* * *
“You’re just the man I want to see right now,” U.S. Marshal Daniel Stone declared when Will walked into his office. “When did you get in?”
“About a half hour ago,” Will said. “I brought Ike Skinner in.”
“Good,” Stone said, then quickly changed the subject, obviously not interested in details of the arrest of Ike. “I might need to send you out again right away, but I won’t be sure till I hear something more from the marshal’s office in Missouri. How soon can you be ready to ride? I know you just got in and you’d probably like to catch a few days in town.”
“Well, I’d like to rest my horse,” Will said. “In the mornin’, I reckon.”
Stone couldn’t help but laugh. “That long, huh? Tell you what, come back tomorrow morning and maybe I’ll know if we’re gonna be called on to help the Missouri office out.”
* * *
There were a lot of thoughts running through Will’s mind as he walked toward Bennett House, as Ruth liked to call her boardinghouse. Most of these thoughts circled around Ruth’s daughter, Sophie, and the fact that he never seemed to be in town for any length of time. He had not been around for any of the wedding plans, a fact that made him just as happy, but it seemed to irritate Sophie more and more. He had always thought that planning a wedding was usually the bride’s job, with little or no help from the groom. He figured he was like most men, preferring to just have a preacher tie the knot and be done with it.
Walking past the Morning Glory Saloon, he paused and looked at his watch. They would most likely be finished with supper at the boardinghouse by now and probably cleaning up the dishes. If he went home now, he was sure Sophie would insist that he should eat, and he didn’t want to cause her the trouble of fixing anything. He hesitated a moment longer, then decided to get something in the Morning Glory.
“Well, howdy, Will,” Gus Johnson greeted him from behind the bar. “I see you’re back in town.”
“You don’t miss a trick, do ya, Gus?” Will japed. “You think Mammy might have anything left for supper?”
“She usually does when she knows it’s you that’s wantin’ it,” a voice declared over his shoulder.
Recognizing the husky tone of Lucy Tyler, Will turned to say hello. “How you doin’, Lucy?”
“I’ve been better,” the prostitute replied. “Ain’t seen you in a while. You been outta town, or have you just given up associatin’ with the common folk?”
“I’ve been outta town,” he answered.
“Will’s wantin’ some supper,” Gus said, and winked at Lucy. “I’ll go see.” He walked over to the kitchen door and stood just outside it. “Hey, Mammy, somebody’s wantin’ some supper. Is it too late to get a plate?” He turned back toward Will and Lucy, a wide grin plastered across his face, and waited for the expected response.
“Hell, yes, it’s too damn late!” the scrawny little woman screamed back. “I’m already cleanin’ up my kitchen.” Gus remained by the door and waited, still grinning. After a long moment, another screech came from the kitchen. “Who is it wantin’ to eat?”
“Will Tanner,” Gus answered, trying to keep from chuckling. “I’ll tell him it’s too late.” He walked back to the bar.
In a moment, Mammy appeared in the doorway and craned her skinny neck toward them to make sure it was Will. When she saw him, she stuck her lower lip out and blew a thin strand of gray hair from in front of her eyes. “I’ve still got some soup beans and a chunk of ham. There’s a couple of biscuits to go with it. It’ll keep you from starvin’, I reckon.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Will said. “I surely would appreciate it.”
When Mammy went back inside, Gus shook his head and marveled, “Ain’t nobody else in this town Mammy would do that for. Beats all I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe that’s the reason you don’t ever wanna go upstairs with me,” Lucy joked. “Maybe it ain’t that little gal at the boardin’house who’s got you buffaloed. Maybe all this time it was Mammy.”
“Could be, at that,” Will pretended to admit. “Most likely I remind her of her son, if she ever had one.” He hesitated to continue with what he started to admit, but decided they would know sooner or later. “You might as well know, I’m supposed to get married around Christmastime.”
They were both surprised, Lucy more so than Gus. “Well, I’ll be damned . . .” she drew out. “That little gal at the boardin’house, right?” She didn’t wait for Will to answer. “I knew that was bound to happen. Did you ask her, or was it her idea?”
“Of course I asked her,” Will replied. “At least, I think I did.” When confronted with the question, he wasn’t sure now.
Lucy continued to stare at him in surprise, finding it hard to believe. She somehow never expected Will Tanner to get married. He seemed to have been bred a loner. Finally, she congratulated him and wished him a long and happy marriage. Then she returned to her teasing. “Christmas, huh? Well, I reckon me and Gus are gonna be invited to the wedding.”
“Right now, I ain’t sure I’m on the invitation list,” Will said. The japing was cut short when Mammy came from the kitchen and placed a plate of food on one of the tables. Already sorry he had confessed to his impending trip to the altar, he quickly retreated to eat his supper.
Blood for Blood Page 23
