The rancher opened the door and motioned for the family to enter. The girl’s mother mumbled something about “Eastern folks,” glared at each Danford, put an arm around her stunned daughter, and walked her inside.
“That’s not a way to talk to my sister,” Tara’s brother Jack remarked to the Danfords. “Or any woman.”
“You men need to learn some manners,” added his father, Roland.
The horses were now one hundred yards off; Dicky flashed his mirror twice more from the gazebo.
“You want to go a round with us?” asked Oswell, who then leaned close to Roland’s face.
The porcine father stared back at him, but did not respond.
In a calm voice that was full of menace, the rancher said, “You want to brawl, let’s go behind the church right now. If not, get inside.”
“I’ll get the son if he wants a
