Romance in a Ghost Town

by Robert P McAuley

  “Oh,” he said trying not to show his hurt feelings, “I see. Well, New York is a great place to be for the holidays.”

  She blew out through pursed lips and added with a grimace, “And Tom Madern is going as well.”

  “The weather man?” said Bob quickly, “How come?”

  “Well, at the time it seemed like a good idea. He’s going to study under one of the top newscasters. The New York Company likes his style and thinks he could be their Bransville anchor.”

  Bob rubbed his temples and said, “Well, whatever.” He looked at her and said, “When do you leave?”

  “The day after tomorrow.”

  He sat back, “Boy, short notice.”

  “Well, like you say, ‘In a New York Minute’.”

  “Yeah…that’s what they say.” He looked at his watch and said, “If I get some sleep now, I can leave tomorrow morning and be in Bransville by lunchtime. Give me a clue.”

  She shook her head, no, and said, “I’ll be shopping and packing in between meeting with the newspaper and television studio. It would just tease me when I see you that I can’t be with you.” She smiled and went on, “We can still Skype, though.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It just won’t be the same.”

  “Listen,” she said leaning close to the screen, “I told Tom that whatever we had was over. I mean it. Now, go get some sleep, sweetie,” she blew him a kiss. He did the same and killed the connection.

  That was the first time since he’d been in Nevada that Bob McKillop didn’t sleep well, but at least it wasn’t because of ‘the dream’ he thought over his morning coffee. He saw her skirt folded across the chair and grinned as he consoled himself, well I know she’ll be back.

  10

  Samson and The Answer To The Puzzle

  Bob worked at a steady pace on the town laying down the new sidewalks, and was just finished as Edward’s Jeep SUV entered town blowing its horn.

  The New Yorker came out of the Community Hall with a big smile as the car stopped in a cloud of sand. “Hey, you two. Great seeing you.”

  Katey opened the car door and stepped down looking around, her face lit up with a huge grin. In her arms was a small, black, white and tan Beagle puppy, which she handed to Bob as she said, “Oh my Lord.” She hugged him in the middle of Main Street as she went on, “This is great! Lord, it looks like it was built yesterday!” She winked and added, “I’ll bet you anything that Jim Bensen didn’t understand what he had here. Them rich guys never do.”

  “Honey,” quipped Edward as he closed his door and put his hat on, “You are talking to a rich man, there.”

  She quickly covered her mouth and said apologetically, “Oh, Bob, I never meant you. You’re different, not like Jim at all.”

  Bob grinned and shook his head, “No offence taken at all, Katey. I just haven’t had enough time to get used to it yet.” He put his hand out and shook hands with Edward. “How’s it going with you, Ed?”

  “Just fine, buddy. Just fine.” He looked around as though there were others listening and said in a stage whisper, “Join me in a cold brew, partner?”

  “You bet. Lets bring them up to the house.”

  “The house?” Katey asked as she shielded her eyes from the beating sun, “You staked yourself out a house here?”

  “Sure,” said Bob pointing towards the hardware store, “Right behind Jax Hardware. Wait till you see it.”

  He tried to hand the puppy back to Katey and she looked at it then at Bob and said, “He’s for you! You can’t stay out here all alone. A man needs a dog to keep him warm at night. Besides, if there’s a snake nearby, he’ll know it long before you will and his growl will let you know.”

  “B-But, a dog? I-I never had one. What do I do with him?”

  “You feed him and he’ll love you for it. Best make sure there’s plenty of water in his bowl in this heat.” She looked at him and then said, “Why not put him down and let him get the feel of the town?”

  Bob put him down and watched as the pup used a hitching post as a bathroom and trotted after them.”

  “Well, what’s his name?”

  “Your call,” she answered back.

  Shaking his head he led the way as Edward pulled his SUV to the side of the street, grabbed a small cooler from the rear and followed them.

  “Hey, partner,” Edward said as he caught up with Bob, ”I brought you a few surprises: Two coolers full of food, another packed with ice and a vacuum cleaner.”

  “A vacuum cleaner?” said Bob. “Never thought of bringing one of them along. I’m paying for them, though.”

  “No way, partner! They’re house warming gifts.”

