by Tell Cotten
“Wait,” Cooper called out after her.
Josie watched curiously as Cooper rode up next to a tree. He pulled out his knife and carved his initials into the tree.
“All right, let’s go,” Cooper said when he was done.
Josie nodded and kicked up her horse.
They stayed off the main trail. Instead, they stayed in the cover of the trees, and it was a steep climb into the mountains.
It was slow going, but they kept at it. A few hours passed, and by then they were high in the mountains.
“Look!” Josie suddenly said.
Cooper turned and looked, and his face turned grim.
There was a bright glow of a fire down below where the trading post was. The flames lit up the darkened sky, and even though they were miles above the trading post they could still smell the smoke.
Cooper shook his head as they watched the fire.
“They should have come with us,” Cooper said softly, and Josie nodded.
“We need to keep moving,” Cooper said looked around them. “Do you know this country?”
“Yes,” Josie nodded.
“We need to find ourselves a place to hide. I need to rest up for a few days, and then we can head home,” Cooper said. “Can you do that?”
“We go up there,” Josie said, and she pointed way up into the mountains. “I know a place. I show you.”
Cooper looked up and nodded thoughtfully.
“Well, I wanted to go up into the mountains, and now I’ll get that chance,” he smiled, and then he nodded at Josie. “Lead the way.”
Josie nodded back and kicked up her horse. She yanked on the lead rope, and Jug-head fell in behind.
Cooper smiled as he watched her. He nudged his horse forward and followed after her.
Chapter eighty-seven
Yancy, Brian, and Lee took turns keeping watch during the night.
Everybody was up early, and after breakfast they packed up camp and saddled their horses.
Yancy untied Stew’s feet so he could get mounted, and then he tied his hands to the saddle horn. After that, Yancy took the money from the stagecoach robbery and put it in his saddlebags.
Lee, meanwhile, helped Tussle get mounted, and then everyone else stepped up onto their mounts.
“Is everybody ready?” Yancy asked.
Everyone nodded, so Yancy led out in a slow trot.
A couple of hours passed, and they arrived back at the cabin.
Jessica, Brian, and Lee dismounted quickly. They tied their horses to the corral and disappeared into the woods.
Yancy sat on his horse and watched them. He smiled faintly, and then he dismounted and tied his horse to the corral. He tied Stew’s horse next, and then he helped Tussle down.
They both sat under the lean-to, and Stew glared at them from his horse. His hands were still tied to the saddle horn, and he couldn’t move.
“Are you just going to leave me up here?” He protested.
“Yep,” Yancy replied.
***
Two hours passed, and Lee, Brian, and Jessica returned to the cabin with somber faces.
“Find it?” Tussle asked.
“No,” Lee muttered, and then he looked at Stew. “Where is Cliff’s body?”
“We dumped him out in the woods,” Stew lied.
Lee frowned, but he didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Yancy cleared his throat and got everyone’s attention.
“I hate to break up the treasure hunt,” he said. “But, I’ve got to get my prisoner back to Midway, and Tussle’s foot needs looking after.”
“What about my money?” Jessica asked.
“It could take days to find,” Yancy replied. “I’m sorry, but I can’t wait that long.”
Jessica nodded slowly as she thought on that.
“I understand.”
Lee and Brian stood over by the corral and talked in hushed tones. They nodded and walked over to Jessica.
“Ma’am, Brian and I have decided to stay here. That carpetbag’s got to be around here somewhere close. Soon as we find it, we’ll bring it to Midway.”
Jessica was silent as she studied them.
“All right,” she finally said. “It’s a deal.”
Lee and Brian smiled and nodded, and then they helped Tussle and Jessica get mounted on their horse.
“Take care of that foot,” Lee told Tussle.
Tussle was in pain, but he managed to nod.
Meanwhile, Yancy untied the horses, stepped into the saddle, and grabbed the lead rope to Stew’s horse. Then, he looked down at Lee and Brian.
“Brian,” he said sternly. “Don’t be holding up anymore stagecoaches.”
“I won’t,” Brian smiled.
Yancy nodded and looked at Lee, and it was silent as they looked at each other.
“So long, Yancy,” Lee said wryly. “I’m glad we didn’t have to kill each other.”
“You’ll never change, will you?”
“No, probably not.”
“One of these days-,” Yancy warned.
“I know,” Lee interrupted softly, and he asked curiously, “Are you afraid of me, Yancy?”
Yancy listened to the question. He turned it around in his head, studied it from all angles, and decided.
“No, but you do have my respect.”
“Me too,” Lee smiled.
Chapter eighty-eight
Yancy rode in a slow trot. He led Stew’s horse behind him, and Tussle and Jessica followed.
They were almost at the trading post when Yancy stopped abruptly.
“I smell smoke,” he declared.
Everybody else could smell it too, and Yancy’s face turned grim. He kicked up his horse and led out in a brisk trot.
A look of concern crossed his face as they rode up to the trading post.
