Short Story

Come Sundown

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for OLWG #415.
The prompts appear below.
This is my story.

© Northwest Star

It was 1947, and Riley Granger considered himself damn lucky to have this job. He’d wandered around for a while after the war, not sure what to do with himself. But he was a thinker, always with a plan or two formulating in his head. A lanky, wiry cowboy, Riley picked up some skills while serving in the army; besides wrangling horses, he had a natural talent as a mechanic … a knack that came in handy when he heard the Double J Ranch needed someone who knew his way around an engine.

Yeah, Riley was lucky that way but he also had a knack for finding trouble … or maybe it found him; he was never sure about that. Riley stood by the paddock listening to the comfortable, easy sounds of the horses as the sun dipped low in the sky across the sprawling Midwest ranch he now called ‘home’. It was mighty peaceful. Just then the old ranch dog by his side quickly picked his head up, listening intently. He growled a bit, looked around, then sat back down again. Probably nothing, but still Riley felt a bit uneasy and stepped back into the shadows out of sight.

From where he stood in the darkness, Riley spotted a figure lurking by the barn; it was Jane, his lover and the ranch owner’s daughter. Even from a distance she appeared agitated. He was about to go to her when she spoke; Riley could hear her hushed tones clearly in the stillness of the night and what he heard was like a kick to his gut.

“Blake“, Jane said, her voice shaking with emotion, “I had to warn you, my darling. My father’s getting suspicious. He thinks you may be the one who’s been messing with the accounts.” Blake Connors, the ranch foreman, stepped out from the barn and pulled Jane roughly into his arms; they kissed long and hard; Riley felt sick to his stomach. Blake and Jane began talking and from what Riley could discern from their conversation, the ranch’s finances were in disarray; there were insufficient funds and mysterious bank withdrawals.

Riley quickly determined that Jane and Blake were involved in a scheme to embezzle money from her father. Riley was livid … not only because of Jane’s deceit but because he truly liked and respected his boss, Jonas Jenkins, owner of the Double J Ranch and Jane’s father. He knew he had to fill Mr. Jenkins in on what was going on.

Riley saw the lights were on in the main house; no time like the present to warn Jonas Jenkins about the plot against him. It wasn’t going to be easy for Jonas to hear that his beloved daughter was out to ruin him; hell, he might not believe it but Riley had to try.

Pulling his hat down low, Riley turned to walk to the main house. In the silence of the night he heard the cocking of a gun behind him and felt the unmistakable pressure of cold, hard steel against the back of his neck.

NAR©2025
#OLWG

Here are the prompts: 1) his head reared back; 2) floating cheques; 3) he was a ruminator. We can use one, two, all three or none at all. It doesn’t matter; we just need to be creative.

This is “Bullets In The Gun” by Toby Keith

OLWG#415- The Deplorable Sunflower

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️ 🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al. and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

33 thoughts on “Come Sundown”

    1. Thanks, Willow! I really enjoy writing for TN Kerr’s OLWG prompts. They are quite different from the norm.
      I’m glad you liked the video. That was the late, great Toby Keith, one of our country icons who passed recently from cancer. A great guy and one hell of a storyteller!
      🎶🖊️♡

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  14. Poor Riley. Found out his lover was two-timing him and now he was about to get his head blown off right before he could warn his boss of what his daughter and the ranch foreman were up to. Great storytelling, Nancy.

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