by Duane Boehm
“Speak for yourself. I’m not in this conversation,” Gideon said.
“Smart move, Gideon. Ethan could be sleeping on a pallet if he is not careful,” Sarah warned.
“I think I might be able to train Gideon better than you have done with Ethan,” Abby chimed in.
“I would hope so. I was young and didn’t quite have the hang of it back then,” Sarah replied.
“Ethan, if they are going to talk about us in front of our faces, I think we need to go shoot the guns,” Gideon said.
“Joann, I hope that you are paying attention to all this. Set them straight right from the beginning,” Sarah said.
“Oh, I am. Don’t worry about that,” Joann said while looking at Zack.
Zack began turning red. “Let’s go shoot those guns,” he said as the rest of the adults broke into laughter.
As the men, with the children in tow, walked out to the barn to gather up old cans and boards, Zack said, “I’d hate to have any of those women really mad at me. They don’t mess around.” Ethan and Gideon chuckled at the statement.
Ethan said, “I can assure you that both of us have been there and it is not a pretty sight, but they were just playing rough in there. They like to show off for each other.”
“The problem is that Ethan and I chose smart women. Life would be a lot easier if we had picked simple ones – not as much fun, but a lot easier. As a warning, I can assure you that Joann falls into the smart category. If you pursue her, we don’t want to hear any complaints,” Gideon said.
“Duly noted,” Zack said.
Joann was watching the group from a window. “I think I will join them to watch them shoot and give Zack some grief if he misses,” she said.
“Whoa, there, girl,” Sarah said. “I’ll give you a little advice on men. You can give a man a hard time about a lot of things and if he is a good one he will take it in stride, but you do not ever tease them about their ability to shoot a gun or ride a horse. It hits too close to home on how they identify themselves as men. He’ll start thinking that he doesn’t measure up in your eyes and that is never a good thing.”
“She’s right, Joann. I told Marcus that I was a better rider than he was and it emasculated him. God knows that you have to keep a man on his toes, but never make them feel less of a man,” Abby said.
Joann smiled at the two women. “Thank you for the advice. I’ve never thought about things like that. Better to learn from a couple of old war horses than to learn it the hard way,” she said before bursting into giggles.
“These two old war horses still know how to tan an impertinent filly’s butt. Now get out there,” Abby said.
“So how are things going with Gideon?” Sarah asked after Joann had left.
“Good, I believe. I think he is at peace with himself now, but whether he ever accepts it and commits to settling down, I don’t know,” Abby said.
“Gideon and I had a good talk the other day. Deep down he knows that he has put the past behind him and that he has moved on. He just isn’t quite ready to admit it to himself. He will though and it won’t be much longer,” Sarah said.
“You really think so? Gideon is a complicated man,” Abby remarked.
“I’m sure of it. He’s a different person than the one that first showed up here and he still has a hard time believing it. You just watch – he will buy the old homestead back. That will be the thing that forces him to accept that things have changed and if I’m wrong, I know that you giving him an ultimatum will do the trick, but I don’t think it will get to that,” Sarah said.
“I hope you are right,” Abby said.
“Are you concerned that Winnie will never come around?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know. Winnie is a good girl and I understand that she is hurt and confused. I don’t blame her for that. Though the vindictiveness has surprised me. I never saw that coming and it worries me a little,” Abby said.
“I think that she will be fine once she gets past the anger. She surely is a willful child. It may take some time before she sees that everything is going to be okay and that life goes on, but I think that she will get there,” Sarah said.
“I hope you are right about both her and Gideon,” Abby said.
Joann joined the men as they stepped off one hundred and fifty yards and set three boards up with a bullseye on each. As they were walking back, Gideon said, “Let’s do three shots using the buckboard wagon as a brace and three standing with nothing to lean on.”
“Suits me. You know I’m going to beat you with a rifle anyway,” Ethan said.
“You’re older than me and your eyes might not be what they once were,” Gideon said.
“I doubt my two months of age on you will hurt me as badly as all that saloon light has done to you,” Ethan said.
“I’m not old and I haven’t been in saloons so I plan to beat both of you,” Zack said.
The two older men exchanged glances before Ethan said, “Gideon, I think you are going to regret saving him. You’ve nursed him through head injuries, gunshots, and now he is making puppy eyes at your daughter. Probably a mistake.”
“We could have a shooting accident,” Gideon said.
“You know I can hear both of you, right?” Zack said.
“Shoot, Ethan,” Gideon said.
Ethan braced himself against the wagon and squeezed off three shots, barely pausing after levering each cartridge into the chamber. “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s a winner,” he said.
Zack took the next turn, squatting down and pausing as he lined up his shot. He fired his rifle and then jumped up, letting out a yelp before stumbling backwards. “I think I tore my wound open,” he said.
“Zack Barlow, you should have known better than to shoot if you are not healed. I thought you were smarter than that,” Joann said.
“You’ve recovered so well that I never thought about that. Let me have a look,” Gideon said as he and Joann approached the young man.
“If I tore it open I might as well bleed to death because Doc will kill me anyway,” Zack said.
