“Your hands are banged up, but your face looks all right,” Rufus said, a grin coming onto his face. “You whup him?”
“Will crushed him,” Maggie said. “And Gibbs had brass knuckles.”
Then, with great enthusiasm, Maggie told the story of the fight, finishing with, “He asked for it, and Will gave it to him.”
Rufus slapped his thighs. “I wish I had seen it! That man beat me a hundred times. Once, I thought I was gonna lose my eye.” But then he grew suddenly serious. “Sully won’t let that stand.”
“Probably not,” Will said. “But we’ll see. After I knocked him out, I remember sitting at home, waiting for the sheriff to come, but he never did.”
“Sully was too embarrassed to tell anyone what happened, I’ll bet,” Rose said.
“Either that or Mr. Weatherspoon didn’t want it to get out,” Rufus said. “Mr. Weatherspoon was awful careful about the family name. I hope Sully leaves you alone again this time.”
“We’ll see,” Will said again. “I’m not worried about it. Why don’t you go ahead and take care of your horse. Then we’ll get you some food. And afterward, you can help me unload this stuff.”
“Much obliged,” Rufus said. “Truth be told, I haven’t had a meal in a long time.”
“You handy?” Will asked.
“Sure am,” Rufus said proudly. “What I want to do is run cattle, but I can do pretty much anything… other than pick cotton, that is.”
“Well, if you want to stick around for a while, I got a lot of work to do. If you’ll help me, we’ll feed you, and I’ll pay you a dollar a day.”
Rufus’s eyes lit up. “A dollar a day?”
“And three square meals,” Will said. “You can sleep in the bunkhouse and feed your horse out of my grain.”
“How long do I have to work here?”
“We’ll take it day by day. You want to leave, leave. You’re a free man now.”
“Yessir, I am,” a smiling Rufus said, sticking his hand out again. “Thank you, Will. You got yourself a deal.”
CHAPTER 20
That evening, after a big supper, Will asked Maggie if she would take a stroll with him.
Rufus, who’d worked hard alongside Will all afternoon then enjoyed the meal with the family, excused himself and headed for the bunkhouse, thanking them all again and wishing them a good night.
“Are you courting me now, Mr. Bentley?” Maggie asked when they were alone outside.
He pulled her into his arms, and they kissed for a long time.
When they stepped apart again, Will said, “I’ve been wanting to do that all day long.”
“Me, too,” Maggie said. “I’m so happy, Will. I just can’t believe this is true.”
“Believe it.”
They started walking again, holding hands now.
“God has blessed us beyond measure,” Maggie said.
“He has. But we have a lot of work to do.”
“Rufus seems like a good worker.”
“He is a good worker. I’m bullheaded enough to tackle a heap of work on my lonesome, but I sure am glad to have him here. We’re late getting stuff in the ground. We gotta plow and plant.”
