Chapter 2

Ruby and I walked back to the saloon to find John and Hanna still sitting at the same table they were at last night. They looked at us and John just shook his head.

“I knew it.”

“You knew what, John?”

“I knew I was gonna end up being a deputy sheriff before this all played out.”

I looked at him with the same unbelieving expression that I imagined Ruby had used towards me. I looked at Hanna and she was just smiling, with her hand on John’s lap. High on his lap. Oh hell, she was holding his cock through his pants.

“It would appear that one of the jobs of the law in this town is to rescue whores from their jobs.”

“Why do you say that Chris? I’m not gonna stop being a whore. John’s just not gonna get charged for my services.”

“John? You gonna share a bed with her and her customers?”

“Hell no.”

I stood there and was taking in everything when I felt a hand on my back. I turned to look at Ruby.

“We should go and tell Claude.”

“OK,” I turned back to John. “John, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Yes sir, Sheriff, sir!”

I gave him a stare that I’d saved for special occasions before turning and walking out the door. Ruby and I were walking down the street hand in hand. People were looking at us like what they saw was new but not with distaste. I was starting to think that I could make something out of this situation. A plan began to form in my head as we walked to the bank and post office to talk to Claude De Bois.

We walked into the small building and found Claude sitting behind a modest desk. He looked at me, smiled, then at Ruby and lost the smile. That’s when it occurred to me that Ruby may have fucked every man in town. That’s what she meant when she told me that she was worried about my reputation. I squeezed her hand.

“Hello Claude.”

“Hello Chris, what can I do for you?”

“I’ve decided to take up the offer to become sheriff. I would like to do a little bargaining over the pay.”

“Oh?”

“Yes sir. You offered free meals at the café, free care for my horse at the livery and ten dollars a week.”

“I believe Ed also offered ammunition.”

“Yes sir but let’s face it if I do my job I won’t use much of that.”

“True. So what else do you want?”

“Claude, I was thinking that you, as banker, might have a small spread, you know, a ranch, that has been foreclosed on. I’d like that added to the deal. I figure if there is one that I like, I’d like to take it off the banks hands.”

Claude Du Bois leaned back in his chair and looked like he was going over a mental list. He looked at Ruby and then back to me.

“What does Ruby have to do with any of this? I mean what is the purpose of her being here?”

“The reason is personal, Claude.”

“Personal. This wouldn’t have to do with my past relationship with Ruby, would it?”

“Past relationship?”

“Chris, Claude has been one of my visitors in the past.”

I looked at the big ring on his left hand and had to ask, “But he’s married.”

“Many of the men who visit us at the saloon are. In some cases the wives don’t care and in others the wives don’t know.”

“Claude, I don’t care about that. My concern is that if I take the job, I won’t have anywhere to live. Right now, I’m staying with Ruby but that is not an arrangement that will work in the long run.”

“Yes, I can see how that might be the case,” he said, still sounding wary.

“I just came off the trail with a herd. I like working cows and horses. If there was a small spread available, I’d like a shot at it.”

“I’ll see what I can come up with, Chris and let you know in the next few days.”

“I don’t want to push but I’m planning on moving on in a day or two if I don’t have anything here.”

“Very good.”

I stood, Ruby stood, giving Claude a sour look, and we left the bank. As we walked I figured that it was time to ask some serious questions.

“Ruby, I’m assuming that you’ve fucked damn near every man in town. Would that be a good assumption?”

“Chris, I told you, I’m a whore. If a man comes to me and has money and doesn’t look filthy, I take him to my room and fuck him.”

“And if Royal was in bed?”

“Then the man had the option of doing it next to Royal or not doing it.”

My thoughts must have shown through in my grip on her hand or my body language,

“Chris, No one messed with Royal. There were times when Royal didn’t like the man I brought to the room and ran him off.”

“Ran him off?”

“Or killed him. Brundle was the worst. When the mood hit him, he’d walk in and if one of us was fucking a man, he’d pull the guy out of the girl and mount her until he finished. Then he’d just leave. As far as the men of this town are concerned, whores are just meat.”

“Would it be better for us to just leave town?”

“Us?”

“Yeah. You know. You and me.”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I mean if you can’t really live with the fact that everyman you meet has fucked your woman?”

“I don’t know. It might turn me into a man as mean as Bass.”

“I can’t see that. You don’t seem to be that sort of man.”

That’s when the gunshots rang out. I looked in the direction of the shots and figured they came from the saloon. John was in there at last look. I took off running and when I busted through the door, I saw John on the floor and Royal Knight dragging Hanna up the stairs.

I went to John and saw that he’d been shot in the chest.

“Ruby! Get the Doc! Royal!” I yelled at the bastard.