The trading post had been burned to the ground, and there were scalped bodies lying all about.
Stew chuckled, but nobody else said anything.
Jessica watched Yancy as he dismounted.
“Yancy?” She asked.
His face was hard and stern, and he didn’t reply as he walked forward. Jessica looked at Tussle, but he shook his head.
Yancy searched the ruins. Jessica, meanwhile, helped her uncle down, and then Tussle kept his shotgun aimed at Stew while Jessica watched Yancy.
He carefully studied each body. He then searched behind every burned log there was, and after that he circled the stockade.
Finally, Yancy walked back over to them, and Jessica was surprised to find a relieved look on his face.
“They aren’t here,” he said. “But, they’re alive.”
“How do you know?”
“I found Cooper’s initials carved in a tree over there,” Yancy gestured. “He and Josie must have left before the attack.”
“And you’re sure it was Cooper?”
“Unless there’s an Injun running around with same initials, it’s him,” Yancy nodded.
“So where did they go?” Jessica asked, confused.
Yancy turned and looked up into the mountains.
“There,” he pointed. “They must have gone up there.”
“Did you find any tracks?”
“No, the ground’s too hard.”
“What are we going to do?” Tussle spoke up.
Yancy pinched his face in thought.
“I’ve got a job to finish,” he finally said. “I’ll take you, Stew, and Jessica back to Midway. Then, I’ll come back for Cooper.”
“Do you think Cooper will be all right?” Jessica asked worriedly.
“He knows how to take care of himself. He’ll probably cover his tracks and hole up for a few days. Once he’s rested, he’ll head for Midway. We probably couldn’t find him even if we tried.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Tussle said.
Yancy nodded, and then he helped Tussle get mounted. After that he turned to Jessica.
“Give me your hand, ma’am.”
Jessica ex
tended her hand, and Yancy gripped it as he helped her up behind Tussle.
He started to release her hand, but she held on firmly. He looked up, and they stared at each other. Jessica smiled gently and released his hand.
Yancy studied her for a moment more, and then he turned and climbed on his horse. He grabbed the lead rope to Stew’s horse and looked up at the mountains once more.
As they rode out, he vowed softly to himself, “I’ll be back, Coop.”
About the Author
Born in West Texas, Tell Cotten is a seventh generation Texan. He comes from a family with a ranching heritage and is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas. He is currently in the cattle business, and he resides in West Texas with his wife, Andi, and their two children.
Tell is the award-winning author of The Landon Saga. His novels have won Gold and Silver in the Readers' Favorite awards, and Tell also won Best New Western in the Laramie Awards and bronze in the Global ebook awards for CONFESSIONS OF A GUNFIGHTER.
For announcements of new releases and all other information, please like The Landon Saga Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheLandonSaga
Or, you can join The Landon Saga Fan Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/784798154926122/
You can also visit Tell Cotten’s website http://tellcotten.wordpress.com/
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my wife and my family for all their help and support. Without them this wouldn’t be possible. I’d also like to thank God for the gift of writing.
I’d also like to thank Mike for the great cover.
And lastly, I’d like to thank Melissa for all her advice, help, and hard work.
Enjoy these sample chapters of Tell Cotten’s upcoming novel.
Cooper
Book three in The Landon Saga series
Prologue
I have been well acquainted with trouble these past few years. It’s a violent cycle. Soon as things get peaceable, trouble hurries back around.
Having a younger brother named Yancy Landon doesn’t help. Yancy is well-known for his skills with his Colt six-shooter, and he also has a natural knack for finding trouble.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not near as good with a six-shooter. My specialty is with my Henry rifle. I’m real accurate with it, and mighty quick too. I have a special way of swinging it up, and it’s almost as fast as Yancy’s draw.
My name is Cooper Landon.
Folks best describe me as tall, wide-shouldered, and rawboned. Whenever possible, I’m more relaxed than Yancy. I like life to go at a slow place, and I also like to think things out before I act.
This time, trouble started in Midway, Texas, when Cliff Curtis and his men robbed the stagecoach. Two honest men were killed, and a young woman named Jessica was kidnapped.
Utah ‘Stew’ Baine was the one that did all the killing.
Yancy took it personal when we discovered that our friend Steve was among the dead. Steve had served under Yancy during the war, and Yancy was determined to bring Stew to justice. So, we left Sergeant Jason Wagons in charge of Midway and took out after them.
All this happened at a mighty inopportune time for me. I had just received the first furlough I’d had since before the war, and I’d been planning a trapping trip to the mountains in the New Mexico Territory. Turns out, I did get to go to the mountains, but instead of trapping beavers I was hunting men.
For me, the chase ended abruptly.
I was shot in the hip at a trading post in the foothills of the mountains. J.T. Tussle, who was Jessica’s uncle, was shot in the foot, and Jed Hawkins was also killed.
I was lucky. The bullet only grazed my hip, and Pedro stitched me up and guaranteed a full recovery.
