WHILE EVERYONE ELSE’S eyes were fixated on the man Gary Trilling had punched in the face, the other
redneck, Cauliflower Ear, rushed forward with a pool cue in his hand. He took a wild horizontal swing that Rob
Trilling easily ducked.
I, on the other hand, was paying more attention to the people at the end of the bar. I didn’t duck or move. It was pure
luck that the end of the pool cue missed my head. I could feel the breeze blow past my ear. Something about that
made me angry. The idea that I could be hit in the head with a weapon when I wasn’t a threat at all pissed me off.
Rob Trilling didn’t waste the opportunity. He flung a high kick into the face of Crooked Nose, who stumbled back
and then dropped onto the floor.
Cauliflower Ear swung again, and Trilling st epped out of the way. It was like he knew what was coming before his
opponent did anything.
The couple at the end of the bar had barely moved. Considering there was a fight going on a few feet away, I found
their lack of engagement suspicious.
Rob Trilling was now backing away, intentionally pulling the guy with the pool cue out of our range. It was
masterful. The guy followed him like a puppy until the two of them were in the short hallway that led to the
restrooms. Now Cauliflower Ear didn’t have room to swing his pool cue. I noticed Trilling’s little smile as the man
realized he had fallen into a trap.
Trilling raised his left hand high. As soon as Cauliflower Ear’s eyes looked toward his hand, Trilling delivered a
devastating kick to the man’s solar plexus. The redneck flew back like he’d been caught in an explosion.
That’s when the couple from the end of the bar moved quickly toward us. I was ready. I shoved Gary away from
me, and he managed to drag
Cindy with him. The man had something in his hand that he swung at my head. I leaned back hard against the bar
and saw that he was holding a leather-bound blackjack—heavy lead wrapped in a handle and covered with leather.
Were those legal out here?
I wasn’t about to let this guy take another swipe at me. I moved my right hand, still holding my beer mug, and
smashed it right across his face. That took him out, but then the woman caught me with a left fist on the side of the
head. I stumbled awkwardly and fell between two stools. When she st epped around to finish me, I was able to kick a
barstool in front of her to slow her down.
I was startled by a pool cue smashing down on the bar between the woman and me. Had the rednecks broken free?
Were they coming to help these two? I was relieved to look up and see Rob Trilling holding the pool cue. Both of
the rednecks were lying on the floor, moaning and bleeding.
The woman froze in place. Her eyes cut over to Trilling.
Trilling said in a very even voice, “Ma’am, I recommend you take your partner and run, don’t walk, out of this bar.”
I watched her think about it for a moment. Then, without saying a word, she took a few st eps back and helped her
partner from the floor. She glanced over at the rednecks, who were trying to pull themselves up using a pool table.
She didn’t wait for them to regain their footing. She grabbed her injured partner and helped him out the front door.
I turned to our group and said, “Looks like it’s about time for us to hit the road. Let’s head back to the car lot. We
can drop Cindy on the way.”
Cindy spoke up. “You don’t have to drop me off,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’ll come with you guys.”
I looked over at the bartender, who had suddenly reappeared. I slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the bar. “That should
cover the beer mug I broke. All the other damages are on those two.” I pointed at the rednecks by the pool tables.
“The fact that you didn’t bother to call the local authorities or even try to stop this in any way makes me think you
might have been in volved.
Maybe we’ll do something about that later.”
The bartender didn’t answer. That told me everything I needed to know.