EPILOGUE

Despite Duke’s urging, Ben decided not to accompany him back to Fort Worth. He had already said his goodbyes before leaving on the ill-fated trip to Austin, and he was now more anxious than ever to get home to Aberdene. If he had learned anything for certain, it was that he had no business being in a big city.

His thoughts had begun to turn to the farm and his dog, Poncho, and how his deputy, Rolly Blair, had fared in his absence. He was strongly considering offering him the job permanently. Maybe he would raise a few goats himself in honor of Sheriff Langston.

He felt a twinge of guilt at not staying to attend the funeral but decided he’d rather remember his friend as he was in life. When Duke was climbing into the buggy to leave the Shooting Star, Ben pulled the sheriff’s badge from his pocket and requested that it be placed in Langston’s casket.

The following morning, as he and Dolly made their way into the open range, he reflected on the people who had recently come into his life, not Colonel Abernathy and his kind, but those for whom he had developed strong feelings. Duke, with his cranky wit and kindheartedness, would be impossible to forget. Same with the fancy-talking Shelby Profer; innocent young Lanny, who had once saved his life; and Anson Kelly, whom he judged to be a better lawman than he could ever be.

He was pleased that he had rekindled his friendship with John Rawlings and gotten to know little Alton, who he was sure would grow up to be a good master for Too.

And, of course, there was Mandy. He needed only to close his eyes to see her face, to again feel her close to him on that summer evening when they had danced. He reached to touch the pocket where he carried her letter.

That, too, would have to be enough.