Unexpected (15 page)

Deak
quickly looked around the street.  There were quite a few people out, but no Cogan Reid.  The man’s height and breadth were unmistakable. Where did he go? 

After a few minutes he began to feel unsafe
—exposed. So he walked down to the corner of the building slipping into the alley there to try and get a better view of the street without the eerie unsettling in his gut that something was wrong.

The instant he
ducked around the corner a large hand shot out and grabbed him around the neck thrusting him against the side of the building painfully. The wind was forced from his lungs with an agonizing grunt.  It felt like every bone in his body was capable of shattering with that impact. Then he was effortlessly slid up the roughened lumber of the outside wall until his feet were dangling in air. His eyes were now level with ones as black as night and a shiver of terror went through him. He could barely breathe from the granite-like grip over his windpipe. When he thought about it later, it was done purposely so he couldn’t scream but breathe enough to stay alive. He knew from the hold on his throat, that the strength present could easily crush his neck. Never in his life could he even come close to imagining someone so powerful even with the muscular bulk that was so obviously present.

“Do you have nothing better to do than to spy on my sweet fiancé?”
Cogan’s tone was deadly, yet calm.

Deak
gasped for breath, and his hands wrapped around Cogan’s thick wrist to try and pull away, but the big man’s grip didn’t even waver. “Please,” Deak begged still clawing at Cogan’s hand.

Cogan took a deep breath of patience and released him. 
Deak fell to his knees gasping.

“You can tell Butch that she’s mine now, and if he comes
near her, I’ll castrate him. Did you hear me Deak?” 

He nodded still gripping his throat.
  He’ll feel the impression there for days and he couldn’t suppress the tremors that shook him.  That’s as close as he’d ever come to dying and it was terrifying.

Cogan noticed his fright
and knew he probably took it a little too far.  This guy looked young and he was just doing what Butch had told him to do.  As far as his instincts could tell, he was pretty harmless. “Christ, stand up.  I’m not going to kill you.  If I was, you wouldn’t have survived this, now get up.”

Slowly
Deak got to his feet. Terror registered in his face as he met Cogan’s eyes again.

“How old are you?”

“Sixteen,” he answered hesitantly.

“Jesus, you’re just a kid.”

“I’m not!”

A smile threatened to pull at Cogan’s hard mouth.  Well, the kid was brave.
“How the hell did you get mixed up with that bastard?”

He shrugged.

“Your brother is leading you down the wrong path.  You’re both going to end up dead.”

“
I have no one else,” Deak finally admitted.

“That’s a shame kid.  This life is not kind.  I’ve put a bullet in men younger than you because they chose the wrong side.  You should get out while you can.”

“I have nowhere else to go. Elroy said he’d take care of me.”

“Elroy is already missing some body parts.  Do you want to end up like that?”

Deak quickly shook his head.

There was a time when Cogan wouldn’t have even discussed this with someone like
Deak.  He would have just killed him, but he sensed the kid was in deep with the wrong crowd. “It’s obvious he sent you out to see what I’m up to, so I’ll just tell you.  Then you can go back to him and let him know everything.  After that, just know, that the Hamilton ranch has openings for a hardworking man like yourself if you chose to.  There are two types of men in this world Deak, those that work hard for a living and those that get greedy to try and make an easy buck.  I’ll let you figure out which ones live longer.”  Then Cogan told him what he needed to know.

Meanwhile Josephine and Hattie were choosing wedding invitations from
Merle.  He said he’d print them out and place them in everyone’s post office boxes save one.  It would be a massive event.  The ceremony would be held at the church, but the celebration would be out at the ranch.  Cogan had left to order supplies from Merle at the hardware store down the way.  He told her to stay put until he returned.  She had no problem listening because she knew Butch watch them carefully from his lair on the second floor of the hotel.

They decided that the event would be held after her nineteenth birthday next month so that gave basically no time for the preparations, but there was a rush because, like Cogan said, things were going to start turning bad really quick.

***

Butch stood staring down at the overturned table and spilled whiskey
decanter.  His hands were on his hips and his expression gave nothing away to the rage he was feeling inside or the destructive fit he just pitched. It was his way of trying to control his inward emotions.  He knew he frightened the two men left in the room with him, but at that moment, it didn’t matter and he didn’t care.

“Boss?”
Deak asked uncertainly.  He’d never seen such anger come from Butch before.  He usually kept it inside.  When he told him of Josephine’s engagement, he grabbed Deak by the collar and shook him like a rag doll before he released him and overturned the table that had his documents on it. In the process, he spilled his whiskey all over the Oriental rug he threatened to shoot his brother for bleeding on a week ago.   Then he released a yell of rage.

Deak took a few steps back along with the other guy in the office. He was one of six that Butch had hired a few days back to replace the dead men.  He remembered his name, Doyle.  He looked as mean as a rabid badger and twice as ugly. 

Yet, s
tanding there, with whiskey splashed on his old, worn boots, near one of the meanest men he’d ever met, made him think of Cogan’s advice. He most likely would not see his seventeenth birthday if he didn’t do something about his situation.

Butch
waved a hand to indicate that his tantrum was done.  He then walked to the window and peered out at the wagon with his hands on his hips again.  The three must still be in the post office. “I think we’ll go pay the happy couple a visit.”

Oh hell, this day was just getting worse
, thought Deak.  He felt a bad confrontation was coming as Butch grabbed his frock coat and pulled open the door.  He and Doyle followed him.  Doyle had that look about him that most of the men Butch hired did.  He wanted to kill a man.  He wanted to make a name for himself.  However, what Doyle didn’t know was that Cogan wasn’t an ordinary man.

