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Guns and Dreamers
Chapter Nine: The Last Temptation
Scott A. Gese
Chapter 9
The Last Temptation
With each passing day, Jason could feel the life he wanted to live slipping from his grasp. He didn't mind the hard work, and he loved the sense of accomplishment he felt at the end of each day, but the idea of doing the same thing in this one spot for the rest of his life held very little appeal to his adventurous nature. He was still a young man and the thought of settling down at such an early age was hard to take. Maybe it would be more inclined to give up the idea in a few years, but he hadn't reached that point yet.
It was early in the fall and a Friday night. Jason needed a break from the ranch and decided to head into town with his two hired men. They headed to the Hoof and Horn for a couple of drinks and a hand or two of cards.
They had been there about an hour. Jason was standing at the bar talking with Ira, the bartender, when a stranger walked through the door and up to the bar. Jason kept quiet as the man ordered a drink. The stranger had a very heavy Southern accent. He looked to be in his mid thirties, his clothes were too fancy for him to be a regular hand unless of course he had dressed up for the occasion of coming into the Hoof and Horn, which seemed very unlikely. The giveaway was that he didn't carry his gun like a regular ranch hand might. It hung low on his hip, which would enable him to make a quick draw if necessary. He lit up a thin, store bought cigar.
Card shark or gun fighter, thought Jason as the stranger picked up his drink and walked over to an empty table where he took a seat and focused his attention on a group of men at the next table playing cards.
“What do you think, Ira?” asked Jason in a low voice.
“Not sure,” Ira replied. “With an accent like that I can tell you one thing for sure, he's definitely not from around here.”
“You're right about that, Ira,” agreed Jason. “There's something about this guy, I'm not sure what it is, but he intrigues me. I think I'll strike up a conversation with him and find out exactly where he came from and just what he's up to.” He gave Ira a smile as he picked up his bottle and a glass.
“You should leave the questioning to the sheriff,” commented Ira as Jason headed toward the stranger. “You watch yourself,” he added.
Jason set the bottle and his glass on the table and introduced himself. “How do you do. My names Jason. Care for some company?”
The stranger was sitting easy in his chair. He looked up at Jason. Removed the cigar from his mouth and flicked the ashes onto the floor. “Are y'all someone I should know?” he asked with his heavy southern drawl.
“Not necessarily,” replied Jason. “It's Saturday night and I'm offering you a drink. No more to it than that.”
The stranger motioned for Jason to sit down. “A man with a bottle is always welcome at my table. Names Tanner, Caleb Tanner. If y'all have anything to do with the law around here, I'll tell you now, my friend and I are just passing through.”
“I'm not the law. Who's your friend?” questioned Jason. “Are you referring to the gun on your hip?”
Tanner laughed. “Oh hell no, son. That thing is nothing more than the bane of my existence, it mostly keeps me out of trouble and occasionally gets me into it. My friend I refer to is out back relieving himself as we speak. He'll be about shortly.”
Just as Tanner finished his sentence, a voice from behind Jason spoke up. “I see you've met Tanner?”
Jason turned to see his old friend, Wes, standing behind him.
“Well I'll be damned.” Jason stood and grabbed up the hand of his old friend. “Wes, How the hell are you? How have you been? Where have you been?”
Wes took a seat. “I've been doing well for myself. Spent some time down in Texas and then made my way to Mississippi. That's where I picked up this stray.” Wes pointed in Tanners direction.
“Don't let him fool you,” interjected Tanner jokingly. “I fairly won this northerner in a poker game. He's my slave for the next year.”
Wes shot back. “Oh bullshit, you lying sack a....”
Tanner interrupted once again. “You know it's true son. You only brought me this far north hoping someone would take offense to the fact that I'm a true Southerner, and put a bullet in me so you'll be relieved of the debt.” Tanner flicked his ashes and smiled widely.
The two continued their jovial bantering until Wes could see he wasn't going to get the upper hand, so he changed the subject. “So, Jason, tell me, what have you been up to? The last time I saw you, Miles Hanley had just fired you from the XO. That really pissed me off, you know. That's the day I decided to quit that outfit. It was the best thing I ever did.
