By the time Kevin arrived back at his house, Allen had already heard about the showdown. Bo had called ahead as a courtesy, apologizing for what he called “a barnyard squabble.”
Waiting impatiently on the back porch for Kevin to arrive, Allen explained again to Jane what the rancher had told him. As Kevin neared the fence, his mother could barely contain her worry. She started across the porch to assess her son’s damage, but Allen held her back: “You can’t treat him like that. You’ll make him feel like a little boy, and he is no longer one.”
Allen knew she saw the wisdom in this, though she maybe didn’t like it much. To her credit, she managed to keep her fussing to a bare minimum when Kevin hit the porch with a swollen eye, but broader shoulders. Allen noticed a difference in his son’s walk—he stood taller, his shoulders wider, a swagger now evident.
Now that’s the walk of a confident man, the proud father thought. He knew his son had just taken a huge step in the direction of manhood today. Instinctively, Allen wanted so desperately to hear every detail of the fight. But he knew now wasn’t the right time, if ever. Working his demeanor into one of authority, he set aside the morbid curiosity that goes with such an event and approached his son.