The children collected as they watched the man enter on his palomino stallion. The men commented on his perfect handling of the animal, while the women swooned.
He dismounted as he neared the crowds, leading the horse by its reins.
John stepped out of the crowd, a greeting and warning both.
The man halted, and tipped his ten-gallon hat so that the women could see his sky blue eyes. A whisper went through the crowd.
"Sir?" he asked.
He was barely out of adolescence, and yet, he had a deep rich, southern accent.
John responded with a simple hello, asked where he was staying and the like.
They were civil, but barely just.
The mans eyes shone with arrogance, and he was scanning the crowds over Johns shoulder.
John and the man finished speaking, and the stranger carried on his trip down the line.
He halted when he found himself standing no less than a foot from Maria.
She blushed under his hardened gaze, looking down while her friends looked on in envy.
"Well, well now, what have we here?"