The Gunfighter: Old West Heroes Romance, #2

By Morgan Synatra

Felicity Gardner was a social outcast in the small Town of Providence, Utah Territory, guilty by association of the cattle thievery her husband was framed for, and subsequently lynched for. Unable to care for the ranch on her own, she considered joining a house of ill repute in Salt Lake City, the only option left open for a woman with no money, no family, unpaid property taxes due, and no prospects for a future, with the unscrupulous cattle baron who framed her husband after her land. Then one day, Elijah Wright, a gunman from Texas with a questionable past rode into town and swept her off her feet. But trouble was coming in the form of the cattle baron and his hired hands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morgan Synatra
• Release date: Feb 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224045716

Morgan Synatra

Morgan Synatra writes erotic short stories in the genres of dystopian sci fi, Master/slave, hucow (human cow), and sissy transformation. These stories are intended for adults over the age of 18. Morgan also loves a steamy erotic romance story with powerful, handsome heroes, evil barons, and women who like their men hard and deep. You can contact Morgan at [e-mail] Or visit Morgan's web site at https://morgansynatra.wixsite.com/morgansynatra-com

Book preview

The Gunfighter

An Old West Heroes Romance: Book 2

Chapter 1

The widow Gardner pulled her buckboard up at the feed store at the end of Main Street in the dusty street of Providence, Utah. She modestly held her skirts out of the way as she climbed down the wagon, then tied the buckskin gelding off at the railing and walked down the plank sidewalk, her side-button boots clunking on the wood with a resounding thunk! at each footstep. She walked purposefully, with her hands tightly folded together and held under an ample bust line, unsmiling, with her chin high. Passersby eyed her with derision. She was a social pariah in Providence, shunned and ignored by the townsfolk.

She wore a dark royal blue skirt that fell to her feet, embroidered with floral designs of the same color. The skirt was voluminous, under which she wore several petticoats designed to increase the flare from her tiny waist, laced tightly in a stiff corset, down to the ground. In the rear of the skirt, layered blue ruffles hid the bustle underneath which added volume to her derriere, in accordance with the fashion of the day. Her matching bodice buttoned up the front, tight to the corset underneath, the collar buttoning high on her long, graceful neck. The collar and cuffs were finished with a ruffle of white lace, and there was a blue bow sewn on the button row at the top and bottom of the bodice. She wore a black velvet choker around her neck from which was suspended a delicate blue cameo pendant.

Her auburn hair, pulled up in a bun, was beginning to show a few grays, and wrinkles furrowed along her forehead. Her nose was long and graceful, and her eyes gray and intelligent. She appeared to be guarded and cautious, and had in fact shut herself off from the rest of the world after the event that made her a widow. She was merely twenty-four years old.

She turned into the small post office and walked up to the counter. A thin man with arm cuffs on his sleeves looked up from a telegraph machine that was clicking in Morse code. He glanced at her, held up a finger, then went back to decoding an incoming message. When he was done, he looked up again.

Mornin, Mrs. Gardner.

Good day, sir. Do you have anything for me?

Yes, ma’am. This telegraph came in yesterday from the land office in Logan.

He handed her a slip of paper, which read:

"Western Union Telegraph Co.

To: Mrs. Felicity Gardner, Providence, Territory of Utah

From: James T. Bowen, Esq.

June 28, 1874

Dear Mrs. Gardner, It has come to our attention that you are in arrears on your property taxes in the amount of $322.64. The County of Cache has therefore referred this matter to our law office. This is your third and final notice. If taxes are not paid in full by the close of July of this year, the county will begin proceedings to foreclose your property. I hope this finds you in good health. Sincerely, James T. Bowen, Esq."

Mrs. Gardner frowned as she stared at the slip of paper.

Sorry about that, ma’am, said the clerk. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

It’s alright, Mr. Grant. I appreciate your discretion in this.

We’re sworn to secrecy, ma’am. I could lose my job for divulging personal information.

Thank you. And, Mr. Grant?

Yes, ma’am?

You seem to be the only gentleman in Providence.

I don’t judge folks on the actions of others, ma’am. You seem like a decent woman.

I appreciate that. Thank you. Have a good day, sir.

Ma’am.

She turned and left the office. The clerk shook his head as he watched her walk away, and went back to his work.

Felicity Gardner was the widow of a man accused of being a cattle thief, and although he was innocent of that particular crime did however, have other vices. Desperate for money to keep up his small ranch north of Providence, each time he sold cattle, he’d head straight for the saloon and try and double his earnings. He was a poor gambler though, and lost all his money each time. He was known in town as a drunkard, a wife abuser, a fornicator with the whores, and a gambler of the lowest form. The town’s sympathies that time were with his poor abused wife. Once branded with the stigma of cattle thievery however, all eyes turned against her. One must draw the line somewhere, and in the American West, it was stealing cattle.

Gardner was an easy target for a neighboring rancher who saw an opportunity to expand his holdings. He put Gardner’s brand over several of his own cattle, purposefully doing a poor job of it, then drove these cattle and several more with his brand intact onto Gardner’s land. Theodore Campbell was a greedy man without scruples. He brought his men onto Gardner’s land, accused him of cattle thievery, and claimed justice through blood atonement, an early, unwritten doctrine of the early Mormon church that called upon Old Testament scripture. Blood must be shed for the victim to atone for crimes.

They tied Gardner to the big willow tree outside his home and shot him. Felicity, screaming and fighting, was held back as her husband, crying and pleading his innocence, was lynched by Campbell’s men. Word soon spread throughout town that Felicity Gardner was the wife of a cattle thief, and she had been shunned ever since. Public opinion is a fickle thing, and by association, the court of public opinion deemed her guilty of his crime as well.

A month later, Campbell called in her husband’s gambling debt, to the tune of two hundred and twenty-five dollars. Knowing she’d be lucky to have twenty dollars to her name, he offered to marry her in return for cancelling his debt. In doing so, he stood to gain five hundred additional acres to his holdings. Mrs. Gardner, of course, refused, and now stood to lose everything to the county. Campbell would then be able to buy the land for the mere price of paying the property taxes. However it played out, he had a win-win scenario.

With no way to run a ranch on her own, Felicity