Blaze! Night Riders by Michael Newton

Author:Michael Newton [Newton, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rough Edges Press
Published: 2016-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

The food was piping hot and perfectly prepared. The company, packed in around the Hilliards' dining table, was congenial—except, perhaps, for Moses Dyer, who regarded Kate and J.D. Blaze with a suspicious eye.

Before dinner was served, there'd been handshaking all around with other members of the small ex-slave community in Yankton. J.D. thought he'd memorized most of their names, though he was shaky on the children, treating them to smiles and feeling thankful that they didn't say much in the company of strangers. Kate was in her element, of course, charming the lot of them, downplaying what they'd done to save the Hilliards as it if was all in a day's work.

Which he supposed it was, for them.

"I don't believe I've ever seen chicken fried better," she was saying, to Calliope's delight. "What do you think, J.D.?"

"I wouldn't argue with you, Hon," he dutifully replied.

There was a momentary lull in conversation, before Venus Jones inquired, "If you don't mind me askin', how did you-all come to lead your present trade?"

Kate, with her mouth full, nodded to J.D. "It was coincidence, I guess," he said. "I did some bounty work before we met, and I was bringing in a holdup artist when Kate caught my eye, or I caught hers. Next thing you know, we're hitched and traveling the county, anywhere there's work."

"Gun work," said Moses Dyer, his deep voice fairly rumbling.

Calliope glared at him, saying, "Moses, please!"

"No problem," J.D. said. "And no offense. It's true we help the law whenever possible, and shooting's sometimes part of it. Give me a choice of dying or assisting some rough hombre on his way, and it's no choice at all."

"The Bible says 'Thou shalt not kill'," Moses intoned.

J.D. met Dyer's gaze without a flinch. "It doesn't say 'stand by and let yourself be killed.' I never heard of any verse in scripture that forbade a man or woman from the right to self-defense," he said. "And if you check the original Hebrew, I believe the verse you're quoting actually translates as 'Thou shalt not murder.' There's a difference, at least as I interpret it."

Moses harumphed but didn't have an answer at the moment, turning full attention back to his half-empty dinner plate. Most of the others at the table smiled or nodded, watching Dyer as they signaled their approval for J.D.'s remark.

Kate tried to steer the conversation in a slightly more serene direction, asking Amos and Calliope, "Have there been any more disturbances since yesterday?"

"None yet," Amos replied. "We've talked some about what to do if it resumes, whether to leave or stay and fight."

Around the dining table, worried eyes focused on Kate and J.D. Blaze. J.D. had noticed that the other men had come with rifles, which were stacked together in a corner by the door, suggesting that they had the will to fight, even if they got shaky when they thought it through.

Before Kate had another chance to speak, J.D. told them, "It's risky, giving you advice on how to plan your lives.

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