  “The dog too?”

  “Katey’s idea, but a good one. He’ll sniff out a snake before you ever knew there was one around.” He looked at Bob questioningly and asked, “Have you come across any?”

  “Yes. In the barn. I shot it.”

  “Hey,” said Edward slapping him on the back. “We got ta put a notch in your gun handle, partner.”

  They laughed as they approached the house. Bob had fixed the porch and once again Katey was in shock. “My word! This is beautiful.”

  He opened the door for them and both stood in the cool living room with surprised looks on their faces as the dog ran in and immediately started sniffing around.

  “Bob! This is something else!” said Edward.

  “Come on into the kitchen,” Bob said as he led the way.

  “A coal stove!” said Katey. “My word, they are so in demand these days. People buy them and convert them into gas stoves.”

  “Well,” answered a proud Bob, “I don’t know if they ever used coal to burn in them, but I use wood and it works just great. Plus, it looks as though each house here has one and I bet the diner has a large one.”

  “We just have to go and see,” she answered.

  “After a pit stop and beer,” said Edward. “Where are the facilities, partner?”

  “Follow me out back.” They both did and following Bob’s instructions shined the light down the hole before using it. The easy going demeanor of the dog said that there were no snakes around and Bob thought as he watched him sniffing around, Hey, maybe having a dog isn’t such a bad idea? Give him free rein and relax. Okay, this is good.

  Back inside, a whistle from the steam kettle on the hot stove told them that water was ready for tea and Bob poured a cup for Katey and set out some sandwiches which he and Edward washed down with a cold Budweiser beer. The dog sat in front of him as though he knew it was Bob’s house and just looked with puppy dog eyes. Bob put some bologna in a plate and placed it in the kitchen and then filled a bowl with water from one of the bottles from the cooler and as he brought them up to date, the pup finished his food.

  When their lunch was finished, Katey insisted that she clean up and Bob pointed at the water in a large pot on the stove as he said, “You can use that water for cleaning the dishes.” She picked up a bar of brown soap and soon had them in a lather. “My doing this, boys,” she said as she placed a dish on the drain board, “means that the first place we visit is the diner. Right?”

  “Right you are, Katey,” answered Bob.

  “So,” Edward said looking over the equipment set up in the living room, “You have communications with the rest of the world?”

  “Yep! And I’m pleased that it all works as advertised.”

  “Still got enough gasoline?”

  “Plenty. Ed, I use hardly any as I’m so used to the oil lamps and candles.”

  “Boy, partner, you sure have become a cowboy. Just need to get yourself a horse.”

  “Never! They bite! Besides what’s wrong with the SUV?”

  “Nothing,” said Edward with a shrug. “Just that a horse can quickly become a friend out here an’ all you need to do is feed them. Sorta like the dog.”

  “Well, the horses run through town almost every night.”

  “Really!” said Edward with surprise in his voice. “H
eck, it’d be easy to rope and tame one for ya.”

  Bob grinned, “How? Tell them to stop and stand still?”

  “Naw. We just put down a couple of pots of water and rope one as they stop ta inspect them.”

  “Won’t he get upset?”

  Ed shrugged as he answered, “Well, yeah, but just hold on tight and out wait him. He’ll soon understand.”

  “Understand what? That I’m from New York and he’ll join me for a beer?”

  “Partner,” said Edward with a wizened look on his face, “You don’t know until you try it. It could be love at first sight.”

  Katey hit her husband lightly on the back of his head as she said with a laugh in her voice, “Ed Pushkin, you leave him alone. If he doesn’t want a horse, that’s his business.”

  “Well,” said Bob, “we could stay up and just watch them go through town.”

  Edward scratched his sun-bleached blond hair, “That’s a start, partner. What time do they usually ride through?”

  “Around eleven. Sometimes they stay all night.”

  “Probably getting their rest. I say we stay up and watch them tonight.”

  “I agree,” answered Bob not believing what he had just said. “Now, let’s go over to Kay’s Dining Room.”

  They walked on the new sidewalk Bob had completed, the beagle trotting along sniffing everything. The solid sound of the three pairs of boot heels on the new wood made Ed comment, “Sure is a heck of a lot better than the first day I set foot here. Ya did a good job for a City Slicker, Bob.”

