she's been craftin' with Wesley."
"You think it'll be enough."
Sam shrugged. "Only one way to find out, right? If this works with some dynamite, then we'll have explosives that can kill the wendigo nest."
"It's a big risk."
"So is lettin' those things turn this city into more freaks. This is our best shot. I'll do the hard part...just have my back when we go in—”
"No, Sam. You're going to be a father. I've got no one but Ruth, and she's taken care of. I'll do it."
~*~
The following morning, Sam and Jesse headed down to the gun shop. The man behind the counter let out a sharp whistle when he saw the pistols strapped to their hips. "My, my, I ain't never seen revolvers like that before. That a modified Colt?" he asked. Sam and Jesse eyed one another with a knowing smirk.
"Somethin' like that." Sam was careful to keep his voice low and his head even lower whenever they were in town. While Pete had been smart enough not to put the bounty out himself, Merle down at the saloon took it upon himself to do it instead. Sam walked up to the counter and picked up an order slip. He scrawled down an estimate for the amount of gunpowder they would need. “Got any of this in the back?”
“Makin’ some fancy bullets to go with them guns?”
“Somethin’ like that,” Sam repeated.
“Well, they only come in cases of eleven, so you’ll have to buy at least three to get that number.” The man looked over the list and hurried into the back to grab the gunpowder. Jesse inspected the cases to make sure the man wasn’t trying to swindle them. When all was to their liking, they purchased a few more things and headed out of town.
“Careful comin’ around this bend,” Sam warned Jesse as he slowed his horse.
“Why?”
“Ambush.”
“How can you tell?”
“The interested looks that man just gave us,” he chuckled. “Beth’s guns are goin’ to catch a lot of attention. I’d wager that shopkeeper took one look at us and figured we were gamblers or somethin’. He thinks he can pay a few men to get these guns off us and sell them for an outrageous price. Little does he know, there ain’t no price in the world that can be put on these revolvers.”
Sure enough, as they rounded the corner, two burly men on horseback had rifles aimed at their heads. Sam finally lifted his head and heard the men gasp. It was good to know that his reputation was still as fearsome as ever. “Afternoon, fellas.”
“Well, if it ain’t the Red-Eyed Demon himself…”
“You got them guns aimed in our direction, then you better be ready to use them,” he snarled. One of the men looked as though he wanted to give up, but Sam saw the moment the price of the bounty won over the fear of the fight. “So be it…”
The gunman let out a yelp as Sam’s knife struck him in the hand. His movements had been so quick and precise that it all happened in the blink of an eye. The second man fumbled with his gun as Sam leapt from the saddle, knocking the other gunman to the ground. He flipped the lever to expel the round from the chamber.
“He’s the devil!”
“Get out of my sight. Tell anyone you saw me and I’ll hunt you down.”
They ran back towards Cheyenne, stumbling over their own feet in a rush to get away. Jesse rode up beside him with his jaw slack. “You must have been one hell of an outlaw.”
“I was as good at crime as my brother was at catchin’ criminals.”
~*~
Silver Fox Ranch
Mary Ann looked up from her book as a pair of reading spectacles slipped down her nose. She pushed them back into place and bounced the infant in her arms. Abigail had laid down to take a nap, leaving Mary Ann to look after the baby and Beth. Mary Ann loved and adored her friend, but Beth prattled on and on about forging guns and knives using schematics or something or other...Mary Ann missed Sam, and she was nervous about the wedding.
Sure, like most ladies in the west, she had endured lessons from her mother about what was expected of her as a wife. While Mary Ann enjoyed the benefits of being engaged to a man with the stamina of a beast, she often wondered what Sam would expect from her after they marry. Would he demand that she stay indoors until the