A Rancher's Pride(63)

“It’s about time we had a talk.”

“Got nothing to say to you, Sam.”

“Well, I’ve got something to say to you.”

Porter’s hands closed into fists.

Kayla yanked the door handle and pushed so hard that when the door flew open, she nearly tumbled to the ground.

“Sam.” She hurried over to him.

He put out a hand to stop her and said to the other man, “About that dog out there by my truck.”

Porter looked over at the puppy and laughed. “Can’t complain about the mutt now. He’s on my land, not yours. Which reminds me, I thought you swore never to set foot on this property again.”

“You thought wrong. I swore only one thing when it came to you, and you know what that was.”

“Yeah.” Porter nodded.

“I kept your secret all these years. But I hear you’re not so good about keeping your mouth shut.”

Kayla edged forward, holding her breath. What did that mean?

Porter laughed. “Well, you know how it is when a man gets a little too much drink in him.”

“I know when a boy does it,” Sam corrected.

Porter ignored that. “So, who told you? Ellamae, our esteemed town clerk and town crier?”

“The judge.”

Kayla frowned. When had he been talking to the judge? And what else had they discussed? She pushed the questions away. She would deal with them later. Right now, she needed to focus on this conversation.

“You’ve been nothing but pond scum, Porter, ever since that day in your daddy’s barn. Maybe even before.” Sam stepped forward. “I think you owe me. And I think we ought to settle things right now. Nothing’s going to pay me back for what I did for you. But give me the mutt, and we’ll call it even.”

“What?” The man’s tone said clearly that he thought Sam was out of his mind.

Kayla had once thought so, too. She clasped her hands together, fighting to hold on to her emotions.

“I don’t like you much,” Sam said, his voice calm and steady.

She could hear the venom in his tone, but she never once felt the need to move away. Becky was safe. Sam wouldn’t hurt that man.

“My daughter’s taken a liking to your dog,” he continued. “Let me have the pup, and we’ll keep our past where it belongs.”

Shrugging, Porter shifted his gaze away from them. “Sure, Sam. Take the mutt with you right now.”

Sam turned, waving Kayla ahead of him.

Becky was all smiles when he let Pirate jump into the back of the truck again.

“Sam—” Kayla began.

“Wait till we get away from this scum,” he said tersely.

Not until Porter’s house was merely a speck in her side-view mirror did Sam say another word. As he spoke, he turned his head to look at her. “Did you think I was going to hit Porter?”

“No,” she said immediately. And truthfully. “Now who’s jumping to conclusions? That wasn’t about protecting Becky. I knew you wouldn’t touch him. But after what happened outside the barbershop that day, I was afraid he might hit you.”

He looked away again, nodding, but said nothing.

She took a deep breath. “I am confused, though. What was all that about Judge Baylor?”

Sam’s laugh sounded bitter. “He told me he’d been at one of our local saloons a long while back and had come across Porter there. The man started talking and never stopped.”

“About that night?”

“Yep.”

“And he was under the influence?”

“I believe so. Though, it might’ve been just the judge’s influence.” He shook his head. “That man’s got a way of getting things out of a person that they don’t even know are in them.”

Kayla felt a chill, and not just from the breeze coming in the window she had forgotten to close. “When did you and the judge talk about all this?” she asked in what she hoped was a casual tone.

“Last week. I ran across him when I went in to the feed store.”

What else had they talked about?

Kayla wanted desperately to know. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to ask the question. She came up with another one instead. “What exactly did Porter tell the judge?”

“It was more like the judge told him.” He said nothing else. They’d reached the road to the house. He drove along silently and parked the truck in its usual spot near the barn.