An Outlaw's Silence (manxman)(second story in The Crane Gang series)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jeb had a sack full of jelly beans in his hand and he hoped that they would do the trick in putting a smile on Wyatt's face. Zachariah had been gone for two days now and Wyatt had been more than a little melancholy. It didn't help matters that Craig still hadn't shown his face.

Jeb knew his little brother was alive and in town because Gill had poked his head into the saloon twice in the five days since they'd been in town and seen the man.... Dangling drunkenly from stair rails while drowning in whiskey and whores.

With each day of Craig's selfish, childishness, Jeb felt himself grow more and more frustrated, disappointed and annoyed in his brother.

Jebidiah spared a quick glance at the saloon as he walked past it in the low light of the evening. The ruckus coming from inside told him a good time could be found through those swinging doors but Jeb wasn't interested in taking a look. Saloons had never been his cup of tea. He preferred quiet nights beside the river with nothing but the moonlight and his man.

Thoughts of just what he'd do on those quiet moonlit nights were interrupted when the swinging doors of the saloon flew open and a body was tossed out.

Jebidiah barely had time to register that it was his brother's body before he stepped back to avoid being toppled over.

"Do you know that damned man?" the barkeep asked from the door when Jebidiah cursed down at Craig's moaning body.

"Yeah," he admitted grudgingly. "Yeah, I know him."

Craig got to his hands and knees and wobbly made weak attempt to stand. With a growl, Jebidiah placed a heavy boot on his brother's back, shoving his belly into the dirt once again.

"If he comes back in here looking for a fight, he's gonna get more than he can handle," the burly barkeep warned.

Jeb tipped his hat at the angry man. "You won't get an argument from me."

The barkeep nodded curtly, snarled down at Craig and strode back into the saloon.

"Goddammit, Jeb, let me up! And get your damned foot off my back!"

Jeb sighed and stepped down just a tiny bit harder before backing away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked his younger brother as he slid his thumbs through his belt loops and stared down at him.

"I'm having fun, big brother," Craig muttered, using the nearby hitching post to pull himself to his feet.

Jebidiah raised a brow. "Fun?"

"Yeah," Craig muttered rubbing at his temple.

Jeb shook his head. "Willie was always the one I had to worry about when it came to liquor. I never thought I'd have to worry just as much about you."

Craig spit dirt from his mouth and swiped his shirtsleeve across his lips. "Why the hell did you say his name for? I don't want to hear it."

Jeb rolled his eyes. "I don't give a three-toed rat's ass what you want to hear. I'll talk about him all I want to."

Craig attempted to head back toward the saloon. Jeb grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip, stopping him in his tracks. "He died, Craig. Willie died and it hurt, it still hurts, but you have to move on. Wyatt is—"