Lone Valley: A Fresh Start (Mountain Man Book 6) by Nathan Jones

Author:Nathan Jones [Jones, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-23T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Long Night

Skyler hadn't taken the time with Bob to ask just where in Lone Valley he should take a prisoner. He also hadn't bothered to ask where he could find Aunt Vicky.

That left him just one person he actually knew in town, so he headed to Hancock's Mercantile. Hopefully the man would forgive being woken up in the middle of the night for an emergency. At least, as much as anyone did for something like that.

It took a few minutes of pounding, and being cussed out by someone in a house on the other side of the street, before the trader finally threw open his door. Flooding Skyler and the two horses at the hitching post behind him, his stallion and Jared's gelding Buster who was carrying Lobo, with light from a kerosene lantern that temporarily blinded him.

When he could finally see again, he found Hancock squinting at him over the lantern. “Mr., uh, Graham, was it?” the man asked. His voice took on the glare the light hid. “The blazes you doing pounding on my door in the dead of night?”

“Sorry for the trouble,” Skyler said. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards Buster. “Got a bandit who needs dealing with.”

The trader spat. “No sheriff in Lone Valley, sorry.”

Yeah, he'd already heard that from Lisa's family. “How about someone who takes on the job as needed?”

“Never had much call for it,” Hancock replied with an apologetic shrug. “And when we do, we usually save it for the League patrols if they're passing through, or more often sort it out ourselves.”

That also squared with what he'd heard. Not that it wasn't a major pain. “You expecting one to pass through anytime soon?”

Another shrug. “They show up once a month or so. One's due in a couple weeks, although we could always try radioing for help.” The trader shook his head grimly and continued before Skyler could even get his hopes up. “Although we didn't have much luck when we tried earlier, about the trouble Mrs. Hendrickson was reporting on her ranch.” He paused. “Speaking of which, this have to do with that?”

“Yeah.” Skyler jerked his thumb at the bandit. “This one's part of that gang.”

Hancock rubbed at his chin. “Well, it's a relief to know we don't have two separate bandit issues to deal with.” He sighed and dropped his hand. “Doesn't change the fact that our League friends are ignoring us. Which is no surprise, I suppose . . . they've never so much as answered our attempts to communicate before. Only gave us the thing so we could call in if Sangue ever poked their noses around here again.”

Skyler cursed quietly. Lobo was his problem, but since Bob didn't want him around the ranch, even tied up, it was one he needed to hand off if he could so he could get back up there to defend his friends. “I don't suppose you have a jail, then?”

“Not as such,” the man agreed. He nodded towards the bandit strapped across the gelding's saddle.

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