The outrage people felt tonight probably wouldn’t be enough to change anything . . . but at least for once it was being pointed in the right direction.
At the moment Kyle didn’t care about any of that. The only thing that mattered to him this evening was that he was sitting on the swing on G.W.’s front porch with Miranda next to him. His arm was around her, and her head rested on his shoulder.
They sat there in silence for a long time and let the cool, peaceful night air drift over them, but then Miranda sighed and said, “We’re going to have to talk about this sooner or later, you know.”
“I don’t see why,” Kyle said. “We’re both alive, G.W.’s a tough old coot who’s gonna be fine, and everybody in the whole dang world knows this ranch is really his, thanks to you. I don’t see why we have to talk about a blessed thing right now.”
“It’s not thanks to me that the world knows. It was Governor Delgado and the team she put together that proved the land grant was a fake.”
“After you got her started on the idea.”
“And it was Ben Gardner, or whatever his name really is, who exposed the reason behind it. Without the information he brought us . . .”
“What happened to him, anyway?” Kyle asked, curious in spite of himself.
“He dropped out of sight again. I think he’s worried that someone will come after him in retaliation for what he did. The Chinese or . . .”
“Or the Democrats,” Kyle said when she didn’t finish.
“The President is a vengeful man, Governor Delgado says. Sooner or later he’ll do something about what happened today.”
“Texas versus the world, as Colonel Atkinson says.” Kyle chuckled. “I like our odds.”
After a moment, Miranda asked, “What about you, Kyle? What are you going to do?”
“I’m not going back to being a bum, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m staying right here on this ranch.”
With the clump of the cane he was using because of the minor wound in his leg, G.W. came onto the porch and said, “Darn right you’re stayin’ here. This’ll be your place one of these days, and I’ve only got so much time left to make sure you know how to take care of it.”
“As long as one of these days doesn’t come too soon, G.W.,” Kyle said.
The old rancher grinned and said, “Oh, I reckon I’ve got a few years of kickin’ and fussin’ left. Time enough to enjoy playin’ with some grandkids.”
“G.W.,” Miranda said, sounding slightly embarrassed. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?”
“I don’t think so. I know the real thing when I see it, and that’s what I see when I look at you two.” He leaned a hand on the porch railing as he peered out across the moonlit range and said, “That’s what I see out there, too. Somethin’ real, somethin’ worth fightin’ for. It’s been ours for a hundred and fifty years, and we’re not gonna give it up.” He turned and started back toward the door. “Sorry I interrupted you young folks. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doin’.”
“Talking about the future,” Kyle said. “That’s what we were doing.”
“It’s out there waitin’ for us all,” G.W. said. “No tellin’ what it’ll bring.”
The screen door banged behind him as he went in the house.
Kensington Publishing Corp.
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Copyright © 2015 J. A. Johnstone
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Following the death of William W. Johnstone, the Johnstone family is working with a carefully selected writer to organize and complete Mr. Johnstone’s outlines and many unfinished manuscripts to create additional novels in all of his series like The Last Gunfighter, Mountain Man, and Eagles, among others. This novel was inspired by Mr. Johnstone’s superb storytelling.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-0-7860-3607-3
First electronic edition: July 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0-7860-3608-0
ISBN-10: 0-7860-3608-7
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