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18
Will
As they rode onto the property, Will stared at the big house, the opulent barn and the signs of wealth that showed the Big W was a rich ranch. Cows mooed from a nearby pasture and Will felt a tiny bit of envy.
The Sweet B was a great ranch, but nothing compared to this one. Fine horses were in one pasture and another was filled with goats. Everywhere you looked, there were men on horses and they were all staring at the two rangers.
A cowboy met them in the drive leading up to the house. “Rangers, what can I do for you?”
“We’re here to see Mr. White,” Will said as they pulled their horses to a halt. “Tell him the Texas Rangers want to speak with him.”
The man nodded. “Follow me.”
They followed him past not one but two barns and then up a circular drive to a two-story house with white columns. A mansion set in the middle of the Texas prairie.
When they pulled up in the front of the house, the cowboy slid off his horse. “Wait here. I’ll let Mr. White know you’re here.”
After he went in the door, they turned and glanced at one another.
“Fancy place,” Seth said.
“When you own half the town, I guess you can afford a place like this.”
They waited, looking around, noticing the wrangler working with cattle, and a new building going up in the distance.
“Wonder what that’s for?”
“My son,” a voice said, coming up behind them. A trickle of alarm spiraled through Will. Since their last meeting, he had wondered several times if White had known his father.
His father had chosen not to be in his life, and it would remain that way.
“Sorry, I was in the birthing barn. We have some new babies arriving and I was checking on the momma cows. How can I help you gentlemen?”
Seth stepped out of his saddle, his feet landing hard on the ground. “We’re searching for a Calvin Smith. Heard he might be working for you.”
The man shrugged his shoulders. “Not that I know of. Ben, you know a Calvin Smith?”
The man’s face turned into a frown, he took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “Not that I know of. I haven’t hired a man by that name. Our men are locals. We offer jobs to the men in the community.”
“Why do you want him?” Mr. White asked.
“Murder, armed robbery.”
“Whoa,” the foreman named Ben said.
“People in town told us he was working for you. That you hired a gunslinger. That true?” Seth asked.
The shopkeepers had opened up and told him about how Jim White liked to intimidate them into selling their business by using his hired gunman to threaten them. Not only threaten, but even pistol whip them into submission. Sadly, he believed them all.
“Now, Ranger, why in the world would I need to hire a gunslinger. People in town love me. They appreciate what I do for them. You’ve been sent out here on a wild goose chase. I think you’ve been had. Busy work is what my father would say.”
Telling a Texas Ranger that he was doing busy work just to keep him busy never set well, and instantly, Will wanted to smash his fist in the man’s face. But he remained calm and gave the man a fake smile.
“One last question, Mr. White. Do you own most of the businesses in town and are you pressuring the banker to sell?”
The man laughed out loud. “I’m a businessman and the town of Blessing has some good opportunities. I would love to purchase the bank. Think of how I could control the flow of money in town. But ole George Elam is a stubborn cuss.”
Seth nodded. “So if we find Calvin Smith and he admits that you paid him to rob the bank, that would be a complete lie?”