“
I think we are going to have company,” said Merle as Butch stepped out of the double doors of the hotel across the street.  He only had two men with him as he started walking toward the Post office. He seemed to be in bit of a hurry to get there too.  It was unusual because even from a distance, he looked a little unsettled.  Butch never looked, or acted, unsettled.  Everyone knew that he put a lot of work into his appearance.

Josie felt her heart start to thud in her chest as she watched Butch approach with his two men flanking him. 

“You can go through the back.” Merle offered. “I’ll do my best to delay him.”

“Don’t you dare put yourself in
harm’s way for us,” Hattie scolded. 

Merle
curled his hand over his shotgun under the counter, but he didn’t need to use it.  Cogan stepped into the store at that exact moment. 

Josie’s sigh of relief was audible. 

“Merle take Hattie out the back,” he said calmly.  From the way Merle was posturing, he had a gun under the counter and his hand was on it.  Now in all the years Cogan had been alive, he had some experience with gunfights, well, more than some.  Men, in general, don’t want a gunfight.  They want to look courageous in front of their peers.  Cogan only shot people if there was no other recourse.  He was willing to give Butch a chance before he pulled his revolver.  However, if he threatened Josephine again, he’d more than likely put a bullet between his eyes.

Merle
nodded, came around the counter and took Hattie’s arm. 

“I’ll not leave without Jos
ephine,” she protested.

“I’ll protect her. They’ll have to go through me to get to her, and that’s not going to happen.  If she goes with you
, Hattie, the men Butch has stationed on the roof of the hotel and the saloon will chase you down.  Right now, she’s safer next to me.”

“Come on Ha
rriet, she will be fine,” Merle encouraged while pulling on her arm.  She finally conceded but only after a concerned glance at Josie, who told her to go.

Then Cogan reached out and pulled Josie
partly behind him before flipping his coat over the holster at his hip.

She saw the movement and got alarmed.  He meant to pull his gun!
“Cogan you don’t mean to—”

“—
Shh Josie, let’s just see how brave he is,” he said over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the approaching men through the door window.

One of the men opened the door for Butch
who paused as he saw Cogan’s position and the exposed gun at his hip.  He then spared a glance at Josie who was standing behind the large man. She didn’t even seem the bit intimidated by his presence.  If anything she seemed irritated. The anger in his own eyes was unmistakable.  “Are you going to use that?” he asked Cogan in warning. Deak was still holding the door open and Doyle was standing directly behind Butch in the doorway.

“If you give me cause.”
His eyes went to the two men.  Deak wouldn’t meet his gaze.  The other one just grinned and he could hear the distinct sound of the hammer cocking on his revolver.

Before Cogan could do anything, a rifle muzzle
bumped up against the new gunman’s temple.  On the other end, shockingly, was no other than the sheriff. “I don’t know you fella, so if you think you can go around shooting my citizens, you’d better think again. You’ll be the first to die. Drop the gun.” The strangers grin fell and he released the hammer and then his gun which fell to the floor with a thud. 

Butch turned and looked at Gus
with a deadly expression. “That’s a mistake.”

“
Yeah, I figured you were going to say that, but I am the sheriff of this town, born and raised, and seeing that I’m the law, I’m letting you know, that there won’t be any killing today, unless
I
pull the trigger.”

People paused in the streets before rushing for cover in case there was gunfire.  Curious citizens stood in doorways or peered through windows in awe. 
All of them knew that this wasn’t like Gus at all.

It was then Cogan realized that this was the pinnacle point when Butch started his fall from Grace. The townsfolk witnessing a spineless man standing up for the good people of Bakersfield inspired them.

“It looks like it’s your lucky day.” Butch said to Cogan. There was a maddening challenge present in his grey eyes.

“If you say so.”

“We’ll be seeing each other again,” Butch promised. “Let’s go.” He turned and walked back across the street not sparing Gus another glance.  He’d take care of him later.  His two men followed obediently.

Gus
finally lowered the rifle only after Butch walked down the boardwalk and into the saloon out of view.  He released a shaky breath.  He barely held it together for that confrontation.  He started trembling enough that the rifle shook in his hands.

“Nicely done sheriff,”
praised Cogan.

“Yeah, well, I should probably get my affairs in order, because he’s not going to let that go.”

“I don’t think he’ll risk killing you after that.  There were too many witnesses.  The last thing he needs is a US Marshal to show up.”

“I hope to hell you’re right.”

“That was amazing Gus,” Josie came out from behind Cogan, rushed forward and kissed a blushing Gus on the cheek. “I was wrong about you.”

Gus found it within him to smile bashfully at that show of affection.

Cogan reached over and took Josephine’s arm pulling her back toward him possessively. “Away from the window Josie.” he murmured. He could still see the armed man on the roof of the Hotel, and didn’t want to take any chances.  He wasn’t sure how deep Butch’s insanity ran when it came to her.

Josie glanced at him with her eyes wide.

“Just a few more minutes, then we’ll leave.  Butch knows now.”

“Knows what?” asked Gus.

“We’re getting married next month.  The weekend after my nineteenth birthday.”

That took Gus back completely.  She’d just met this man barely a week ago.  Yes, he knew there were marriages that happened in less time, but this was Josie.  She had a good level head on her shoulders and never jumped into anything
irrationally.   Yet, this man—this stranger, that showed up as a savior would be the type that Josie Hamilton was attracted to.  He was seemingly invincible, intelligent, and there was no denying that he was handsome to the opposite sex.  Gus was envious the first day he met him because he knew this could happen.  Not that he’d ever had a chance, but he was still hanging onto hope.  It now faded to dust.