Read Online Slocum and the Warm Reception by Jake Logan - Free Book Online Page B

to stay for a while.”
    Slocum led his horse from the stall and took a peek out the front door. Since there were no lawmen in sight, he figured Marshal was blowing his smoke in the privacy of his own office. “You could come with me,” he offered.
    â€œI could . . . what?”
    â€œCome with me. I’m headed to Mescaline, but you could catch a stagecoach or a train to wherever you like. Doesn’t seem like you have much keeping you here apart from a lot of folks who don’t think very highly of you. Trust me, I’ve been plenty of places filled with them that don’t want me there. It’s not worth your time to be in a place like that as opposed to . . . well . . . anywhere else.”
    â€œIt’s not that simple,” she said.
    â€œActually, it is. Most things in life boil down to some pretty easy notions. Go or stay. Do or don’t. It only gets complicated in the execution, but every now and then some things really are just a matter of making a decision. The hardest part is in going against everything that’s come before. Why are you staying here?”
    After not a lot of consideration, she replied, “Because it’s where I wound up.”
    â€œYou may be surprised how many folks have the same answer to that question. If you don’t like where you’re at, find somewhere else to be. That line of thinking has been serving me well for a number of years.”
    â€œI guess it simply doesn’t serve me well enough to leave just yet. Thanks for the offer, though.”
    Slocum let go of his reins so he could step up to her, wrap his arms around her, and draw her close for a long, lingering kiss. As much as he wanted to stay with her at that particular moment, he let her go so he could collect his reins and push open the stable’s door. “If the day comes, you don’t need me to pick up and go.”
    â€œI’ll keep that in mind. You’d best go before the sheriff comes back around to collect you.”
    Now that he was outside, Slocum climbed into his saddle and said, “He can watch me go and wave good-bye, as far as I’m concerned.”
    â€œIf he asks about you, I’ll say I don’t know why you left or where you went.”
    â€œTell him everything I told you. If he needs to find me so badly, all he needs to do to ride to Mescaline. Somehow I doubt he’ll find the time to go so far out of his way.” Then Slocum flicked his reins and got his horse moving toward the street. There wasn’t any movement through Davis Junction at that moment, so he stood out like a single bump on a log as he made his way toward the edge of town. Since there weren’t any trains approaching or leaving the station, every step the horse took echoed down the street and rattled between the dusty buildings.
    As was often the way, Slocum felt himself leaning in more than one direction. One part wanted to just get out of town and continue with his life at his own pace. He’d stepped in and cleaned up a small mess for the sheriff, and that was just fine.
    Another part wanted to take his time in leaving Davis Junction so he could be certain the sheriff
saw
him going. Granted, that was a petty part of himself that he wasn’t very proud of, but it was there all the same. Marshal just struck him as one of those people who figured he deserved to have most everything handed to him on a platter and that folks would just step in line and do what he told them because they didn’t have a choice. Respect had to be earned, however. Slocum knew that much after years of experience and fighting to earn his fair share. Good men chose the rough path and did their best to ride it while lending a hand to others along the way. They didn’t puff out their chests and act like the lord of the manor. By riding slowly enough to make certain the sheriff or his deputy caught sight of him, Slocum would be making a