Love and the Lawman by Aston Alexa

Author:Aston, Alexa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2021-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

William Kessler was aggravated. He had better things to do than try to sweet-talk obstinate homesteaders. That was Ken’s job, one in which he’d been fairly successful.

Until Nora Cantrelle came along.

His brother was infatuated with the attractive widow. Kessler could understand why. Just one look at her and he’d been ready to cart the woman off to his bed. Her pure beauty made her seem untouched somehow.

His opinion changed the minute she opened her sweet mouth. While her voice was pleasant, she proved to be opinionated and overeducated. He tolerated neither in his women. Pity, too. A war widow would have made fine window dressing on his arm during the governor’s race down the line.

Ken, however, chased her like a dog in heat. He doubted she would know what to do with a rutting fool like his brother. She seemed passionate about her writing, but he didn’t see her as particularly sensual. Ken, for all his gentlemanly airs, was base in his desires. He didn’t see a long-term relationship for them and had told Ken so. He advised his brother to see his needs met at the saloon because there wouldn’t be any lasting happiness with the Cantrelle woman.

That only made a determined Ken dig in his heels. William would give Ken credit for that. He would woo Nora Cantrelle as long as it took, before he took her and used her up. It had always been the same story. William got Ken out of far too many scrapes of the same nature. Why the boy couldn’t use his energy on whores was beyond him.

He reined in his horse as he hit the top of the rise and looked out over Seth Appleton’s property. It was a nice piece of land. One he had to have. If the railroad came through this way, he would make a killing. That is, if he could buy up all the land on its supposed northern route. He prayed to God Tom Morrison’s information was correct. Morrison owed him a huge debt. For them both to cash in on a new Denver-to-Casper line would go a long way in fulfilling the obligations of the past.

So far, his venture had been successful. He’d authorized Ken to cut the current homesteaders good deals but not enough to cause suspicion. Most jumped at the generous offer, not caring whom it came from, much less why it had been tendered. He’d recognized this wanderlust among many of the people who came West after the war. They claimed they wanted to put down roots, but they also took off for parts unknown at the drop of a hat. It was odd but it had been very effective for him.

Except for a few holdouts like Appleton. His family came out in ‘62 when Congress passed the original Homestead Act. Appleton wouldn’t budge. Ken had spoken to the farmer on three separate occasions to no avail. That’s when he’d decided to step in. Appleton was a leader in the small but growing community.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.