Rattler's Law, Volume One by James Reasoner

Author:James Reasoner [Reasoner, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647349868
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Published: 2021-02-23T22:00:00+00:00

2

White Eagle's stomach knotted painfully as he waited for someone to answer his knock. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He had thought long and hard before he set out to find his father, and he had made the trip to Abilene certain that it was what he wanted to do. But deciding on a course of action and then seeing it through were often two different things.

He had never regretted leaving his father and finding his own way in the world. As time passed, he had become convinced that he had done the right thing, and he had made a good life for himself. There was danger in it, of course, and loneliness, but those were things that White Eagle could tolerate. He was his own man.

Nevertheless, the memory of the angry parting between father and son had haunted him. Pierre Dandaneau wasn’t an endearing man, not someone easy to love, but he was White Eagle's only blood relative. White Eagle believed deeply that it was wrong they should remember each other badly.

The quick patter of footsteps beyond the door startled him. The knob turned, and the door swung open. A woman's voice said, "Yes? Who is—"

She stopped speaking, obviously startled by the sight of this tall, buckskin-clad stranger on her porch.

White Eagle was stunned. He had one overwhelming impression: She was beautiful. He stared silently into her china-blue eyes and, after a long moment, shifted his gaze. She was a young woman in her early twenties. Fine, long, cornsilk-blonde hair framed her lovely face. She was clad in a light blue dress, the fabric dotted with tiny white flowers, and he was surprised further when he noticed that her belly was swollen with impending motherhood. Her pregnancy only enhanced her beauty, for her skin was luminous, and her eyes were clear and sparkling. As she stood in the doorway, the picture she made was one of the most compelling White Eagle had ever seen.

Recovering his composure, he reached up and snatched off his hat. He jerked his head in a nod and said, "Ma'am."

The young woman replied, "Hello. What can I do for you, sir?"

"Is this...is this the house of Pierre Dandaneau, ma'am?"

"It is," she said.

"Would it be too much for me to ask if he is here?"

The woman shook her head. "It wouldn’t be too much to ask, sir. Unfortunately, Pierre isn't at home at the moment. Perhaps I might be able to help you. I'm Mrs. Dandaneau."

White Eagle had half expected her to say that, but hearing the words spoken came as a shock anyway. This woman—his stepmother—was even younger than he was.

Should I tell her who I am? The question raced through his mind. After a second or two, he decided not to, at least not yet. Instead he said, "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Why, I expect him sometime this morning. He's a freighter, you know—" She paused and waited for White Eagle to nod in confirmation, then went on, "He'll be returning from a short run he made to Solomon yesterday.

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