Taken by the Cowboy by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online

now.

Chapter Five
     
     
    "This ain't none of
your business, Sheriff," Virgil said. "Me and the boys were just
havin' a little fun. That's all."
    "Yeah?" Sheriff Wade
turned to Jessica. "The lady seems to think otherwise. She thinks
this town is messed up, and that don’t reflect well upon me."
    Without a word, Jessica
picked up her parcel and moved as far away from Virgil as
possible.
    "I think you boys
better be gettin' along," Wade suggested. "I need to have a few
words with Miss Delaney." He inclined his head at her and touched
the brim of his hat. She hopped off the boardwalk and stood next to
his horse.
    "Just a minute there,
Junebug," Virgil said. "I ain't finished with you yet."
    One of the boys in his
gang stepped forward. "Virgil, I think you oughta’—"
    "Shut up, Lewis."
Virgil hawked and spit into the street. "I said I ain't finished
with you, Junebug."
    Jessica was about to
step up and give Virgil a few lessons in twenty-first century
manners, but before she could utter a single colorful oath, Sheriff
Wade's hand came down to rest on her shoulder.
    ‘Let me handle this’
was his message, and she received it loud and clear.
    Casually dismounting,
he moved to stand in front of her. Jessica rose up on her tiptoes
to see over the broad shoulders of his coat, at the same time
taking in his subtle, masculine scents—leather, a faint hint of
shaving soap, and...horse.
    "Go home, Virgil," he
said.
    A curious audience
began to gather on the wide street. Two wagons had come to a full
stop. The drivers sat forward with their elbows perched on their
knees. A stray dog tilted his head to the side, watching while he
panted in the hot sun.
    Virgil's boys backed
away.
    Sheriff Wade pushed his
slicker back to reveal his heavy gun belt loaded with bullets.
    Jessica moved to the
side, her uneasy gaze roving from his shoulder down to where he
tapped his thumb against the ivory handle of the revolver.
    “Listen fellas,” she
said. “Why don’t we just call it a day? No harm done.”
    Virgil’s cheek
twitched. His beady eyes traced a path from the sheriff's steady
trigger finger up to his clean-shaven face.
    "You ain't so tough,
Wade. I ain't never seen you kill nobody. I bet you never killed a
man your whole life."
    "Think what you like,
Virgil, but you won’t put another hand on this lady. She’s a guest
in this town."
    Relieved that Sheriff
Wade was finally laying the blame where it belonged, Jessica
nevertheless took another step away from him.
    Virgil slowly reached
for his revolver. "I ain't gonna shoot," he said with one hand out
in front, fingers spread wide.
    Jessica glanced at the
sheriff's angled profile, then down at his gun. He was still
tapping his thumb on it.
    The whole town fell
silent. Folks cleared off the boardwalk and moved sideways and
backwards to stand our crouch behind wagons or barrels or whatever
else they could find. Sheriff Wade didn't move a muscle...except
for that thumb.
    Virgil set his revolver
on a wooden barrel, then stepped off the boardwalk to face the
sheriff. "Let's see how tough you are, Wade. Man-to-man. Without
your gun."
    "A lawman doesn’t give
up his gun," Truman replied in a slow, menacing drawl.
    "Well, I'll just have
to trust you not to shoot me then…while I'm whippin’ your ass."
    Sheriff Wade moved
forward to stand nose-to-nose with Virgil. "Give it your best,
Virgil, but be quick about it, because I got more important things
to do than knock your drunken arse around Front Street."
    Virgil’s bushy eyebrows
pulled together in outrage. Then he swung his arm back and threw a
punch.
    Sheriff Wade ducked,
and his hat flew off.
    The horse backed up at
the commotion, while Wade pivoted on the spot, kicked his leg out
and caught Virgil in the knee. The heavy brute dropped to the
ground with a groan and a thump, holding onto his leg.
    It was the fastest move
Jessica had ever seen.
    Sheriff Wade scooped up
his hat, wrapped his hand around her elbow, and led her down