The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western Read Free Page A

done early enough, can I go down to the creek and mess around a bit?” asked Jess, a pleading look on his face. John knew exactly what that meant.
                  “I guess so. As long as you get all of your chores finished.”
                  “Will you come down to the creek and help me practice a little?”
                  “Maybe after dinner,” he offered. “We’ll see what kind of mood your ma is in. She’s still mad about me carving you that wooden pistol.”
                  “How come she’s so dead set against it?”
                  “Well, let’s just say she has her reasons.”
                  Jess got back to the ranch as quickly as he could so he could finish his chores and go down to the creek to practice with his wooden pistol. On the way back, he imagined himself a sheriff tracking down a bad guy who robbed a bank in some town. When he arrived back at the ranch, he brushed down the paint and put him in his stall. Then he finished the chores his pa had told him to do.
                  Jess went over to the stables and got out his homemade wooden pistol and holster. He made the holster himself out of some scrap leather his pa gave him. He fashioned the holster a little different from most holsters. He attached it to the belt at an angle so the barrel of the pistol pointed slightly forward. He fashioned the belt so the gun rode lower on the hip and he tied it down to his thigh with a strip of leather. He ran down to the creek and began to practice
                  This time he imagined he was a sheriff in a small town and he had been called out on the street by a gunslinger wanted by the law. Of course, he out-drew the gunslinger. He was there about a half-hour when he heard his ma call him to supper. As he walked up toward the stable to put his wooden pistol away, he wondered if his pa would come back down to the creek after supper so he could show him how good he was doing on his own.
                  Dinner consisted of beef stew and bread. Becky was a pretty good cook. For dessert, they had apple pie. Jess ate a good helping of stew and then a big slice of pie. John finished his pie, washing it down with another cup of hot coffee, and pushed himself away from the table.
                  “Damn fine meal, woman. I don’t know anyone who can make apple pie quite like you,” John said with a look of pride on his face.
                  Becky blushed a little. She was very modest. “You’re quite the charmer, Mr. Williams,” she replied. “Quite the charmer indeed.” Jess looked at his pa.
                  “Pa, do you think you could go down to the creek with me for a little while?” Jess asked nervously. His ma gave him that look she always gave him when he mentioned going down by the creek. She knew what that meant and it wasn’t fishing. Jess kept looking at his pa figuring if he looked at his ma it would just get her started.
                  “You know I really don’t like you fooling around with that gun, Jess,” said Becky. Jess kept looking at his pa, waiting for a sign.
                  “Sweetheart,” John said, as he got up from the dinner table, “you are about the best cook around these here parts. I don’t know anyone who can bake a pie like you can. Course, women are good at certain things and men are good at other things. Women have to be good cooks else they won’t ever get a man. On the other hand, men who don’t know how to shoot a gun may never live to get married to a wonderful woman like you in the first place. Matter of fact, if I’d never learned to shoot a pistol, I wouldn’t be here today, and you know that to be a fact.” As he finished his last word he had walked slowly around to Becky at the other end of the table and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
                  “Well, I still