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Warning for language

Date 1874

Texas

Daniel and Percy stood together on the outside of the fence near the barn. Percy leaned himself on the fence as he watched Daniel getting ready to shoot the dummy they had set up in the last few days.

"Okay, Percy here's the deal, I will teach you how to shoot. But you need to pay close attention to me so you don't hurt yourself. I swear your mother will have two graves for me to dig yours and mine." Daniel spoke as he started to raise his rifle to his shoulder.

"But why would she kill me? I didn't do anything wrong." Percy asked as he watched Daniel look down the sights several times.

"Well because a lady's anger is more deadly than any rifle kid. Anyways let's move on, shall we? Now watch me and keep a close on how I shoot then I will show you how to hold it correctly and safely." Daniel instructed as he peered down the sights.

As the sights fell upon the center of the target dummy, Daniel squeezed the trigger allowing the rifle to shoot. A loud bang rings out and a hole appears on the dummy with the sound of the bullet following right after.

"Wow!" Percy muttered in awe. His eyes were wide with excitement.

"Okay, Percy, come here let's get you ready." Danial gestured with his hand to the spot Percy should stand.

Percy walked quickly to the spot and was about to get into the stance Daniel was in but was stopped by a simple hand in the way. Looking at Daniel with a curious look on his face Percy just stood there confused. Daniel just turned around and grabbed the rifle.

"So why did you stop me?" Percy stared at the rifle in Daniel's hands with a hungry look in his eyes.

"One, you need to calm down. You almost kicked up the entire ranch with how fast you ran over. I don't want your excitement to make you hurt yourself cause you're too excited to listen. Two I still have to show you the safety and other parts of the rifle." Daniel sternly spoke as he looked down at Percy.

"Okay I can do that, just have to remain calm," Percy muttered to himself.

"Good I don't want to see you hurt yourself. Your Ma would kill us both for it." Daniel chuckled out loud.

Percy moved back into position and started to raise the rifle. Peering his eye into the sight and aiming at the target, with a squeeze of the trigger, the rifle shot rang out. The two stood in silence as they waited for the dust to blow away.

"Percy you were aiming at the target right?" Daniel asked as he scratched at his chin.

"Umm yes sir I did," Percy asked with an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

"Okay well you missed and hit the hay behind it but you were close," Daniel said as he looked at the young boy next to him.

"Oh I missed, but how I had the sight right on the target, how could I have missed?" Percy questioned as he looked quickly at Daniel.

"Well now Percy everyone misses, no one can be a perfect shot at first you know. Even those that train to be amazing shots miss from time to time." Daniel patted Percy on the back as he tried to comfort the young boy.

"But I was on the target and was looking at it the entire time." Percy couldn't understand what went wrong.

"Try it again, this time take a breath before you squeeze and let yourself feel the rifle." Daniel instructed.

'Okay, Percy plant your feet and take a deep breath before firing.' Percy thought to himself as he followed the steps in his head.

Percy gripped the rifle and let himself fall into a clear mind as he peered through the sight. Taking in all Daniel told him before Percy squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out once more and dust came up as the bullet soared through the air and impacted the corner of the target.

"Great job! Now the next thing is to learn to hit the center of the target. We will do this a few more times today before we have to eat." Daniel spoke with happiness in his voice.

The two spent the rest of the day practicing Percy's shooting skills. It wasn't perfect and it took a lot of time for Percy to make it closer to the center but with time it would grow. The bond between the two grew deeper and deeper with each lesson that day and the many lessons that would follow.

As the two ended their lesson for the day they walked to the house, intent on eating their dinner. Daniel looked at Percy and smiled thinking about how this boy was a joy in his life.

"Dan, can I ask you something?" Percy asked. He took Daniel by surprise since the kid never shortens names.

"Umm yeah, what's up?" Daniel replied.

"Could you teach me everything you know?" Percy asked as he walked forward and stared ahead.

"Sure kid I can do that." Daniel smiled as he looked down at Percy.

"Thanks"

"Yeah it's not a problem for me"

The two continued to walk the rest of the way to the house in silence.

