Texas Renegade (A Gatling Western #8) by Jack Slade

Author:Jack Slade
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: elmore leonard, peter brandvold, louis lamour, old west fiction, westerns ebooks, piccadilly publishing westerns, william johnstone, bn rundell
Publisher: Piccadilly

Chapter Seven

IT WAS SUNDAY and the plant was closed and the only men working at the ranch were those who had to. In the morning there was a prayer meeting conducted by Murdo, but few hands attended. For most of them Sunday was their day of rest. So why get up early to listen to a lot of preaching done by a bearlike man growling in a heavy Scottish accent? Kinnock didn’t go to Murdo’s service, but read the Bible in the main room of the house while Gatling cleaned the light Maxim on the other side of the fireplace.

Kinnock closed the Good Book and said, “You take such care of that murderous thing. No wife could be better cared for.’’

“If you’re asking if I sleep with the light gun next to me, the answer is no. The gun is a good companion, but not in bed. For the real thing, I prefer a woman.”

The Scots prude allowed himself a smile. “Speaking of women,” he said. “How is it that you’ve never married?”

“How do you know I don’t have a wife and ten kids back home?”

“You have no wife, no kids, no home. I just know. Please don’t be offended.”

“Why should I?” Gatling looked around the big comfortable room. “Why aren’t you married? You have a fine house, a sound business, plenty of money. Don’t tell me you’re waiting till you find a woman with money.”

“No, it isn’t that. I’m waiting for the right woman. I don’t want to make a mistake.”

“What’s wrong with making a mistake? Some of us learn by them.”

“I don’t want to learn by my mistakes,” Kinnock said firmly. I’d rather wait and do it right. You’re quite the opposite, I think. Tell me something if you don’t mind. What’s it like to live from day to day, with no responsibilities, no roots, no foundation to one’s life?”

It was Gatling’s turn to smile. “It’s pretty good,” he said. He didn’t feel like telling Kinnock about the Zunis. “You get used to it after a while, and there’s no turning back. Sometimes on a dark cold night in a strange town I pass a house and catch a glimpse of some family working hard at domestic bliss, Daddy reading, Mommy sewing, the kids playing, and I think that might not be so bad. The feeling always goes away when I’m in my hotel room with a no-strings woman beside me in bed, a stock of cold beer on top of the dresser. Even if I don’t find a woman on short notice, there’s always the beer.”

“It doesn’t sound like much of a life.”

“Maybe not, but it suits me. There have been women who tried to lead me to the altar, and I was more or less ready to go. But in the long run I always heard alarm bells instead of wedding bells, and I ran for safety. There have been women who knew what I do and they said it would make no difference. They said

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.