He pulled Hanna in front of him and drew his six-shooter. I was moving left and right while Royal Knight began shooting at me. Hanna was struggling in his arms and it ruined his aim. It pissed him off to the point where he put the gun to her head and shot her. When she dropped, I had a clear shot and I put one in his stomach.

He dropped to his knees and I ran up the stairs.

“You bastard! You shot me!”

Without a word, I raised my pistol and shot him in the head. He dropped on top of Hanna’s body. I kicked him off of her and checked her but the hole in the side of her head made it clear that she was dead. I began to reload my pistol when I heard the scream. I looked over the railing to see Ruby standing there looking up at Hanna’s lifeless arm hanging through the balusters.

I came down the stairs as I reloaded and went to John. The doc was looking him over and as I approached he looked at me and shook his head. I knelt at John’s side taking his head in my hand.

“Sorry pard,” John said and spit out blood. “He just walked in and shot me. Never said a word.”

“He won’t say any more words.”

“Hanna?”

“He killed her.”

He closed his eyes and said, “I would have liked getting to know her more.”

Then his head dropped and he died. I held his head tight to my chest and shed a few tears. John Black had my back on so many occasions and now I didn’t have his. I looked at Doc and said, “Take care of him. I’ll settle up with you before I leave town.”

When I said that I heard a gasp behind me. I turned my head to see Ruby standing there with her hands over her face. I stood up and took hold of both her shoulders.

“Listen to me, Ruby! I’m leaving this shit hole excuse for a town. Do you want to come with me?”

“Yes!”

“You’ll have to ride a horse. Do you have pants?”

“No.”

“Get some. NOW!”

I let her go and went to her room to get my things. I stepped over Royal Knight’s dead body kicking him and wishing I could do more. In Ruby’s room, I packed the things I’d taken out of my saddlebags and went back downstairs. Several men had now come into the saloon.

“What happened?” one of them asked.

“Royal came back,” the bartender said. “He walked in and shot that fella and was taking Hanna upstairs and Chris there braced him. Royal shot Hanna in the head and Chris killed him.”

“Chris killed him!?”

Hearing that I walked up to the man and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

“That’s right. He killed my partner. You cowards have let these assholes run your town and have done nothing to stop them. I’m leaving town. You all deserve whatever bastards move in to take their places. Now do any of you have a problem with me killing Royal? Speak up now so I can put one in your empty head before I leave town.”

The men all backed down and I headed for the door. As I passed the bartender I told him, “Tell Ruby I’m in the livery.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. O’Dell.”

I walked out into the street and wasn’t surprised that the shooting hadn’t drawn more of a crowd. Killings here were so common that no one paid any attention. I wanted to burn the whole damn town to the ground. I passed Ruby as she was coming back from the store with a package.

“I’m going to get the horses ready. You can ride John’s if you don’t mind. Get your outfit, put on your pants, and meet me in the livery. OK?”

“Yes, Chris. Whatever you say.”

She headed for the saloon at a fast walk and I went into the livery. I put a blanket on John’s horse when I heard a shot and a scream. I dropped everything and took off running for the saloon. If anyone hurt Ruby I was going to kill every living thing in this fucking town.

I knocked over several people as I ran through the crowd outside the saloon. As I went in I drew my pistol and inside I saw a man was dragging a kicking and fighting Ruby towards the stairs. I looked towards the bartender and he was on the floor behind the bar. I ran towards Ruby and the fella. Before he could say or do anything, I put a gun to the man’s head and killed him.

“Chris!” She screamed as I took her in my left arm.

She turned us around and another man was coming with a pistol in his hand. I shot him in the face. And then looked to see who else wanted some.

“Who else!?” I looked around.

“He was just looking for a good time!” someone in the small group said.

“With my woman! MY woman! I kill any man that touches her.”

“She’s a whore!” The same voice said.

“She’s MY whore! Any more comments?”

“What gives you the right to claim our whores?”

I shot him in the leg and he screamed and dropped to the floor. One of the men standing near him, reached down and took his pistol and threw it across the floor. I gave him a nod.

“I give myself the right. Anyone else want to argue that?”

“Ruby, please go and get your outfit. I’ll make sure that you aren’t bothered.”

“Chris, that one shot Barney,” Ruby exclaimed.

“Barney?” I asked.

“The bartender!”

The doc came in just then and headed for the man I’d shot and I stopped him.

“Doc! Take care of Barney first. These others can bleed to death if they’re not dead already.” Then I added loudly, “Let me know if I need to put anyone out of their misery.”

The crowd was now thinning out because no one wanted to say anything that might get them shot. Ruby went up to her room and soon was back with a stuffed carpet bag, wearing pants and a checked shirt. Then she stopped and ran back upstairs. She came back down with John’s saddlebags and his coat. She was stuffing something into her pants pocket.

When she returned upstairs, I went to the doc.

