Chapter 41
Dust clung to Blaze’s coat as he rode down the ridge, his horse limping slightly from the long ride back. Behind him, Marisol and Chato followed at a distance, silent and watchful.
Blaze didn’t look back. His mind was still half in the tunnels. He couldn’t forget the smell of gunpowder, the sight of Wilder falling, and that old wanted poster folded in his pocket. The mine had buried the gold, buried half the past with it, but not the ache in his chest.
He could see the town ahead now. The church steeple, the saloon’s cracked sign, the still silhouettes of townsfolk watching from their porches.
“Looks quiet,” Marisol said behind him.
“It does,” Chato muttered.
Blaze nudged Shadow forward.
“He’s still here,” he said softly. “I can feel it.”
They reached the edge of town. A few people scattered when they saw him ride in. His name must have become a whisper since the gunfire in the hills. He just didn’t know it yet.
If Rachel knew, she might have told them what Kane had done. There was no doubt about it.
“Stay back,” Blaze said.
Marisol frowned. “You sure?”
Blaze nodded. “This one’s mine.” He dismounted, boots thudding against the ground. “Kane!” he called, voice echoing off the storefronts. “You’d best come out where I can see you!”
Nothing at first. Just the creak of a sign and the distant flap of a shutter. Then the saloon doors swung open, and Kane stepped out.
He looked rougher than before. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair matted, and his coat dustier than ever. A Colt 1873 Single Action Army revolver hung at his hip. It was like he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Well,” Kane said, his voice hoarse. “Ain’t that a sight. The hero comes home.”
“Step into the street,” Blaze said.
Kane smirked. “Always was fond of makin’ a show, weren’t you, kid?”
“I’m not here for a show.”
“No?” Kane tilted his head. “Then what’re you here for, Blaze? Justice? Revenge? You already got that out there in the hills, didn’t you?”
Blaze’s jaw tightened. “Where is she?”
“She’s safe,” Kane said. “I never laid a hand on her that’d last. Things got . . . mixed up.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Blaze said.
“I ain’t,” Kane said, his voice sharp now. “You think you’re better than me, boy? You think shootin’ Wilder made you clean? You don’t even know who you are.”
Blaze’s eyes narrowed. “I know enough.”
His heart was hammering in his chest. Every now and then, Blaze glanced in a different direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of his sister.
She must have been here. Surely, she was still here.
Kane stepped closer, boots leaving prints in the dust. “Do you?” he asked. “Your old man wasn’t no saint. He was one of us. A thief, a liar. You got that blood in you same as me.”
Blaze didn’t move. “Maybe. But I got to choose what kind of man I’d be.”
“You sound just like him,” Kane replied with a scoff. “That’s what he said before he ran off with Wilder’s share. You think he was righteous? He just stole from the wrong people. You’re walking in his shadow and don’t even see it.”
“Then I’ll walk my own path,” Blaze said quietly.
“Your own path?” Kane laughed bitterly. “That’s rich. You think the world cares about right and wrong? You think a gun and a few kind words make a man decent? Look around you.”
Blaze’s eyes swept the street. The townsfolk were watching from doorways and porches. Their faces were lined with fear, hope, and dust. That was when he saw her. Rachel.
She stood near the church steps with her hands pressed to her mouth.
Something in his chest eased. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I see people who’ve had enough of men like you,” Blaze said, turning back to Kane.
“People,” Kane scoffed. “They follow whoever’s loudest. Today it’s you, tomorrow it’s someone else. You’ll learn that when they turn on you too.”
Blaze took one slow step forward. “I’m not here to argue, Kane.”
“No,” Kane said, his voice low. “You’re here to kill me.”
“I’m here to stop you,” Blaze replied.
“Same thing,” he said.
Silence stretched between them. Wind moved down the street, stirring the dust around their boots.
“You could walk away,” Blaze said. “You could leave this town, start over somewhere else. Nobody has to die today.”
Kane looked at him. For a second, something like doubt flickered there. Then it was gone.
“You sound just like your father,” Kane said softly. “He said the same thing when Wilder caught him stealing the gold. Tried to talk his way out.”
Blaze’s voice stayed steady. “I’m not him.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Kane said and smiled thinly. “He had guts enough to run. You . . . you just stand still and wait to die.”
“Back down,” Blaze said.
Kane’s hand hovered above his holster. “You really think you’re faster than me?”
“I don’t have to be faster,” Blaze said. “Just right.”
Kane’s mouth curved in something close to pity. “You’ve got his eyes, you know. That same fool’s look. Believing the world can still be good if you shoot enough bad men.”
Blaze stared at Kane. He tried not to think about how the same words sounded coming from Wilder.
“I’m done shooting bad men,” Blaze said. “I just need one more.”
That made Kane laugh. “Guess that makes two of us.”
Suddenly, a deputy edged out from behind a wagon with one hand raised.
Blaze recognized him. Deputy Miles. He had been working as a lawman for just a few months.
“Gentlemen,” he said nervously, “you don’t have to do this here. Let’s talk—”
“Stay back,” Blaze said.
Kane’s eyes never left Blaze’s. “You kill me, they’ll remember you as a murderer. You walk away, and you might get to be a hero. Either way, you lose.”
“Maybe,” Blaze said. “But at least Rachel wins.”
That stung. Kane’s jaw tightened, and his hand twitched once near the gun.
“Don’t,” Blaze said.
“Can’t help it,” Kane whispered. “It’s what men like us do.”
The two of them stood like statues in the street.
The whole town seemed to lean forward. They were waiting, listening for the first breath . . . the first twitch.
Rachel’s voice trembled from the church steps. “Blaze, please—”
Blaze didn’t move. His heart was steady now, calm as still water. He knew what he had to do.
“Guess your daddy taught you patience,” Kane said, grinning faintly.
“He did,” Blaze said. “Told me it wins gunfights.”
“Then let’s see if he was right,” Kane said, his fingers brushing the grip of his revolver.
The world went silent. And then everything happened at once.