“You know our doctor well,” Gideon said as he examined Zack’s wound. “You’re okay, but no more shooting. I’ve got too much time invested in you for you to fool around busting it open and getting an infection. Go walk it off with Joann.”
“Are you okay, Zack?” Joann asked as she sidled up next to him.
“It just hurts, but not as bad as letting someone knock you upside the head with a gun. Let’s just walk some,” Zack said.
Gideon and Ethan grinned at each other as they walked away. “She gave him the old here’s a little hell with some sugar on top trick,” Gideon said.
“I know it. I think all women have the same secret book tucked away in their dresser with instructions on how to master a man,” Ethan said.
Gideon fired his three shots before Ethan shot again in standing position and then Gideon did likewise. As they walked to check the targets, Ethan said, “I like that boy. I think he might be a good one if he doesn’t maim himself along the way.”
“Tell me about it. I was wanting to see how he shot. I don’t know if it was luck or skill, but he shot one of those outlaws right through the heart with a pistol in the moonlight. I bet Joann takes his mind off the pain,” Gideon said.
“Are you encouraging that?” Ethan asked.
“No, I’m not encouraging it, but I’m smart enough not to get in the way. She’s a big girl and can figure that out for herself,” Gideon said.
“I got three shots in the bullseye and three within an inch,” Ethan said.
“I already knew you won. I jerked the trigger hard on one of my standing shots and pulled off,” Gideon said.
“It’s good to know some things never change,” Ethan said.
“Look there, Zack’s one shot was dead center. Maybe it wasn’t luck when he shot Shaggy,” Gideon said.
“I’m guessing not. I think I could make a ranch hand out of him,” Ethan said.
“Y
ou need to make up your mind. The boy is going to run out of money before long and I might make him a deputy first. What do you think about me trying to talk the city council into letting him be a part–time deputy and me and you share him? I don’t think I would need him that much, but it would be nice to have somebody to take turns staying at the jail when there are prisoners,” Gideon said.
“I suppose that might work as long as it didn’t interfere too much. It’s getting to the point where I need some help, especially if I get more land,” Ethan said.
“I’m going to talk to the council and you need to make up your mind whether you are going to give him a shot at ranching. Are you ready for pistols?” Gideon said.
“Let’s just call it a draw. We both know that you will beat me with the revolvers. Zack was going to be the only thing new about today,” Ethan said.
“Good. I was getting out of the mood myself. I was wanting to talk to you alone anyway. I got another letter from Pueblo. They know I’m sheriff now,” Gideon said.
“Was there any more clues to who it is?” Ethan asked.
“No, it said less than last time, just that they would be coming,” Gideon said.
“Why do you think that they are writing you to let you know that they are coming?” Ethan said.
“They’re taunting me. They don’t respect or fear me, so they taunt, which is a good thing. It’s much better to know that they are coming than not,” Gideon said.
“What are you going to do?” Ethan asked.
“What can I do? I’ll just have to wait until whoever it is comes. If they show up and hang around town, I’m going to move the girls to the cabin. I haven’t told Abby yet,” Gideon said.
“I don’t think I would worry her until I had to either,” Ethan said.
“Let’s go have some pie and pester the women for a while,” Gideon said as they walked back towards the cabin.
Chapter 14
Hiatt, true to his word, slunk into the back room of the Last Chance from the alley to get Mary’s answer on selling the place. He was dressed in his usual attire of black pants and jacket, a white shirt, and a string bowtie. His years as a gambler had taught him that dressing the part gave him a psychological advantage over his opponents and made for a menacing appearance. Sometimes it was all that was necessary to get what he wanted.
Mary was sitting at the table waiting for him. She had put the day’s receipts away, planning to count the money after Hiatt took his leave. In going through Mr. Vander’s possessions, she had found an old pistol and had contemplated killing the gambler as he sat at the table, but gave up on the idea, knowing that she didn’t have skill necessary to pull it off and would probably get herself killed in the process. Trying not to show fear, she waited quietly as he took a seat.
“Hello Mary. Looks like you have been waiting for me,” Hiatt said.
“I assumed that you were a man of your word,” Mary said.
“Yes. Yes, that I am. So which is it going to be – a dead boyfriend or are you selling?” he said.
“I’ll sell it to you but you’re going to give me a fair price. I’m going to need money to start my life over,” she said.
“I’ll give you five hundred dollars for the place and you can stay on as a whore,” Hiatt said.
“You said you wanted to buy it, not steal it. This place is worth at least five times that. And I would never work for you,” Mary said.
“Mary, I think that we have already established that I am in control. You should be grateful that I’m giving you that much and offering you a job. I bet you are good at your work too. That will be a nice benefit of owning the place,” he said.
“You can go to hell. I won’t sell for that and I will never work for you or let you put a hand on me,” Mary shouted.
Hiatt backhanded her so quickly that she never had time to flinch. He caught her on the right cheek, almost knocking her out of the chair and sending waves of pain coursing through her face and water to her eyes.
