A Gunslinger’s Deadly Draw – Extended Epilogue

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Heroes of the Wild Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---

Five years had passed and Lila’s life had completely changed—mostly for the better. She thought about those days when the miners were cruel and lustful, hurting the town in so many different ways, as she sat on the porch of her ranch house. It was well and truly hers, as Jack had recruited some men from town and built it on part of the Brentwood Bushes Ranch property given to the couple when they married.

Lila watched as her two- and four-year-old sons played on a big blanket in the grass just off the porch. Matthew, the two-year-old, was her spitting image, with blond curls all over his head and big blue eyes. And Jonah was, of course, identical to his father, down to the shape of his hazel eyes.

In the time that had passed since the end of the Barnes reign over the coal mine, Rusty Spike and its citizens had flourished. Lila sat with a pad of paper on her lap and a pen in her hand, waiting for the inspiration for a new article to hit her.

With the help of Alan and some of the other men in town, Lila had managed to start a newspaper press and had even hired two other women to write articles with her. She wasn’t prejudiced, though, she would hire men, too. It was just that no man other than Jack wanted to write for her newspaper. Or maybe it was that they didn’t want a female employer.

Either way, it didn’t stop them from buying her papers, which brought in a satisfactory amount of money—most of which went back into keeping the production running. She didn’t need much of a profit. She enjoyed what she was doing.

Jack sought out advertisers for her paper, which was the only real way she was able to sustain the business. She’d learned right away that writing to or speaking to a man about investing or advertising in her newspaper was a waste of time. Ninety-nine percent of the men she spoke to didn’t take her seriously and sometimes laughed at the idea of advertising in a women’s newspaper.

Try as she might, she couldn’t convince those men that it wasn’t a women’s paper. It was just a newspaper. For everyone.

Sighing, Lila made herself think about something else. The only reason she was thinking about it now was because that was where Jack was. He was in Rusty Spike, talking to the new dress shop owners. It was a shop owned by a couple. She’d been unsure whether she could or should speak to the woman but Jack had settled it for her by stating he was going to speak to Mr. Fitzgerald without even asking her. He didn’t have to ask her. It was enough he volunteered to do it.

She wasn’t anxious about the placement of their ad, though. Alan fed enough money into the company to keep it going when it faltered. He never asked Lila for anything in return. He just gave her regular checks or bought things he thought might make the job easier. He called it his investment, and he was a silent investor. No one needed to know his involvement, he told her.

Jack never felt bad about Alan’s money keeping the business afloat. If he did, he didn’t mention it to Lila and never acted like it. He had taken over as sheriff of Rusty Spike when Sammy Smalls said he didn’t want the job. He was satisfied as a deputy and wanted to get married and have children with his wife Emily, which he said wouldn’t work if he was committed to keeping an entire town safe.

A cloud of dust rising up at the end of the path coming from the main road made Lila get up from her chair and walk to the top of the steps. She was anxious to know the outcome of the meeting, even if it wasn’t vitally important.

It wasn’t just Jack’s horse that came around the corner onto their path. A buggy was following him. Lila pulled her eyebrows together, confused. Had they been expecting company?

She didn’t recognize the buggy as she went down the steps to the ground below.

“Jonah, get your brother and take him up to the porch. Wait for Mama there.”

“Okay, Mama,” the little boy responded, reaching for his brother’s hand. “Come on, Matty. We gonna go up on the porch for a minute. Mama says.”

“Okay.” Matthew pushed to his feet as if exhausted and took his brother’s hand. He and Jonah ran to the porch and Jonah helped Matthew as they went up. Lila watched them, love for her sons filling her with a pleasant warm feeling.

The closer Jack got, the more she could see his face. He wasn’t smiling. That didn’t bode well. Behind him, in the buggy, were four men: Emily Greer’s father Henry, Deputy Smalls, Nicholas Cranwell, and David Fontaine.

Lila couldn’t have been more confused about what was going on. She was anxious to find out, since it didn’t look like any of the men were very happy. She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective measure and waited impatiently, glancing back to make sure her sons weren’t acting up. They were sitting on the top step, watching the men approach, just like she was.

Jack was off his horse the moment it came to a stop. The way he hurried to her made her tense.

“What’s going on, Jack?” she asked. “Why are these men here?”

“Dirk Barnes has escaped from prison.” Chills covered Lila when Jack spoke. “We think he’s on his way here. Sammy got a telegram about fifteen minutes ago and came to find us. The authorities think he’s on his way here.”

“But he doesn’t know where we live,” Lila said, her voice quavering. She’d been under the impression she would never have to worry about that man again.

“His father’s connections are everywhere. I’m sure they know everything he needs to know and they’ll tell him.”

Lila scowled. What did those people have against her? Why would they help a monster like Dirk Barnes?

“I wish his father was here to stop him,” she murmured, scanning the property to her left and right, wondering if she was truly in danger from Dirk Barnes. “What makes y’all think he’s coming here, anyway? He can’t possibly think I’m that important.”

