Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Slater had a bad feeling in his gut.
True to his name, Son of Satan was a beast. The thing was already trying to buck and torque, threatening to bust right out of the chute and stomp everyone around him to pieces.
Standing on one of the slats of the chute so he was taller and more level with Slater, Jackson said, “You sure about this, brother?”
Slater laughed. “I guess we’re not brothers, after all. Not after what we’ve been doing.”
Despite the grim circumstances, this at least drew a laugh from Jackson, a fact Slater was thankful for. Anything to add a little levity to the moment was much appreciated.
“You know I’ll nurse you back to health.”
“You’ve done it before,” Slater agreed.
“That’s right. And I’d do it a hundred times over. I know our Little girl feels the same way.”
Slater shook his head. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
The bull snorted and tried to rear back.
“Whoa there, old son. Easy now. Save it for out there,” Slater said.
The animal didn’t seem to give a damn.
“It’s not too late,” Jackson said.
“Everyone will think I’m a damn coward if I back out now.”
Jackson shook his head. “Nope. They’ll think you actually have a lick of common sense. Anyway, who the hell cares what anyone thinks? We have sweet Mina. We have each other. What else matters?”
“Big Cedar matters,” Slater said. “That’s what this is about!”
“Big Cedar is the people,” a new voice said. “Not a place.”
They looked to see Walker standing front and center, the Big Cedar contingent behind him.
Mina stepped forward.
“What’s going on?” Slater asked.
“Who are all these people?” the burly old chute boss said. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of a western movie, complete with a drooping, walrus mustache.
“Just some friends,” Slater said.
“Nope. Family,” Quinn corrected.
Slater grinned. “That’s right. Family.”
“Well they can’t be down here! We got bulls runnin’ every which way!” the boss said. He shook his head. “Clear ‘em out. And get ready. You’ve got two minutes!”
He moved on.
The announcer was talking loudly and the crowd seemed to be responsive. The clowns were out, doing a routine, too, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Everyone except Slater, his family, and Son of Satan.
The animal thrashed his head from side to side. Slater felt kind of bad for him.
“Slater, we’ve all been talking,” Marsha said eagerly, her eyes darting from the bull to its rider. “This is crazy! I mean outright insane!”
“She’s right,” Cane said. “And Walker was right, too. Big Cedar isn’t a place. It’s an idea. It’s us. We can start over anywhere. The important thing is that you’re safe.”
“Listen to ‘em, buddy,” Austin added. “We love you. All of us.”
Slater looked at Mina who was standing there, looking oh so small, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He then looked around the arena, shifting on the bull to take in as much of it as he could. The crowd was ready for some action. Almost twenty thousand folks were crammed in there. He’d disappoint them all if he got off that bull and walked away.
Yet the most important people in his life needed him.
And the two people he loved more than anything both looked worried sick.
His heart broke.
“Mina, honey, do you want me to get off this bull? Do you want me to never ride again?”
She sniffled and nodded. “But I want you to be happy. And if this makes you happy…”
He shook his head. “You make me happy.” He looked at Jackson. “And you, too.” He paused for a moment before asking, “Do you want me to get off this and walk away from it?”
“You know what I want,” Jackson said bluntly.
Slater nodded. “Well, that answers that.” He stood up on top of the snarling beast, leapt to the chute’s slats, and threw a leg over before climbing down the other side.
“Hey!” the chute boss called. “Where are you going?”
“Sorry,” Slater said, taking Mina’s hand in one of his and Jackson’s in the other, “I’ve got to go. With my wife and husband. Or whatever we’re going to be. And my family.” He grinned as the chute boss’ eyes went wide in shock.
The Big Cedar folks cheered.
“Never scare me like that again, Daddy!” Mina said.
“Hey, who gives the orders around here?” he asked with a smile.
“Right now, she does!” Jackson said. “And me too. Don’t ever do that to us again.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.” He then sighed heavily. “That might seal the town’s fate, though.”
Mina stopped walking and let go of his hand. She pulled out her phone. “Or maybe not!”
“Huh?” Slater said.
When she didn’t respond right away, he stepped closer. “Sweetpea? What’s going on?”
She seemed to be intently reading something. After finally lowering the phone she giggled and said, “I think we did it! Big Cedar is saved!”
It was Quinn who asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I did some digging and overturned some stuff. I… well… you can all read about it in the next edition of the paper!”
The group laughed.
“Come on, honey,” Slater said, taking her hand again. “Let’s go home.”