a leering voice. LeAnn went to answer but Jess cut her off mid-sentence, which in itself, was quite a feat.
“I guess that would be me.”
The man, who had been eyeing LeAnn up and down, looked back at Jess. “Let me tell ya somethin’, boy. I been eatin’ young-uns like you fer breakfast the last twenty years. You ain’t makin’ me do nothin’ unless I want to.”
“I hope you’re hungry, then, because you’ll be eating something in about one minute, which is just about all the time you have to leave.”
“I’m real scared. Ain’t you scared Barry?” He said nodding back to his partner behind him at the bar, who had not moved or said a word during all of this.
“Cole, I think we otta just leave,” Barry said, still not moving his hands from the bar.
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere, less I want to! This little shit ain’t makin’ us do nothin’!”
“You’ve got about another thirty seconds or so left. I advise you use them wisely,” Jess warned the man.
“You suck my dirty shorts, boy! Case you missed it, I got my hand on the butt of my pistol and your’n is still stuck in your holster. I think you’re the one who otta get whilst ya can!”
“You’re down to about fifteen seconds,” Jess replied, calm as a cat curled up on a blanket.
“And jest what do you plan on doin’ after that, boy?”
“I plan on putting a little lead in your diet.”
“You ain’t got the gonads for it, boy.”
“Five seconds,” Jess said; his right hand at the ready. Andy moaned again. Cole’s face got red like an apple. Cole Parker wasn’t the smartest man you would ever meet, which is probably why he didn’t see in Jess what his partner, Barry Jacobs, had seen. If he had, he would have ridden out of town while he had the chance. Jess saw Cole tighten his grip on the butt of his pistol. Cole figured all he had to do was cock and shoot. He figured he had the advantage over this young man standing him down. He figured he’d shoot this kid and then get his hands on LeAnn. He figured dead wrong. He actually got to lift the pistol off the bar but he never got to finish cocking the hammer back before Jess’ shot caught him square in the chest. The man looked surprised and tried to speak but nothing came out except a little spittle with some blood and tobacco mixed in with it. He fell forward and landed face down on the wooden floor with a heavy thud. His partner, Barry, never moved a muscle, which is the only thing that saved his life. Jess’ pistol was still out and the barrel was smoking and pointed straight at Barry Jacobs, and as usual, his left hand was ready to fan another round.
“I ain’t pullin’ on ya, Mister,” Barry said, keeping his hands on the bar. “I know who ya are and my momma didn’t raise no fool. I’ll jest be leavin’ if’n that’s okay?”
“I think that’s a wise decision Barry. When you leave, keep on leaving, right out of town and don’t come back, ever.”
“I’ll be gone in five minutes, you can be sure of that.” Barry took one look at his pal on the floor on his way out. He never put his hands down by his side until he got outside the saloon. He was taking no chance that Jess would consider him a threat. He wanted to live another day and find a new pal and maybe one with a little more sense. Jess reloaded and holstered his gun and looked back over at Andy who was still bleeding. He started to speak but LeAnn beat him to it.
“Why, Jess Williams. I’ve never seen anyone draw a pistol that fast before! That man never had a chance. You sure are something and…”
“Would you just shut yer ever lovin’ jaws, woman, and go and get the Doc before I bleed to death right here in this damn chair!” LeAnn snorted at her father and headed out the door to go and get Doc Johnson. Before she got to the door Andy hollered out again.
“I swear by God that the next man that comes in here and wants ya, I’ll let him take ya!” LeAnn stopped for a moment and looked at her father and said,”well, Jess was the next man in here.” She looked at Jess and headed out the door for the Doc. Andy looked up at Jess with a look like a hungry dog begging for some scraps.
“Don’t look at me.” Jess exclaimed. “Not a chance in hell!” Andy lowered his head and just moaned. Not from the bullet wound in his shoulder though.

J
OHNSON AND
L
E
A
NN
both came running into the saloon and the Doc immediately went to look at Andy’s wound.

“Well, you’re lucky, Andy. The bullet went right through the flesh and it doesn’t look like it did that much damage. Come on over to the office and I’ll fix you right up.”

“Lucky? Since when is it lucky a man gets shot?” “I’d say you’re a damn sight luckier than this fellow lying here,” the Doc said, nodding at the dead man lying on the floor of the saloon. Andy moaned and let the Doc help him out of his chair. LeAnn helped also and she started walking out of the saloon with Andy and the Doc.
