Before she could slug Townsend again, Debbie Sue stepped between them. “Wait a minute, Ed. Calm down.”
“I don’t wanna calm down. I’m gonna whip his ass.”
“You can’t. You’ll get us arrested. And the next thing you know, I’ll be the one in court. Divorce court.” She turned her attention back to Townsend. “Listen, Richard, Ed’s my friend. She’s not—”
“Richard, do you need a doctor?” Sandi asked.
“No,” he barked.
“Then please go. You’re causing trouble. Please.”
Just then, the cop who had been hanging around the courthouse steps walked over. “Everything okay here?”
“Yessir,” the women chorused.
He gave Townsend an intense look, as if he were assessing his injury. “Do you need medical attention, sir?”
“I’m fine, officer. Just suffering a nosebleed. Happens often. Allergies, you know. But you might want to keep an eye on the one in the red dress.”
The cop looked at each of them as if he didn’t believe what Richard had said. Finally, he said, “Have a good day then,” and walked away.
He might have walked away, but Nick could see he was standing close by, his hands resting on his utility belt. And he was watching them.
“Okay, Sandi, I’ll go,” Richard said, his voice now both thick and nasally. “But I’m warning you. I won’t be back. This was your last chance to come to your senses.”
Nick’s sense of chivalry kicked in. This Townsend dude was a bully. “Mr. Townsend, I say again, I think the lady has made her point. It’d be wise for you to go. When a woman tells you she doesn’t want you around, she usually means it.”
Richard glared above the wadded tissue he held to his nose. “What are you implying?”
Nick was hardly intimidated by a man who didn’t have a muscle anywhere and who was already suffering a punch to his nose by a woman. “Just what I said. Leave her alone.”
“Yeah,” the aunt said.
Townsend straightened his jacket and stalked off.
“Well, that was cute,” Aunt Ed said, staring after him and pacing back and forth. “Arrogant fucker. That was Richard, huh? The one who’s defending a man who tortures and murders old women?”
“He’s a defense lawyer, Aunt Ed,” Sandi said. “Someone has to do it.”
The aunt was still loaded for bear. “Oh, I don’t know. Why does someone have to do it? And what does doing it say about the someone doing it? Personally, I don’t think a lynch mob is out of the question for that John Wilson ass. And maybe they oughtta string up his lawyer with him.”
Debbie Sue gave an exaggerated gasp. “Good grief, Ed. You’ve certainly found your violent streak today.”
“You know how I am. I refuse to tolerate rude behavior. Especially from a self-centered butthole who’s trying to order my niece around like he’s smarter than she is.”
Debbie Sue turned to the group and explained. “She’s seen Lonesome Dove two dozen times.”
“I’m glad you punched him,” the short woman with pink-tipped hair said. “He had it coming. If I wasn’t so short, I would’ve hit him myself.”
Mrs. Porter’s head was shaking slowly. “My goodness, Sandi. I never dreamed all of this would come to violence. How could you take up with such an awful man?”
“Ladies, Debbie Sue’s right,” Nick said. “We need to break this up. That cop has got his eye on us.” He looked down at Sandi. “I’m gonna go, but can I speak to you in private for a minute?”
She took a few steps away from the group. He followed. “I want you to know I intend to honor what the judge ordered. We won’t have any disputes over your coming out to visit Buster or taking him to spend time with you.”
Looking down, she nodded. She looked defeated and he hated knowing he had caused her to feel that way. Somehow, he had to compensate for her losing Buster. “I know he means a lot to you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody fight so hard for an animal.”
She looked up at him then. Her pretty green eyes held a glister of tears. She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s what I do.”
“Like your aunt said, that says something about your character.”
“I don’t know, maybe. Is that all?”
“Yes, ma’am. I guess it is. Except that I’d like to trade phone numbers with you. So we can get in touch with each other about visits. As you already know, I’m down in Salt Like during the week, but I’m usually up here in Midland on the weekends.”
She nodded and gave him her phone number and address. He did likewise.
“I’ll be wanting to buy some of your homemade dog food,” he said. “I’ve analyzed it and it’s nutritious stuff. I’m sure that by now, it’s an integral part of Buster’s diet. Probably why he looks so good and has so much energy. It’ll be good for the puppy, too.”
She shrugged again. “Just come into my store. It’s available every day.”
He touched his hat to her. “I’ll be seeing you then.” With nothing left to be said, he led Buster away.
***
As Edwina maneuvered herself into her Mustang with her spike heels and tight skirt, Debbie Sue agilely scooted into the passenger seat. “Ed, I thought I’d die when you slugged Sandi’s boyfriend. And with a cop only a dozen steps away. I could see myself having to call Buddy to get us out of jail.”
Edwina turned the key in the ignition and revved the Mustang’s big engine to life. “The sonofabitch had it coming. Everybody said so.”
“That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t get arrested.”
“Well, we didn’t.”
“I just hope Buddy doesn’t hear about us making a scene in front of the courthouse.”
Edwina pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the highway. “You’re too uptight about Buddy. No matter what happens, all you worry about is what Buddy is gonna think. You didn’t used to be like that.”
“He didn’t used to have the job he’s got now. How would it look if a Texas Ranger captain’s
