“It’s time. Grab a bottle to use for protection and let’s get out of here.”
They had reached the steps when the saloon doors slammed open and Sheriff Ferguson and a deputy came in firing one shot after another into the rafters. The melee came to a halt. “What the hell is going on here?”
For a group of rough and drunken cowboys and miners, the room took on an eerie quiet.
“Alright, I’ll decide myself what happened.” The sheriff looked around. Pointing to the bearded man on the floor. “Who shot him?” No body answered, and he pointed to Bullins. “What about him?” Finally, he pointed to Franklin. “Him?”
“He ain’t dead. Just passed out,” somebody said.
It remained quiet after that.
“Then, I guess that means you’re all under arrest.”
A murmur spread through the group.
“Sheriff.” Seymour stepped forward. “The man in the red shirt shot the miner.”
“You liar!” The accused man raised his gun and aimed it toward Seymour. He didn’t get a chance to fire it because the sheriff shot it out of his hand.
“Arrest him, deputy.” The sheriff turned back to Seymour and nodded again to Bullins. “How about that one, Longstreet?”
“Didn’t see who shot him.”
The sheriff nodded. “I don’t guess any of you want to confess.” Nobody said anything, and the lawman added, “Then, all of you get out of here. And I don’t want to hear any more noise tonight.”
Most of the patrons grabbed dropped hats and any other property they’d lost in the fight and rushed out the door as fast as they could. Those who couldn’t run, hobbled.
“Thank you for coming, Sheriff Ferguson.”
“Don’t look like I got here in time to keep the place from getting torn apart.”
“It’ll take some work, that’s for sure.”
“It’s good another saloon is opening up in town.”
Seymour frowned. “What are you talking about? I thought that was just a rumor.”
“No. It’s true, and I figured you knew that when Hiram quit. I hear he’s opening his own place in the abandoned hotel.”
Sassy Sue watched Seymour’s demeanor change immediately. “That dirty snake. I might have known something was up when he didn’t show up for work.”
The sheriff ignored his outburst. “Well, now things are quiet in here. I suggest you lock up and see what you can salvage.”
“I’ll do that.”
“How about that man on the floor over there? Do you want me to haul him in to sleep if off?”
“No. He’s a friend of Sassy Sue’s. She’ll want to take care of him.”
Sassy raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She’d find out why Seymour was lying later.
The sheriff nodded and headed out the door.
Seymour closed the big doors covering the bat-doors and locked them. He then turned and surveyed the damage.
Sassy Sue and Angela walked up to him.
“Hell and damnation. It’ll cost a fortune to fix this place. A fortune I don’t have.”
“You’ll think of something,” Angela said.
“Yeah.” He looked at her. “Look at this mess…”
A banging on the door interrupted him. “We’re closed,” he yelled.
The banging continued.
“I’ll get it. We don’t want the sheriff back because of the noise.” Sassy Sue moved to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open.
Lana fell into her arms.
Angela screamed.
“What the hell?” Seymour moved beside them
“He forced me…” Lana collapsed.
“Get her upstairs, Angela. You can take care of her. You check on Franklin, Sassy.”
Sassy watched Angela pulling Lana upstairs, then turned to Seymour. “What the hell are we going to do?”
“Do like I told you. Take care of Franklin, and we’ll decide. I’m wondering if the best thing for us to do is to take what money we can scrape up and leave town. This place will break me if I don’t get rid of it now.”
She nodded. “You may be right. I’ll be going with you, won’t I?”
“Of course, you will, Sassy. Now, please go check him and I’m going to the office to check on how much money we have.”
“After I check him, I’ll bring up what cash is behind the bar.”
He nodded and went up the stairs.
She moved to Franklin and rolled him over. He hadn’t been hit by any of the stray bullets. He was simply out from too much drinking. She couldn’t help wondering what Seymour was going to do with him.
****
The clock in the entry struck one in the morning as Mea Ann cuddled against Wilt. He gathered her in his arms, and she never dreamed she could be so happy. Their first time to make love was nothing like she’d been told it would be. Yes, there was a little discomfort at first, but Wilt had been so gentle and understanding that it soon went away and she found that she was enjoying becoming his wife.
“We had a beautiful wedding, didn’t we, Wilt?” she whispered.
He pulled her closer. “We sure did.”
“I couldn’t believe the elaborate supper Chapa served. And all your hands were there. Even Kerry. I’m glad you didn’t get too upset with him for losing Bullins.”
“We decided Ty would go to town in the morning and put the culprit behind bars. He’s easy to spot, so it won’t be too hard to find him.”
“I think that’s fine. I’m glad the Reverend and his wife stayed for the wedding celebration. It was nice to have them and Xenia and Ty to help us celebrate.”
“Everyone seemed to have a good time. Even Ty.”
She frowned into the darkness. “Why wouldn’t he enjoy himself?”
“Ty has his problems with weddings. He swears he doesn’t believe in them.”
“Why not?”
“I guess it’s because of his failed love affair with Miss McGill. I’ve told you about her, haven’t I?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry that happened. He’s a good man and he deserves a good wife who can make him happy.”
