Chapter 19
Excluding his little adventure when Rider had shown up at his house a few weeks ago, Deadshot hadn’t gone further than a couple of miles in every direction from his cabin.
The town wasn’t too far away, and there was a stream and great hunting grounds not too far from his cabin.
Deadshot had taken his retirement seriously.
His body had demanded that he slow down, and he had listened.
Considering all the aches and pains he felt daily, he should likely have retired much earlier than he had.
During his bounty hunting years, Deadshot captured many dangerous outlaws, but Quincy Callaway was infamous.
He wasn’t scared to go after somebody so feared.
Deadshot didn’t gain his reputation by going after easy targets.
Bandits used to fear Deadshot, and lawmen envied him.
He would find Quincy and discover what happened to the kid’s mother and sister.
There were two things about the mission that did scare Deadshot, though.
The first was whether his body could actually handle it, and the second was taking the kid along.
Deadshot had no idea how to take care of a kid.
He had never had any of his own and had generally kept his distance from people.
He had lived on the road, and when he had been around people, it had mostly been for specific reasons.
Friends and family weren’t something he was interested in, and making conversation wasn’t his strong suit.
After agreeing to help the kid, they had to pack.
Since the child had no idea how long they were going to be away or where they were going, he packed what he thought was necessary.
The most important thing was weapons. His Colt Army stayed in his gun belt, and he added more bullets.
His Colt Navy and a couple of boxes of slugs went into his saddlebag.
He then secured his Winchester rifle on his back, and his Hawken rifle went onto his horse.
It was always necessary to take some extra clothes, so he packed an extra pair of pants, some socks, underwear, a shirt, and of course, his coat.
He added two neckerchiefs to his bag, as well as pots, cups, plates, and a bunch of knives.
Once those necessities were collected, he packed some personal belongings like his map, compass, pocket watch, and money.
All in all, packing didn’t take long. It was something he was used to, and he didn’t really need much to get by.
Since the kid didn’t have a bedroll, Deadshot gave him one of his, and then they secured their belongings to the backs of their horses.
Next on the list of things to do was to buy some groceries that they could take with them on the road.
They went to the general store in town and bought a bunch of canned foods, as well as some coffee beans, sugar, bread, oats, and rice.
The kid didn’t say much as they made their way through town.
He simply followed Deadshot and took it all in.
It felt strange to Deadshot to have the kid with him, but he was going to have to get used to it.
Deadshot also bought a few more boxes of ammunition, sewing equipment, matches, and a bottle of alcohol.
The alcohol wasn’t for drinking, but on a journey such as they were going to undertake, it was easy to get injured, and alcohol worked well to clean wounds.
When they were done in town, they headed to the kid’s ranch to pack his things.
The kid had told him that he had never gone far from home and that he had never been on a trip like the one they were going to undertake.
The kid grew up on the ranch and knew a lot about ranching, taking care of animals, and planting, but he knew nothing about tracking or fighting.
This was not surprising to Deadshot, but it was disappointing because it meant more work for Deadshot to keep him safe.
Once they arrived at the ranch, Deadshot quickly helped the kid pack his things, and then they were on their way.
The kid had taken one of his father’s gun belts, as well as his father’s Colt and shotgun.
Although Deadshot tried to hurry, it still took them quite a while to actually get on the road.
The kid’s ranch was hours away from where Deadshot lived, and by the time they had traveled an hour from his ranch, it was almost already time to set up camp for the night.
Deadshot didn’t mind traveling in the dark, but he did not want to travel during the night unnecessarily, especially since the kid was with him.
Traveling at night was dangerous when you had no experience at all.
Taking the kid along was a risk, but Deadshot simply couldn’t tell him no.
The kid reminded him too much of himself, and maybe by helping the kid, he could somehow help himself.
It didn’t really matter. Deadshot had come to terms with his existence a long time ago, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wouldn’t love to get rid of the nightmares that haunted him.
“So, what’s the plan?” the kid asked, sitting down next to Deadshot.
“Right now, there is no plan,” Deadshot replied honestly. “We start by visiting nearby towns and asking around. See if we can learn something that’ll point us in the right direction.”
The kid nodded. “You’ve done this before, though.”
It sounded more like a question than a statement.
“More times than I can count.”
“So you’ll find them?” the kid asked, obviously needing some sort of confirmation that Deadshot could, in fact, do what he was asking of him.
“Nothing is guaranteed,” Deadshot replied. “But what I can tell you is that I’ve always caught my man, no matter how long it took or how difficult it was.”
The kid looked impressed. “You really never gave up on one of them?”
“No.” Deadshot shook his head. “I enjoy the chase. Giving up has never been an option for me.”
The last of the sunlight was disappearing, and it was time for the kid to be useful. Deadshot would do the heavy lifting, but the kid was going to have to contribute too. This wasn’t a vacation, and the kid was going to have to toughen up.
“We need a fire,” Deadshot told him. “And my knees aren’t good.” He patted his left knee. “Especially this one.”
“I’ll get some,” the kid offered, as if he had a choice.
“Don’t get lost. I’m not searching for you.”
“There are trees right over there,” the kid said with a frown. “How dumb do you think I am?”
Deadshot laughed and pointed at the kid’s gun belt. “Dumb enough to take that off.”
The kid quickly grabbed it and fastened it around his waist. “We were just sitting here.”
“And if I didn’t remind you, you would have gone off collecting wood without it. What if bandits attacked or you came across a wild animal?”
The kid’s eyes roamed their surrounding area. Deadshot had led them far away from the road and to a more secluded area, hidden by boulders and trees. It wasn’t perfect, but finding a perfect camping spot wasn’t easy while on the road. As long as it provided some cover, it would do.
“You think there are wild animals here?”
Deadshot nodded. “Definitely, but they’re more scared of you than you are of them. I’d be more worried about bandits.”
“Will they really attack just the two of us? We don’t even have much with us.”
“Some gangs only raid ranches and farms, maybe the occasional bank or store, but desperate bandits will attack almost anybody they come across.”
“I guess that makes sense,” the kid said, his hand resting on his pistol.
“You even know how to use it?”
“I can shoot,” the kid confirmed, his voice cracking as he spoke.
“All right, off you go then.” Deadshot pulled his bag closer. “The fire isn’t going to build itself.”
Deadshot watched as the kid walked off hesitantly.
He had scared him. Good. A person couldn’t afford to relax while they were traveling.
The kid’s hand remained on his pistol as he walked, and Deadshot sighed with frustration.
The kid’s father had probably shown him how to use the pistol, but he doubted that the kid could shoot.
Deadshot was going to have to teach him, and he had no idea if he had the patience for that.