Bailey Jordan, AKA the Bounty Hunter

By Jennifer Joseph

In an era when the West is still wild, there are those who think themselves above the laws of the land. They are called thieves and murderers. They roam the foot hills and valleys, slipping in and out of the civilized world, often times, completely unseen. These cold souls leave in their wake destruction, sorrow and sometimes, such deep loss that the loss becomes hatred. When such a transformation of emotions happens, the hunted becomes the hunter. Bailey Jordan, a beautiful woman, once married to a handsome man and mother to a young baby boy, is exactly that person. A cold, heartless act by a man just passing through Sedona Rocks leaves her with only two choices. Leave her home and never look back or... find the man who took her family from her and “do unto him, what he did unto her.” After-all, isn’t that the Golden Rule? Bailey Jordan becomes Bailey Jordan, AKA the Bounty Hunter. She and her horse, Hanta, set out on a journey together. Bailey’s purpose is to find the men who destroyed all she ever loved in this world. She will track down Top Hat Bob’s gang, one man at a time, until she has taken from them what they took from her. She will find hate and anger and jealousy while she exacts punishment on them. She will fund her travels by bringing to justice, men on wanted posters. Bailey Jordan is a strong woman, doing what few, if any women have ever done. She will be the first to wear the hats normally reserved for men. She fearlessly goes forward and does what only men have ever done before. Breaking down barriers and standing up to the biggest and worst of men, Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter, boldly shows a woman can be as tough as any man and still be a lady. Follow this beautiful lady as she rocks the world of criminals and good guys alike. The loss she had to watch and endure has made her Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer Joseph
• Release date: Jul 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005588229

Book preview

Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter

Written by Jennifer Joseph

Copyright 2020

Dedication Page

I want to dedicate this book to my family who kept encouraging me to follow my dreams. I also dedicate this book to my friends of the Iowa Writers Corner writing group that helped me edit, revise and critique my writing. They continuously kept me encouraged through the entire process and helped me publish this book. A big Thank You to Darrel Day for all of his encouragement and helping me stay positive through all the times I started to go wayward. He also helped collaborate with me on this book.

I truly thank you all for your encouraging words and telling me not to give up on my dreams of writing and of one day getting published. Thanks to all of you, I am seeing my dream come true. Thank you for that.

Prologue

In an era when the West is still wild, there are those who think themselves above the laws of the land. They are called thieves and murderers. They roam the foot hills and valleys, slipping in and out of the civilized world, often times, completely unseen. These cold souls leave in their wake destruction, sorrow and sometimes, such deep loss that the loss becomes hatred. When such a transformation of emotions happens, the hunted becomes the hunter.

Bailey Jordan, a beautiful woman, once married to a handsome man and mother to a young baby boy, is exactly that person. A cold, heartless act by a man just passing through Sedona Rocks leaves her with only two choices. Leave her home and never look back or… find the man who took her family from her and do unto him, what he did unto her. After-all, isn’t that the Golden Rule?

Bailey Jordan becomes Bailey Jordan, AKA the Bounty Hunter. She and her horse, Hanta, set out on a journey together. Bailey’s purpose is to find the men who destroyed all she ever loved in this world. She will track down Top Hat Bob’s gang, one man at a time, until she has taken from them what they took from her. She will find hate and anger and jealousy while she exacts punishment on them. She will fund her travels by bringing to justice, men on wanted posters.

Bailey Jordan is a strong woman, doing what few, if any women have ever done. She will be the first to wear the hats normally reserved for men. She fearlessly goes forward and does what only men have ever done before. Breaking down barriers and standing up to the biggest and worst of men, Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter, boldly shows a woman can be as tough as any man and still be a lady.

Follow this beautiful lady as she rocks the world of criminals and good guys alike. The loss she had to watch and endure has made her Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter.

Chapter 1

She stood in the middle of the deserted street. She and only one other person occupied the street. They stood only a short distance apart as they faced one another. She was a tall, slender woman, her hair long and flowing and her eyes, a deep, dark green. She wore a gun on each hip, her hands poised just above each one. She is known by most as Bailey Jordan, AKA, the Bounty Hunter.

The man she is facing down is Riley Edgemount. He is wanted for murder, train robbery and stagecoach hold-ups. He kills without conscious or hesitation. Bailey watches his body language closely. She knows exactly what to look for. His hand twitches, almost too hidden for an untrained eye to notice. Bailey is not untrained. As quickly as lightning strikes, the sounds of three gunshots ring out. Riley’s eyes widen in shock as he falls forward to the ground, dead from two bullets from Bailey’s gun. She spins her guns in her hands before holstering them. Looking down at his body, she shakes her head.

I told you we could do this the easy way or the hard way. You, of course, chose the hard way.

Her voice is strong, filled with confidence as she walks towards his still form. Picking up his gun, she slips it into her belt. Without any trouble, she lifts his body onto her shoulders and carries him to the sheriff’s office. Kicking the door open, she drops the body onto the wooden floor. The sheriff, so startled by her sudden entrance, falls from his chair onto the floor. He quickly recovers, standing up behind his desk. Bailey tosses Riley’s gun onto the desk as she pulls the wanted poster from her tan vest pocket. Handing him the poster, Bailey finally speaks.

