Shane and Jonah 19 by Cole Shelton

Author:Cole Shelton [Shelton, Cole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action hero, American Frontier, Colt.45, ebook, fiction, Gunfighters, Piccadilly cowboys, Pulp fiction writing, the Old West, Western series
Publisher: Piccadilly
Published: 2022-09-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Trail’s End

THE FIRE BURNED low.

The hymns and prayers had long since died away, and Zion’s Children were in their beds, dreaming no doubt of their Promised Land. Tomorrow, Shane Preston reflected, sitting alone beyond the wagon circle, that dream would be a reality. The emigrants would settle down to live and worship and bring up their children as they pleased. A new community would be founded.

And the two Texans would ride on.

There were times when Shane envied people like Zion’s Children. They were settled, whereas he had to drift. They could know laughter and happiness whereas these things eluded him. For how could he be truly happy with Scarface living and breathing and enjoying life somewhere? And yet, at times when he sat alone and thought about folks settling down, a temptation to abandon his lonely mission inevitably came to him. Scarface could be anywhere. Maybe he was even dead? Or rotting in some distant jail? But then, Shane would have to know. He would have to be sure. Only then could he be content and hang up his guns. And he would feel deprived if Scarface were already dead—he wanted to kill the murderer himself. Swiftly, the temptation to settle down would always pass. There was a destiny he had to fulfil, and despite the nagging thoughts to the contrary which sometimes assailed him, somehow he knew deep within himself that Scarface still lived.

“Shane—”

“Rebecca!” He turned quickly as he heard her soft voice in the stillness. “Shouldn’t you be back in your wagon?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and when I saw you out here, I thought you wouldn’t mind if I came and sat with you.”

He appraised her as she stood beside him. Her night-robe was blue, buttoned to the neck, and just brushing the ground as she walked. She looked incredibly beautiful in the softness of the midnight moon, and her honey hair was a shining cascade down over her shoulders and curving over her breasts.

“Isn’t this against the rules?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes,” she admitted again.

He was seated on a rock and she came to join him there. “I know this is against the rules,” she whispered. “I mean, I’m a widow, a member of Zion’s Children, and I’m meeting a man who’s an outsider to our religion. But I had to come, Shane.”

“Yes?”

“Soon you’ll ride on—maybe tomorrow—and I mightn’t ever see you again.”

“If we’re passing by, we’ll always call in,” he promised. “After all, you make durn fine coffee!”

“But you said ‘if’,” she said.

“That’s right.”

“Which means you mightn’t ever be in this territory again—especially if you hear that Scarface is hundreds of miles away, say in Arizona or Texas,” she blurted out. “And ‘if’ is only a maybe, Shane.”

“And maybe is all I can say,” Shane agreed.

“It all depends on him, doesn’t it?”

“Scarface?”

“Yes!” She was trembling. “Oh, God—how I hate him! I hate him as much as you do, Shane. I hate him because he’ll be taking you away from me.”

She gasped then as she realized what she’d said, but she couldn’t take her eyes from his.

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