“Where the hell do ya think your goin’ woman?” Andy asked LeAnn, groaning with pain.
“I’m going over to the Doc’s place with you.”
“Like hell you are! You gotta run this damn place till I git back from the Doc’s. He don’t need any help causing me any more pain than I got right now!”
Doc Johnson had a look of indignation on his face. “On second thought,” Doc said, looking at Andy’s shoulder, “maybe I should explore around a little just to make sure there are no pieces of bone or lead floating around in there.”
Andy just moaned some more knowing that he would pay for his remark. He looked over at Jess and said, “I shouldn’t have said that, huh, Jess?”
Jess shook his head in sympathy and simply said, “Nope, you sure shouldn’t have.”
The Doc took him out and walked him over to his place. That left Jess inside the saloon with a dead man and LeAnn. Suddenly, he wished he hadn’t shot the man or at the very most just wounded him.
“Well, Jess Williams, I guess I should give you a great big kiss for saving Daddy and me. What do you think about that?” Jess felt strangely uncomfortable. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced before and he did not like it one bit.
Tony from the Livery came in before Jess could respond. He looked at the dead man on the floor and looked back up at Jess. “You sure are having a busy day, ain’t ya?”
“Yeah, and I don’t see it slowing down much either. Tony, could you get some men over here and get this body over to the Undertaker? I have to go see Jim and Sara.”
“Sure thing, Jess, I’ll tend to it right now.” Jess nodded at LeAnn and before she could say anything to stop him, he was out the doors of the saloon like a stampeder. The fact that he got out before she spoke was nothing short of a small miracle. Jess hadn’t really planned on visiting Jim and Sara; he had used it as an excuse to get out of LeAnn’s sight. She looked a little too much like a starving cat eyeing up a big bowl of milk. He decided that he would visit the general store and have a cup of coffee with Jim and Sara anyway. He always enjoyed that. Jess found Jim stocking some shelves since business was picking up. Sara put on a pot of coffee and the three of them sat down.
“Business must be pretty good if you’re restocking shelves already,” Jess said.
“Sure is, thanks to you. I’m still not sure it was the right decision for you though.”
“How’s that?”
“Carter’s not going to stop until he gets you. He ain’t the type. He ain’t used to losing. He’s already tried to have you killed and I hear tell he’s coming into town tomorrow to make sure you don’t get out of town alive. He’s a mean cuss and he won’t stop until one of you are dead.”
“I figure you’re right about that. This will never be over until one of us is dead and there is no getting around that. That’s why there’s no sense trying to get out of this. He’ll hunt me down even if I leave town. I might as well end it here, right now, one way or another.”
Jim lowered his head a little. “Well, I just feel kind of responsible for it. Hell, we could’ve retired and just let that old cuss get his way,” said Jim, not really meaning it.
“You know as well as I do that that would never have satisfied him anyway. Men like Carter are used to pushing people around and making them do what he wants them to do. That’s going to end right here and soon. You’ve got a right to run your business and the only reason you’re being punished is because the two of you are my friends. I won’t stand for that.”
Sara got up and got the coffee and poured three cups. She got out some cornbread and put it on the table. “You know Jess,” Sara piped in, “Jim’s right. We could survive okay with the way things were. It’s not worth you getting killed over. I’d rather burn this place down and leave town with what we could carry in a wagon before seeing anything happen to you.”
“That’s exactly why I won’t leave. You two are good people and my friends. I won’t just abandon you and leave town. I could never live with myself. Besides, Carter is the kind of man who needs to learn that he doesn’t own the world.”
“What are you going to do when he comes to town tomorrow?” Jim asked.
“I’m more concerned with getting through the night, right now. As for tomorrow, I’ll deal with it when it gets here. I can tell you this though. If Carter comes to town, I’ll kill him for sure. His hired guns may get me in the process but he will be the first one to go down. He’s the one who caused all this grief and he’s the one who’s going to pay for it and not with all his money, he’s going to pay for it with his life.”