Jason talked about how he had traveled down to Texas before heading back to Kansas and how he had ended up with the Shepard ranch. He did leave out the details as to why Mac left it to him.
“So your Pa left town and gave you his ranch, just like that?” questioned Wes, snapping his fingers.
“Yeah, pretty much, he was tired of trying to make it work. Said he wasn't cut out to be a rancher and wanted to do some traveling. He gave it to me as a parting gift. He thought I might like to try my hand at it. To be perfectly honest, I'm not so happy about being a rancher myself. Your life on the trail is exactly what I'd like to be doing right about now.”
Tanner had been sitting quietly as the two men talked. He kept himself occupied by inconspicuously flirting with a couple of the saloon girls. He eventually spoke up, directing his comments toward Jason. “Why hell, son. We're not planning to stay here long. Why don't you unburden yourself from this ranch business you so hate and come with us. You never know, I may need someone to watch my back on the way out of town.”
Jason didn't answer directly. He took a deep breath as he contemplated his reply. “You know, Tanner, I'd love to take you up on that, but I can't, I have a ranch to run.” As he spoke those words he felt them cut at him like a knife through the heart. “I can't just unburden,” he stressed the word, “myself and up and leave. It's not that simple.” Jason almost felt sick to his stomach as he spoke those words.
Tanner looked at Jason. He leaned forward; pulled the cigar from his mouth and jabbed it toward Jason as he spoke. “Son, I can surely see that you are a man in distress. Let me tell you something. All my life I've made my living at the table. I played for the house on a Mississippi river boat, and I made damn good money for myself and my employer. Now I make a damn good living on my own. Point is, I play the game well because I know how to read a man. I know what he's thinking, I believe I can see into a man's very soul, and as for you son, I see you as being shackled against your will. You hate every minute of it and would love nothing more than to find a way to break free. I'm telling you, there are always excuses for not doing a thing. Sometimes you got to dig deep and find the courage to break free. Throw yourself into the wind like Wes and I. Let it grab you up and just go wherever it takes you. That's freedom, son, that's freedom.”
He put the cigar back into his mouth and puffed on it with assurance as he leaned back in his chair.
“Tanner, It's not as easy as you make it sound.” replied Jason, “I'd love to just throw myself into the wind, I really would, but I can't. I've got cows to feed.”
“Well, we all got somewhere to be and somethin' to do now don't we,” replied Tanner.
Jason had heard enough. He stood up and reached across the table to shake hands with Tanner and Wes. “It was nice to meet you, Tanner, and good to see you again, Wes. I'm glad we ran into each other. Why don't the two of you stop by the ranch on your way out.”
“We will,” replied Wes.
Tanner wasn't so sure. “We will, if the wind is in your favor,” he replied.
Jason considered Tanner's answer as he walked out the door into the cool night air. A slight breeze was beginning to blow as he mounted his horse. The ride back toward the ranch was slow as Jason wrestled with his feelings of discontent along the way. Jason deciding not to head home that night. Instead, he veered off the trail toward a solitary place he had frequented in the past. At times like this when he felt the world was closing in on him, this was the place he would seek out, kindle a fire and camp out under the stars. He would lay his head back on his saddle and gaze upon the starry night sky as he contemplated his place in the world. Tonight was one of those nights. He had to make some major decisions before he found himself stuck in place. He only hoped it wasn't too late.
The stars were comforting and the fire was warm, but even so, Jason was restless and didn't sleep well. It was a cool night and the morning didn't come soon enough. He rekindled the fire before the sun had come up and warmed his bones as he made his peace with his demons. For now, he was stuck and he knew it, so he would make the best of it. Somehow he needed to turn over a new leaf and start fresh. An idea had come to him during the night and he planned to act upon it that very morning. He was hungry and in want of a hot cup of coffee, so he saddled up, but he didn't continue on to the ranch. Jason headed back to town. As he rode in he happened to see Wes and Tanner riding out. They were heading in the opposite direction. He let them go without so much as a holler. He rode past the saloon and hitched his horse in front of the barber shop.
