Nate Coffin's Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page B

believe Coffin would show up here and murder Mrs. Savage?”
    Man shook his head like a tired dog. “Way news travels these days, and especially news like that of a woman killing no less than Reuben Coffin in a stand-up gunfight, no doubt about it. Tale of this shooting will be all over Hell and Texas inside a week. Figure Mrs. Savage will be under the ground ’fore the month’s out. And I’ll probably go in a grave right beside her when I try to stop the inevitable.” Oakley leaned forward and propped his head in his hands. “Lady mighta saved your life today, Lucius. But there’s gonna be hell to pay for how she went about it.”
    Fought off the dizziness, forced myself upright, and swung my legs over the edge of the cot. Reached out and placed my hand on the old marshal’s sagging shoulder. Boz appeared at the cell door with a fresh cup of coffee in one hand and his unfinished panatela in the other.
    I said, “Long as I’m living, Caleb, you and Mrs. Savage are safe as newborn babes. Swear on my father’s grave, if any of the Coffin family shows up, they’ll have to kill me to get to either of you.”
    Boz laughed, then said, “Same here. I’ve had a run-in or two with the elder Coffin some years ago. Murderous rogue is still carryin’a chunk of my lead. He don’t scare me none.”
    Felt some better the next morning when Boz shook me awake and handed me a big plate of scrambled eggs, a slab of ham, and a fine-smelling cup of Marshal Oakley’s special belly wash. Sat them on a stool near the bed and tried to eat a bit. But the ache in the side of my head left me to sip at the cup more than anything else.
    “How’s that ironbound noggin of yours, boy?”
    Gingerly checked out the bandage-covered wrinkle over my ear with the tips of trembling fingers. “Well, it has stopped bleeding. Seems a mite improved. Don’t hurt near like it did yesterday. Leastways, not yet. Might want to check back in about two hours. Should be throbbin’ pretty good by then.”
    Surprised me more’n a little when my partner shot me a conspiratorial smile, leaned over, and whispered, “Someone special here to see you, Lucius. Think you’re gonna be right pleased with this particular visitor.”
    He stepped aside, and there stood the stunning Dianna Savage. My God but she was a beauty. Tall, narrow-waisted, ample-bosomed, full-hipped, black hair done in a fashionable, upswept bun. Unblemished complexion and the naturally reddest lips I’d ever seen on a woman. Made a mental note as how my eye-catching guest bore a striking resemblance to a heavenly being portrayed in a painting that hung in the foyer of the Tarrant County Court House. Picture was a portrayal of a winged seraph leading small children over a fast-running creek in a dense forest. Amazing image had the power to stop me dead in my tracks for a viewing every time I passed it. Tried to stand and act the gentleman.
    “Please don’t trouble yourself, sir,” Mrs. Savage said, and waved me back to my seat on the cot.
    “Thank you. I’m still a mite fuzzy-headed today.”
    No reluctance or hesitation. She boldly stepped forward and offered her hand. The lady had a cool, firm grip. “I am most pleased to see you’re doing somewhat better, Mr. Dodge. Given the way you looked a few moments after we first met, I had my doubts you’d enjoy another day amongst the living.”
    “My sentiments exactly, Mrs. Savage. Please tell me, is your child safe and well?”
    “Yes indeed, sir. My son’s well-being is the precise reason for my hasty and unannounced visit this morning. I came to offer my sincerest thanks for your efforts at saving us from those killers. Had you not stepped up to the situation, and bodily placed yourself at peril between us and them, I am convinced William and I would have surely died in the dust of Main Street during yesterday’s bloody altercation.”
    A crystalline tear rolled down her flawless cheek. She dabbed at it with a small white kerchief