“Not really,” he said. “I was distracted.”
She smirked at him. “Well, close your eyes if you can’t concentrate.”
“Not on your life, Mrs. Bentley.”
“Well, try harder then. Don’t you think Rickert will be back?”
“I doubt it. I think I got through to him.”
“You mean you scared him?”
“Yeah. Him and the kid. That other one, Chad Butler, he’s a different story.”
“You think he’ll come back?”
“I think he’d like to. But will he come back on his own? I doubt it. And what’s he going to do, stir folks up because I twisted Pew’s ear and whipped Gibbs? People would run him out of town on a rail.”
“Still, I don’t trust these people. Pew, the Weatherspoons, you just never know what they’ll do.”
“You’re right about that.”
“So why aren’t you worried?”
“First of all, I don’t worry. I plan.”
“You know what I mean, though, Will.”
“I do. But it’s an important distinction.”
“All right.”
“If there’s a credible threat, you gotta prepare for it. Ignoring it would be stupid. Maybe even suicidal.”
“You don’t consider these people a credible threat?”
“Not the way I’m talking. Do I think they’ll give up? Not yet. But I’m not worried about a bunch of them riding out here tomorrow. There would be no reason for it.”
“You threatened an officer of the law.”
“Even Rickert knew I was right about that.”
“Yeah, well, still.”
“Okay, still. Pew and the Weatherspoons are up in arms, but they have a lot to lose. They’ll try to do things by the book.”
“What if they send the bluebellies?”
“The bluebellies don’t want to come out here. It’d be different if I stirred up real trouble. But nobody wants to die over the charges they could lodge against me. Besides, I made sure Rickert heard me loud and clear. They got a lot to lose by pushing me. If they label me a rabble-rouser, I’ll rouse a rabble like they’ve never seen.”
She looked at him. “You’re a little scary.”
“Scary?”
“Yeah, a little. When you talk like that, this light comes into your eyes.”
“Well, don’t you worry about it, Maggie. I am here to provide for you. And if you need me to provide protection, then yes, I will protect you, and that means doing whatever needs to be done, even… scary things.”
“All right, Will,” she said, crawling back into bed with him. “I just hope nothing comes of all this.”
