Free Wild Western Wednesday Story 6 25

 

https://youtu.be/9U-YNKUriMY?si=O7elmpqF10QayPUG

This brand new western short, just for you:

The sun bled out across the horizon, painting the underside of the clouds in bruised purples and reds. Jedediah tasted dust, a fine grit that coated his teeth and the back of his throat. His horse, a weary roan named Cinder, plodded on, its head low. They were looking for one stupid calf, a ghost-white speck against the dun-colored landscape, that had bolted from the herd hours ago.

He found it cornered in an alkali basin, its frightened bleats echoing off a rock formation that looked like a stack of crumbling skulls. It wasn't alone. A wolf, gray and gaunt as a rail, was slinking in a low semi-circle, its belly nearly scraping the cracked earth. The wolf was all sinew and bone, a creature whittled down to pure, starving purpose. Jedediah didn’t reach for the Colt on his hip. A bullet was a dollar and the wolf wasn't worth it. He spurred Cinder forward, letting out a sharp yell that ripped through the quiet air. "Get on, now! Git!"

The wolf flinched, its yellow eyes fixing on him, but it didn't bolt. It backed away slowly, deliberately, and then stopped at the edge of the rocks. The calf, spooked by the shout, scrambled toward the horse. Jedediah dismounted, his joints creaking, and tied a short rope around the calf's neck. But his gaze kept flicking back to the wolf. The animal was watching him, its head cocked. It took a few steps, not away, but deeper into the jumble of rocks, and looked back over its shoulder. There was a strange urgency in its posture, a beckoning that prickled the skin on Jedediah’s neck.

Against his better judgment, he tethered the calf to a creosote bush and drew his pistol. He moved into the rocks, the air immediately cooling. The wolf stayed just ahead, a phantom leading him through a tight, winding passage that opened into a small, shadowed cove. The smell hit him first—the coppery tang of blood, thick and cloying.

A man was propped against the canyon wall, one leg twisted beneath him. His shirt, once blue, was a blackish-red from his belly to his belt. A tarnished deputy’s star was pinned crookedly to his chest. The wolf padded over to the man and lay down, nudging his hand with its nose and letting out a low whine. It hadn't been hunting the calf; it had been trying to get help.

The deputy’s eyes fluttered open, milky with pain. He saw Jedediah, saw the gun in his hand, and gave a weak shake of his head. He gestured with his chin toward a heavy leather satchel lying near his hip. Then he lifted his gaze to Cinder, waiting just outside the passage. The meaning was clear. Take it. Ride. It wasn't a plea for help; it was an order.

Jedediah looked from the dying man to the satchel, feeling the weight of the choice. He could be miles away before morning, the contents of that bag his own secret. He was no hero. He was just a man tired of dust and chasing lost cattle. But he couldn't bring himself to loot a man, not while his breath still rattled in his chest. He holstered his Colt. "Hang on, lawman," he muttered, more to himself than the deputy. He bent down, grabbing the man under the arms to haul him up.

As he dragged the deputy toward the light, the man’s body limp and heavy, the wolf rose to its feet. Its limp had vanished. With a swift, fluid motion, it snatched the leather satchel in its jaws. Jedediah froze, watching as the wolf turned and disappeared into a crack in the rock wall, silent as smoke.

A low chuckle, wet and ragged, came from the man draped over his shoulder.

"Good boy," the "deputy" rasped, his voice suddenly clearer. "Knew he'd pick the right fella to fool."

Jedediah stood there, the setting sun casting his long shadow behind him, the weight of the bandit on his back feeling heavier than any stolen gold.

Saddle Up, Partner — This Blessing’s Built for You

Hey it’s Chris,

Ever feel like the world’s gotten a little too fast, too noisy, too complicated?

I did too.

So I did what any honest cowboy does when life gets crowded—I turned back to the trail. Sat under a wide sky. Let the fire crackle. And wrote stories the way they used to be told: one dusty mile at a time.

Over the last ten years, I’ve written more westerns than I realized—stories packed with grit, gun smoke, and heart. Some were scribbled by firelight. Others dictated while watching the sun rise. All of them built to carry you back to the frontier, where right and wrong still mattered, and legends were made the hard way.

But here’s the honest truth…

The world’s changed. And so has the way we reach each other.

YouTube used to be a dusty watering hole where folks came for a tale well told. Now, it’s a maze of algorithms. One minute you’re ready to ride, the next you’re watching a city slicker comedy mystery.

Not your fault. Not mine either. But it is a problem.

Because I write across seven genres, I tried sharing them all in one place. That didn’t sit right with the algorithm—or with folks like you who came looking for a straight-shootin’ western and got something else entirely.

So I’ve made a choice.

From now on, Wednesdays belong to the West—a day to honor the stories that started it all. New western content on YouTube, fresh reads on Amazon, updates on my store, Google, Apple, B&N—and a weekly western story, chapter by chapter, the way our grandfathers would’ve wanted it.

But I didn’t come here today just to talk.

I came bearing a blessing.

To celebrate this Western Revival, I rounded up twenty-five of my best frontier novels and bundled them into one wild, rootin’-tootin’ download. I call it:

The WILD WESTERN BOXSET BUNDLE

🔹 25 Full-Length Books
🔹 Just $20
🔹 Yours to own forever

You can still grab them one by one if you’d like—most are just $2.99. I’ll even link them below if that’s how you ride.

But if you’re ready to save a bundle, saddle up, and own the range, this big boxset is your golden ticket.

Here’s what’s in the roundup:

Duckfoot Ranch
Pecan Creek War
Scatter Shot
Ten Dollar Mustang
Pistol Whipped
Red River Ferry
Last Drop
Cow Puncher
Bearcat Pass
Fast Shot
As Good as Gold
Ramble Range
Claim Jumper
Gunpowder Trouble
Bushwhack Range
Bear Wash War
Kicking Dust
Outlaw Range
Six Gun Preacher
Outlaw Trail
Gunpowder Range
Wild Ride
South Bound
Crack Shot
Bloodied Trail

🎯 This isn’t just a bundle. It’s a blessing.
A chance to step out of the noise, back into the saddle, and remember who you are.

Click below to round it up while the price holds:
👉 WILD WESTERN BOXSET BUNDLE

We still write the story. Let’s make sure it’s one worth remembering.

—Chris
Storyteller. Outlaw. Friend on the Trail.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO ALL OF THESE FREE ON THE WILD WEST YOUTUBE CHANNEL:

JUST CLICK SUBSCRIBE:

https://youtu.be/lCoaihaxa_Q?si=iI-Jy5aZh4UAkQ6S