Comanche Gold (21 page)

Tucson drew meditatively on his cheroot for a
moment then shook his head. “No, I've lain around the boarding
house for the last couple of days. I think I'll mosey on down the
trail before Catherine Murry gets tired of having me around.” He
blew a long stream of smoke into the air then asked, “How's Marshal
Calloway doing?”

“He's turnin' the air blue with his cussin',”
McMannus laughed. “He don't like havin’ to lie in a bed in one of
his own cells. But he seems to be healin’ pretty good.”

Tucson glanced at the shiny star on McMannus'
chest. “Well, he's got a good deputy to keep things in line for him
while he mends. That should set his mind at rest.”

McMannus touched the star as if he still
couldn't believe it. “Thanks again for puttin’ in that word for me
with Calloway. Now I can finally start gettin’ some experience.
People around town are already treatin’ me different.”

“All I did was point out the obvious,” Tucson
replied. “Calloway would have been a fool not to hire you. Now the
way is open for you,” he added. “What you do, and how far you go,
is up to you.”

McMannus became serious. “Don't worry. I
ain't forgot what you told me. You won’t have to come after me an’
take anythin’ back. I aim to be a good lawman.”

Tucson nodded. “I expect you will, Tom. Just
remember, a gun's as good or as bad as the man using it. If you
keep going the way you are, you could end up helping to solve some
of the problems still plaguing the west.” He squinted again at the
sky. “Anyway, I've got to get out of here.” He put out his hand.
“Maybe I'll run into you again someday, Tom. Until then, take care
of yourself.”

McMannus took Tucson's hand and pumped it
enthusiastically. “So long, pardner...ride easy...”

* * * *

Tucson stepped inside the boarding house and
paused to look around. The blinds were still shut and the interior
was cool. No one was behind the check-in counter, and he couldn't
hear anyone in the kitchen. Moving stealthily, he went to the door
and pushed through into the kitchen. It was empty. He turned
quickly to the desk and searched the shelf above until he found
Catherine's expense ledger.

He pulled it out and opened it to the last
entries. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the beaded rawhide
pouch he had found in Charles Durant's safe. He took the gold
nugget given to him by Soaring Eagle from his pocket and dropped it
inside the pouch with the nugget stolen by Durant. Then he pulled
the mouth of the pouch closed and dropped it onto the ledger.
Closing it carefully, he returned it to the shelf.

He was moving back through the door into the
lobby when he saw Catherine coming down the stairs. Although they
had been up most of the night before making love, Catherine still
looked fresh and lovely. When she spotted Tucson, she stopped on
the stairs and waited for him.

“I thought you might be in the kitchen,” he
said, by way of explanation.

“No,” Catherine replied, her face softening
as she watched him come toward her. “I took the morning off to get
some sleep.”

Tucson stopped on the step below hers and put
his arms around her slender waist. Catherine raised her face to his
and they kissed. She tasted good, and the warm softness of her body
pressed against his made Tucson wonder if he was making a mistake
by leaving. Then he gently disengaged himself.

“I've got to go,” he said softly. “I've been
in Howling Wolf long enough.”

Catherine searched his eyes for a moment then
she nodded sadly. “For some reason, I thought you might say that
today. I'm just thankful for the time we've had together.” She
paused as her fingers played with the lapel of his jacket; then she
asked, “Do you think you'll ever be back through this part of the
country?”

Tucson shrugged. “There's no telling where
I'll be from one day to the next. I could be back.” He kissed her
again. “But don't wait for me,” he added. “Things should be getting
better for you from now on.”

Catherine smiled. “I suppose that’s your
intuition working again.”

“You could call it that,” Tucson said with a
laugh. He released her, went back down the stairs then turned
around. “Why don't you stay there on the stairs until I’m gone?” he
suggested. “I'd like to remember you just as you are now.”

“Alright,” Catherine said, a single tear
cutting a path down her cheek. “Take care of yourself.”

Tucson stepped through the back door and into
the glaring sunlight. The stallion was already saddled, and it
stood waiting in the coolness of the shed. Tucson paused to tighten
the cinch strap then swung into the saddle.

The horse was rested and, despite the heat,
eager to go.

“Okay, big fella,” Tucson said
affectionately, as he guided the stallion out of the corral and
closed the gate behind them. “We're on our way.”

About the Author

Richard
Dawes
was born and raised in California and now resides in a
small town in Texas. After a tour of duty in the Marine Corps, he
spent fifteen years in management in the Moving and Storage,
Computer and Credit Union industries. He began writing short
stories as a boy, and has written several historical novels. A long
time student of Native American traditions, he includes positive
references to those traditions throughout the Tucson Kid series.
Other sub-themes explored in the series are authentic masculinity,
relationships and power— what are they and how do they
manifest.

Other books by the author at
Melange

Storm Rider
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Death Song
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Blood Moon
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Gunman
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Lone Horseman
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Coming Soon! Another Tucson Kid
Western

Chinatown
, a Tucson Kid
Western

Turn the page for more books
available
from Melange Books

Also Available
From Melange Books

Lone Horseman
A Tucson Kid Western #5

by Richard Dawes

In Lone Horseman, a young woman, Nora
Eddington, narrates the exciting saga of her meeting with the
Tucson Kid on a cattle drive she was taking with her father from
Nevada to Arizona. A band of outlaws want the herd, and they are
willing to kill her father and his crew of drovers to get it.
Nora's world is shattered when she passes through a rite of passage
from girlhood to womanhood as the Tucson Kid battles to protect
her, her father and their herd.

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High Mesa

by Clifton Bush

Gordon Simpson had one ambition in life, and
that was to pocket as many dollars as he could. He didn't count on
a chance encounter with an old friend who would save his life, nor
did he predict that he would run into a beautiful blonde with whom
he would fall in love with.

Soon he began to rethink his life, to put
behind what was and become someone better. That was until Dori was
killed, and from then on he vowed his revenge. It was a long time
since he had felt anger like this.

Also Available
From Melange Books

War-Crossed Eyes

by Joseph Hirsch

It is less than a year before the bloodiest
chapter in American History, the Civil War, commences in earnest. A
Blackfoot Indian rides the prairie, looking for revenge on the
society which has stolen his son from him. He is about to cross
paths with a beautiful young woman whose disappearance will send
ripples through the Western Frontier, conscripting mercenaries and
mutineers into the hunt to bring the Indian to justice and the girl
to safety. But nothing is easy in the Kansas-Nebraska territory and
anyone brave or foolhardy enough to try their hand must first
suffer the brutality of man and beast, which only grows in
intensity the further west that a seeker might travel.