“How is he Doc?”

“He took a bullet to the shoulder. It’ll fix up alright. Do I need to look at anyone else?”

“I shot three. Two are dead. I got the one over there in the leg.”

I turned and looked at Ruby.

“Are you OK?”

She looked at me and seemed pensive.

“Are you a killer, Chris?”

“I’ll kill anyone who’s done harm to me and mine or the people I love.”

“Anyone?”

I looked around the room. Royal was still on the balcony. The man who had attacked Ruby was at the foot of the stairs. The man who’d come running towards me with his gun drawn was in the middle of the floor. The fella with the wounded leg was near the bar.

“It looks like it, doesn’t it? Look, I’m sorry Ruby. I don’t go looking for trouble but if it comes for me it’s gonna have a fight on its hands. Do you still want to come with me?”

“Yes,” she said immediately.

“Let’s go.”

I took John’s saddlebags and put them on my left shoulder and picked up the carpet bag with my left hand. Ruby stayed on my left side as we walked down the street. In the livery, I saddled up the Grulla and, to my surprise, Ruby saddled up John’s Bay mare. She picked up John’s saddle and swung it onto the Bay’s back like it weight nothing.

“You’ve done this before.”

“Of course. I’m not a tenderfoot. You’re not getting a prissy little lady, Chris O’Dell.”

I smiled and used a pickin’ string to tie the carpet bag to the back of her saddle and then we mounted and walked out of the livery. I turned around and looked at Ruby in her pants riding like a man. I stopped to think about what the saddle was doing to her pussy.

We were riding past the bank/post office when Claude came running out.

“Chris! Hold up.”

I reined in the Grulla and turned towards the banker. Ruby did the same and leaned over to me.

“I don’t like this.”

“What do you want Claude?” I asked carefully slipping the loop off the hammer of my pistol.

“I found you a place!”

“Don’t matter. I’m leaving.”

“You might want to listen to what I’ve found. I’ve found a great spread.”

I looked at Ruby and she raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

“OK. What have you got?”

“Seth Brundle’s place is available. He has no kin and owes money for the mortgage to the bank. You can get it for next to nothing.”

I looked at Ruby. She shrugged her shoulders again.

“How can I get it?”

“Do you want it?”

“How do I get it?”

“Simple, I’ll give it to you.”

“Give it to me?”

“Yes. He owed money for the property to the bank. He’s dead. He can’t repay the loan so it defaults to the bank. The bank can now do what it needs to do to get it off the books.”

“What about the money he owed the bank?”

“There was $1200 remaining on the loan. I could write it off as a loss.”

“Or you could keep your books clean and sell it to me for the amount of the loan.”

“Do you have $1200?”

“Yeah, I do. Well between the stake John had and mine, I do. John had no kin. Where is this place?”

“It’s about fifteen miles East of town. Good water, great grass. It had about 80 head of cattle and 20 head of horses.”

“That’s perfect but I’m not going to be sheriff. John Black just got shot and so did Hanna. I’ve just killed three men and wounded a fourth. A fella killed John and was dragging Hanna upstairs at the saloon. I braced him and he shot Hanna in the head and I killed him. Then someone tried the same thing with Ruby and don’t you dare say that they were only whores. Women never deserve to be made to have sex. I won’t be the sheriff to a town with those kinds of men.”

“I agree. Chris, you know that I took advantage of Ruby’s services a few times but I would never force myself on her. Isn’t that right, Ruby?”

“That’s true, Chris. Claude was always a gentleman.”

“While he was seeing you or when he was sneaking around on his wife?” I asked

“I wasn’t sneaking around. My wife is unable to have relations due to a severe infection that is proving very hard to cure. She has allowed me the ability to visit the girls at the saloon. But this has nothing to do with the spread I mentioned. If you become sheriff, it’s yours free and clear. If you wish to buy it for the price of the loan balance, I’ll sell it to you for the aforementioned $1200.”

I looked at Ruby, “Do you know where the place is?”

“Yes, Chris.”

“OK. Would you please take me there?”

“I will.”

“Thank you, Claude. Let me look at the place and take a look. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Ruby led us out of town and down a well-traveled trail. As we traveled, we talked, and I told her how I met John. She had a good laugh over that. She told me how she met Hanna after Hanna had been raped and the only way she could live was by becoming a whore. Then Ruby told me how she became a whore when her family was killed in an Indian attack while coming West. She was fourteen and had to use the only thing she had to survive.

“That leads me to another question,” I said. “Why did your parents name you Ruby? That seems like a whores name in the first place.”

“It is a whores name, Chris. My real names is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Barbara O’Shaughnessy.”

“Lord, that’s a mouthful. Why Ruby?”

“I didn’t want my true name associated with being a whore. I knew that I wouldn’t be a whore forever.”

