The Streets of Vermijo

by Neil Hunter

  ‘I can see that for myself,’ Begley said.

  He placed his bag on the desk, took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.

  ‘Ladies first,’ Frank said. ‘Our sheriff deserves that so get to it.’

  From outside there was a shout of pure joy.

  ‘It’s Luke!’ Eve said. ‘He’s here. He’s here.’

  ~*~

  Three weeks on and Vermijo was as close to being back to normal as possible.

  The burned out buildings and Janos Salo’s warehouse were close to being rebuilt. He was already arranging for fresh stock. The recovered money and silver was back in the bank, with young Dexter Bishop running it until the town could decide what was to be done on about the manager’s position. It was already being mooted he should be given the position on a permanent basis.

  The three outlaws had been buried with little more than a perfunctory service, while Linus Penny was laid to rest with most of the town in attendance. Janos Salo even paid for a headstone.

  Luke Tyler, who returned with his dead outlaw and barely a scratch on him, felt justly proud of his performance and had received a welcome from his grandfather and a hug from Ruby. He was in more of a rush to get together with Eve, who practically hung off his arm from the moment he dismounted.

  When all the hubbub died down and Frank telegraphed his headquarters, the suggestion came back that he and Luke should make Vermijo the center of their US Marshal Territory. They would work out of the town jail, with Ruby Tucker retaining her role as sheriff on a part-time basis. It was accepted as reasonable compromise.

  The outcome suited Frank. The pursuit of the outlaws had forced him to realize he was not the young man he had once been and the position of local marshal would be just what he needed, with Luke as his deputy able to take on the more active role. Luke himself saw the advantages. The job would keep him grounded and with his relationship with Eve growing stronger he couldn’t see a better opportunity.

  The town, realizing a more hopeful period of stability was in the offing, settled for the status quo. It wasn’t going to be all plain sailing … but everyone figured peace was about to descend over the streets of Vermijo.

  It was all they could hope for and they expected no more …

  THE STREETS OF VERMIJO

  By Neil Hunter

  Copyright © 2017 by Neil Hunter

  Images from Vermijo © 2017 by Nonrev Studios

  Image of Heather Woods © 2017 by Heather Woods

  First Smashwords Edition: November 2017

  Names, characters and incidents in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This is a Piccadilly Publishing Book

  Text © Piccadilly Publishing

  Tracked and Monitored by