“I agree with you, but Ty’s as stubborn as they come. We’ll never convince him. He’ll have to learn on his own.” Wilt kissed the top of her head. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
She giggled. “Oh, Wilt. You’re wonderful. I knew you’d be the best husband and father in the world. I’m so glad I married you. As soon as he’s old enough, Johnny will know how wonderful you are, too.”
“I plan for our family to be a happy one, Mea Ann. We’ll add to our family and give Johnny brothers and sisters.”
“Will we have room for so many?”
“Of course we will. It will be easy to add rooms if we need them.” He chuckled. “How many children are we talking about, anyway?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe five or six…and if you want more, I wouldn’t mind a dozen.”
He stroked her hair. “I think we can get by with fewer than a dozen, but if that’s what you want, I’ll be happy to help you make them.”
She giggled. “Wilt, you’re awful.”
“I’m going to say something serious now, sweetheart.”
“What’s that?”
“I know our house is not like what they have on most ranches, but this half of it is mine and yours. Now that we’re married, things have changed. Aunt Chapa will not come into it without an invitation. Neither will Ty. And anytime we want to be alone, we can use our private parlor that leads off the entry. We can even entertain our guests in our private dining room.”
“I wondered why you had those extra rooms. Does Ty have them, too?”
“Yes. His side of the house is exactly like mine, and as you know, Aunt Chapa has her own quarters built in the back.”
“Is her place as nice?”
“Oh, yes. Just not as large. She only has two bedrooms, but she has her own parlor and a small dining room. We all use the common kitchen to cook and eat as well as th
e common parlor when we want to be together.”
“Do you use your private parlor often?”
“It’s our private parlor, and no, not often. Ty uses his more than I do. He likes to get to himself and read, at times. I never bother him when he’s there unless something serious comes up.”
“I think it’s a wonderful set up.”
“Ty and I both like it. Of course, we were often restricted to our own side when we misbehaved as children. But when things were good, we didn’t have far to go to have a ready playmate. It worked out great since we were both only children.”
“Our children will have that pleasure, that is, if Ty ever softens his heart, gets married, and has children.”
“Who knows? Anything can happen. A short time ago, I would have never dreamed that I’d fall in love and have a wife to share my side of the house.”
“I’m so glad you found her.”
“Ready to show me how glad you are?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this, Mea Ann.” He lifted her head and kissed her passionately. “Does that answer your question?”
She couldn’t answer, because he continued to kiss her. Then, she didn’t have to say anything. His actions told her all she needed to know about what he wanted. Though she was surprised, she was thrilled all the way to her toes.
****
“What are you doing, Seymour Longstreet?” Sassy Sue’s voice wasn’t pleasant as she set the cash box down on his bureau.
He turned from packing his valise. “Have you looked downstairs?”
“Of course. It’s a mess.”
“I’ve decided it’s beyond fixing, my sweet Sassy. I counted the money, and it’ll be cheaper to leave town than to try to collect from the cowboys and miners to fix the place up. After all, we have what some of the good men of Deer Meadow have bet for the virgins. It’ll take us a long way. Go pack your clothes and we’ll start somewhere else.”
“How did it get out of hand downstairs?”
“You were there, same as me.”
“What about Angela and Lana?”
“They’ll be alright. Maybe the new saloon owner will give them a job.”
“What new saloon owner?”
“You heard the sheriff. That dog, Hiram, is opening a saloon.”
“But how?”
“How the hell should I know? I just know the teller at the bank told me the bank was financing it.” Seymour shook his head.
“Are you sure we can’t build back and give him competition?”
“Don’t be a fool, Sassy Sue. I ain’t leaving because of Hiram or his new saloon.”
“Then why are you going?”
He turned and glared at her. “Because I don’t have enough money to fix this place up, and I’m sure the men who bet on the nieces will be demanding their money back when I can’t produce the nieces. If I have to give that back, I’ll be completely broke.”
“But the money from the auction is enough for us to start over?”
He sneered. “There’s enough to get us out of town and start over, but not enough to return to the men and start over.”
“It was a fool thing to do in the first place, Seymour.”
“Seems like I’ve done a lot of foolish things in my life, Sassy Sue. This was just another one.” He closed his bag. “Now, go get packed and meet me down in the saloon. I’ve got to get my brother-in-law back to his wife. When we leave, I don’t want her to send somebody to look for me.”
****
Clara Poindexter paced the hotel room floor for more times than she could count. Where was Franklin? He’d gone to the saloon to talk to Seymour before dark. It was after midnight. Had something happened to him in this wild town? Was he lying somewhere on the street bleeding and in pain, yet unable to go for help? She’d decided that if he didn’t show up soon, she was going to get dressed and go look for him, even if it made him mad at her.
A knock sounded on the door.
Clara hurried to the door. “Is that you, Franklin?”
“It’s your brother, Clara. I have your sorry husband with me.”
She jerked open the door and stepped back as Seymour and a saloon woman came into the room. He had one of Franklin’s arms around his shoulder and she had the other one over hers. Franklin was mumbling, but saying nothing she could understand.
