Category: Western Publisher: Unlimited Publishing
ISBN-10: 1588321932
Type: Fiction
Pages: 220
Copyright: March 12, 2009
ISBN-13: 9781588321932
Tells the story of a Civil War veteran who wants to forget the horrors he witnessed, but finds the journey is not yet complete.
Buck Landers travels from Tennessee after the war to find a future in a land of promise. Along the way he finds love, but forces beyond his control ends her life. He wants, not revenge, but justice. But his story does not end there as he finds the peace he has long sought.
Excerpt
It was October, and I could feel the bite of the wind through the damp coat as it whipped in on the heels of the cold rain. The skies were gray and bleak, the long prairie grass a dull brown, the tops bent over under the pressure of rain and wind. There was nothing to break its force as it rolled across the North Texas plains. I could feel the buckskin shiver as the cold gusts hit her wet sides. It almost made me wish I had stayed in Jacksboro.
A light mist still fell and I gazed ahead, looking for some form of shelter...anything. All I could see was grass. Miles and miles with not even a bush. I tapped my heels into the buckskin, more to try to warm my numbed feet and legs than to get her to move any faster. She was tired, too.
My body was numb from the waist down and my mind began to wander. It had been a long ride from Tennessee. The war had been over for a month before we got word.
When it had started I was a bright-eyed 20-year-old, full of visions of glory. I wanted to be a hero, to be the object of adoration and awe. That lasted until the first battle when I tasted fear, real fear, and saw my friends killed and suddenly became aware of my own mortality.
The first time I saw my reflection I had been shocked by the change in my appearance. The lines etched into my face were those of a man much older than my 21 years. Gone was the youth and innocence that had carried me through most of my life, replaced by the face of a man who had seen too many die, and many of those by his own hand. But the most shocking part of the image was the eyes. They were the eyes of a stranger, hard and cold. The icy blue stare of a man who had killed and would kill again if need be.
That had been four years ago and nothing had transpired to soften the look. I had resigned myself to death, for I had seen no way to escape its certain grip. Yet somehow I had escaped its clutches. So many friends were gone - from boyhood friends to those who had become closer than brothers.
There was something about war that drew men together. The constant fear, the uncertainty of life. In the final analysis, it was not the Confederacy for which we fought - it was for life itself.
The end of the war had meant an end to the killing. Fear had long since been replaced by a certainty of death and it took time to realize that it was over. For many, the end was not soon enough...for others it would never come for they had acquired a taste for killing and liked it.
As terms of surrender, we were to turn in our weapons, but most had not. Instead, we eased away from camp and began the journey home to face an uncertain future.
I went back to Tennessee only to find our home destroyed, my mother dead, my father gone, my brothers not yet home and my sister a widow.
Our home had been near Franklin. The Union forces had taken the town in a bloody battle. Our home had been used as a post by both armies, but in the end the Yankees had prevailed. What was once a comfortable home had become a gutted shell.
My sister, Danielle, had no idea where our father had gone, no idea if he was dead or alive. I had searched for word of his whereabouts, but no one knew what became of him. If they did, they weren’t saying.
I feared for his life for he had some gold, not much, but in a time when money was scarce, it would be enough for those who would take it - even if it meant killing.
My sister was staying with an aunt and there was nothing I needed to do for her. I had no money and there were no jobs.
Carpetbaggers were soon in place, imposing their rules and favoring those who were willing to bow to their power. They were like spilled kerosene slowly oozing across a floor; oily, slick and volatile, working its way into every crevice.
To stay meant being without work and without pride. I left there, not wanting to succumb to the hopelessness that was everywhere. No money, no idea of the future and no desire to become a part of what I saw happening.
It was in this mind that I decided my future lie west. I needed a fresh land to begin a fresh life and perhaps earn enough money to send home, while in the army I had heard stories of Texas, of the rich grass and wide open spaces where there were few people and a man could make a life, if only he had the courage. There were dangers, too, but nothing in life is without risk. I had survived a war and if it were my destiny to be killed, then it would be in a place where I could be free to follow the trail of my own choosing.
In this collection of Western fiction, I’ve endeavored to bring the reader a little laughter at the expense of my characters, even though they are at times engaged in life threatening adventures. Learn to say something nice to all of your enemies l
Renowned Arizona lawman Jacob Golden is having terrible nightmares. He dreams he’s locked in a battle to the death with a demon from hell that consumes human flesh.
Golden’s a man who fears little, yet this haunting vision terrifies him to
