"Roan and I talked at the kitchen table this morning. He wanted the kill. I told him no."
"Why, Prez?"
"Because Roan brought him to this family. He'd carry it. The man who brought a problem to my door doesn't get the closure of cleaning it up. That's mine to give to somebody else."
"And you're giving it to me."
"He came to my daughter. You're the man she chose. You're the man whose name is on her wrist. You're the one who closes it, Spur."
I don't answer for a long second. "Yes, Prez."
"Roan'll be in the barn with us. He'll watch. He doesn't pull the trigger. He gets the closure of seeing it done. If you ask me, that's more than enough."
"Does he know that's what you decided?"
"He knows. We agreed. He's at peace with it."
I look out the window at the brush country going by. The sun is up now, and the light is hard and yellow the way it is in West Texas in May.
The mesquite is throwing short shadows across the highway. A red-tailed hawk on a fencepost watches us pass. "Prez, I think this goes without saying, but thank you."
"You earned it, Spur. You’re my daughter’s ol’ man. No one else should have the right."
* * *
Cash meets us at a Phillips 66 outside Big Spring just after eleven.
He's leaning against a black Suburban with a coffee in his hand when we pull in.
Same dark hair as Phantom, Holt, and Roan, more weight in the shoulders, the kind of patched man who runs a major-metro chapter and looks like it.
The Shotgun Saints rocker on his cut says San Antonio.
Two of his brothers are on bikes, parked behind the suburban.
He embraces Phantom first. "Brother."
"Brother."
"Roan."
"Cash."
He looks at me. "Spur."
"Cash."
"My brother says you're the man closing this."
"Yes."
He nods once. "Good."
He turns and leans against the Suburban, pulls a folded paper map out of his cut, and spreads it on the hood.
Banshee, Roan, Phantom, Coyote, and I gather around.
"The property's ten miles south of here," Cash says. "Stock barn is here." He taps the map. "House is here. Quarter mile between them. Hog pens are behind the barn. Asher comes in at five-thirty every morning to feed the hogs and check on the broncs. Crew shows up at seven."
