Page 102 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

I raised my head, and my eyes met Buck’s. “Take it easy, little brother,” I heard him say, his words trailing off as though I was suddenly being transported back in time to when I was a kid no older than seven to Porter’s nine and Buck’s eleven.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the memory that played in my head like a movie reel. Buck and Porter had walked into the room just as I jumped between my dad and mother, taking the backhand intended for her. I couldn’t recall the pain of his strike, only rage.

Hitting me instead of her had stunned him long enough that, when I lunged, screaming and clawing at him, he was too slow to react. Before he could, Buck and Porter had pulled me off him and dragged me out of the room, leaving our mother alone with him.

“We need to get help!”Buck shouted at Porter and me. The two took off running, but I couldn’t. I froze, listening to the sound of fists hitting flesh.

The very next thing I heard, a gunshot, sent shock waves through my body. I raced into the house,knowing that if my father had killed my mom, he’d be the next to die.

Instead, I saw my mother standing on the other side of the room, holding a gun. My father was lying on the floor, blood seeping from his arm, and a man I didn’t recognize was crouched over him.

“Get the boy out of here!”he shouted.

“You can’t let him die,” my mother yelled at him.

“I know that.Now go!” he bellowed.

In the split second before my mother dropped the gun, lifted me into her arms, and carried me out of the room, my gaze met the man’s.

“Who was that?” I asked once we were in her bedroom with the door shut and locked.

“That’s not important, sweetheart.” She sat on the bed and drew me closer, her shaking hands grasping my upper arms. “Cord, I need you to listen to me.”

I nodded.

“What happened tonight…You can never tell anyone. Do you understand me?”

“Is he dead?” I asked.

She shook her head, but her eyes didn’t waiver from mine. “Your father is going to be fine. It was all an accident. No one needs to know about it.”

My lips trembled, and my eyes filled with tears. “He was going to hit you.”

My mother cupped my cheek. “And you, my brave, sweet boy, tried to protect me. Now, I need you to protect me again. Can you do that? Can you keep what happened between us our secret?”

“We need to leave, Mama. He’s going to hurt you again.”

She shook her head a second time. “He won’t. Everything will be taken care of. I promise. I just need you to promise something to me.”

“Don’t tell.”

“That’s right, sweet Cordero. And one day, a long, long time from now, I pray when you learn about the decisions I made, you can understand why”—her voice got shaky—“and forgive me.”

When I opened my eyes, the first person I saw was Porter. He was seated at the same table I was, with his head hung.

My eyes met Buck’s, and his brow furrowed.

“Mom wanted me to forgive her.”

“For what?” Buck asked.

“For protecting you.”

“For protecting me? When did she ever do that? Do you call what she’s doing now protecting us? It’s all a fucking game, Cord. Just like it’s always been. Face it, our parents—both of them—were fucked up until the day they died.” When he got up from the table and walked to the door, I stood too.

“Let him go,” said Decker.

I ignored him.

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