Read Sins of the Father for Free Online Page B

not let go of Jess’ right hand and that made Jess feel very uneasy. The sheriff looked down at Jess’ gun and then back up at Jess. “Am I going to have any trouble with you, young man?” Sheriff McCoy asked.
“No sir, I’m not looking for any trouble. I don’t run from any either, though,” said Jess, as he slowly pulled his hand free from the sheriff’s iron grip.
“You drifting through or planning on staying in town?”
“I’m going to help these people haul their supplies out to their homestead, and then I plan on coming back to town later today.”
“What are you here for?”
“Sheriff, why do you ask? I haven’t done anything wrong. I just rode in not ten minutes ago and you come over. I offered my hand as a friendly gesture, and you act as if I’ve done something wrong.”
This little conversation had gotten the attention of both Hadley and Jane, who had now come out of the mercantile with their hands full.
“Sheriff, is there a problem?” Hadley asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“Jess here hasn’t done anything since we got here, so what is the problem?”
“The problem is that I know who he is. Jess Williams, the famous bounty hunter, although some have begun to refer to him as a natural born mankiller. You hunting someone here in my town, Mr. Williams?”
“No, Sheriff, but I am looking for someone.”
“Might I ask who that might be?”
Jess thought about it for a moment. “Sheriff, why don’t you let me finish up what I’m doing here and as soon as I get back to town, I will come and see you first and explain.”
The sheriff seemed satisfied with that answer. “Okay, that seems fair to me. I expect you to follow your word on the matter.”
“You have my word on it, Sheriff.”
Sheriff McCoy left and that left Hadley and Jane staring at Jess. “We knew you were a bounty hunter but not a famous one. What did he mean by that mankiller thing?” Hadley asked.
Jess could feel those piercing blue eyes of Jane on him. “Well, it’s probably because I have a reputation of always bringing my man in dead.”
Hadley looked down at the ground for a moment and then looked back up at Jess. “You mean to say that you never bring a man in alive?”
“Nope.”
“Never?”
Jess looked at Hadley and just shook his head negatively.
Jane looked uneasy at first, but then her look turned friendly. “Jess, I don’t care how many bad men you have killed. All I know is that if it wasn’t for you, we would all be dead or worse by now.”
“Thanks for not thinking badly of me. There is a long story behind all of this and maybe one day I will tell you all about it, but for now, let’s get that lumber loaded up.”
“The store owner says they’re short on lumber in town at the moment. Says there will be a shipment in a few days, so you can stay in town if you want. We can unload all of these supplies ourselves, Jess.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, you go ahead and see the sheriff and take care of your business in town. Come and see us before you leave town, though. Our place is straight west out of town about two hours by wagon.”
“I’ll probably do just that, Hadley. Jane, it was nice meeting you and your family, although I wish it would have been under different circumstances.” He shook hands with Harold and when he tried to shake hands with Jessica, she jumped up into Jess’ arms and gave him a long hug. “You make sure you come and visit me, Jess, promise?” Jessica asked.
“I promise,” replied Jess, as he put her back down. “Well, I’m off to see the sheriff.”
Hadley loaded up his family and headed out of town to their new homestead. Jess watched until the wagon was out of sight. He was still trying to deal with the feelings he had for this family and his stomach had knotted up when Jessica had hugged him. It made him feel normal for just a moment and it brought back memories of his own sister, Samantha. He looked across the street and the sheriff was sitting in