The front of the jail building was covered with wanted
posters, some of them so faded it was hard to discern who was wanted and why.
As Johnson pulled up with Rex sitting beside him in the driver’s seat, the
picture of Jester Wells glared at them. There was a deep scar on his cheek and
his arrogant smirk dared them to chase after the $250 reward. The grey clouds
still hung low in the sky, threatening the return of rain at any moment. The
wind picked up, blowing cool air through the town. The front door of the jail
opened as Cole Charles and the marshal exited the building, rifles in hand.
“We better make this quick!” Burt yelled out the window of
the coach, “I’m sure Bradley is in a hurry to get back to his cards.” To his
surprise the marshal didn’t respond, opening the door to the coach and taking
the furthest window seat at the back. He stared out as if he were riding off to
his doom.
“What’s got into him?” Burt asked, gesturing to the marshal
as Cole Charles walked past.
“I couldn’t tell you. Marshal Bradley has been real quiet
ever since we got back,” he replied. He turned and walked to the driver’s seat
to address Johnson, “The plan is simple. Drive east along the road, hopefully
we pose an easy enough target, drawing Wells’ attention. Not too fast, the idea
is to make them think you’re surrendering. We’ll be in the back lying in wait.”
He turned to Rex. “Mr. Bowen you’re with us,” Cole Charles said, signaling for
him to join the other men in the coach. “Remember Mr. Johnson, if things go
badly, you’re on your own.” His cold eyes burned into Johnson as he said it,
almost as if he wished it to happen. Then he turned and climbed into the coach.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Alfred
Stifsim is a member of Western Writers of America and has published several
short stories about the American West. “The Bastard of the Black Hills,” won
second prize in ropeandwire.com’s 2019 short story contest, and “Max and
Sherri” was included in Cowboy Jamboree Magazine’s Fall 2020 issue. His short
story about Eddie, “A Night Out with the Cowboys,” was published by Close to
the Bone (UK) in August 2021.
Alfred
Stifsim graduated from IUPUI with a bachelor’s in American History (2014,
Indianapolis). From there he worked as an interpretive naturalist for the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources before transitioning to park
maintenance. He is currently an electrician with IBEW 481 in Indianapolis.
You can find more information at
alfredstifsim.com, on Twitter @AStifsim, or Instagram and Facebook
@alfredatifsim_author.
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Salvation-Novel-Alfred-Stifsim/dp/149306424X/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alfred Stifsim will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4317">Enter
to win a $30 Amazon GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
Thank you so much for hosting and for your kind review! Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt, Wild Salvation sounds like an exciting read for me to enjoy, thanks for sharing it with me! Thanks, Enchanting Reviews, for sharing your review! Have a fabulous day!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your awesome review of Wild Salvation, I like the cover, blurb and excerpt and I am looking forward to reading this story myself
ReplyDeleteIt definitely sounds very interesting, thank you for sharing your review
ReplyDelete