The Smith kid looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
The tough guy cursed and said some nasty things about Rufus.
“You keep talking like that, I might just shoot you for the fun of it,” Rufus said.
“Now, let’s everybody just calm down,” Rickert said. All the color had drained from his face. He’d never been much of a sheriff, but he knew enough, apparently, to understand he was a dead man if anything kicked off. Will and Rufus had flanked them at angles that wouldn’t put each other in danger if they let fly with the buckshot.
“Heard you been hunting me,” Will said.
“That’s right,” Rickert said. “I told you to leave Pew alone.”
“Let me ask you something, Rickert,” Will said. “If Pew kidnapped your sister, would you let him have her?”
“I don’t have a sister.”
“Your daughter, then.”
Rickert frowned. “No, probably not. But I’d go through the law.”
“That’s what I tried to do,” Will said. “Remember? You told me you couldn’t help.”
Rickert sputtered a little before changing tack. “Pew’s madder than a hornet. So I want you to come back with me, and we’ll get this sorted out.”
“There’s nothing to sort out. Unless you’re gonna charge Pew with kidnapping.”
“Charge Pew?”
“That’s right. If you charge Pew with kidnapping, I might come before the judge and give my testimony.”
“Be reasonable, Will. You don’t want trouble with the law.”
“You’re not riding for the law, Rickert. You’re riding for Pew.”
“You can’t talk to me that way.”
“I just did,” Will said. Disgust was rising in him now. “You want to do something about it, Sheriff? You want to tell these other men to step aside, face me, man-to-man, right now?”
Rickert shook his head. “That’s enough of that sort of talk. I am an officer of the law.” He tapped the badge on his chest.
“That badge might mean something in town, Rickert, but out here, the only thing that matters is bullets… and buckshot.” Will hoisted the shotgun again. “This is my jurisdiction. You don’t come out here again unless you’re invited.”
“Where you living at, Bentley?” the tough guy asked.
Will swiveled his gaze onto the man. “What’s your name?”
The man glared back at him. “My name’s Butler. Chad Butler.”
Will nodded. He’d heard of Butler. Had a reputation in town. Just after the war, he’d gotten into a fight at the saloon and shot a man.
“Well, Butler, I’ll offer you the same chance I offered Rickert. We can throw down man-to-man, right now, just the two of us.”
Butler thought about it. “Put down that scattergun, and I’ll do it.”
Will chuckled, shaking his head. “Not my fault you rode out here with a revolver. Seems like you boys underestimated me.”
“I won’t next time,” Butler said.
“Next time, huh? Well, like I told Rickert. You boys best not come out here again uninvited. You do, I’ll bury all three of you back in the pines.”