The barber was just finishing up with a customer and no one else was in the shop.
“Well, if it ain't Jason McKinney,” commented the barber. “You've walked by my shop a hundred times, but never once have you darkened my door. What can I do for you this morning?”
“I'd like a hair cut, Frank,” Jason replied.
Frank almost dropped his razor as he heard Jason's request.
“Son, do you know how long I've been wanting to get a hold of that mop of yours? This is a day to remember, yessiree, a day to remember. You just sit yourself right down here in this chair and let's get to it.”
Jason took a seat. “Cut it short,” he ordered. “Make me look respectable.”
“You got it. In fact, for this momentous occasion, I'm going to throw in a shave at no charge. Yessiree, this here is a momentous occasion.”
Once Frank had finished his work, he held out a mirror for Jason to examine the results. “Well, what do you think?”
“Well,” replied Jason. “I sure look different. I've never had my hair this short, but I guess I'll get used to it. You did a good job.”
Jason paid for the haircut and grabbed up his hat. He put it on and it fell over his eyes. Jason just stood there as Frank broke out into a hearty laugh. “Looks like you need a new hat,” he jested.
“I think you're right,” Jason replied.
He took off the hat and walked next door to the mercantile where he bought a brand new one, and a new shirt to boot.
His next stop would be the bath house where he could soak off several days’ worth of sweat and trail dust.
After his bath, Jason was mighty hungry, and the thought of a good breakfast and hot coffee was heavy on his mind. Being a Saturday, he decided to ride over to Ben and Sarah's new house and surprise them. He'd get his breakfast there.
He rode out feeling pretty good about the day and soon arrived at the gate. Jason hitched his horse and walked up to the front door. Not wanting to just walk in, he knocked and waited until Sarah opened it. Sarah had to do a double take. She looked at Jason as if she didn't recognize him for a second or two. She started to greet the stranger with a “Good morning, what can...” then the recognition came. Her face lit up and she smiled from ear to ear. “Jason, Is that you?” She knowingly asked. “I almost didn't recognize you. Come in. What are you doing in town? Let me get a good look at you.” Sarah stepped back and examined him up and down. “My you're a mighty handsome man,” she exclaimed.
Just then Ben walked into the room. “What's all the commotion?” he questioned as he stepped up to Sarah. Seeing Jason took him by surprise. “Well look at you. A haircut and clean clothes even. You look like you're heading to church or something. Did you get religion?”
Jason laughed. “No, Ben, not religion. Just I'm just a new attitude about life. If I'm going to be a ranch owner, I need to start acting like one. I'm working on getting more responsible and respectable, and I'm also hoping to get some coffee and breakfast.”
“Well you've come to the right place,” replied Sarah. “Let's head in to the kitchen.”
“We have a new cook and she makes the best darn hotcakes I've ever eaten,” commented Ben. “Much better than those darned old saddle blankets the last cook made.”
“They weren't that bad,” replied Sarah. “At any rate, we have hot coffee on the stove and the new cook is here today. We haven't eaten yet ourselves. I'll introduce her to you.”
The three of them walked into the kitchen. The new cook was busily working over the stove. She had her back to them. As they entered, she turned and swiped the hair from her face with her forearm and wiped her hands on her apron.
Sarah introduced her. “Susan, looks like we have one more for breakfast. I'd like you to meet my son, Jason.”
She held out her hand to Jason. Her hair was long and brown, she was about Jason's age and had the features of a full grown woman. Jason took her hand and couldn't help but notice how strikingly beautiful she was. He also noticed there was no ring on her finger.
“Glad to meet you, Jason,” she answered. “Please call me Sue.”
Their eyes met and they held each other’s gaze for what seemed like longer than normal. Jason found her smile to be intoxicating.
Sarah interrupted. “Susan and her parents just recently moved here from Missouri.”
“Well I'm very glad to meet you,” replied Jason as he let go of her hand.
After some small talk they walked out to the dining room. Jason turned to get one more glimpse of Sue. She caught his glance and gave him a bright smile.
As Jason continued to the table he thought to himself. This may not be such a long winter after all.
The End
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