Beneath the Valley Oak

Beneath the Valley Oak is a collection of six dark tales from the Old West, including two previously unpublished stories, Perro Negro and Beneath the Valley Oak.

Excerpt from
Perro Negro
:

The town was like the husk of a bug curled up in the heat. Still, Dale wanted kinship and whiskey, but more than anything else, he wanted to find an owner for the black dog that had been following him since Juárez.

Sweat trailed down his brown forehead and stung his eyes. His boots were like ovens roasting his toes, and he wanted desperately to kick them off. He wondered what had compelled him to leave the cool easy breeze of the Bay for the wild, hot Mexican winds all those years ago. Then he Ah yes, my luck ran out.

Excerpt from
Beneath the Valley Oak
:

He opened his eyes and his Bible. His face relaxed; it looked almost like the face of a man at peace. He spoke, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls.” Then he closed the Bible with a thump. “That girl was a whore. She should’ve never been in this town—in my town.”

I spit, and said, “This may be your town, but so will hell be yours.”

The preacher slammed his fist on the pulpit and shouted, “Ned was an enemy of God, and an enemy of this fine town!”

I wanted to tear off his face, but I resisted that urge. For my daughters I resisted. I turned and I left, cursing God for not striking the preacher dead where he stood.