  Bob grinned at the compliment. He was proud of his work and would like to have showed it to Anne. But now that would have to wait.

  Katey stopped and faced the diner with her hands clasped in front of her. “Oh, here it is, Kay’s Diner.” She turned to Bob, “How come some of the stores are still boarded up?”

  “I had to make a choice: fix the sidewalks or open up all of the stores. I decided on going the ‘safety first’ route and now you’ll be in on the grand reopening of Kay’s Diner.”

  They watched as Bob did his well-practiced door opening but this time it was accompanied by the sound of a tinkling bell. He looked and saw that the door nudged the hanging bell each time it opened to alert the owner that a customer had come in.

  “Let me go in first and open a window for some light.” He pointed at the windows facing the sidewalk and said, “Stand away from them.” He entered with his trusty LED showing the circle of light that he followed over to the window, opened it and popped out the boards allowing the sunlight to flow in. The first thing he saw was that the dog was inside and already sniffing around. “Hey, fella. Good boy!” The dog sat and allowed Bob to scratch his ears as his tail thumped up a small cloud of dust.

  Bob called out, “Come on in. Just watch your step.”

  The couple entered and Edward helped him open the rest of the windows and in a few moments it looked as though Kay’s Diner was once again open for business. They looked around and just like the tavern; the tables were covered with a sheet with their chairs leaning against them. There was a wooden counter and a wood-framed glass case with empty dishes inside. They could see that at one time they displayed food that was for sale. Two large, round chandeliers containing a dozen, half melted candles each, and adorned with long swinging cobwebs hung from the tin ceiling. Each of the four walls was decorated with paintings depicting desert scenes as well as cattle drives, the town itself and a vase of flowers.

  Bob gently touched the well-preserved painting as he commented; “It looks like the local artist had a lock on the town. Whoever it was has their artwork in just about every store and business.”

  Katey started to walk to the store’s rear as Edward said, “Best let me go first, hon” as he took out his six-gun and took the lead with a flashlight. Once in the rear the two men opened the two remaining windows and Katey’s voice went up an octave as she said, “Good God! Look at this stove!”

  She blew some of the dust off the top as she continued, “It has six lids! It’s a commercial oven made especially for restaurants and hotels. It is so rare.” She turned to Bob and said with a wink, “Have you any idea what this would bring you on e-bay?”

  “Guess Kay was busy feeding the whole town,” added Bob, “and probably making more money than most of the silver miners.”

  Hanging over the stove were a dozen pots, pans and cooking utensils. “My grandmother had cookware like this when I was a little girl,” Katey said with a nostalgic smile.

  Bob opened a door at the rear of the diner thinking it was a washroom. He threw the light’s beam into the dark place and was surprised to find wooden stairs descending down. “Hey, guys, look at this. I think it’s a cellar.”

  “Cold room, most probably,” said Edward as he stood next to him. He still had his gun out and with the extra light from his flashlight they both went down the first of the six steps as the beagle bounded past them.

  “Yep!” said Edward seeing old hay on the earthen floor. “Back then they took ice and covered it with hay and that chilled this room enough to keep food fresh for a spell.”

  “Where did they get the ice from?”

  With a shrug Edward said, “Don’t know. Probably had it brought in on a hay covered wagon?”

  There were bins around the room’s perimeter and they were marked, Potatoes, Corn Ears, Steer Meat and more. “Boy, this is neat!” said Edward, “History Channel, live!”

  Back upstairs Bob and Edward saw that Katey had a few of the cabinets open. She held a large soup tureen in her hands as though it was made of gold. She shook her head, “This is beautiful, Bob.”

  “Would you like it, Katey?” he asked.

  “No, but thank you anyway. I believe that this town, in its entirety, is one complete package that was somehow meant to be preserved.”

  Edward picked up a blackboard and after dusting it off, said, “Hey, listen to Kay’s menu board.” He squinted and read out loud. “Supper: Tea or Coffee, Bowl of Chili, Crullers, Butter or Jam, Soup, cup or bowl, Hash, Pies, Half pie, Cornbread, Beef or Mutton, Pig’s head or hoof, Pork Chops, Pudding, Chicken stew, Liver, Chicken or Beef.” He laughed as he read on, “All prices change each day as Kay don’t know what is available for cooking: could be Beef could be Mutton depends on what was ready for cooking. Thank you and keep your feet off the chairs. Kay.”

