He seemed ill. His tongue was all swole up and hung out the side of his mouth like it was too big to fit. Apart from mating, bulls don’t generally rear up on their hind legs like a stallion, but this one tried to do just that. The effort made him fall to the ground, where he rolled around in a dusty panic until he shakily got to his feet. His muscles trembled and twitched, as if he’d experienced a sudden tremor. Then he lowered his head and charged sideways, and gored Scarlett’s corpse.

Monique screamed.

In all my time around cattle, I’d never seen a bull act like this. He was crazed, seemed possessed by the devil. When he raised his head, I saw why: foam was drippin’ from his mouth.

“What is that?” Phoebe whispered.

“Hydrophobia,” I said.

In the mountains, on the plains, and especially in the woods, I’d seen Rose do a hundred things no one else could do. I’d trust her to survive a winter in the wilderness ahead of any trapper or mountain man. But she and I both knew she weren’t gonna talk this bull down. It was gonna charge, no two ways about it.

I could only think of one thing to do, and it wasn’t gonna work. But I had to do somethin’. I jumped into the wagon, hopin’ not to distract the bull ’til I could punish him for bein’ distracted. I stood on the seat next to Phoebe so I could squeeze off a shot from the highest possible angle.

I raised my rifle to my cheek.

Rose turned her head and gave me a look that weren’t fright, but it weren’t confidence, neither. She seemed confounded, like for the first time since I’d known her, she’d didn’t have a solution for the problem. She shifted her gaze behind me, as if somethin’ was approachin’ from the rear. So intense was her look, I turned my head for a split second, to see if Hannah was back there.

But I saw nothin’.

The bull snorted, and pawed the ground again. Behind me, Major whinnied.

Rose locked her eyes on mine and set her jaw. Rose ain’t the type that needs to rely on anyone else, but now, seconds away from death, I felt like, for once, she was relyin’ on me.

You don’t bring down a crazed Longhorn bull with a single shot, and there wouldn’t be time for two. My only chance was to hit him in such a manner that Rose could get out of the way when he charged.

And that didn’t seem possible.

Unless…

I’ve shot some buffalo in my day, and bear, too. And I learned there’s only one shot that can stop ’em in their tracks.

The heart shot.

Like a buffalo, a bear’s heart is big, but well-protected by its shoulder and leg. You can’t shoot low, or forward, or you’ll have a wounded, angry bear to deal with. I ’spect Texas Longhorn bulls are built similar to buffalo and bears, and would be just as surly if shot poorly.