Ryder and Bad Squirrel grew up on opposite sides of the same crooked family tree. Bad was always looking for trouble; Ryder preferred letting trouble come charging out of a gate beneath him. He learned to ride bulls at backwoods rodeos scattered through the Ozarks, collecting busted ribs, silver buckles, and unpaid bar tabs from every county that would still let him compete. That black hat once belonged to a circuit judge. Ryder claims he won it fairly, though the judge remembers the card game differently.

He joined the Norfork Outlaws after Bad Squirrel wagered the gang’s beer money that his cousin could stay aboard the meanest bull in Baxter County. Ryder made the whistle, collected the purse, and disappeared before anyone discovered the bull had been borrowed from the sheriff’s ranch. Now he rides under the Outlaws’ colors with a bull rope in one paw and a Rough Ryder in the other. Around Norfork, they say Ryder can’t resist a dangerous ride, a crooked bet, or the chance to leave town five minutes before the law arrives.