head. 'They want me, not Ryan, ' he said as he slammed the loading
chamber into place and shoved the gun in his holster.
'But that's the problem, son. Ryan ain't gonna let them have you. If
one of them kills you, then you won't be able to help him get the
Blackwater gang, and he's said more than once he needs your special
kind of help.' Cole didn't have the faintest idea what the sheriff was
talking about.
What special kind of help could he give? He guessed he was about to
find out, though. His suggestion that the sheriff remain inside was
met with resistance.
'Son, I can lend a hand. Granted, it's been a while since I've been in
a shoot-out, but I figure it's like drinking out of a cup.
Once you've learned how, you never forget. I used to be considered
quick with a pistol too.' Cole shook his head. 'Like I said, they
want me, but thanks for the offer.' Norton rushed forward to open the
door for him, and before Cole stepped outside, he heard the older man
whisper, 'Good luck to you.' tLuck didn't have anything to do with
it.
Years of hard living had prepared Cole for these annoying nuisances.
Cole took everything in at once. The gunslingers were waiting at
opposite ends of the dirt street but he didn't recognize either one of
them. Gunslingers all looked the same to himtGod, how many had there
been, chasing after the empty dream of being the fastest gun in the
West? Dressed alike in leather chaps, the two men shifted from foot to
foot, letting Cole see their eagerness. They weren't boys, which was
going to make killing them easier, Cole supposed. He had already
figured out exactly how he would do it. The plan called for him to hit
the dirttbut damn, he really hated diving and rolling around in the
mud, especially today, since his stomach was acting so persnickety.
Still, he would do what he had to do in order to survive.
Marshal Ryan was the fly in his ointment, however. The lawman was
standing stock-still in the center of the street, and that would put
him right in the middle of the gunfire.
Cole was about to call out to him when Ryan motioned for him to come
forward. Keeping his hands down and loose at his sides so he wouldn't
spook the eager-to-die gunslingers, he stepped off the boardwalk and
headed for the marshal. His fingers itched to reach for his gun. He
didn't particularly want to shoot the lawman, just hit him on the back
of his head with the butt of a gun so Ryan would have an inkling of the
pain Cole had endured because of his order to keep him in town.
