Page 31 of Hard Bounty

One Month Later

Mary stood beside John atop the mountain, overlooking the beautiful, tree-strewn valley below.

He squeezed her hand and said, “Right there. That’ll be where I build our home, Mrs. Hardin.”

She giggled, loving the sound of her new last name.

“Sure beats going to jail,” she said. “Or getting hanged!”

He chuckled. “I told you that you were never in danger of being hanged. Judge Parker is tough, but notthattough. You were just accused of aiding and abetting fugitives. But that’s all in the past now. You’re viewed by the court as a hero!”

Mary blushed.

John had testified as to how he was pinned down between two gunmen, about to take a body full of lead, when she’d rode a horse right into a hailstorm of bullets, rescuing him from sudden death.

Judge Parker had been mighty impressed. In his mind, that outweighed any misdeeds she’d done, as saving a Deputy United States Marshal was a major accomplishment.

All charges against her were dismissed.

“In fact,” John continued, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they write another dime novel about you. The story of how the Choctaw Rose saved a lawman! They’ll say you took on twenty outlaws, guns blazing, wiping out a whole gang of cutthroats all by yourself.”

She laughed. “It wasn’t quite that dramatic.”

He waved the notion off. “Eh. Those authors never get the facts right. But they get the spirit right, and I reckon that’s what counts.”

Mary was still smiling as her husband moved behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck as they continued to look out over the valley.

“You sure you’re okay, giving up the badge?” she asked.

“Better than okay. I’m with my little girl. That’s all that matters.” He pointed to the plot of ground beyond their lot. “Who knows. Maybe one day there will be a town here. A new settlement would need a marshal. Until then, I’ll be busy planting some crops and growing our herd. Of course, the first step is building us a house.”

She sighed wistfully. “We’ll do it all, John. Together.”

“Maybe soon we’ll have some young ‘uns running around.”

She giggled again. Something told her it would be sooner than he even thought. There were some signs that she was with child. But she’d save that news for later when she was for certain.

“We will,” she simply said. “And our descendants will be here long after we’re gone. We’ll build something together. Something that lasts.”

She was right.

Some of their descendants would go south, crossing the Red River, and settling in Texas where their great, great, great grandson, Dax Trevor, would become a Ranger and then, finally, the marshal of Mountainville.

Other descendants would stay around those beautiful hills until Indian Territory became the State of Oklahoma. Quinn Hardin would be the sheriff of Big Cedar.

But that was all well into the future. Right now, John and Mary had a life to build. And they were ready to get busy.

“Come on, my little Choctaw Rose. We’ve got work to do,” he said, scooping his bride into his arms. “I love you, little girl.”

“And I love you, too. Daddy.”

The End.

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