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Howard said to the men who’d come with him, “Get him out of here.”
They dragged him to his feet and he croaked, “You’ll pay for this, bitch!”
Howard hit him with a right cross that knocked him out cold. More cheers went up. Lane snapped, “When he wakes up, remind him that we don’t take kindly to varmints threatening our women.”
His toes trailed on the ground as they hauled him off.
Howard asked, “Are you okay, Portia?”
She nodded. She was admittedly shaken when he initially grabbed her, but having defended herself and having enjoyed watching Howard put the final nail in Salt’s coffin, she felt much better.
“Then go get you some ice cream. As I remember that always used to cheer you up.”
Giving him a kiss on his cheek, she set off to do just that.
Later, Portia had plenty to cheer about. Kent made it through the qualifying rounds of the bull riding and would ride for the prize money on the rodeo’s final day. He won second place in the steer-roping contest, and he and Blue came in third in the can race. The event called for riders to pick up tin cans from the ground while their horses ran at full speed. Each ride was timed. Riders were sometimes injured when they lost their balance and tumbled out of their saddles from leaning over too far. From the way he and Blue worked together, it was obvious they’d been in similar contests before. Even though they didn’t place first, both Kent and his mount finished the competition unscathed, and that was a first-place win as far as she was concerned.
After the competitions, she and Kent got food and carried their plates to join her family, along with Matt, Ruth, and James Cordell, on blankets spread out on the grass to enjoy their meals. They caught up on each other’s days and listened to the lively music rolling across the crowded meadow on the wings of the evening breeze.
Kent was worried about his father. Although Oliver hadn’t indicated that his death was imminent, that he hadn’t been up to enjoying the day’s festivities had been on his mind all day. He planned to check on him as soon as they returned to the hotel. In spite of Oliver being in his thoughts he’d managed to enjoyed the Lane rodeo. He hadn’t won any first-place money but by taking second and third place he’d beat out a lot of the others and none of them had sported Portia’s bandana. Seeing it still in place made the day even more special.
They were listening to Regan’s hilarious telling of a goat tangling with a pony during one of the children’s races when a man Kent didn’t know walked up. He did recognize the little lady with him, Matt’s Bonnie Neal. Matt kept his head down as if he was afraid the man had come to shoot him for talking to his daughter.
“How are you, Rhine?” he asked.
“I’m well, David. How was the trip back East?”
“Fine. I just got home a few days ago. Sorry to have missed Blanchard’s funeral. The old man was one of a kind.”
Rhine nodded.
“I just found out that Farley and Buck were killed. Sorry, ladies, don’t mean to disturb you with talk of their deaths.”
No one seemed offended so he continued, “Sheriff O’Hara said you wanted to put together a posse?”
“I did, but he said my race would be a problem.”
“Told me about that.” He shook his head as if he found that asinine. “Farley and Buck were good men. They helped me out last summer when I broke my leg. I never would’ve got my cows to market had it not been for them. I know a lot of folks are scared because of Geronimo and all, but I had O’Hara deputize me anyway. If you’d like the help out, I’d be honored to have you and anyone else you know by my side. Parnell’s probably in Mexico by now but I still want to take a look around.”
“When do you want to start?”
“Let’s wait until the rodeo’s over tomorrow. As I said, Parnell’s probably gone so another day probably won’t matter. We’ll meet up at Blanchard’s place at sunrise. That fine with you?”
Rhine indicated that it was.
“See you then.” He touched his hat to the ladies. As he walked way, his daughter shot Matt a smile that turned him beet red before she hurried after her father.
Rhine looked over at Kent. “I guess we have a posse.”
“Looks like we do.”
“Neal’s a good man.”
Judging by what he’d just witnessed, Kent had to agree.
After dinner, there were poker games, music, and dancing. By the time dusk rolled in, many people were gathering their families and preparing to head home. Eddy and Rhine were among them.
“We’ll see you young people in the morning,” Eddy said. Hand in hand she and Rhine went to retrieve their buggy.
Regan planned to spend the night with the Lanes to help with the next day’s preparations. After saying her good-byes, she strolled off. James offered to see Ruth home, which made her smile. Matt had drifted off after dinner and was on the grounds somewhere enjoying himself, so that left Kent and Portia on their own.
“Did you drive or ride?” he asked.
“Drove the buggy.”
“Are you ready to head back?”
“I am.”
“Lead the way.”
