Chapter 2

When I got home I took a day off the first day to go around and say hello to the people I knew. I dropped in at my lawyer, Tom's, office and we shot the shit awhile.

"I have to say I'm a little surprised to see you down here looking so friendly," he said.

"Why's that?"

"It seems like the last advice I remember giving you didn't turn out so well."

"Well how in the hell could you know what was going to happen, and besides, I didn't even get a scratch. I got some excellent training besides and I got to help seventy-seven terrorists on their way to collect their virgins. I probably know fifty ways to kill a person, even though I've mostly really done it one way."

"I'm glad there are no hard feelings. I really didn't have any idea I was sending you off to a shooting war, and I've worried about you more than a little bit," he said.

"Shit, it's all over now unless I get bored and sign up again. That's one of the reasons I came down here to see you. I want some land out in West Texas where I can go and hang out. I'd like something down near Kerrville if you can find it."

"I do know another old lawyer from down that way. I'll give him a call and see if he can come up with anything. How much land were you planning on buying?"

"I thought I'd like a section or two if I can afford it. Did you make me any money while I was gone?" I asked, since I'd left all my assets in his keeping.

"As a matter of fact there was a good well to come in and you had more than half the acreage in the mineral rights after the division order. It wasn't the mother lode or anything, but it's been worth about three million to you so far.

"I also sold both the houses and you cleared half a million on them. You shouldn't have any trouble paying for a couple of sections as long as you don't want them too close to Kerrville."

"That's no problem because I'm mainly interested in some hill country property. I don't need anything on it."

"I'll do some calling and see what I can come up with," he said, and then we just shot the bullshit for about fifteen more minutes and I left.

The houses he'd sold had been my grandparents'. I still owned the one my parents had left me, and I'd moved my things into it after my grandparents got killed. It was a bunch smaller than the other two and it fit my needs better since I was a single man.

I spent the next week just roaming around our small town. I did some shopping at Wal-Mart for new jeans, underwear, and socks and a little more at Oscar's Boots and Western Store. Oscar's place was a small one, but he carried Red Wing boots, a lot of the Rodeo shirts that had been popular for years, and he also had a good selection of cowboy boots. He had about the only place I knew of where you could get a real riding heel anywhere near us.

Last, but not least, was Johnny's Sporting Goods. I'd gone to a gun show and peddled all my firearms before I took off for the Navy. I felt like I needed a few things to keep around the house now and I wanted a good rifle for deer hunting since it was nearly autumn already and deer season would be coming around soon.

I might have been a little more ready for Johnny's place if I'd known his son, Junior, had come into the business with him. Johnny was a sort of self-elected local historian. Last time I'd been in his shop it was a meat and potatoes type of gun and ammunition store, but it had been mostly a sideline for Johnny. What he mostly sold was BS. He'd spent most of his life collecting arrowheads and other crap left over from when the Caddo Indians had roamed these parts.

There had been some changes made since Junior came into the business with him. Damned if it didn't look like at least half of the place had actual merchandise now. It didn't cramp Johnny's style though, since they'd bought the building next door and spread out. All of the pottery and arrowheads Johnny had collected were still on display, but the place was twice as big now and there was equally as much merchandise, as in weapons.

What the hell? I had plenty of money and Johnny's place had plenty of things I wanted to fool with. The first thing I spied was an Extrema2 shotgun. Now deer hunting season was coming up, but I intended to do some bird hunting too, and there was always duck season after the first of the year.

I liked the Extrema2 so well, after Junior's sales talk, I bought two of 'em. One with a barrel for bird hunting and another with one for duck hunting. Of course I could have bought one shotgun and separate barrels, but I had plenty of money and what was the sense in fucking around with changing barrels?

I also saw a Super Blackhawk in 45 Long Colt and of course I had to have it, along with a Glock 21 for actual self protection.

I fucked around and bought a Thompson Center Contender with a 7mm TCU barrel just for the hell of it. I had nearly decided to buy a Barrett 50 since I was used to shooting them, but he didn't have one in stock and while he was screwing around trying to find a number to call my eye fell on his newly acquired archery stock.

When I was a kid I'd liked fucking around with my bow, and I could hit pretty well with it. Of course it was a recurve since compound bows were new and super expensive back then. Well, they were still pretty expensive, but now I could afford one, or several in fact.

I spent three hours looking at bows and finally came up with one I liked. I wasn't looking for one with all the add on aiming and stabilizing shit some of them had hung off them. I wanted a fairly plain bow with plenty of cam I could use to turn up the power. I was looking for the shortest and easiest to handle bow he had that was still top notch quality.

By the time I paid up and left I'd spent a lot more money than I'd intended to, and it wasn't the last I'd be spending there. Today though, I went home, put my target together, and got started with my bow.

I guess I sorta obsessed on the bow. I spent the first five days shooting it and fucking around with the settings. I ended up cranking the cams up to their highest output, and while it was tough pulling them over the first few times I managed and it got easier as things went along.

Next thing you know I was buying blank arrow shafts and putting my own arrows together, and of course I had to buy a feather burner and start fletching my own shafts. Suffice to say I got way off into my bow and arrows fetish.

It was a Monday morning and I was starting my third week of getting ready for bow season for deer when I got a call from Tom. He'd found two sections damned close to Kerrville, and the price was right. The only rub was the old character who lived on the place. He wanted to keep five acres around his home and it was nearly right in the middle of things.

I didn't see it as a big drawback, but decided to go down and take a look at things before I bit. I didn't plan to build a house on the place anyway, I just wanted a place to come and have plenty of room to hunt or fuck off. Tom called ahead and the old guy said come on down, anytime.

The drive was a little over three hundred miles, and I nearly bought a car to make the trip. I could afford one, and the only vehicle I had now was my old 1976 Chevy Silverado. It would do the distance all right, but it was four wheel drive and they aren't the smoothest ride around.

Finally I decided I was being stupid, because I never paid very much attention to a vehicle's ride anyway. Most of my automotive traveling lately had been in a Humvee and my pickup was a Caddy compared to it, as far as the ride went anyway.

It was a long drive, and mostly unpleasant, but it got a little better as I pulled off the Interstate and came near Kerrville. The directions led me down Texas 27 to Texas 39 and then off up into the hills. I crossed the Guadalupe River a time or two before making my way up the side of a steep hill or low slung mountain on a hacked out road and onto the property with its small frame house.

The fellow who came out the door looked like a wiry old cowboy, and no doubt he was. His eyes made him look like he'd seen everything, twice. He introduced himself as, Clyde Warbler, but claimed everybody called him, Cowboy Jack. I could believe it. I introduced myself and he didn't even laugh at the name my parents had hung on me.

"What'd ya think of the place?" he asked.

"It looks exactly like what I'm looking for. I just wanted a place in the hills to do a little hunting and this looks like just the ticket. I see I can get in a little fishing here too."

"You can if we can make a deal, and we can if you're a likely fella. You ever been in the army?" he asked, and it threw me off a little, but I admitted I'd done time in the service and with a little prompting he got most of the story out of me.

We were inside his house now, relaxing and having a Lone Star Long Neck or two. He quizzed me quite a bit about my service time and I was surprised he concentrated mostly on any unarmed combat I'd done.

I told him we were always armed, but that I'd done a little knife work and I'd trained for a lot more of it than I'd had to do. His next questions floored me, because he asked me if I could use a bow and arrows and then asked if I'd ever handled a sword.

I told him of my earlier interest in archery and then relayed the tale of my new interest. I frankly admitted I had never had a sword in my hands.