However, I had to stay there while Yancy and Tussle pushed on, and I hadn’t seen them since. But I know Yancy, and I’d bet two month’s pay that he caught ’em, or killed them.
So far I’ve left out the best part.
There’s a town called Landry halfway between the trading post and Midway. It was there, on our third day, that I met Josie.
In my opinion, Josie was the prettiest thing that had ever come along. She had a sharp, young-looking face with long, brown hair. And, underneath her appearance was an undeniable strength.
At the time, Josie was accompanied by Lee Mattingly.
Lee was a professional gunfighter that always seemed to bump into us Landons. In fact, he even used to ride with my cousin Rondo. There were all sorts of stories about him, and his reputation was legendary.
Lee wanted to be rid of Josie, and after meeting her I was very willing to take her.
I found out that Josie’s family had been killed by Apaches when she was nine, and for the past twelve years she had been living with the Apaches.
But she wasn’t anymore. Now, she was with me.
Back to the story.
Right after Yancy left, Josie spotted some Apaches studying the trading post. She scouted around, and she discovered about sixty braves getting painted up for war. They were led by a young war chief named No Worries.
There were only seventeen Mexicans there to defend the stockade. They were determined to stay, but Josie was determined to leave. She knew the country, and she said that she could lead us out.
It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made. However, after much thought, I decided to trust Josie.
I tried to talk Pedro and the Mexicans into coming with us, but their minds were made. The trading post was their home, and they were staying.
So, I bought enough provisions to last a couple of weeks, and we left soon as it got dark. And none too soon, because a few hours later we could see the stockade burning in the distance.
We both had a horse, and I also had a stubborn mule named Jug-head. We went up into the mountains, and the next day we discovered that we were being followed.
At first my plan was to find Yancy. But, after considering the situation, I figured Yancy probably had enough to worry about without having a bunch of Injuns after him too.
So, Josie took us high up into the mountains. She led us on a maze of rivers and trails, and she was real careful to cover our tracks. And, I have to admit that even I would have had a hard time trailing us, and I had been one of the best trackers in the Union army.
Josie was finally satisfied that we had lost No Worries. I was sure glad, because I was wore out.
Josie decided that I needed rest, and I sure didn’t argue none. So, Josie found us a nice little hiding spot. It was by a river, and there were trees all about. It was also in a canyon, with high walls all around. And, the trees helped hide any smoke from a fire.
Our hiding place was real peaceful, and I figured we’d just stay there a while and let things settle down.
Our first morning there, we discovered that we were practically surrounded by beavers.
I found that amusing, and I mentioned it was a shame that we didn’t have any traps.
Josie looked at me funny when I said that, and she said we didn’t need traps. She could catch them. I asked her how, and she taught me how to catch beavers the Indian way.
Josie explained that beavers were a creature of habit, and that the easiest way to catch them was to find where they entered and left the river. Josie looked around some, and she found the place within an hour.
Next, she made a huge cage out of tree limbs. It had an opening, but the other end was closed so that when a beaver entered he couldn’t go on through.
I had some leather straps in my saddlebags, and I helped make the cage. After that, Josie placed the cage underwater where the beavers left the river, and she also placed big rocks in the bottom to help keep it sunk.
Every hour or so she would pull the cage up, and we’d have a cage full of drowned beavers.
We developed a good system. Josie caught them, and I skinned them.
In the evenings, Josie and I sat around a fire and worked on her English. I was surprised at how quickly it came back
to her, and it wasn’t long until she could carry on a decent conversation. She was short and abrupt, but at least we could communicate.
Before I knew it, a whole week passed. And, enjoyable as it was, I knew that we couldn’t stay here forever. Our coffee supply was almost gone, and I also knew that Yancy was probably lost and confused without me.
I decided it was time to go home.
Chapter one
Every day my feelings for Josie had grown stronger. During our last night in our canyon, I finally built up enough courage to say something.
We were drinking coffee by the fire when I suddenly looked up at her.
“I want you to know; I’ve really enjoyed this week,” I said. I hesitated and added, “Being here, with you.”
“Me too,” Josie smiled and nodded.
I paused while I gathered my thoughts.
“This Injun husband you had,” I finally said. “Did you, uh, love him?”
“He was good to me,” Josie replied.
“But did you love him?” I pressed.
“I survived,” Josie replied, and her face was blank.
It fell silent. Josie just sat there drinking coffee while I tried to come up with the right words.
“Will you ever marry again?” I asked nonchalantly. “To a feller like me?”
Josie frowned as she thought on that, and I held my breath.
“When I live with Apaches,” Josie finally replied, “sometimes, a man and woman go away. Spend time together.”
“Oh?” I asked, curious.
“When they come back,” Josie explained, “they were considered married.”
“We’re sort-a doing that right now,” I said thoughtfully.
Josie nodded, and we both laughed.
Chapter two
Before we left, we bundled all the pelts together.