Free Outlaw's Reckoning by J. R. Roberts

him?” Clint asked.
    The question was stated without emotion or accusation. It took plenty of effort on Clint’s part to keep it that way, but he must have done a good job because Matt wasn’t able to keep his scowl on for very long.
    â€œI didn’t pull the trigger that day,” Matt said. “But I might as well have. There’s plenty of folks out there who I killed, and I’ll get to them soon enough. There were plenty of men who rode with me at one time or another, but Jed was a family man. He wanted to go back to his pretty wife and see his boy, but I convinced him to do otherwise. It’s because of me that he ain’t here no more.”
    â€œHow so?”
    Matt remained quiet and looked toward the dim lights behind a few of the windows in the nearby houses. His gaze locked on one of the windows, but not the one belonging to Kay or Henry. Staring into that random pane of glass, Matt said, “It just is.”
    Clint had had his doubts regarding Matt’s intentions. He knew nothing about the man besides what Matt had told him and what he’d figured out for himself. Still, those things were enough to convince Clint to stay at Matt’s side rather than try to run him off.
    â€œSo do I need to worry about the big bad Gunsmith putting a bullet in my back?” Matt asked.
    â€œNot yet.”
    Matt stared at Clint for a few seconds and then nodded as if he’d taken his own personal inventory of him. “What about later?”
    â€œWe’ll have to wait and see. As long as you want to lend a hand to that widow and her son, I’m willing to do what I can.”
    â€œGood. Since the boy advertised how much money he can get, we’ll have to make it known that he don’t have it no more.”
    â€œAnd how do you propose on doing that?”
    â€œSimple,” Matt replied. “We rob them.”

SIXTEEN
    It was getting close to midnight when Clint and Matt returned to the cluster of houses. Although they’d been watching the homes on the edge of town for a while, most of that time was spent in hushed talks regarding what they intended on doing. In the end, Matt broke away from their spot and headed toward the house that was closest to him.
    Clint had to admit he was impressed by watching Matt sneak up to the homes. Matt wasn’t exactly a small man, and Clint never took his eyes off of him the entire time. Even so, Clint lost sight of Matt more than once. He even had to admit that he might have lost Matt completely if he hadn’t already known where to look for him.
    For a few seconds, Matt huddled beside a dark house like just another unmoving shadow. When Clint got a bit closer and waved, the shadow returned the wave and then straightened up to his full height.
    Matt had his bandanna over his face as he walked straight up to the front door of the Hasselman house and kicked it open so it banged loudly against the wall. “Give me all that money!” he shouted.
    The commotion immediately sparked some movement behind several other windows. Curtains were pulled back, and a few lanterns were lit here and there.
    â€œYou heard what I said!” Matt shouted. “Give me that damn money!”
    Clint moved in closer to the house and watched as the glow of a lantern came on in one of the back rooms. There was plenty of movement around the other houses, but those folks were still content to stay inside and watch from where they thought they were safe.
    Suddenly, Clint heard what must have been Kay’s voice drifting through the air. Matt said something else to her, and they had a short, somewhat heated, conversation. The conversation ended with a piercing scream that brought Clint running toward the house. Along the way, Clint pulled his bandanna up over his face.
    Clint found Matt still inside with Kay. Matt had the money in his hand and a surprised look in his eyes.
    â€œYou’re early,” Matt said.
    Clint looked to Kay and