Chapter 15

Sheriff Parker granted Jess' request to stop briefly at a small store so he could stock up on a few supplies and food for the trail. Even though they had turned onto a side street, it was obvious to both of them that they were being watched plenty from the boardwalks and the windows of the buildings.

They had almost reached the edge of town when a shot rang out from a gun fired in the air, drawing screams and scrambling of folks nearby. Jess drew his Colt and spun around, sidestepping to his left and crouching, as he scanned the area for the whereabouts of the shooter. The sheriff had also pulled his gun, though quite a bit slower. They both searched, but no one armed was in sight.

"Boy howdy! Harper you are fast!" The voice came from the shadows between two buildings, and a man maybe in his early twenties stepped out into the street, pointing his gun at Jess.

Jess rose from his protective crouch to his full height. The sheriff stood about ten feet beyond him. Jess gave his horse a little pat to send him a distance away, out of danger of being hit. The bay trotted off a few yards and waited there for his new master.

"Workins, what the heck are you trying to prove?" Sheriff Parker demanded.

Another young man in his late teens stepped out too, holding a sixgun audaciously pointed at the sheriff.

"You keep outta this, Sheriff. This is between my brother and Harper."

Four guns were in hand and pointed.

"Looks like we got us a standoff here," Jess said, his voice gruff with aggravation.

"Tell ya what, Harper. I'll holster mine. I figure you'll wait till we're both set. You know the sheriff ain't gonna look the other way if you just plain gun me down. I only shot to begin with to get your attention. It's a gunfight I want. Not a bloodbath." The older Workins brother slowly set his sixgun in the holster. "Let's see who's the better man."

Workins moved carefully farther out into the street. He had just taken a gunfighter's stance when another shot sounded.

The younger Workins yelped and grabbed at his hand as his gun flew from it. He and his brother stared incredulously at the smoke wafting from Jess Harper's iron, which had been immediately pointed back at the older brother, even as Jess' eyes and growl aimed at the younger one.

"You stay out of it too."

The sheriff chuckled and gestured with his sixgun to the younger brother's hand. "Just look at that, Cyrus! Harper didn't even break the skin. Hit the dang barrel! Bet that hand is stinging and throbbing though, ain't it, Amos?"

The younger man held his right hand with his left, panting and still staring in shock and fear at Jess Harper.

The lawman turned his eyes back to the older brother. "I know you're a fair quick draw, Cy." Parker now gestured toward Jess, who was still aiming steady at the challenger. "You'd just seen how fast Harper is, even when he's caught off guard. And now you've seen how dead-eyed accurate he is. You still want to try him?"

If a white sheet had been wrapped around the older Workins at that time, its shade would likely have matched the man's complexion.

The sheriff lectured, "I'd say Harper's shown a lot of restraint toward you two. Now you'd best move on before he loses that hold on his temper. 'Cause I know how het up I'd be if some two-bitter like you called me out. I reckon Harper's far beyond het up."

Cyrus looked at Jess' face and saw the narrowed eyes, fury blazing in them. Then Jess slowly reseated his gun in his holster.

He stood strong, straight, his shoulders and hips squared to Workins, his hand hovering over the grip of his Colt.

Staring, non-blinking, at the man, Jess gave a perfectly calm, graveled invitation. "Whenever you say."

"No, Harper. I don't want nothin' to do with you." Cyrus Workins eased away from the situation. With a wary eye still on Jess, he cautiously picked up his younger brother's gun from the dirt, and the two of them made their way slowly back to the boardwalk.

"I'll be over to your pa's place in a little while to talk to him about the two of you. Make sure you're both there," the sheriff barked.

The Workins brothers quickly headed out of sight down the alley.

Sheriff Parker turned to Jess. "Some mighty fine shooting there, Harper. And I meant what I said to those two. It took man-sized self-control to do what you just did. And steel nerves."

Jess simply gathered up his horse's lead, gave a pat and a word of appreciation to the bay, and started walking again. The sheriff joined in, carefully surveying both sides of the street until they reached the sign with "Houston City Limits" boldly painted on it.

As he walked, Jess had been thinking about what might lie ahead of him from now on, and his expression showed his melancholy.

"Sheriff, I appreciate you headin' off them two gunfights. I wasn't of a mind to be killin' anybody today."

"I know you weren't. I can see you're a fine man, Harper. I hope you'll stay that way. But I have to warn ya… it ain't gonna be easy. You've been put in a category I know you weren't seeking. But the fact is, a lot of folks are gonna see you as a gunslinger now. Don't think I didn't notice Ed Caulder approaching you. And there'll be others."

He fixed an intense gaze at the young man. "I'd like to offer you some advice. A man like you, on his own, is gonna be a target. A big one. Find yourself some good friends to ride with, men who'll watch your back and keep you on the straight and narrow. Because you're in a position to be easily drawn into a life of gunhawking and the owlhoot trail."

Jess eyed him. He respected this lawman. He would listen to every word the man said.

"I don't know what's happened in your past to put so much rage in you, boy. But I can see it's there, deep down. Add in your pure talent with a gun, and you're destined to head straight into a life full of trouble, if you fall in with the wrong sort." He paused. "I don't want to see that happen to you, Jess."

The use of his first name surprised Jess. He could see the genuine concern and respect in the lawman's eyes. He reached out, and Parker shook the offered hand.

"I ain't gonna make no promises, Sheriff. But I'll do what I can." Jess hop-mounted up into the saddle. "And what I have to."