Jesse by J.B. Richard

Author:J.B. Richard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FIG Publishing
Published: 2020-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

The barn was dark inside, and the timbers creaked and moaned against the wind, which gave Nate the willies. He fumbled with the match and finally lit the lamp. He had thought he might get lucky and end this fight tonight. Tipsy had come to warm himself in Jesse’s cabin before. But there hadn’t been any tracks in the yard, and the chimney wasn’t puffing smoke.

Nate led the mustang into a stall. He would go hunt Tipsy in the morning when it wasn’t dark. A wolf howled not far away, and the mustang’s ears perked up. Nate patted Buck’s neck. “It’s okay, boy. You’re safe in here.”

“But you ain’t,” a voice hissed behind him.

Nate twisted around. Tipsy had appeared out of nowhere, covered in a quarter-inch of snow that made him look like a ghost in the glow of wavering light. Only, that Colt in his hand wasn’t any illusion. Nate’s heart banged in his chest.

“Nice-looking horse. I’ll enjoy riding ’im.” Tipsy sneered, and Nate caught a whiff of foul whiskey breath. Tipsy could kill Nate, but it would be a cold day in hell before that son of a bitch ever touched Buck.

Nate threw the lantern at Tipsy’s head and dove into Buck’s stall as Tipsy’s Colt cracked and glass shattered everywhere. Hay on the floor went up in flames and fanned out within seconds. Buck reared and kicked. Nate couldn’t get ahold of the tether line because Buck was jumping, which smacked Nate against the planks of the stall wall, and he fell. Above, flame streaked along the crossbeam and lit the ceiling. Almost half the barn was engulfed.

Smoke funneled up around Tipsy, who stood just out of striking range of Buck’s front hooves as the panicked horse tried to break free, and he aimed at Nate. A thick gray clouded the air, and Nate coughed while he tried to get Buck loose. Tipsy’s Colt barked. Nate yelped and dropped to one knee, grabbing his leg. Blood oozed through his fingers. Buck lunged, jerking the line tight and clamped his big teeth down onto Tipsy’s arm, shaking him ten ways from Sunday.

The timbers above them crackled louder than Tipsy’s screams, and a fiery board fell behind him. It wouldn’t be long before the roof caved. Nate had to get Buck out of there.

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.