Page 86 of One Last Shot

Outside, Moose’s truck growled as he ground through the heavy snow.

Focus.

He picked out the tune he’d been toying with, a simple minor key chord progression—Am-Em-F-C.

He heard music, felt words, and maybe he should be grateful for that at least.

He hummed, trying out the lyrics.

“In a dusty old town, where the sun set low,

Lived a man named Coop with a heart of gold.

He’d ride the plains, a lone cowboy through,

With a past so dark, he couldn’t undo.”

To his ears, it just sounded sappy. But maybe that’s what they wanted.

“You going for something dark there?” said Axel from the doorway. Oaken looked up and saw the man with his arms folded, leaning on the frame.

“I think it’s supposed to be. It’s for a movie—a Western. When I talked with the producer months ago, he told me—Western song, reluctant hero, true love, and sacrifice.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a Western. You got more?”

“Not much.” He sang the pre-chorus.

“But when he laid eyes on sweet Blossom,

A beauty that could save him, he began to understand,

He must rise up, though hissoul’s weighed down.

For the woman he loves, he’ll wear the hero’s crown.”

“Yeah, that’s heavy,” Axel said.

Oaken nodded.

“So, why is his soul weighed down?”

Oaken looked up at him. “I think because he... feels guilt about something. Or shame.”

“Which one is it? Because guilt is real and it makes us run to forgiveness. But shame is what the devil uses to get us to hide from God.”

Oaken stared at him.

Axel shrugged. “Moose. You live here for a while, he’ll rub off on you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never heard that before. But I don’t know. Maybe shame?”

“How do you know?”

He’d read the script, so, “I think because maybe he thinks he shouldn’t get the girl. That he doesn’t deserve her.”

Axel cocked his head. “Really.”

“Yeah. Maybe... maybe he’s been living a lie all these years of being this amazing gunslinger when, in fact, it was a fluke.”