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“The Green boys flew out of the snake barn, and after them, Sistine and Atta. The girls jumped in the truck, which was still being hit by wild bison, not cattle as Pappy first thought, and when the ladies could, they took off. Even though Pappy couldn’t see through the wooden barn walls, he knew something bad had happened.

Bad things were what that barn stood for. ”

Jack grew quiet.

In his silence, my veins swelled with heat, but my muscles tightened with ice. Sistine was a virgin, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to assault. If she had been fucking led by her hair those dead men could have been fucking with my wife—the bison had stopped what was going to happen.

The cup in my hand cracked. The ceramic was cold and sharp and the contents warm.

Jack seemed to be lost to his thoughts. “The timing of the bison… As Mrs. Hannah is known to say… You take care of nature. Nature will take care of you. That’s what old Pappy said about that night…the timing of the stampede, you know…” His voice trailed.

“The snake barn.” This from Angelo, reminding Jack we needed more on it.

“It’s full of ’em. Snakes, I mean. Brought in by Rattler.

He has a sick infatuation with fangs. Things that go bump in the night.

He set a few loose in this place over the years as a threat.

I suppose he’ll be back, since he’s in town.

After the Green sons left the ranch, the cattle farm survived, but it wasn’t nearly as profitable as it is now.

Now they have the money to expand. My land is between theirs and the Watt farm.

He’s already approached me. Now that the Watts are struggling, or were, Rattler is sniffin’ around. He doesn’t like being told no.”

“No.” The world purposely left my mouth.

“Are you men up for a ride?” Jack asked.

“I need to show you all something. Something that might help explain things. Some people need to see as well as hear.” He cleared his throat.

“No one ever spoke of what happened that night in the snake barn. Pappy died a few days later, and when I asked Atta about it, she told me it wasn’t them in the barn. ”

“She did not tell the truth,” Angelo said.

“Who would when Rattler probably threatened her?” Jack set his empty cup down.

“This wasn’t long after Bear, his father and brothers, were killed in the accident.

My bet would be Rattler threatened Ty. None of us ’round here could stand against them.

Only the Sheriff, and he operates tightly when it comes to laws.

The Green family never leaves enough evidence.

You can smell their stink from a million miles away, but they never leave a solid crap mark. ”

“People who lie are people who are afraid,” I said. “Very little frightens Sistine.” My wife. I rolled my teeth over my lip and then rolled my shoulders. I could barely contain the rage inside of me.

“Ready for that ride?” Jack asked. “I must warn you men. What’s inside of this other place is as ugly as what exists inside the snake barn. Whatever the Green family touch, it turns venomous.”

Jack’s chair scrapped against the floor. Dolly howled before flapping her ears and jumping from the sofa. Jack said he’d meet us outside, nature called before the ride.

I turned toward the door, Angelo and Marciano rising from their seats. The envelope was still on the table. I ordered my brother and cousin to go ahead of me. By the time I got to the table and picked up the envelope, Jack was back, Dolly on his heels.

“That’s for you,” he said. “Was going to give it to you after the ride, before we parted. Have you seen the woman who was killed after that night? The one they found frozen in the snow with snake bites on her feet?”

I shook my head.

He nodded toward the envelope. “Might want to take a look to see what we’re dealing with here.”

The picture of the dead woman, while she was still alive, slid out, along with the article on her death.

My hands trembled—not from fear but from pure rage.

The woman was looking at the camera, and even though there were differences, she reminded me of my wife: her coloring, her hair, that show of defiance in her eyes, which turned into a light that was brighter than the sun when she smiled.

“Yeah.” Jack’s voice was quiet. “That’s what I thought too. Your lady, Sistine, her eyes say it all. She has fire in her veins. Ms. Atta too. But that woman doesn’t resemble Atta.”

I understood what he was saying right away. The defiance in my wife’s eyes had probably cut Rattler down to size. He couldn’t stand not being able to break her.

In all certainty, in all truth, I knew my wife had stood up to him.

Atta had a lot to lose—she had just lost her father, grandfather and uncles.

Rattler was probably threatening her brother.

And since the bison had stopped him from killing my wife, he took his rage out on a woman who resembled her, the sick fuck.

The snakes.

It was all clear. The fear my wife had buried deep inside, but had automatically slipped out.

The only reason I didn’t explode was because I had something more important to do.

My eyes rose to meet Jack’s. He shivered, took a step back. I spoke to him, and he cleared his throat and lifted his hands.

“I beg your pardon,” he said, “but I don’t have the language. English is all I know.”

Two words automatically left my mouth, in English this time. “Show me.” I walked out.