Jim and Sara looked at one another and knew there was no way they could talk Jess out of any of this. And they also knew that he was right. Even though they didn’t agree with the direction in life that Jess had chosen, they knew that men like Carter would just push and push the common people until they gave up, and when that finally happened, he would push some more until he had everything they owned. They both knew that Carter would never leave the town alone, even if he did succeed in having Jess killed. He had the town under his thumb now and he would never give it up. That was the way it was with most rich and powerful men. Once they had the taste of power, the only way they would give it up is when you pried it from their cold dead fingers.
Jess picked up a nice slab of warm cornbread and buttered it heavily. He began to eat it but his mind wasn’t really on the cornbread even though it tasted wonderful. He was deep in thought about something else. Not about Carter or the fact that there were as many as a dozen men who would shoot him on sight for the money or the reputation. He was thinking about his twin brother, Tim Sloan. He knew that once he settled things in town, and if he survived it, he would have to turn his attention to his brother. He would have to find him and find out how and why his brother had come to know Blake Taggert, one of the murderers of his family. But he couldn’t think about it much right now. He had to keep focused on his immediate problem, trying to keep from getting killed by one of Carter’s thugs or even Carter himself. While Jess steadfastly refused to stay overnight at Jim and Sara’s, he did agree to take a short nap. He figured he would head to Andy’s Saloon shortly after dusk. He had gotten two good hours of sleep before Sara woke him. He grabbed a quick swallow of coffee and headed down to the saloon.
Jess watched carefully while he walked over to Andy’s. He noticed Tony sitting slightly inside the door of his livery, with his Winchester across his lap. Jess nodded to him and felt very fortunate to have a friend who would stick by him in a time like this. Men like that, in fact, were not all that common. Most men would have went home, had their supper and resting between some cool sheets, but not Tony. Here he was, watching the rooftops and any other ambush points he could see from his vantage point. Jess stopped outside of Andy’s, looking in to see who was in there. He saw Andy behind the bar and Andy gave him that look that said it was okay to enter. Jess walked in and surveyed the room. There were over a dozen men in the saloon and Jess quickly sized them up. There were only two men who might be a problem. The rest were there for the show, if there was one. Andy brought Jess a hot cup of coffee and Jess sipped it slowly.
“Didn’t plan on seeing you back here so soon,” said Jess.
“I wouldn’t want to miss any fireworks.”
“You might get shot again.”
“They’d just put me out of my misery.”
“Misery?” Jess asked, with a grin. “You’ve got it made. You’ve got a great saloon to run here and a wonderful daughter by your side.”
“Who the hell you think I was talkin’ about when I said misery?”
Jess shook his head and smiled. Just then, LeAnn came out of the back room with a few plates of food. “Why Jess Williams, the way you ran out of here today, I didn’t think I would ever see you back in here,” she said, obviously a little miffed by Jess’ quick departure earlier.
“I missed Andy,” replied Jess. LeAnn threw her head back and stormed back into the kitchen area.
“I think I understand,” Jess said to Andy.
“Huh? ‘Bout what?” Andy asked, somewhat confused.
“That thing you said about misery.”
Andy nodded, finally catching on. Jess stayed at the saloon for the next several hours expecting something to happen, but surprisingly, nothing did. There were a few men who had given Jess more than a few glances but they were just curious and Jess knew they would not be a problem. About two o’clock in the morning, the place was almost empty. There was one man at the bar who was totally inebriated and Andy kept trying to get him to go home. LeAnn had left already and there were two men who were deadlocked in a poker game, neither one of them wanting to give up. Jess thanked Andy and headed to the livery to get what little rest he could. Tony was gone from his spot when Jess got there. Jess climbed up to the top and he pulled the ladder up with him. He figured there was no sense in making it easy if someone decided to pay him a visit in the middle of the night. Jess checked the floor for squeaks and found a quiet spot in a dark area and he threw down some hay for a little cushion. Then he found a small chunk of wood on the floor and he placed it close to where he was going to sleep. He was thankful for the blanket and pillow that Tony had placed up there. Jess hung the back sling with the double-barrel on a nail within easy reach and lay down with his pistol in his hand, resting on his stomach.
Men like Jess never really slept soundly. They couldn’t take the chance. They could, however, sleep through certain natural sounds. Sounds like frogs croaking or crickets chirping. They could sleep while owls hooted and coyotes howled. But certain noises, noises that didn’t seem to fit or belong to the natural order of things, would suddenly startle a man like Jess and wake him. It was just that sort of unnatural noise that the ambusher in the bottom of the livery made that sentenced him to a certain death. He had brushed his left elbow against a wall where there were some bits hanging up and the metal on one of the bits bumped the wall ever so slightly. Jess’ subconscious woke him. He wasn’t sure what he had heard, only that he had heard something out of the ordinary, something that didn’t quite fit, and that meant danger.