I am here to collect the bounty money on this man.

The sheriff looks her up and down. He can feel her eyes staring him down, watching his every movement.

You must be the woman bounty hunter I keep hearing about. Baity is the name, right?

The name is Bailey, sheriff… Bailey Jordan. And yes, I am a bounty hunter.

The sheriff could feel as much as see the anger and impatience in Bailey’s stance. He seems neither impressed nor distressed by her ways.

Heard ‘bout that nasty temper of yours too. It’ll get you nowhere in this office. It should only take a day or two to identify him as the man on the wanted poster. You can collect your money then.

Bailey’s face suddenly turned red with pure anger. She snatched the poster off the desk. Holding it next to the dead man’s face, she snarled at the sheriff.

This is the same man as the poster shows, sheriff! I have been tracking this murderer for the past two weeks! I want my money, now!

You’ll get your money like I said you would but, not for a few days. Until then, the hotel…

The sheriff’s words were cut short as Bailey walked out, slamming the door shut behind her. Angry, tired and frustrated, Baily stormed off to where her horse was tethered. He is a handsome, dark brown stallion, with a white spot on his chest and what look like socks above his hooves. He is called Hantaywee, meaning faithful, but, Bailey simply called him Hanta. Bailey gently patted him on the neck to calm him down as she walked him to the nearby stables. A man in dark blue overalls was standing in the doorway.

Are you the owner?

Slowly, the man looked up at her and nodded. His crackly voice breaks through.

Yes ma’am, I am. Can I help you?

Bailey reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver coin. She dropped it in the man’s hand. She made certain not to take her eyes off of the man.

I want my stud well taken care of. Give him your best oats and hay and add an apple. I’ll pay you good.

I’ll take good care of him for you.

His name is Hanta. Make certain nobody bothers him in any way!

Bailey’s voice is stern and forceful.

Yes ma’am, I said I would take good care of him.

Bailey removed the saddlebags and her rifle from the saddle. She swung the saddlebags over one shoulder and rested the rifle barrel over her other shoulder. Watching the old man take Hanta and slowly unsaddle him, Bailey is satisfied her stud is in good hands. She walks across the dusty street, feeling the wind picking up as it slowly turns to nightfall. Reaching the hotel, she scans the room before entering. As she walks in, Bailey noticed a young man, slender, dark haired, with small glasses hanging near the end of his nose. She sees him glance up at her as she walks up to the small desk he is behind.

Welcome, to our hotel, ma’am. May I help you?

The man’s voice is soft and shaky. He turns the registry around for her to sign in.

Need a bath and a room for a day or two.

The man noticed the anger in her voice. He turned the registry around after she had signed in.

Miss Jordan, you’ll be in room six up the-e-e-e-e, the s-s-s-stairs to the left.

Bailey couldn’t help but noticed the man’s nervous stutter. He reached for the key to her room. His hands shaking, he reached out and gave her the key. Bailey took the key and turned to go to her room. The man watched her until she was out of sight before looking down to read her name again. He struggled to even whisper her name to himself. He looked up once more to be sure she was not watching him.

Bailey Jordan, huh? I wonder what is making you stick around our town.

Nearly two hours passed before Bailey came out of her room. Her attire was nearly the same as what she had worn when she arrived, just less dusty. She wore a long, dark duster, a grey button down shirt and a tan vest. She finished off the outfit with brown jeans, her boots and her hat. The man at the desk noticed the guns hanging from both sides of the holster strapped around her waist. She tossed her room key onto his desk.

Don’t want to lose that in a fight.

She tipped her hat as she walked out into the street. The wind, still blowing, sucked her long hair out from under her hat. Bailey walked down the boardwalk until she came to a small restaurant. Being hungry, she went inside to eat. Standing six-foot-one and slender, one wouldn’t think she could eat a hearty meal but, Bailey had no problems finishing off a meal more fit to a large man. After eating and paying for her meal, she stepped back outside. She held her hat on her head. The wind was blowing harder all the time. She decided it was time for a drink. Finding the saloon was no effort at all. She simply needed to follow the loud voices and listen for the piano music. She pushed the saloons swinging door open and walked inside. She glanced around the barroom before walking to the bar.

Whiskey, is all she said as she laid down the money for a bottle. The bartender took the money after bringing her a bottle and a shot glass. She took the bottle and found a table tucked against a corner. As she slowly drank her whiskey, she watched the men making fools of themselves. They appeared more like little boys in a candy store for the first time. She observed them as they danced with the saloon girls, buying drinks or having the girls sit on their laps as they played cards. She didn’t care as long as they left her alone.

Reaching down to her neck, Bailey slowly pulled out a silver chain that had been hidden away under her shirt. On the chain was a small round locket. She opened the locket that showed a picture of two people.

Want some company?

Bailey looked up to see where the slurring voice came from. She closed the locket and tucked it back inside her shirt. It was obvious she was agitated with the interruption.

No, I do not!

As she drinks another shot of her whiskey, she sees the man still swaying in front of her table.

Come on now, little…

The man’s words are cut off mid-sentence by the sound of Bailey’s stool falling backwards as she abruptly stands. Before the man realizes what has happened, her hand is around his throat, cutting off his air supply.

I said I didn’t want any company!

Her voice filled with anger,