Showdown #2
Then the man closest to the fence whirled around with his gun and fired. Maria fired almost simultaneously. Over the report of her own pistol, somebody else’s gun went off. The man fell back, dropping his gun, clutching his shoulder.
“Drop your weapons!” Neil shouted to his men. The other two thugs flung their guns down, raised their hands, and stood away from Tim.
Maria was shaking all over. The man hadn’t hit anybody, and he didn’t seem to be killed.
Thank goodness. Probably it wasn’t her bullet that had hit him—she was too far away for accuracy, although close enough not to hit one of the Rocker A guys by mistake—but she hadn’t wanted him to shoot Elijah or whoever else he’d been aiming at.
“Who was that?” Luke asked.
“Danny,” Will said. “Maria’s shot went wide.”
Relief washed over Maria—even defending the ranch, she’d rather it was somebody else’s bullet that hit the thug and not hers.
Neil and his guys still had their hands in the air, all except the guy on the ground, holding his shoulder. They must be surrendering. Hands still shaking, Maria returned her gun to its holster.
The plan had worked. And nobody had gotten killed. “Thank you, Jesus,” Maria breathed.
A couple of the ranch hands—Danny and Blaise—were tying up Neil and the three thugs. The other Rocker A people were clustering around, plus a couple others. That guy in blue had to be a policeman. Splendid.
Her muscles tensed to spring, Maria jumped up, but Will told her to get back down. “Better wait until everything calms down,” he said. “Tim told me to keep an eye on you.”
“He did, did he?” Maria said. “Well, you can follow me and keep an eye on me that way. They’re tied up. It’ll be fine.”
“If Neil’s got other guys down there, you’ll be sorry,” Luke grumbled, but he and Will followed Maria.
Maria crossed the cattle guard gingerly, not wanting to fall through. She could see why cows wouldn’t try to cross that.
Tim was talking to the policeman. The three thugs looked angry and sullen, not talking—probably not wanting anything they said to be used against them. Neil, restrained by two Rocker A guys and a rope, was shouting at Tim.
“You idiots at the Rocker A don’t know anything about business!” he exclaimed. “The old lady’s stupid. But she’s old. I would think the rest of you had enough sense to see when you’re being offered a good deal!”
Tim, talking to the policeman, ignored Neil.
“You think you’re gonna throw me in some jail and leave my property to rot?” Neil howled. “What’s my mother gonna do? I’m the only person she has to take care of her!”
Tim turned away from the policeman, swinging toward Neil. “You should have thought of your mother before you began sabotaging this place,” he said. “We’ll make sure—”
“It was for her!” Neil swore loudly. “She’s been working herself to the bone on this ranch.
My rotten father ran off and left us. You think he paid child support?
You think we were rolling in riches like the Rocker A?
If it weren’t for your stupid decision not to sell your ranch, we could have sold ours to Owen Beck and lived decently for once in our lives. ”
Everyone else had fallen silent, listening to Neil.
“I hate this ranch,” Neil said. “I hate my father. I hate the situation he left us. Now I’m going to sit in jail, and what’s my mother supposed to do?
Work the ranch herself? Sell it for pennies?
You think Hollywood guys are lining up at our door, trying to build resorts on this stinking little patch of land? ”
He paused for breath, and Tim stepped into the gap.
“Your mother will be fine,” he said. “Let me guess, she doesn’t know anything about this?”
“Of course not!” Neil cried. “I would never—”
“I thought as much. She’s an innocent bystander. Well, she’s known my boss for a long time. I know Pat won’t let her be left in the lurch. We’ll find a way to help your mother.”
“I don’t want any help from you!” Neil swore again.
“Stupid ranchers! Can’t you see this kind of life is gone?
Who cares if you have a few cattle on this huge dirt patch?
Working yourself to death—is that your idea of making money?
You could make that amount signing up to write ads on the internet and getting AI to write them! ”
“We’ve had enough talk,” Tim said. “Sheriff, you think it’s time to take these boys downtown, and get a doctor for that one? I’ve got a couple statements to make.”
§
Neil and his compadres were being taken away in the sheriff’s car. Tim watched them until the car was out of sight and Neil’s shouts had faded. He turned to his men and Maria. His face was solemn, but a joy that Maria hadn’t seen before shone in his eyes.
“Why don’t we tell Pat the good news?”
With whoops and yells, the men rushed for their horses. Maria went for her ATV.
“I’ll ride with you,” Tim’s voice called after her, and sure enough, when she had started the ATV, Tim came up next to her on his horse.
“You can’t learn to ride soon enough,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Maria said. “Now that Neil is caught, you’re gonna have a little more free time, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” Tim said. “I won’t have to ride so much at night, either.”
Hopefully then he wouldn’t stumble around yawning and looking haggard the way he had lately. It would be nice to have the ranch back to normal.
“I’m gonna call Dad tonight,” Maria said. “He’ll want to know we’ve dealt with the sabotage. And he’ll want to know if the family decides to keep the ranch.”
“They’d better,” Tim said. “If they do, is your dad coming out here?”
“He’s going to transfer to the police out here, if he can,” Maria said. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot—I want to stay.”
“Wonderful!”
Maria couldn’t see Tim’s face clearly, since he was so far above her, but she could hear the smile in his voice. She felt herself glowing with excitement. Neil had been caught, Dad and Grandma could come to the ranch, and everybody would be where they should be. It was wonderful.
§
At the house, it seemed as though everyone on the ranch was in the living room. Grandma Austin sat in her usual chair, bolt upright, her face composed but for her sparkling, excited eyes. The other family members and ranch hands sat or stood around, everyone talking at once.
“Hey, quiet, quiet,” Tim announced, striding into the room. “I know, you’ve all told Pat the good news, but I want to tell my story.”
“You oughtta be a news reporter,” one of the ranch hands called out. “Get paid for telling long stories.”
“Sure, sure, Luke,” Tim said. “So, here’s what happened.”
Now Maria got to hear the things she hadn’t been able to catch from her vantage point on that ridge.
As soon as Neil saw Tim, he’d figured something was up.
He already knew Tim didn’t want to sell the ranch.
Tim was notorious in the Cattleman’s Association for his anxiety to keep the ranches going.
Neil had gotten mad, not even trying to hide his part in the sabotage.
Sure, he’d sent his guys to cause a few problems on the Rocker A.
They hadn’t done anything too bad. That shot in the arm had been a mistake.
It wasn’t his fault the Rocker A people couldn’t take a hint and that they were so financially stupid.
Around that point, Neil had blown his whistle to summon his guys.
As Tim finished his story, including what Neil had yelled about his parents right before he was taken away, Grandma Austin sat silently. Finally she spoke.