Give My All to Jessie (Third in Outlaw Series)

Give My All to Jessie

"I'll tell you what, Jeremiah, I got some stuff to be doing but once you and the boy get settled you'll have to come over by my tent and join me for a while. It's been a while since we've had a chance to talk."

"You betcha." Jeremiah replied and then he led Langly away. Langly stepped over the legs of a sleeping man with a big handlebar mustache as he led his black gelding by the reins and followed his uncle.

"You need to learn a few things, Langly." Jeremiah said matter of factly. "Not a single man here is your friend. Every single one of them would gladly sacrifice your ass just to keep their own necks out of a noose. Don't be playing buddy buddy with them and telling them all about your life or your family. Most of these men would gladly find your family, murder the men, rape your mama, sisters and Carol and then burn everything you own to the ground after taking what they could of value."

"We ain't that bad." A very short man with long white hair and a slick spot on the center of his head said as he shoved between them and continued on his way.

"Maybe not all of them are that bad." Jeremiah amended. "But some of them are so it's better to just take zero chances. That's always been my motto. I don't trust nobody and the only two people I ever opened up to were Marston and Duke."

"So trusting is a no-no." Langly mumbled as he leaped in the air to avoid stepping on a small black dog running around his feet. "What are we doing here if you don't trust anyone?"

"Because I like that." Jeremiah replied with a grin. Langly followed his gaze and saw the tall big breasted brunette wearing nothing but a corset and a short petticoat.

"Oh." he said flatly.

"That's what makes a boy a man." Jeremiah added with a laugh. Langly just followed his uncle through the camp. Men were laughing, cracking vulgar jokes, cursing, spitting, playing poker and bloody games of five finger. Feminine moans of pleasure and male grunting could be heard from inside the dirty panels of cloth that made up the tents.

What had he gotten himself into? After months of traveling with his uncle and having more fun than he'd ever had he was now in a camp with what seemed to be hundreds of cutthroat outlaws and he was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.

He hadn't realized just how sheltered his mama and Marston had kept him but he was definitely realizing it now; had been realizing it ever since leaving home. Truthfully going home sounded like a really good thing to do but what kind of man left home to be his own man only to go crawling back months later begging to be taken back in? After the hurt he'd seen on Marston's face as he'd ridden away, the least he could do was make the trip worthwhile and go back with something to talk about. Some sort of manly experience like his pa, Duke and Pete all had.

"We can set up right here." Jeremiah sighed with relief as he found an empty spot and looked around. "We'll stay here a couple days and then we'll move on. Life in an outlaw camp is something every young man should experience at least once in his life."

"If you say so." Langly muttered as he watched two men tackle each other into the mud.

"I do." Jeremiah nodded as he pulled a flask from his pocket and took a long swallow. The two men went about setting up camp and then Jeremiah led Langly back through the crowd.

"Where we going?" Langly asked.

"Hawkins invited us to come talk at his fire. When Hawkins invites you over you're best bet is to take him up on that. He'll include you on big jobs that'll make ya big money if you do."

"Life stories: no. Chatting with Hawkins: yes. See I'm catching on to all of this outlaw stuff already."

"The fact that you call it outlaw stuff tells me that I still got my work cut out for me." Jeremiah replied with a shake of his head.