Abruptly Nathan stopped talking and his eyes fixed on the ground. His face paled. Kyle followed the direction of his gaze. A big rattlesnake slid out of a nearby saltbush and slithered toward them, each sinuous movement controlled and deadly. It moved with deceptive speed, covering six feet of open ground in a heartbeat. Almost to the table, it stopped, raised its head and stared at Kyle, forked tongue darting nervously. For a moment they locked eyes. Then the snake turned its head toward Nathan. The man gasped and the snake drew back.

In that instant of distraction, Kyle reached out, trapping the snake's head firmly but gently between his forefinger and thumb. With a heave, he tossed it back into the brush, where it slithered deeper into the shadows and disappeared. "Need to teach that snake some table manners, Joe."

"He's kinda slow up here." Joe tapped his temple with his finger. "You'd think by now he'd know that anything around here fit to eat, I've already et."

Author Bio

Read a Review