Ben Bridges

“Sorry,’ he said with a cautious dip of the head. The stranger’s eyes flicked down to the badge pinned on his vest, came back up to his face almost at once. He muttered an apology of his own in a low, stuttery kind of voice, then turned and hurried off up the boardwalk, the tails of his greatcoat flapping about his legs, his longish black hair fanning out beneath his sweaty gray hat. Cord watched him go, suddenly feeling curious and uneasy, though he couldn’t really say why. There had just been something about the man and his manner ... He had seemed edgy, agitated by something. What? Cord followed his progress through troubled eyes. The stranger had an odd, long-stepping gait, he noticed, as if he found it hard to coordinate his movements. He hurried on up the street, glanced back over his shoulder twice. What had he been up to in that black-as-pitch dogtrot? On impulse, Cord decided to find out. The dark air stank of garbage and cat-pee. Tufted grass whispered underfoot as he headed for the far end. To his”
― Ben Bridges, Cougar Valley

“Learn what?’ ‘That life’s all about choices. That it always has been and it always will be. Some people make the right ones. Others, men like yourself, don’t. They always go for the easier option.”
― Ben Bridges, Five Shots Left