He slowly rose from his makeshift bed and stood up, backing himself up against the wall where it was pitch black next to his shotgun and waited, watching for any movement. There were two men. One was standing just inside the front door of the livery, a pistol exposed in his right hand. Jess couldn’t see the other man but he could tell the man was below him by watching the face of the man in the doorway nodding in the direction of the man below Jess. The man at the door was pointing his pistol up to the top of the livery. Jess knew he had only seconds to act before they would spot him. He picked up the small chunk of wood he had found on the floor earlier. Then he very quietly reholstered his pistol and pulled the shotgun out of its sling.
Jess threw the piece of wood to the right of the man in the doorway. As the exact same instant that the wood hit the floor, Jess cocked both barrels. Just as the man in the doorway shifted his attention to the sound of the wood hitting the floor Jess let him have the first shot and the man’s head exploded like a melon. Before the man fell, Jess stepped off the top and jumped straight down to the floor, turning around in the opposite direction towards where he figured the other man was. Before Jess’ feet hit the floor he spotted the man and let him have the second barrel just as the man’s shot went wild, missing Jess by at least five feet. The shotgun blast hit the man full force in the middle of his chest. The force slammed him against the wall and he hit the ground, never to move again.
Tony lived behind the livery and Jess could hear him running up the short trail and saw him enter the back door. He had his Winchester and an oil lamp in his hands. Tony looked at the two men and looked at Jess who looked no worse for wear. “You okay Jess?” asked Tony, putting his rifle across his left arm and setting the lamp down on a worktable.
“Better than these two boys.”
“Can’t argue with you on that.”
“You know these two? Are they working for Carter?”
“That one by the front door is one of Carter’s men. Never seen that one though,” Tony said, nodding in the direction of the other dead man lying in a pile of hay. “Must be one of the many fans you’ve gained since you came to town.”
“I do seem to have a lot of people interested in me, don’t I?”
“You are becoming right popular, and that’s a fact. Hell, you ought to run for Mayor. You would win hands down.”
Just then, Andy came running up to the front of the livery, his double-barrel in his left hand. He was breathing heavy and moaning about his shoulder. “Jesus Christ,” Andy exclaimed, “don’t ya ever take a break?”
“Only when they let me, Andy.”
“Well, the odds are gettin’ better. Hell, you must’ve killed damn near a dozen men today alone,” said Andy.
“That’s how those rumors get started. Actually, it’s closer to a half-dozen,” Jess replied.
Andy cocked his head and gave Jess that funny look. “Like it really matters.”
“Well,” Tony said, “I’ll take care of the bodies. Jess, why don’t you go on back up and get some rest. I’ll stand guard again so you can get some sleep. You’re going to need all you can get for tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Andy agreed, “I’m sure you’re gonna have quite a day tomorrow. Probably worse than today, if that’s at all possible.”
“You know, Andy, you’re just a little ball full of good news,” replied Jess as he used a rake to pull the ladder back down so he could climb up to the top.
“Don’t get me riled up. I’ll send LeAnn over to ya.”
“God no, I’d rather deal with a few more armed ambushers,” Jess replied. Andy and Tony both laughed at that.
Tony took care of the bodies and sat guard until about five in the morning. Andy went back home after having a cup of coffee with Tony. Jess had listened to the two of them chat back and forth before he finally fell off to sleep. Jess remembered shuddering a little just before he fell off to sleep. He thought it might have been from the chill in the night air but he realized it was really from the thought of Andy sending LeAnn over like he had threatened. A few hours later Tony woke Jess and Jess climbed down and had a few cups of strong hot coffee with Tony. They sat there and watched the small town come to life. People were slowly coming out and moving around. Jess smiled when he saw two people walk into Smythe’s General Store inside of a half-hour. He smiled mostly because not one person had yet entered Carter’s General Store except for the clerk that Jess had met when he had went into Carter’s store yesterday. Jess spotted Sheriff Newcomb opening his office, his nose still bandaged from his encounter with Jess.