  They laughed as the real estate man looked up and went on as he gently placed the one hundred year old menu against the wall, “Kay sure sounds like the sort of gal that wouldn’t take any crap from any upstart cowboy.”

  “What would you like to see next?” Bob asked.

  “I’d like to see the Town Hall, if that’s okay with you two?” asked Edward.

  Bob and Katey nodded and the three left the diner with the puppy following. The group walked back to the beginning of town and entered the Town Hall. They went through the offices and once again came across two calendars, both with August 2 circled on them.

  “This must have been an important date for those folks,” said Edward as he looked at Bob. “Have you any idea what it means?”

  Bob shrugged and Katey said, “Maybe it’s some sort of a town party or something? You know, like a dance or harvest time?”

  “I wonder if the date had anything to do with Jim’s great grandfather buying the place?” Bob wondered aloud.

  “Could be,” answered Edward as they left the Town Hall. He looked at the slightly darker sky in the west and said, “Best we set up our sleeping arrangements before it gets dark.”

  “Mi Casa, Su Casa.” Bob answered with a slight bow.

  “Mi, what?” asked a perplexed Edward.

  Katey laughed and slapped her husband on the back of his head sending his hat flying. “’Mi Casa, Su Casa’,” she said, “means ‘My House is Your House’ in Italian. I told you way back in high school that you should buckle down and learn something more than those stupid video games.”

  “Oh yeah? Well,” said Edward s
etting his hat back on at a rakish angle, “I knew that, I just forgot, that’s all.”

  Back at the house Bob opened the stove and added two cut logs to the low fire before he proudly showed them one of the bedrooms he had cleaned for them. Katey was excited as she pulled down the bedcovers and saw the clean sheets and pillowcases Bob had washed the day before and hung out on the clothesline he erected for them to dry on.

  “Lord!” she said as she sat on the firm bed, “Better than those mattresses they sell down at Cam’s Bed and Bath.”

  “No snakes, partner?” asked a smiling Edward.

  “Nope! Clean as a whistle. In fact,” he said as he went on with a thoughtful look on his face, “For a town named Rattlesnake Haven, I’ve only come across one snake and I got rid of it, thanks to you and this,” he said patting his six-gun.”

  Edward grinned and nodded, “You do know that your gun belt is on the wrong way, partner. It makes you do a cross draw.”

  “Yes. I found out that this is the best way for me to wear it.”

  Edward grinned and threw his arm around his friend’s shoulder and went on, “Fine! But it sure looks like you’re about ta go toe-ta-toe against some gun-slinger.”

  “Believe me, Ed, I better not be doing that.”

  They laughed as Katey stated, “Best we have some supper before it gets dark, guys.”

  “Fried pork chops?” asked Bob.

  “Damn!” quipped Edward as he rubbed his stomach, “Is Kay’s Diner open?”

  “Nope! But Bob’s kitchen is. Now let’s get downstairs.”

  Once in the living room, Bob said, “Sit,” as he pointed to the two easy chairs and large, overstuffed couch.

  “Let me give you a hand. Do you pre-heat the oven or something?” asked Katey.

  “No way! You guys are company. Sit down and relax.” He lit two oil lamps and placing a log in the fireplace said as he passed a book of matches to Edward, “Edward, would you just light the log while I fix the goodies?”

  Bob took six pork chops out of his cooler and sprayed some oil on the hot stove top as he said, “I try to keep a low fire going all day so it’s ready when I want and I just add a log or two. I always have a pot of coffee warm. Can never tell when company pops in.” Laughing, he placed the pork chops on the large, flat surface that he now used as a griddle and put on some small, cut-up potatoes and onions. Grabbing a small pot, Bob opened a jar of brown gravy, filled the pot with it and placed in on the stove. Next he removed the smallest cooked piece of meat, cut it up and put it in a dish for the puppy that sat by the stove looking up at him. Bob put it next to a bowl of water and watched for a second as the puppy devoured the chop.