A few months later…

"Good Percy, you hit the center again." Dan's voice rang out from behind the barn.

Both Percy and Daniel stood outside the barn taking shots at old bottles and scarecrows. That the two put together throughout the last couple of months.

"Come on, that was perfect. What do you mean good?" Percy's voice asked.

Daniel just smirked and raised his rifle. Quickly he shot off three rounds all hitting the heads of the scarecrows. Percy gave him a look that showed he was not impressed. He was used to Daniel showing off when they practiced but this was getting old to him.

"Come on Dan, that's getting old, you have done that about ten times already this month." Percy groaned out.

Daniel let out a laugh before patting Percy on the back. Percy continued to walk forward and started to think about his dream. Riding the plains on horseback taking down criminals who rob innocent people. Coming home to his mother and Daniel and telling them how he stopped the train from being robbed. Percy smiled as he let his mind wander as Daniel led them to the barn.

"Percy, make sure you get cleaned up okay? Mr. Harper is coming over to eat dinner with us. He wants to discuss something and I don't know what it is, so we want to look our best." Daniel said as he put the rifles away.

"Do I have to be there for this? You know how much I don't enjoy him. He's always asking about business and I have a bad feeling about him." Percy complained.

Daniel gave out a small chuckle and placed his hands on Percy's shoulders.

"I hear you, and I feel the same way. But he is an important person and is very important in the town. I wouldn't agree to have him if he wasn't." Daniel stated.

Percy nodded and turned to head to the house to get cleaned up before their company is expected. Sally was in the kitchen preparing food when Percy passed her and went to freshen up.

"Percy make sure you wear your nice stuff please." Sally called after him.

All she heard was a thud for confirmation from her son. Sally knew of his dislike toward Mr. Harper and much like Daniel, she didn't blame Percy. Still she knew what having pride can do to someone. Daniel soon entered and gave her a questioning look after he did a quick scan of the room.

"He's getting himself freshen up now." Sally said.

"He doesn't have a good feeling for Mr. Harper. I don't blame him." Daniel sighed.

"Neither do I, he isn't the greatest man but he is the best customer these past seasons. When it comes to our products, which is a bit strange." Sally muttered.

After a short time, Percy came back and was dressed nicely. Percy made his way to the table and sat down as he waited for the company to arrive. Not liking how the clothing felt since he wore it very little. He would complain every few minutes much to the amusement of the adults in the room. Daniel smiled and left to freshen up.

"You look so much like your father, I know he wishes he was here instead of being stuck not able to be here." Sally started to shed some small tears.

Percy quickly stood up to comfort his mother. "Please don't cry, I know you told me he couldn't but he can send some way to let us know he is watching. He should be helping you at least, I can handle myself fine." Percy muttered the end as he held his mother.

"I think he does send us a way to let us know. He can't do too much but we did have more storms these last few months than before and when we needed a little rain the most." Sally quickly defended her former love.

"Maybe, but a letter would be nice as well." Percy grumbled but let his mother go so she could clean her face.

Daniel came into the room shortly after and looked at the two, seeing he clearly missed something. He shrugged, if he was needed he would step in. The trio heard the sound of three deep knocks at the door. Daniel muttered how he hated that knock and went to let their company in.

"Ah Dan my friend, it's so nice to see you. Looking healthy as always must be Sally's cooking." Mr. Harper spoke loudly as he walked inside. The man at the door wore deep dark colors that accented his wealth. With a large belly that showed how much he ate and never did any work himself. A large round nose sat upon his face with a greedy smile on his face, and a disgusting glean in his eye. His big meaty fingers patted Daniel on his shoulder in greeting.

Daniel laughed quickly and shrugged off the hand, "I can't deny that part about Sally's cooking." He started to lead the man but was stopped by Mr. Harper's hand.

"Hold on, I must make sure my wagon is away." Mr. Harper said and turned to face outside.

Percy looked confused for a moment, he looked at his mother to see her with a look of pure anger on her face.

