Read Online Hard Ride to Wichita by Ralph Compton, Marcus Galloway - Free Book Online Page A

he’d drunk it down for reasons other than pure rebellion. The liquor cut through his body, washing away the horrible tastes that had collected in the back of his mouth. He took another pull from the bottle, which gave him a hint of warmth at the bottom of his chest. “Thanks,” he said while handing it back.
    Red took the bottle but didn’t drink. He closed his eyes and lifted his head to the inky black sky above him as if he were basking in the light from the half-moon. Crickets chirped in the distance and water from the creek rustled through some of the thick bunches of weeds. He sat with his back against a rock that he’d dragged up and set there years ago for that very purpose. “We’ve been here for a while, Luke. You ever gonna tell me what happened?”
    â€œI already told the sheriff and a bunch of the neighbors. I don’t wanna tell that story again.”
    â€œI don’t want to hear the same story,” Red told him. “I asked about what happened.”
    Luke smirked and shifted his weight upon the stump where he sat. His boots were pressed firmly against familiar ground, feeling as if the waters from his youth had finally washed them clean. “Some man came to talk to Kyle. Some fella he works with, I guess.”
    â€œAnother salesman?”
    â€œKyle wasn’t a salesman like he told everyone. I think he was an outlaw.”
    â€œAre you kidding me?”
    Luke shook his head. “Nope.”
    â€œHow do you know?”
    â€œBecause the man who came looking for him was a killer. He asked for something and Kyle had it. A bag full of money. Ma knew about it too. She must’ve known about everything. Could be what they were always fighting about.”
    â€œSo . . . you think Kyle stole that money?”
    Luke shrugged. “All I know for certain is that he was holding on to it for the man who came along to collect. I don’t think Kyle was ever any kind of salesman, though.”
    â€œI thought he only had that hunting rifle.” When Luke looked over to him expecting a point, Red shrugged. “It’s just that outlaws carry something other than hunting rifles, don’t they?”
    â€œHe hid a lot from me. They both did. A stash of guns wouldn’t be too hard.”
    â€œSuppose not.” Red held the bottle to his mouth as if he was going to take a drink. Before he did, he asked, “How did you get out of there?”
    â€œI told everyone. I hid under a table until the shooting started.”
    â€œSure, that’s what you told them,” Red said. “You’re telling me now. I know when you’re lying. You’re not very good at it.”
    Smirking, Luke said, “Since you’re the only one who can tell when I’m lying, I’d say I’m pretty good at it.”
    â€œWell, I can tell right now. There’s more to it.”
    â€œWhy do you want to know?”
    â€œLook, I’m not like the rest of them that flocked to that house so they could get a look for themselves on account of nothing worth seeing ever happens around here.” Using the bottle as a pointer, Red told him, “All the rest of them may just want something to talk about, but I ain’t all of them. You should know that!”
    Luke gazed around at the creek, the weeds, and the trees scattered for miles in front of him. “He meant to kill us.”
    â€œWho did? Kyle?”
    â€œNo,” Luke said. “The stranger. Kyle called him Scott. He got mad when my ma went to fetch the money that was supposed to be hid and he told Kyle he made a big mistake. Kyle tried to tell him otherwise, but . . .” Luke shook his head. “In the end, after all the grief I gave him and all the bad things I said and thought about him, Kyle did his best to save me. To save my ma.”
    â€œHe stood up to that stranger?”
    â€œTried to. Only, he wasn’t armed. He got to the hunting