He had rescued Rose, humiliating Pew in the process, twisted his ear, and thrashed his hired man. He had called Sheriff Rickert’s bluff and brazenly ignored his command to stay away from Pew.
Now, he’d beaten Gibbs unconscious, sending a message to his old enemy, Sully Weatherspoon, who was probably right in with the Reconstructionists. And from Will’s understanding, that meant Sully might be able to sic the bluebellies on him.
So yes, trouble was coming. Likely big trouble. Might could even be shooting trouble.
But Will was not afraid. He was a Texan, after all, and Texans were born to trouble. After four years of war, he saw life as a sequence of violent clashes with periods of relative calmin between where you rested and worked and prepared for the inevitable hard times bound to come again and usually soon.
So while Will understood that forces would move against him, he would lose no sleep over this fact.
Still, he was glad he’d bought the extra weapons and ammunition.
“Mama and Rose are going to be so happy,” Maggie said as they neared the farm.
“Seems like it. We got plenty of grub.”
“And a new house,” she said with a smile. “Don’t forget that.”
“Oh yeah, we got a house, too, didn’t we?” Will joked.
“Seems strange, doesn’t it? I mean buying the Kitner place?”
“I wouldn’t have done it if Kitner was still there. Or even if I thought he was coming back.”
“I know that,” Maggie said. “What about the squatter?”
“He might be gone already. And if not, he’ll figure out soon that the property is now occupied. I’m not worried about him.”
“You don’t worry much, do you?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t. Never saw any percentage in worrying.”
“Must be nice. I can’t help but worry. But you want to know something funny? When you’re around, I hardly worry. Even when that terrible Mr. Gibbs pulled out those… what are they called again?”
“Brass knuckles,” Will said, slapping the pocket where they now rode.
“Right. Even when he pulled out those brass knuckles, I felt utterly calm. I knew that you would whup him. Do you think he’ll be okay?”
Will shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. Gibbs started it. And he tried to hit me with brass knuckles. They are a lethal weapon. He bought his own fate.”
“Well, I hope he doesn’t die.”
“It was self-defense. And I have plenty of witnesses who’ll testify to that.”
“None of that will matter if Sully Weatherspoon sets the bluebellies on you.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see. Like I said, I’m not worried about it.”
“Where are you going?” Maggie asked when he passed the turn to her place.
“To the new house, of course.”
“What about Mama and Rose?”
“We’ll fetch them soon enough. But I’d like to have another look before you women fill the house with chatter.”
Maggie laughed. “All right, Mr. Bentley. We’ll have a look. That’ll give me a chance to at least sweep the kitchen and put away some of the groceries before they come. It’ll be nice to welcome them into a tidy, well-stocked kitchen.”
They came down the main trail, which was still free of tracks.
