Outlaw's Reckoning Read Online Free

“Are you listening to me? You could have killed someone with that gun! You most likely would have gotten yourself killed.”
    There was still fear on the kid’s face, but he choked it down and did his best to meet Clint’s eyes. “I can handle myself,” he sputtered.
    â€œYeah, you did a real fine job here!”
    Clint stared the boy down until Henry looked away. By that time, Clint’s blood was cooling off and the tension from the scuffle was fading away. Letting out a breath, Clint loosened his grip on Henry’s shirt and took a step back.
    â€œAre you all right?” Clint asked.
    Henry wasn’t able to maintain his defiant glare, so he averted his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. What about him, though?”
    Looking down at the man on the ground, Clint replied, “He’s fine, too. Your shot just grazed him.”
    â€œYou sure?”
    â€œYep. His bleeding’s already stopped. He’ll be in some pain, but he’ll be able to walk back into that saloon once he wakes up. You want to stand here and wait for that to happen?”
    â€œNo,” Henry said quietly.
    â€œAll right, then. Where do you live?”
    â€œI can get home on my own.”
    Clint let out a laugh and held up his hands in surrender. “Fine by me. I just thought you might like some backup in case this fellow wakes up or if his friend circles around to catch up with you.”
    Sure enough, those words sparked a fearful glint in Henry’s eyes. Clint fanned that spark into a flame as he turned his back on the kid and started walking as if he was more than happy to wash his hands of him. After the count of four, Clint heard Henry’s voice drift through the air.
    â€œYou really think that man’ll come back?”
    Clint stopped and turned around. Not only had the kid allowed one more second than Clint had guessed before stopping him, but Henry also managed to keep his chin up and his chest out.
    â€œHe may or may not come back,” Clint said earnestly. “It’d be wiser to be ready for the first choice than be surprised by the second, though.”
    Nodding as if everything that had passed was his idea, Henry said, “I could use some backup.” His eyes brightened as he added, “And I could repay you for helping me out.”
    â€œWhat’d you have in mind?”
    â€œI can buy you a drink.”
    The smile on Clint’s face came more from genuine surprise than anything else. “Buy me a drink?”
    â€œTo thank you. One man to another. It’s the least I could do.”
    Clint started walking back toward the Whitecap. “Sounds good. Let’s go.”
    A good chunk of the bravado that Henry had displayed left him when he looked at that saloon. “Actually, I was thinking about another place.”
    â€œThis one’ll do. If you’re going to act like a man, you can face up to your actions.” With that, Clint walked toward the front door of the Whitecap Saloon.
    Although Henry wasn’t happy about following him, he was even less happy with the prospect of staying on the street by himself.

FIVE
    When Clint walked into the Whitecap, only a few of the men inside looked his way. When Henry stepped through that same door, however, he got plenty of lingering glances.
    Some of those glances were from armed men who looked at the boy with the same intent that had been displayed by the two gunmen outside. A few looked surprised to see the kid up and walking, and at least one face looked relieved.
    Shelly rushed forward and took the boy’s face in her hands. “Are you all right?” she asked quickly.
    Henry’s first impulse was to grin from ear to ear at the sudden show of affection. “I’m just fine. A little scraped up, but I’ll survive.”
    Clint rolled his eyes and said, “The kid’s a regular quick draw. Actually, I believe his feet were a little quicker.”
    While