After the Incident at Dead Man's Corner

By Pepper Espinoza

Life goes on after the shootout at Dead Man's Corner, and Paul Whitaker is left behind to pick up the pieces. Given the title of mayor and the responsibility of burying the dead, Paul is left to nothing but drudgery when the woman he loves rides off with another man. Now that he's alone with the dead, a wedding is the farthest thing from his mind.

Until the town's most popular whore surprises him with a marriage proposal.

Martha is beautiful and determined. Paul has always liked her from afar, but is completely dumbfounded when she announces her intention to be his bride. Is love still possible in Dead Man's Corner? Or will Paul lose another woman?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Apr 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646563456

Book preview

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Chapter 1

Martha met him in the cemetery early in the morning, armed with a bouquet of drying flowers and weeds she had gathered from the nearby hills, and a bucket of food. Paul wasn’t surprised to see her. He also wasn’t surprised that she was the only one who arrived for the funeral.

I can help you dig the graves, she offered.

Paul looked at the two covered corpses near the shallow graves, then back at Martha’s pretty face. There was already a single bead of sweat in the hollow of her throat, her skin glistening in the morning heat. No.

Martha perched on a boulder, setting the pail of food at her feet. She looked almost childlike in the gray light of pre-dawn. Paul shook his head, focusing on the narrow hole before him.

Why don’t you have the deputies help? Martha asked. You’ll want to get these graves dug before the sun gets too high.

After the final showdown between Mayor Reid, his wife, and the town, everybody had vanished, leaving Paul to put Dead Man’s Corner back together from the bottom up. He earned the responsibility by virtue of surviving the battle, not by virtue of ability. He didn’t mind…much. Nobody offered.

Martha shook her head. "Paul, you’re the boss now. You don’t wait for people to offer to help; you tell them that they’re digging graves before breakfast."

Paul shrugged. It’s not a big deal. What’s with the pail?

I thought I’d bring you some breakfast. So you wouldn’t have to eat at the hotel, Martha said, smiling. Her crooked front teeth always distracted him. It was her only imperfection, but it didn’t mar her beauty.

What’s wrong with eating at the hotel? He pushed the nose of the shovel into the shifting sand. It would be easier to burn the bodies. It would be easier to burn the town.

"Because the mayor shouldn’t be eating at the hotel with everybody else. It’s unseemly," Martha said primly.

Paul laughed, though it felt more forced than genuine. Unseemly? Honey, those guys don’t care where I eat. They probably don’t even realize I’ve taken over the job. He had officially been mayor for nearly a week now, and nobody had even commented on his new role.

It’s just not right, she huffed. You should be better than that.

This isn’t San Francisco or New York, Paul said, pausing to survey the single dusty road that ran through town. He could already hear dynamite in the hills. The miners always got to work early. And now they could work in peace, without the fear of Mayor Bernard Reid sneaking up behind them, taking them prisoner, murdering them, and stealing their claims.

If you’re going to do right by this place, you need a wife, Martha announced. She brushed the hair out of her face, a simple gesture that drew Paul’s eyes away from his task.

Now, Martha, where am I going to find a wife here? No women in Dead Man’s Corner but whores, and I don’t have the inclination to travel on to Santa Fe, Paul said, his shovel slicing through the dirt. The only woman he wanted to marry was out of his life anyway.

I can be your wife.

Paul stopped short, but he didn’t look at