Read Online Bucking the Tiger by Marcus Galloway - Free Book Online

trouble was in Dallas.”
    â€œNo need to bring that up so quickly,” Doc said with a definite edge in his voice.
    â€œCan’t hardly deny what I’ve been hearing lately.”
    â€œAnd what did you hear?” Caleb asked once he got his hand back and was shaking some of the blood flow back into his fingers.
    â€œI heard John killed a man in cold blood,” Donnelly said as he took a glass from under the bar, filled it with beer, and set it in front of Caleb. “But I don’t believe that. At least, not the cold blood part.”
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Owen?” Doc asked. “You don’t think I can handle myself?”
    â€œCourage was never a problem with you, John. Or should I call you Doc?”
    Doc shrugged and sipped his whiskey.
    â€œI heard there were shots thrown all over some saloon,” Donnelly continued, “as well as a posse that chased you halfway across Texas and back.”
    For a moment, Doc and Caleb merely glanced at each other. Then, they started laughing.
    â€œHow big was this posse supposed to be?” Caleb asked.
    â€œA dozen men.”
    â€œWhy stop there? Why not make it an army?”
    â€œSo it ain’t true?”
    â€œNo,” Doc said. “There was no posse. That is, unless it was chasing behind the stagecoach I took from Dallas. Did you see a posse, Caleb?”
    â€œNot as such.”
    â€œWhat about the man you killed in Dallas?” When he asked that question, there was a subtle shift in Donnelly’s eyes. He was studying Doc carefully, as if sizing him up for the first time.
    Doc didn’t so much as twitch under the scrutiny. Instead, he swirled the whiskey around in his glass and said, “I’d rather not discuss such matters at length. I’ve already stood trial for the disruption and beat the charges, so I’d rather not push what little luck I have. I will say that there is some truth to the rumors you’ve heard.”
    â€œJust like them black fellas you killed around that watering hole back home, huh?”
    Caleb started to laugh at that, but saw that Doc was nowhere close to laughing. The smile he already had on his face was stale as month-old bread, but was tapered and controlled so it didn’t give away much of anything on the subject at hand.
    â€œI’d rather not talk about that, either,” Doc said.
    Whether or not he picked up on Doc’s sudden discomfort, Donnelly moved on to the next subject without skipping a beat. “Speaking of back home, how’s Mattie?”
    â€œI don’t really talk much to the family any longer.” Glancing up from his whiskey, Doc fixed a stare on his face that would have split a boulder in half. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about them, either.”
    â€œJust trying to catch up, John,” Donnelly said as he raised his hands. “Maybe you should let me know what you do want to talk about.”
    Doc nodded and slipped right back into his normal, easygoing mannerisms. “To put any other rumors to rest, I’m still sick as hell and fiercely averse to the evil temptations of the flesh. Now let’s talk about more current matters.”
    Looking at the whiskey in Doc’s hand and the natural way he fit into the atmosphere of the saloon, Donnelly slapped the top of the bar and began laughing boisterously. “You always were a hoot, John. Tell you what, I’ll call you Doc just as soon as you help me with this pain I got in the back of my jaw.”
    â€œAnd I’ll fix you up for no charge whatsoever if you allow me to set up a faro table in this saloon.”
    Donnelly blinked and cocked his head to one side. “You sure you want to do that? It can be pretty rough sometimes.”
    â€œI realize that. It was fairly rough in Dallas, as well.”
    â€œTrue. Still, I’d rather not have any killings in my place if you can help it.”
    â€œI can handle