“I reckon he does,” Jack replied, looking back at the men as they filed out of the buggy and came toward the two. “Sammy, tell Lila what the telegram said.”

Sammy pulled a folded piece of paper out of the inside pocket of his vest and handed it to Lila. “I’ll do better. Here, read it for yourself.”

Lila looked down at the paper and read the words, her fear growing by leaps and bounds.

Dirk Barnes escape stop coming to McQueen Estate stop be on your guard end

“This can’t be possible,” Lila murmured. She didn’t want to be frightened. Jack and the other men would keep her safe. But Dirk was a wily man. And he knew the Rusty Spike area like the back of his hand.

He might not have spent a lot of time on the Brentwood property, but it wasn’t like he didn’t know where it was. All he had to do was scout around the area until he found them.

They hadn’t known they would need to hide. Their house was large and their land cultivated. They had a working farm and ranch on the property. Hard to miss.

Lila looked around again, handing the telegraph back to Sammy, her hands shaking.

“Well, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the man this morning.”

“I don’t want you to be alone until he’s found,” Jack said. “You need someone to stay with you.”

“I’m surprised Alan didn’t come with you.” If her brother-in-law knew about this, he would have brought Laura to be with her. They had a son of their own and could bring him to play with his cousins.

“I’ll go fetch him,” David Fontaine volunteered, lifting one hand in the air. “You got a horse I can borrow?”

“Of course.” Jack flicked two fingers at David and the man followed him to the stable, where they had four horses.

Sammy took Lila by the arm gently and steered her around to the porch. “You go on up there and be with your sons while we sort this out. We’re gonna patrol the land, see if he’s hiding anywhere on your property. Then we’ll expand out to the rest of the Brentwood property. I reckon he’s riding around looking for you right now.”

“He has a horse?” Lila asked, moving quickly to the porch steps and ascending while holding up her skirt.

“I don’t know,” Sammy replied, “but I think a man like him, first thing he’s gonna do is steal a horse and head this way. He won’t waste any time.”

“When did he break out?”

Sammy shook his head, standing with her while the other men unhitched the horses from the buggy so they could be used for patrolling. “I don’t know any more than you, Lila. Just what was on that paper.”

Lila was nervous but confident at the same time. She still had her arms crossed and was gripping her upper arms with her fingers so hard she had to relax or she would leave bruises.

The incident in the mine flooded her thoughts. She remembered well being in that dark place, frightened beyond measure, sure that Dirk would take her life if she didn’t comply.

“I’m going to get some tea from the kitchen,” Lila said quietly. “I’ll be right back. Come on, boys, why don’t you play in your playroom for a little while.” She stopped and looked at the deputy. “Do you think he’ll come after my sons?”

Deputy Smalls glanced at the two boys, who were staring up at the two of them with wide eyes. They had no idea what was going on and Lila was grateful for that.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “He’s been gone for five years, probably intent on finding you. I reckon he don’t even know about the boys. I’ll be right here, though. I’ll hear if anything goes on up there.”

That made Lila feel better. She nodded and headed for the kitchen.

As soon as she was on the other side of the door, she knew something was wrong. A chair was missing from the table and she smelled something peculiar in the air. It was putrid… rotten… as if an onion had been left out for too long.

Her heart raced a bit. She went for the icebox and had her fingers wrapped around the handle to pull it open when she heard a shuffling sound behind her. She froze for only a moment before twisting her head around to look over her shoulder.

He was there. Standing stock-still, dressed in a shirt that was too big and pants held up with a rope tied around his waist. His feet were bare. His eyes were wild, open too wide. And he was staring right at her.

Lila’s first reaction was to dart back across to the door but he was faster, cutting her off on the way by stepping in her path. She didn’t want to bump into him so she spun around, her intention being to get to the window.

Dirk’s big hand closed around her mouth. She wanted to bite him, strike out at him, scream for her husband, but he was covering not only her mouth but her nose, too. His other arm wrapped around her waist and she felt him pulling her back toward him.

Revulsion filled her as she smelled the waste and grime stuck to his body. She pulled her left arm forward and jabbed it back as hard as she could into his stomach. The impact was enough to make him double over, losing his breath. His hand never slipped from her mouth but the motion was perfect for Lila. She bent over with him, flipped up her skirt, and snatched the knife from its sheath around her shin.

He finally let go as he tried to catch his breath and Lila wrenched herself from his grip, spinning around to hold the knife directly in his face as she backed away from him.

He lifted his head, giving her the nastiest, angriest glare she’d ever seen in her life. He was about to lunge. She would put the knife right through him.

She didn’t need to, though. The door swung open behind her and as she watched, Dirk’s eyes flipped to the side, opened wide, and a gunshot rang out.

The bullet penetrated Dirk’s forehead. His eyes crossed as if he was trying to see it a second before his knees crumpled and he hit the floor.

Lila was still frozen, stunned by what she had just witnessed.

Jack’s arms moved around her and he held her close, whispering in her ear, “You’re safe now, Lila. You’re safe.”

Readers who read this book also liked

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Heroes of the Wild Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---