“What happened to him?”
“What do you think, big sister? The bastard drank himself into a stupor.”
They dropped Franklin face down on the bed and Sassy Sue tossed his derby hat to the bedside table.
“Why did you let him get in this shape?” Clara almost screamed. “He never gets drunk.”
“Well, my dear sister, he did tonight, and you can’t blame me. The fool is old enough to pace himself.”
“But you could have stopped him if you’d wanted to.”
“Look, Clara. I have a business to run. I can’t sit around and make sure the idiots who order drinks don’t get soused. I thought Franklin was smart enough to pace himself. But, no, he drank a whole bottle of bourbon, then passed out.”
Clara turned to Sassy Sue. “Couldn’t you have stopped him?”
She could tell she’d made the woman mad when Sassy Sue snapped, “It’s my job to get the men to drink while they look down the neck of my dress, not stop them. Your husband was no exception. He liked looking at me.”
“Shut up, Sassy,” Seymour said. “We need to get back and close up.”
“Wait, Seymour.” Clara stopped him. “Did Franklin ask you where Xenia and Mea Ann were?”
“Sure, he did.”
“Did you tell him?” She looked into her brother’s eyes and realized he felt nothing but contempt for her. It made her sad.
“I was too busy tonight to listen to his demands.”
Clara put her hand on his arm and he shook it off. “I’m sorry it has come to this, Seymour."
He shook her hand away. “It’s too late to change things now, big sister. You made the choice to turn your back on your family.”
Tears came to her eyes. “I had to get out, Seymour. You know that.”
“Well, you managed to do it, didn’t you?”
“You had as much opportunity to get out as I did.”
“Sure. Our grandmother made it twice as hard on me after you married old Franklin, there.” He nodded toward the bed. “Of course, she never let me forget that she’d arranged a good marriage for you, and you had turned out to be the right kind of lady.”
“But, Seymour, I loved Franklin.”
“Sure, you did. That’s why you spent most of the old gal’s money on that fancy wedding of yours in Baltimore. It didn’t matter to you that you were moving off with him to Richmond and leaving me there to sink into a life of hell with the old bat.”
“But you left, too.”
“Only after she had the decency to fall down those winding stairs she was so proud of and break her neck.”
“I know she was a horrible person, but we had no choice but to live with her after our parents died.”
“Stop trying to sugar coat it, Clara. The old bird hated both of us. We interrupted her socially acceptable life. She couldn’t turn us away, though. What would her friends say if she did?”
“That’s true, but what happened to her money? I didn’t ask you for a dime after I married. What did you do with that?”
“You’re delusional if you think there was a lot of money left. After the house was taken for back taxes, and I had to cough up enough to bury her, I was left with a couple of hundred dollars.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, Clara. I’m not kidding. That’s why I came to Virginia and asked your wonderful husband for help in getting a start in life. Of course, my brother-in-law told me he’d never help me out and dared me to go to you for help.”
Clara gasped. “I didn’t know you came to us.”
“Well, you know now. So, maybe you understand why I don’t give a damn abo
ut you, your family, or your daughters.” He pushed down his hat. “Let’s go Sassy Sue.”
“Wait, Seymour. Please.” Clara began to cry. “I don’t care what you think of Franklin and me, but please don’t punish my daughters. They liked you when you came to Virginia”
Seymour ignored her and stomped out the door.
Sassy Sue followed him, then paused at the door. She looked at Clara and whispered, “Go to the Eldridge ranch. You’ll find them there.”
“Where is the…” She didn’t finish her question because Sassy closed the door.
For a moment, Clara stood there, not believing what happened. Finally, she turned and glared at her husband as he snorted and tried to turn over.
Shaking her head, she walked to the bed and attempted to wake him. It didn’t work. Growing angry at him for the first time in a long time, she managed to remove his boots. She then shoved him to his left side and removed his coat and pants. She then rolled him to the right. She finally had his clothes removed, one side at a time. She tossed them to the floor because she knew he’d never be able to wear them again until they were cleaned and pressed.
Still upset with him, she pushed him as far to the side of the bed as she could, blew out the lamp, and climbed in beside him, being careful not to touch him. Huffing her disgust into the darkness, she decided not only was he going to answer for his behavior tonight, but in the morning, he was taking her to the Eldridge ranch to find her daughters—no matter where that ranch happened to be.
Chapter 19
Ty dismounted and tossed his horse’s reins over the wobbly hitching post in front of the Golden Door Saloon. He couldn’t help raising an eyebrow as he looked around. The large window had been shattered. There was blood on the walk in front of the doors. The signs over the door and on the wall hung crooked, or by one nail. The one saying No Injuns Allowed lay on the wooden sidewalk.
“Must have been a busy night,” he muttered, and banged on the door.
After several minutes, he realized nobody was coming to answer his knock. He moved to the broken window and looked inside. The saloon was in shambles. He didn’t see a piece of furniture that wasn’t broken or turned over. The mirror behind the bar had been shattered, and broken whiskey bottles lay all over the floor, their liquid spilled and had run in all directions, adding more gunk to the nasty floor.
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