The Lawman

Chapter Seventeen

In the morning Decker entered Juanita’s room but decided not to wake her. He leaned over, kissed her on the forehead and left.

“She will be very angry with you,” Paco said as he came downstairs.

“Tell her I couldn’t bear to wake her.”

“I will tell her.”

The place looked considerably cleaner since Decker had swept out all the wreckage and righted the tables. He had even thrown out the batch of food that had been mixed with the ground glass and cleaned out the pot.

Decker went to the livery, collected his horse and paid the kid.

“Oh no, señor. The sheriff he say—”

“Keep it, son.”

“Gracias, señor.”

Decker mounted up and rode out of town—whatever the hell name they were going to pin on it next—and his only regret about his decision to leave it behind him and never return was the disappointment that would cause Juanita.

Still, the whole town made him sick because he knew that the next gunman or bandido who came along with a few men to back him up could have the town for the asking.

They deserved whatever they got.