by Joe Slade
‘Or it’ll put an end to me.’
Ben grasped his shoulder. ‘You’re not the scared kid you were when you left. Go down there and show them you won’t take any shit. Most bullies are cowards underneath.’
‘Thanks, Ben.’ They shook hands. ‘You’ll look out for Maggie and Doc and Leo while I’m gone.’
Ben laughed at the notion. ‘You worry about taking care of your ma. Everything else’ll take care of itself.’
Rick finished packing the last of his belongings into an old carpetbag and took one last look around his hotel room. He wouldn’t miss the accommodations, especially the lumpy bed, and the closet door that hung open no matter how hard you slammed it. Nevertheless, he hesitated, reluctant to leave. His hand was already on the knob and a light knock at the door was the spur he needed to make the move.
‘Hello, Rick,’ Maggie said, when he opened the door. She pointed to the bag in his hand. ‘Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?’
Ben. He should have known the old lawman wouldn’t let him take the easy way out.
‘Can I come in?’ When he hesitated, she added, ‘The train doesn’t leave for an hour.’
He stepped aside and she went to the window and sat down uneasily on the ladder-back chair beside the washstand. She was on the mend but he knew a cracked rib was still bothering her. No doubt Doc was somewhere around, keeping an eye on her.
Several times she seemed about to speak but gradually an awkward silence settled in.
‘Good news about your father’s will,’ he said to break the deadlock. ‘You must be relieved it’s all over.’
‘Not over, but getting there. My father’s affidavit and your statement that Frank told you who I was have smoothed things along.’
‘I hear you asked Archie to run the business side of things for you.’
She turned to look him dead in the eye. ‘I’m not here to talk about that. Why wouldn’t you tell me you were leaving?’
The question had been inevitable but it didn’t make his answer any easier. ‘You said it yourself, I’m a yellow son-of-a-bitch,’ he said, choosing the easy way out.
Sometimes she was hard to read behind the scars and the eye patch but that she didn’t believe him was obvious.
‘Look, my ma needs me more than you do. You’re back where you belong.’ It seemed that now he had started he couldn’t stop. ‘You’re rich. You don’t need me hanging around. Who knows, maybe things’ll work out between you and doc if I’m not here.’
She looked bemused.
‘You know he’s in love with you, don’t you?’
She chuckled. ‘Rick, making me laugh won’t make this any easier.’
He shrugged. What happened between them was none of his business. ‘I’m leaving, Maggie, and nothing you can say is going to change that.’
‘I didn’t come here to stop you.’ She threw up her hands, reminiscent of something Doc would do. ‘Hell, after everything that’s happened, I’m surprised you stuck around as long as you did. I came to ask for a favor.’
‘Ask.’
‘Leo wants to go with you. Will you take him?’
‘You know I could be heading into trouble, don’t you?’
‘Ben said as much but Leo wants to go with you anyway. We all know he’d never be happy here. He loves wide open spaces and horses, and you’re like a big brother to him.’ She sighed with regret. ‘He’s almost a man and Doc and me aren’t his ma and pa. If he wants to go, there’s not much we can do about it. Will you take him along?’
‘Be glad to. He’s a good kid and my ma’ll treat him like he was her own.’
‘Good. I’ll pay his keep until he’s earning his own way. He’s waiting for you at the station. I already bought his ticket and gave him some travelling money.’ She turned away and stared out the window. ‘You should probably get going. I think I’ll sit here for a while and rest. I’ve already said my goodbyes.’
Sitting in the hotel lobby reading a copy of the Flamstead Junction Chronicle, Doc waited for Rick to leave. He folded his paper and left it at the front desk then headed upstairs. Maggie was sitting by the window, looking out onto the street.
‘He agreed?’
She nodded. ‘I hate this town. It’s not my home.’
She wouldn’t say it, but Doc knew she was hurting. Even he had to admit that the loss of two good friends saddened him more than he expected.
He squeezed her shoulder. ‘You don’t need to stay here with Cavanaugh taking care of business. Leave. Go someplace you’ve always wanted to go.’
‘You’d pack up and leave, just like that?’
There was something quizzical about the way she looked at him.
‘What about your new practice?’
He shrugged. ‘I can be busy anywhere.’
‘What about Martha? You two have been getting quite close and you make one hell of a team. Don’t you want to see where it could lead?’
The revelation caught him off guard and Doc didn’t answer immediately. Martha was a good woman, no doubt. As a nurse, she was indispensable. Her cooking was the best he had ever tasted. And she wasn’t afraid of his moods. Any man would be lucky to have her as his wife. Any man but him. She deserved someone who would give himself to her heart and soul. Doc knew, that in his case, those already belonged to Maggie.
‘I’m not the marrying kind,’ he said, ‘and Martha wouldn’t settle for less.’
Maggie stood up and hooked her arm around his, pressing in close against him. ‘Then it’s still you and me against the world. Where shall we go?’
It didn’t really matter, as long as he was with her.
As they left the hotel, arm in arm, glass smashed as a drunk hurtled through a window of the Fool’s Gold saloon. Doc’s steps faltered until the miscreant picked himself up and threw himself through the split doors to a rowdy reception.
‘I think we should go somewhere quiet,’ he said, as they walked on.
About the Author
Joe Slade is a pseudonym of multi-published author Joanne Walpole. Joanne’s first western was published in 2005, after friends badgered her in to sending it off to a publisher. To her surprise, it was accepted immediately and since then she has written five more westerns, one civil war drama and a collection of contemporary shorts published under her own name and the better known pen-name of Terry James.
Joanne holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and, after working for many years in the print/packaging industry and then in further education, now works part-time to achieve a better work-life balance. She is happily married to Terry and lives in central England. Her hobbies include reading, walking, current affairs and, of course, writing westerns.
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