The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western by Robert J. Thomas, Jill B. Thomas, Barb Gunia, Dave Hile
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wasn’t. He reached inside the holster and felt the inside and it had a real smooth feel to it and it was harder than normal, which allowed the gun to glide out of the holster easier. Then he noticed there was no front or rear sights on the gun.
He looked the gun over carefully and noticed some printing stamped on it. On one side by the trigger he read the words RUGER BLACKHAWK .41 MAGNUM CAL. On the other side of the gun was a number: 40-01079. The handgrips were made out of some type of material he had never seen before. It looked like some type of horn material and the grips flared out at the bottom so as to make the gun extremely easy to grip.
Jess decided to take the gun into the house to study it some more. When he got in the house, he placed the gun and holster on the kitchen table. He sat there for several minutes trying to take this all in and wondering where this unusual gun had come from. He picked it up again. The gun was extremely light compared to the few pistols he had ever been able to hold. His pa’s gun was a Colt .45 Peacemaker and he figured it had to weigh twice as much as this gun. He didn’t know much about pistols, but he knew after handling this one for a few minutes that it was like no other pistol he had ever seen. This was something unique and special. He knew he would have to keep this gun and holster hidden for now. He walked outside and quickly went back to the barn and climbed up the ladder to the top floor. There were some wooden boxes that his pa kept there and he gently placed the gun and holster into one of the boxes and placed some more boxes around it to hide it.
He went back to the house and decided to have some of the apple pie Sara had left him. Before he cut it, he decided to make himself some coffee to go with it. The coffee was strong, but good and the pie was even better. As he sat there, he thought some more about the pistol. It couldn’t have been his pa’s gun or it wouldn’t have been hanging on a peg in the barn, it would have been in the box with his pa’s other gun.
By now, the sun was getting low in the sky. Jess decided against practicing this late and decided to turn in early tonight. He had a field to plow come morning. He had some more coffee and then he went into his pa’s room and got the shotgun from the corner and took it into his bedroom along with a few extra shells. If anyone tried to bother him tonight or the killers returned, he would be ready. He would never be surprised by anyone like his family had been. He promised himself that he would always have a gun by his side at all times and always be on the ready. As he fell off to sleep, he imagined he was tracking his family’s killers across the country. And he saw the pistol he found in the barn strapped to his waist. It looked like it belonged there.
He dreamed that night, but not nightmares. He dreamed good dreams of his family. He woke often through the night as he would for the rest of his life. The slightest sound would awaken him. His senses seemed more aware without him really knowing it. He would always be ready…always.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jess woke before sunrise. Before he got out of the bed, he thought about the pistol in the barn. All the same thoughts about the pistol and holster ran through his head again. He got up and cooked himself some breakfast. While he ate, he thought of all the things he would have to do on his own. He continued to plan out what he would do. He would work the ranch for the next two years. He would be a little over sixteen and, by that time; he planned to be the quickest draw with a pistol anyone had ever seen. In the meantime, he would plant crops and sell them. He would sell off all the livestock and stash away all the money and use it to do what he needed to do; what he knew he had to
He looked the gun over carefully and noticed some printing stamped on it. On one side by the trigger he read the words RUGER BLACKHAWK .41 MAGNUM CAL. On the other side of the gun was a number: 40-01079. The handgrips were made out of some type of material he had never seen before. It looked like some type of horn material and the grips flared out at the bottom so as to make the gun extremely easy to grip.
Jess decided to take the gun into the house to study it some more. When he got in the house, he placed the gun and holster on the kitchen table. He sat there for several minutes trying to take this all in and wondering where this unusual gun had come from. He picked it up again. The gun was extremely light compared to the few pistols he had ever been able to hold. His pa’s gun was a Colt .45 Peacemaker and he figured it had to weigh twice as much as this gun. He didn’t know much about pistols, but he knew after handling this one for a few minutes that it was like no other pistol he had ever seen. This was something unique and special. He knew he would have to keep this gun and holster hidden for now. He walked outside and quickly went back to the barn and climbed up the ladder to the top floor. There were some wooden boxes that his pa kept there and he gently placed the gun and holster into one of the boxes and placed some more boxes around it to hide it.
He went back to the house and decided to have some of the apple pie Sara had left him. Before he cut it, he decided to make himself some coffee to go with it. The coffee was strong, but good and the pie was even better. As he sat there, he thought some more about the pistol. It couldn’t have been his pa’s gun or it wouldn’t have been hanging on a peg in the barn, it would have been in the box with his pa’s other gun.
By now, the sun was getting low in the sky. Jess decided against practicing this late and decided to turn in early tonight. He had a field to plow come morning. He had some more coffee and then he went into his pa’s room and got the shotgun from the corner and took it into his bedroom along with a few extra shells. If anyone tried to bother him tonight or the killers returned, he would be ready. He would never be surprised by anyone like his family had been. He promised himself that he would always have a gun by his side at all times and always be on the ready. As he fell off to sleep, he imagined he was tracking his family’s killers across the country. And he saw the pistol he found in the barn strapped to his waist. It looked like it belonged there.
He dreamed that night, but not nightmares. He dreamed good dreams of his family. He woke often through the night as he would for the rest of his life. The slightest sound would awaken him. His senses seemed more aware without him really knowing it. He would always be ready…always.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jess woke before sunrise. Before he got out of the bed, he thought about the pistol in the barn. All the same thoughts about the pistol and holster ran through his head again. He got up and cooked himself some breakfast. While he ate, he thought of all the things he would have to do on his own. He continued to plan out what he would do. He would work the ranch for the next two years. He would be a little over sixteen and, by that time; he planned to be the quickest draw with a pistol anyone had ever seen. In the meantime, he would plant crops and sell them. He would sell off all the livestock and stash away all the money and use it to do what he needed to do; what he knew he had to
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