“Mary, I was hoping that things would not have to get ugly. Me and old Vander, we went way back. We used to run a saloon in Denver and had a good business with some important people coming in to sample our ladies. I started making some of the rich ones pay me to keep things quiet, but Vander would have no part of it so I bought him out and I guess that is how he ended up down here. I made the mistake of trying to extort a rancher named Cecil Thomas and came to find out that he didn’t give a shit if his wife or the whole damn town knew that he was screwing whores. I went to prison for that. So you can imagine my surprise when I rode into Last Stand and there is old Vander running another saloon. I wanted him to make me a partner again. I had paid him a fair price when he wanted out and I thought that he should now let me back in. My point in telling you all this is that I was hoping that keeping your sheriff alive would be enough for you to sell, but if it isn’t, I will kill you too just like I did my old partner Claus Vander,” Hiatt said and watched the shock spread over Mary’s face.
“You son of a bitch,” she screamed and lunged for him.
Hiatt anticipated her move and caught her with a jab straight into the mouth before sending her crashing to the floor with a left hook to the jaw. Mary was flat on her back trying to ready herself against her attacker, but her mind and limbs seemed to be working in slow motion as she watched Hiatt sit on her stomach.
“Mary, I’m going to assume that you are smarter than Vander and will go ahead and sell this place. Otherwise, I would kill you now. Those damn Germans, you can’t get anything through their hard heads, but I know you are smarter than that. I never counted on Vander having a will. I thought I would have to buy this place on auction, but this has worked out much better. Nobody bidding against me or anybody in my way,” he said.
Mary tried to fight off Hiatt, but he slapped her hands away as if he were shooing flies. Grabbing her blouse with both hands, he jerked it apart. She could hear the buttons go bouncing across the floor and tried covering herself. Helplessly she watched as he produced a knife seemingly out of midair and slit her corset open, exposing her breast. Grabbing both her wrists with his left hand, he slashed her left breast under the nipple. She let out a scream so loud that it hurt her own ears.
“Now you know what a knife feels like. It can be a painful way to die. I’m going to get the papers drawn up and you will sign them or I will carve you up like a side of beef. I suggest that you lay low. Tell that other whore to tell everybody that you have female troubles because you certainly do. You’re lucky that I don’t like blood or I would show you what it’s like to have a real man,” Hiatt said before smacking her face twice more and leaving.
Mary hurt all over her body. The back of her head had bounced off the floor and her lips felt the size of sausage. She tried taking slow steady breaths in hopes it would lift the fog clouding her mind. Cupping her breast, she did not have the strength or will to look at it yet. The wound felt deep and her hand was sticky with blood. She heard a noise, deciding that Hiatt had changed his mind and was coming back to finish her. Closing her eyes, she was ready to accept her fate, no longer able to do battle.
“Oh, my God. Mary what happened to you? I thought I heard a scream,” Delta cried.
Mary opened her eyes to see Delta standing before her with a fire poker. She managed to smile at the ferocious pose of the other whore. “Take a look at my tit and tell me how bad it is,” she said and dropped her hands from her breast.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Let me get something to wipe up the blood,” Delta said and ran for a towel.
Delta squatted down and started patting the breast to soak up the blood. “Who did this to you? I need to go get Doc Abram,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter who did it and you can’t go get Doc. If this gets out, people will die, including me. You’ll have to help me get to my room. Now how bad is it?” Mary said.
“The cut is a good two inches long and I’d say a half–inch deep. Your tittie is gaping open,” Delta said.
“Figures the son of a bitch would ruin my best feature,” Mary said and tried to smile. “Maybe you can bandage it enough to hold it together.”
“Mary, it needs stitches. You have to see Doc,” Delta said.
“You can sew. Just put a few stitches in it to hold it together,” Mary said.
“I’m no doctor and I ain’t about to sew on no person. You can forget that,” Delta said.
“Let’s get me upstairs,” Mary said.
Delta pulled Mary to her feet and she was able to walk to her room with Delta steadying her going up the stairs. Gingerly sitting on her bed, Mary examined her breast for the first time. She forced back a wave of nausea, deciding that she did not have the will to let Delta sew her up anyway. The cut was by far the worst injury that she had ever had.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to get Doc or Gideon?” Delta asked.
“Those are the last two people that I need right now. I’ll be fine. Please bandage me up and then I’m going to rest. I’d appreciate it if you make sure that you check on me in the morning,” Mary said before lying back in her bed.
Delta did her best at attempting to bandage the wound shut and clean the blood from Mary’s busted lips. She tried comforting her friend, but Mary wanted only to be left alone and fell asleep quickly, exhaustion winning out over the pain that seemed to be coming from every pore in her body.
Hiatt walked back to his hotel room and paced. Blood always put him in a frenzy and just like the evening that he had murdered Vander, he knew that there would be no sleep that night. He loved cutting people and the only thing that had stopped him from carving Mary up was the fact that he wanted the saloon too much to throw it away for pleasure. He peeked out the window and saw that the Lucky Horse was still open. Grabbing his hat, he practically ran down the stairs and across the street where after a quick drink he took one of their whores up to her room, poking her until his fever was calmed.
Chapter 15