"Hey, you nigger don't you break my wagon. You might have been freed by that tall nigger lover but you still work for me." Mr. Harper screamed out to the field.

"I never wanted to hit that man more than ever." Sally said quietly but didn't realize Percy could hear.

Percy was confused since he always met Mr. Harper in town. He didn't know he had hired former slaves to work for him. He never saw his mother this angry before either, but he guessed it made sense. She always believed that all people deserve to enjoy freedom.

"Sorry about that Dan, it's hard to find good help for cheap now. They get this notion that they need more pay than what that trash is worth." Mr. Harper apologized with no look of shame or embarrassment.

"Right, we'll start eating if you would like to sit and then we can discuss what you wished to." Daniel said with his anger barely being contained.

"Right that sounds nice, I imagine you wouldn't want those niggers on your land any longer than I wish to allow them to." Mr. Harper said as he sat down across from Percy.

Percy sat there very uncomfortable as he had to look Mr. Harper in the face throughout the meal. They all enjoyed a well-cooked meal before Mr. Harper opened his mouth.

"You know Dan I never got why you didn't buy any niggers back when the slave trade was big. Do it now too, I know a place you can hire them for really cheap. I say you don't pay them, they're not worth the dirt on my boot." Mr. Harper loudly spoke.

Daniel was just pushing through the conversation with injections every now and then. Percy sat through this and had to listen to Mr. Harper talk about cheap labor. Percy clenched his fist in anger and started to calm down until Mr. Harper opened his mouth again.

"Sally, you should know how it is. You came from the north, how cheap were the niggers back there huh. You must have had at least one to help with Percy here. No father to speak of and only you to take care of him. You're not doing a very good job at being a mother if you don't get someone to watch him." Mr. Harper said as he leaned a little back.

Percy couldn't take it and slammed his fists into the table. He glared at Mr. Harper with a look that could kill a thousand souls. "You watch your fucking mouth when you speak about my mother. You have no idea what you're talking about." Percy shouted in Mr. Harper's face.

Mr. Harper sat there in shock at being yelled at by the boy. He stood up quickly, his face red as a tomato.

"You listen here boy, you don't yell at me like that. I own those things out there and I came here for this land. I give you this Dan out of respect for you, I want to buy this land and I was going to give you a really fair deal." Mr. Harper screamed out.

Daniel stood up and walked to stand in front of Mr. Harper. Daniel just smiled at the other man.

"I'll have you killed, you hear me! You will regret this Dan, both you and that whore's kid." Mr. Harper staggered away from the door. His hand held his face to try to contain the spreading pain.

Daniel just reached for the gun he kept near the door and fired a shot near Mr. Harper.

"Get the hell out of here and don't let me catch you around my family," Daniel growled out loud enough to be heard.

Mr. Harper staggered to his wagon and climbed on top. He glared at the house that held the family of misfits and yelled at his driver to get him out of the area.

Daniel sighed as the wagon disappeared from view. A soft hand placed itself on his arm, Daniel turned to see Sally looking at him.

"You shouldn't have hit him, Daniel." Sally scolded

"You heard what he said, he deserved it." Daniel started to argue before he was silenced by Sally.

"Yes, but I wanted to be the one that hit that smug bastard," Sally smirked.

"She would have made him change colors if she hit him, Dan," Percy said from the back of the room.

"You young man have to learn to control your anger. Both of you use violence to fix your problems." Sally sighed as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Weren't you the one who just said they wanted to be the one who smacked Mr. Harper?" Daniel asked with a smile on his face.

"I'm different, I have to take care of you two and you know a woman's wraith is more deadly than any weapon," Sally said in a matter-of-fact tone. She then walked into the kitchen to start cleaning.

Percy smiled and walked to help his mother clean, he was the one that started the trouble. Daniel laughed and joined the two and together they laughed and cleaned not a single one thinking about the worry of the terrible dinner.

Thank you to Bailey for being the beta for this story. If you want to interact with us please follow the link to my discord server where a few other authors hang out! If it doesn't work you can PM me and I will send you the invite.

Link for the discord /5PMBq2z3tX