He knew he was a fool for riding off by himself in the first place. Coherency
fled as the men reached for him and dragged him from his horse. Lifting his
arms, JD fought to deflect the bruising blows crashing against his head and
body. Sounds erupted from his mouth, strains of desperation ripped from his
throat. Between scrambling to stay on his feet and ducking fists and elbows, he
couldn’t form any words. His mouth grimaced; twisting and spewing grunts and
groans as knuckles drilled into his sides and back. Bodies shoved and pressed
around him, keeping him on his feet even when his knees buckled. Abruptly, they
scattered and he fell.
He lay panting, his hands clenched into trembling fists in front of his
face.
"You'll pay for what you and your partners did to Micah."
JD lowered his arms. He peered through squinting eyes at his attackers. "We
didn't do nothin' he didn't deserve." The truth revealed itself as dangerous
when the men stepped in, closing the rough circle around him. JD swallowed hard,
regretting his habit of speaking before giving his brain a chance to talk some
sense into him.
"He didn't deserve to be hanged. He was just a kid."
JD flinched when a boot shuffled closer, kicking dirt into his eyes. He
blinked the grit away, then craned his head back to look his attackers in the
face. "And I'm just the law. I had no choice. We had no choice. Micah
killed that man in cold blood, and you know it."
Angry growls answered his statement. Hands reached for him and yanked him
from the ground. "Looks like we ain't got no choice, neither." The threat pealed
like a death toll in the air.
JD pulled and twisted. He dug his heels into the ground, locking his jaw with
his determination not to give these men an inch. A spear of pain arrowed through
his stomach. His body caved in and he folded double, lungs suddenly empty of
air. Rolling his eyes up he caught sight of his tormentor. The man held a club
in both hands, his arms craned back for another jab into his belly. JD held his
breath, felt his muscles clench in anticipation of the blow. The end of the club
scooped in and thrust hard into his gut, digging through to his spine. A howl
burst out of his mouth with the explosion of air from his chest. He collapsed
and felt the pulling strain through his shoulders when his captors kept him from
falling.
"Get the rope around his neck."
JD's head snapped up with the command, and he gasped. They stood beneath a
huge spreading oak. A rope hung from a thick branch, swaying slightly in the
wind.
Despair swelled in his chest. His arms were pulled behind him and his wrists
tied together.
"Wait! Wait, I didn't do nothin' wrong!" None of the men would look at him.
Lips pressed together, eyes averted, they threaded the rope over his head and
stepped back. One of them pulled himself onto a horse. Another man handed him
the end of the rope and the rider looped it around his saddle horn.
JD's chest heaved. His heart froze within him as his life teetered on edge,
held between heartbeats.
A gun cocked loud in the silence. "Unless you want a hole big as Texas
through you mister, you'll untie that rope and let that boy go." Authority rang
in Chris' voice, sparkling off his words like sunshine off water.
Blood rushed from his head and pooled in his feet. JD swayed dangerously,
then caught himself and held still. He resisted looking behind him and to his
right, where he knew Chris stood.
"You best do what the man says." Vin's quiet drawl rasped deceptively soft
from the left. JD closed his eyes and saw the images of his friends; their faces
carved in stone, hands steady and sure on their guns.
"Maybe you don't hear so well." No humor laced Buck's command. JD shivered,
recognizing the flip side of his best friend's personality. "He told you to let
him go." A hammer clicked back ominously, the sound loud and clear in the
stillness.
JD watched the man holding the rope move. Without pulling his eyes from Chris
or the others, he unwound the rope from his saddle and tossed it to the ground.
It landed with a heavy thump and a soft puff of dust rose from the dry
earth.
"Now ride on out of here. Your friend's paid for his mistake. No need for
this to go no further."
Moving slowly at first, then faster when it became clear they'd lost, the
group of men mounted their horses and rode away.
JD felt hands on his wrists, untying his bonds. "You all right, JD?" Chris
tucked his rifle under his arm and reached to slide the rope off over his
head.
JD nodded. He pulled his arms around in front once he was free and rubbed his
sore wrists. "Yeah. Thanks."
Fingers clamped to his shoulder and pulled him around roughly. Buck's large
frame bent over him, his eyes wide and filled with anger beneath lowered brows.
"What the hell did you think you were doin', ridin' off by yourself like that?
You knew Micah's brothers and cousins were lookin' for revenge." Buck shifted
around to face JD and shoved his fingers hard against JD's chest. "You coulda
been killed. You're just lucky we showed up in time to save your scrawny white
ass."
Irritation rushed in to fill the cavern shock had dug open in his heart. JD
slapped Buck's hand away and pulled himself as tall as he could. He tilted his
head back, refusing to back down from Buck's anger. "Maybe I knew you'd make it
in time, maybe I had this all figured out."
A harsh laugh burst from Buck. He shifted away and used one finger to push
his hat back on his head. "Like hell, you say."
JD scoffed at him. "Lot you know. I knew you'd come along when you did. I
knew you'd have my back -- you always do." He reached up and dusted his jacket
off then straightened his hat square on his head. "I'm fine and they''re gone,
no harm done."
Turning to leave, JD's vision wavered and his knees folded weakly beneath
him. Hands scooped around him, strong arms held him and kept him from
falling.
"No harm done, right kid?" The smile had returned to Buck's voice. Buck drew
JD's arm over his shoulder and steered them toward Nathan. "You scare me like
that again and it won't be someone's brother or cousin comin' after you, runt."
The words were soft, meant only for him to hear.
JD grinned. "Who you callin' a runt?"
The End
