#98 Turned Renegade

Turned Renegade?

By Patty Wilkinson

(Some strong language, violence and adult themes)

Noun: renegade: a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.

Chapter 1

Jess Harper looked out the window at the sun-baked yard, hands stuffed in his pockets, despondency in his deep blue eyes. He sighed loudly before turning back to the unusually tidy parlour of the ranch house.

Just that morning, Daisy and Mike had departed for a protracted visit to Daisy’s sister in Cheyenne. Both young Mike and Daisy had succumbed to a bad dose of influenza in the spring; following on from a terribly long, hard winter and both were in need of a break and change of scene.

Sure, he and Slim, his partner in the ranch, had been happy enough for them to go, aware it would do them both good. But now as he stood in the quiet empty room with the long summer school holiday before him, he realized just how much he would miss them both.

Sighing again he reluctantly made his way towards the kitchen, knowing Slim would be expecting supper when he returned from mending fence over on the east pasture.

He was standing in the small kitchen debating whether to do beans and bacon, or just beans when there was a loud hammering on the front door. He ran to answer it, snagging the rifle kept by the door, before opening it cautiously and peering out.

Then he lowered the rifle, an embarrassed grin on his face, “Hell Mort where’s the fire?” he asked, “I thought it was Jesse James come to rob us the way you were practically knocking the door down.”

Sheriff Mort Cory gave his old friend a rueful look, “Sorry about that Jess, but a matter of some urgency...is Mrs Cooper in?”Read More »

#97 Who Killed Clay Brady?

Who Killed Clay Brady?

By

Patty Wilkinson

Please Note: Some adult themes, strong language and violence

Chapter 1

Jess Harper had the light of battle in his deep blue eyes as he weighed up the big black stallion from his seat on the coral fence.
“Sure I can break him, Slim,” he said turning to where the tall blond rancher was leaning on the fence beside him. “It’ll just take some time that’s all.”
“Yes, and time is what we haven’t got,” Slim retorted irritably. “You know the deadline for the green broke mustangs is the end of the month and the army don’t like to be kept waiting.”
Jess rolled his eyes, “Well I know that don’t I. Nope I reckon we’ll keep this critter for ourselves, he’ll make a damn good worker once I’ve finished with him.”
Slim shook his head and sighed deeply, “Well OK but later. We need to get the others ready and delivered on time if we want that bonus.”
“Sure, sure,” Jess said vaguely. But his eyes were still on the proud animal that was galloping around the coral pausing occasionally to shake his head, snort and paw the ground showing his immense displeasure at being confined.
“You know, he puts me in mind of Black Jack,” Jess said, “same goddamn temper that’s for sure,” he added with a grin.
“And that’s exactly why I don’t want you working him,” Slim said in exasperation. “Black Jack was a widow-maker if ever I saw one...I reckon you’d never have broken him.”
“Just a damn shame I didn’t get the chance to finish the job,” Jess said sadly.
The horse had jumped the fence and then taken a bad fall later and sustained a broken leg, resulting in his death.
“As it was, he ended up dead, instead of you,” Slim reminded him morosely.
“Yeah, well Ace ain’t gonna jump the fence I’ve made dang sure of that.”Read More »

Merry Christmas

# 96 One WyomingWinter Long, Long Ago

One Wyoming Winter...Long, Long Ago

By

Patty Wilkinson

(Some violence, strong language and adult themes)

PART ONE-THANKSGIVING

Chapter 1

Jess Harper stared out of the barn door into the yard of the Sherman Ranch and Relay; where the ground was glistening with a heavy frost, and sighed...
“Darn it...it ain’t even November yet, dang weather,” he said irritably.
He rubbed his right thigh that always bothered him with the advent of the colder days. It was the legacy of a revengeful outlaw who had shattered his thigh bone with a bullet, saying Jess would always have something to remember him by, “Well ain’t that the truth,” he muttered morosely to himself now.
Mike, his young ward, suddenly came into view running across the yard into the sanctuary of the barn. Frowning up at his hero, he asked, “Are you OK Jess, you look kinda mad?”
Jess grinned at the youngster and ruffled his hair, “Nope I’m fine Tiger, just mad at this darned cold weather I guess.”
The blond-headed child merely beamed up at him, “Well I think it’s swell, sooner it snows the better and then I can stay home from school!”
Jess rolled his eyes, “Speakin ’ of school, you all ready? I can hear the stage comin’ down the rise.”
“Yup all ready,” Mike nodded, holding up his books and lunch box.
He walked the boy across to where Mose was bringing the stage to a standstill; and Slim marched out of the house to greet the old timer.
Jess threw Mike up into the stage and slammed the door behind him, telling him to be good and mind his teacher.
Then Mose grinned down from the box, “News is there’s snow layin’ real thick up in Montana...some are sayin’ it’s heading our way, if the wind’s right,” he added cheerfully.
Slim glanced over at his pard and saw his face fall.
Jess muttered a low oath and rubbed his thigh again...however said nothing further.
“Oh, it’ll just be an early flurry,” Slim said encouragingly, “doubt it will come to much.”Read More »

#95 Dark Secrets

Dark Secrets

By

Patty Wilkinson

Some strong language, violence and adult themes

Please note this is set in series one, before Jess and Millie were together.

Chapter 1

Slim Sherman and Jess Harper were sitting in the barn mending tack and occasionally glancing out at the torrential rain falling beyond the open barn door.
“Carries on like this fer much longer we’ll hafta start bringing in two of every kind fer ol’ Mr Noah and his Ark,” Jess said grinning over at his pard.
Slim perused the view beyond the door and said, “It sure doesn’t seem to be letting up any...”
Then more thoughtfully, “You know Jess, this puts me in mind of that time Judge Hammond came to stay...the weather was just like this.”
Jess looked slightly startled, “Hell I ain’t thought about that in ages...when was it...sometime in my first year here?”
Slim nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’d just begun to really settle down. Andy still thought you could walk on water,” he added with a sly grin. “Old Jonesy carried on giving you kind of a hard time on occasion, as I recall.”
“I remember,” Jess said grimacing, “So how about you back then Hardrock? What did you think of your new ranch hand?”
“Oh, I’d pretty much gotten used to you and your strange little ways,” Slim said with a huge smile and wink... then he sobered, “After all that happened back then I reckon I began to trust you completely and think of you as a real good friend...especially when the going got tough,” he added.
“Same here, I reckon we both ended up lookin’ out for each other...Jonesy and Andy too. Jeez, who’d have thought there were so many dark secrets all under one roof,” he added looking somewhat stunned, and shaking his head.
Slim nodded, “I knew there was something going on with you…when you started taking way too many baths,” he chuckled, “I guessed there had to be a woman involved.”
“Well, you can talk…I seem to remember a certain lady featured pretty large in your life around about that time too.”
Slim looked sheepish, “Yeah and even young Andy didn’t escape the female wiles either, did he?”
“I remember...I guess it was just Jonesy who was kinda immune to the fairer sex...but I reckon he had his share of problems too.”
“Yes, problems and secrets like the rest of us,” Slim said quietly. “It all started when Mort Cory rode in on just such a day as this,” he added.
Both men looked out into the waterlogged yard and remembered that fateful day all those years ago...Read More »