Broken Star (2006) Read Online Free Page A

answering this, Vejar asked a question,‘How many deputies you got?’
    ‘One,’ Harker answered ruefully. ‘And that’s old Dan Matthews.’
    ‘That’s as good as being on your own,’ Vejar commented solemnly, ‘You’ll need some good men backing you when you go against Ken Klugg, George.’
    With a shrug, Harker said, ‘I won’t find them in Yancey. Everyone here these days is bent on making money, not getting themselves shot.’
    ‘So you will have to rely on yourself,’ Vejar mused. ‘You’ve got the speed and the skill. You’re good, George.’
    ‘Perhaps not as good as you.’
    ‘That’s not what I was leading up to,’ Vejar explained. ‘What I’m saying is that even the best of gunslingers can’t take on the Klugg outlaw band alone.’
    ‘Maybe the two of us could,’ Harker suggested tentatively.
    ‘It’s not that easy for me, George.’
    ‘Loyalty to your old gang?’
    ‘Not exactly,’ Vejar replied. ‘I made it pretty plain to Ken Klugg that I’ll act against him if he hits the bank here at Yancey.’
    Puzzled by this, Harker enquired, ‘I’ve never known you to duck a fight, Fallon, so what’s the problem?’
    ‘It’s not straightforward.’
    Though he had observed Vejar’s adverse reaction to learning that Raya and he were going out together, Harker hadn’t thought for one moment that it would come to this. He chose his words carefully. ‘Is it something between us, Fallon?’
    ‘No, it has nothing to do with you or anyone else here in Yancey,’ Vejar replied.
    They had reached the jailhouse, and an even more mystified Harker unlocked the door. Changing the conversation, he said, ‘You have the place to yourself, Fallon.’ He waved a hand towards the cells. ‘Feel free to choose the best bed in the house.’
    ‘Thanks,’ Vejar said.
    ‘I’ll look you up in the morning,’ Harker told him, pausing at the door to speak over his shoulder to Vejar. ‘I heard tell that there’s a girl riding with the Klugg outfit.’
    The sheriff meant this to be taken as a question . But Vejar ignored it completely. Certain that he had touched on what was bothering his friend, Harker said no more. Holding the door open for a moment, he gave Vejar the chance to say something. When his friend uttered not one word. Harker stepped out into the night and closed the door behind him.

THREE
    It was ten o’clock in the morning and trading on Yancey’s main street was already brisk when Raya Kennedy walked to the bank. She had gone quickly, not wanting to encounter Fallon Vejar on the street. Now, with two other customers between her and the teller, she kept watch through the bank’s open door. Why was she doing that? Raya didn’t know the answer. Perhaps it was because if she saw him coming in her direction she could escape him. Or maybe it was that she secretly wanted to at least catch a glimpse of Fallon. That was understandable, as they had once planned to marry, but inexcusable because she was now George Harker’s girl. George was a gentleman who was highly respected by everyone in town, whereas after being forced out of Yancey, Fallon had become an outlaw with a price on his head.
    Raya gave an involuntary little jump as ashadow fell across the doorway. The possibility that it was Fallon Vejar both unnerved and thrilled her a little. But it was a woman who entered. Around the same age as Raya, she was dark-complexioned; her black hair, worn long, was pulled back and tied with a single ribbon. She wore a crimson shirt and had a pair of saddle-bags draped over her left shoulder. Pausing to look curiously around her, the way strangers do on arriving, she flashed a brilliant smile at Raya.
    ‘So, this is Yancey,’ the woman said, speaking as though she and Raya had just ridden into town together.
    Taken aback by this direct approach, Raya’s natural shyness overwhelmed her. All she could manage to say was, ‘Good morning.’
    ‘Are you from around these parts?’ the dark woman