The Last Good Day, стр. 53
“Me neither,” B.W. said.
“Then it’s alright with you?” Tommy said looking at B.W.
“Hell yeah, you might be president one of these days.”
“What are you goin’ to do, B.W.?” Tommy said.
“Don’t know, what ‘bout you, Rance?”
“Julie got a letter from Jack’s wife some time back, used to own the eatery. She said there’s a valley in California that looks like Shenandoah with land free for the takin.’ Thinkin’ about goin’ there and startin’ a new life. Why don’t you come with us?”
Fannie walked up with the biscuits and sat the plate down beside B.W. He looked up at Fannie and smiled. “Fannie girl, would you marry me and go to California?”
“What?” she said, looking sideways at B.W. “I barely know you.”
“No better way to get acquainted than to be married,” B.W. said.
“I heard that,” Julie said, a big grin on her face. “You must really like those biscuits.”
“Well?” B.W. said, looking at Fannie.
“You’re serious?”
“I am. Time I started my own family.”
Fannie stood there staring at B.W., studying him like it was the first time she ever saw him. “You really mean it?” she asked.
“I do,” B.W. said.
“I must be crazy but I’ll do it,” Fannie said. “I will marry you.”
“And go to California?” B.W. said.
“Yes,” she said, pushed the plate of biscuits over and slid in beside B.W. and they embraced and kissed.
Julie poked Rance in the ribs and pointed toward B.W. and Fannie.
“Okay, as soon as we can find a preacher,” he said.
The sound of hoof beats interrupted the moment and Rance walked over to the closed doors and peeked through the cracks. “We got company and it’s the wrong kind,” Rance said. “It’s that Captain Welch with soldiers and civilians, maybe twenty or more.”
B.W. reached out and picked up his shotgun. “Open the doors,” he said. “We can’t outgun ‘em, but maybe we can scare the hell out of ‘em.”
“Julie, you and Fannie get the kids and get up in the loft,” Rance said. “You too, Tommy.”
Fannie slid out of the wagon and her and Julie gathered up the kids and climbed up in the hay loft, Tommy following.
“Riley, we kind of boxed you into this,” Rance said. “You know this means you got to leave too if we get out of this alive.”
“It’s alright, I ain’t takin’ any more from them,” Riley said. “Better to be dead than a coward.”
Riley and Rance loaded their shotguns, opened the doors and stood by the wagon with B.W. stretched out in the wagon, the barrel of his shotgun on the sideboard pointed toward the doors as Welch and the rest rode up. Welch held up his hand and they all stopped in front of the open doors.
“Came to arrest you for murder,” Welch said.
“The colonel said we were free to go,” Rance said.
“He was called away to Washington. I’m in command till he gets back, and that may be a month, gonna hang you ‘fore then.”
“You’re gonna have to come and get us,” B.W. said and cocked the hammers on the shotgun.
“You think you can hold off all of us?” Welch asked.
“No,” B.W. said. “But I can damn sure kill you first.”
“And while he’s doing that, me and Riley are goin’ to pick out who else goes with him.” Rance said.
“You ready to die, captain?” B.W. said. “Cause I am. We may all have already seen our last good day.”
“You’re crazy,” Welch said.
“Probably,” B.W. said. “Make your play if you’re goin’ to. I’m gettin’ an itchy trigger finger.”
Several of the riders began to move away from Welch and two turned their horses around and galloped away.
“These scatterguns can take a lot of you with us. Better think about that ‘fore you start shootin,’” B.W. said.
“Let ‘em be, captain,” one of the riders said. “I ain’t dyin’ for Travers.”
“Good advice,” Rance said.
Welch sat on his horse real still, looking at the shotgun B.W. had trained on him, sweat popping out on his face. He licked his lips, raised his left arm slowly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Okay,” he said. “No sense anybody dyin’ today. You got till morning to be out of town.”
“Thought you might see it that way,” B.W. said, eyeing Welch, his finger on the triggers of the shotgun.
“Let’s go,” Welch said and they turned their horses around and rode away.
“Could tell he was goin’ to back down by the look in his eyes,” B.W. said.
“What if he didn’t?” Rance asked.
“Guess we all would be dead, including him.”
“I truly believe you could scare the hell out of the devil.”
“Give it a try if I had to,” B.W. said. “Where’s Fannie? I think she said yes.”
“I did,” she said and climbed down from the loft and got back in the wagon with B.W. He laid the shotgun down and picked up a biscuit. “Tommy, do me a favor. Get me a cup of water.”
“Sure,” Tommy said, climbed down from the loft, dipped a cup in the water bucket and took it to B.W.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m getting married. I got to make a fast recovery.”
“Me too,” Rance said, smiling at Julie.
“We got to go to the capital in Austin and file the papers for Tommy’s inheritance of Travers’ property. The colonel gave us a clean bill of health to do it. Wait for an answer,” B.W. said. “ If he gets it, he’s going to be a rich young man. He don’t even owe me a fee for doing it”
“How long will it take,” Rance said.
“Don’t know,” B.W. said. “Rather do it personally so I know it’s officially on file. If he wins he’ll never have to worry ‘bout money again.”
“Do we have to come back to Texas?” Rance said.
“No, just make sure it’s in the works. Don’t think he would want