Maureen McKade by A Dime Novel Hero Page B

someone wanting to build his own reputation. Still, his decision to leave his gun behind told her he might be serious about staying in Chaney. The possibility that he’d be there permanently sent her heart into a stampede.
    “I guess the so-called wild West has been tamed,” Kit said softly. “Maybe someday guns will never be needed by anyone.”
    Jake shook his head. “There will always be violence. It’s just that it’ll take place in the cities instead of the frontier. You cram too many people in too small an area and tempers are bound to flare. It’s human nature.”
    Kit cocked her head, once again realizing how little she knew him. She had thought of him as being only a man of action, doing good deeds and dealing out justice to lawbreakers. She was learning there were many more facets to the man.
    Jake led them down the stairs to the boardwalk, which bustled with activity. People greeted Jake with a familiarity that told Kit he’d reacquainted himself with most everybody in town. As they passed one of the many saloons lining Main Street, the sound of men’s hoots and hollers and breaking furniture caught their attention.
    A moment later, a man came flying out of the saloon’s batwing doors and landed in the mud on the street below.Two burly men followed and pulled the fallen man to his feet. A few cowboys, beer in hand, stumbled out of the saloon to watch the fight.
    Disgusted by the drunken brawling, Kit tried to maneuver around the onlookers.
    “Show the breed he ain’t welcome here,” one of the men on the boardwalk called out.
    Kit halted and peered through the growing crowd at the man being beaten. “Ethan!” she called, recognizing his dark hair and jacket.
    The young man’s attention wavered from his attackers, and one of the men landed a solid blow to Ethan’s midsection.
    “Stop hurting him,” Johnny screamed.
    “Let him go,” Kit shouted, starting forward.
    Jake grabbed them to stop them from jumping into the fray. “Stay put, both of you.”
    Kit wrapped an arm around her son and bit her knuckles as Jake charged into the uneven fight.
    He jerked the biggest attacker away from Ethan, twisted him around, and punched him in the jaw. The man shook his head like an angered bull and charged Jake. He caught Jake around the chest with his trunk-sized arms and began to squeeze. Jake butted the man beneath the chin. The man’s head snapped upward and he stumbled back. Taking advantage of his opponent’s weakness, Jake drove his fist into his face, felling him like an oak tree.
    Ethan lay on the ground as the other man raised his boot to kick him in the ribs. Jake grabbed the bully’s leg and shoved him back. The man’s head hit the edge of the boardwalk with an audible thud, and he lay on the ground unconscious.
    The crowd booed but began to disperse, shaking their heads.
    Kit and Johnny hurried to Ethan’s side, and Kit knelt beside him. “Are you all right?”
    Blood dripped from Ethan’s nose and from a corner of his mouth. He nodded and grimaced as Kit helped him to a sitting position.
    Johnny placed his small hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Why’d those men hurt you?”
    Jake hunkered down beside Kit. “Because they’re ignorant fools,” he stated forcefully. He laid a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”
    Ethan sent Jake a guarded nod. “I guess I owe you one, Cordell.”
    “You don’t owe me anything. I never could abide bullies,” Jake said, helping Ethan to his feet.
    Kit glanced at Jake, startled to see the anger darkening his expression. “Thank you.”
    Patrick crossed the street. “What’s goin’ on here?”
    “You’ve got a couple of overnight guests,” Jake said. He pointed to the unconscious cowhands. “They assaulted Ethan.”
    “Let ’em go,” Ethan muttered.
    “No,” Kit argued. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “Those men broke the law,” Jake added. “They should be tried in court.”
    Ethan smiled humorlessly.