“Just waiting for some cowboy to take you away?”

“Or kill me.”

I looked at her and saw she was serious.

“How much farther is it?” I said chasing that thought from my head.

“Another hour and a half.”

“Do you need to rest?”

“No, I’m good. Why do you need to rest?”

“No, I was worried about you. Do you normally ride in pants?”

“Oh, I see. You’re worried that my poor pussy will be tender from bouncing in the saddle.”

“Actually, yeah. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“For when we fuck later?”

“Actually, I wasn’t thinking of that. I guess I’ve stopped thinking of you as a whore. Now I think of you as being my girl.”

“Your woman! You said that at the saloon. I’m your woman.”

“I only said that to protect you. I don’t own you.”

“What if I gift myself to you and make being your woman official?”

“Then that’s a gift I will proudly accept and cherish.”

“Cherish? Not words I’ve ever had applied to me.”

“You might have to get used to it.”

Elizabeth reached out and took my hand and we rode that way for a few minutes before assuming a more comfortable riding position. We were mostly quiet from that point on. We rode around a low hill and there before us was the ranch. There was a house, a large corral, a big barn, and a stable. The entire set of buildings was surrounded by a fence.

“I just thought of something,” I said. “What if there are hands there and we have to deal with them?”

“Well, I don’t recall that the gang had anyone else working the spread,” Elizabeth explained. “I mean, I don’t recall fucking any men who worked out here. One time I had all four of them use me at the same time. If there had been more than four, I’m sure they would have all been in on it.”

I stopped my horse and looked down at the saddle horn. Hearing of the number of men she had serviced was making me very uncomfortable and I said so.

“Elizabeth, I really don’t care to hear about all your exploits with other men.”

“Jealous?”

“No! I think it makes you seem less than you are. I look at you and I see a lady. When you talked like that, you seem like...”

“ ... Like a whore.”

“Yeah and I don’t want to think of you like that.”

We rode up to the gate and no one came out of the house. I didn’t expect anyone since there was no smoke from the chimney. Dismounting, I lifted the rope that brought up the bar locking the gate and walked it open. Once inside the fence, I closed it and made sure the latch caught and I remounted the Grulla. We proceeded towards the front of the house.

“Hello the house!” I called out.

“Hello, the house!” I called louder to an equally non-response.

We rode up to the house and dismounting, tied our horses up to the rails in front of the door. I took Elizabeth’s hand and walked to the door. I rapped loudly on the sturdy door and received no response. I opened the door and walked in. It was dark so Elizabeth opened the shutters and let the late afternoon sun in.

Looking around we found the kitchen to be well stocked. There was a rifle and three boxes of ammo at each window. There were two bedrooms, each with two beds. It became quickly obvious that four men lived here and we knew they were never coming back. It was also apparent that the men were used to bringing out company as the beds were all easily big enough for two people.

“Before you ask, no, I was never out here as a whore. Everything I did was at the saloon. Hanna and a few others were out here for parties that turned into them fucking all the men at various times during the night in each bed.”

“I wasn’t going to ask, but thank you for that. Well it’s obvious no one is here. Let’s get the horses into the stable and bedded down and then we can take a closer look around the house.”

We led the horses to the stable and removed the saddles and blankets. We curry brushed them while they filled up on water from a spring fed watering trough. Then we left a good bit of hay in their mangers and on the floors of their stalls. We closed the doors and returned to the house. By now it was getting dark and we were both getting hungry.

“They have a lot of flour and bacon. I can make some biscuits while you do the bacon,” Elizabeth said.

“OK.”

I went out the back door and found the wood pile. I brought in some wood and kindling. There were matches on a shelf behind the nice cast iron stove. Soon I had a roaring fire in the stove and had one of the lids off and a pan sitting in one of the openings and a pot of coffee heating over the other. The smell of bacon and coffee filled the house.

While the bacon cooked, I looked around the pantry and found a large quantity of pinto and red beans. There was enough food there for four men to last a week or more. While the biscuits baked in the oven built on the side of the firebox, Elizabeth set the table. Soon coffee was poured, bacon and biscuits were on plates and we sat next to each other for our meal.

“Chris, this seems like a nice place to set up housekeeping.”

“It does. After we’re done I want to look around for their tally book. I wonder how many head and how many brands they have record of. I also wonder if they stole any and if so if they kept a record of them.”

It wasn’t unusual for a rancher to have several brands in his name and it was the custom to track other ranchers brands on your land. That way when you sold cattle, you didn’t have to separate the brands, you just had to note how many you sold so you could give the rightful owner their money. Assuming that you were honest.

We ate and talked about the place and what we saw riding in. We talked about what we needed to look for in the light of day and that led us to talk about sleeping arrangements.

“Do you want to sleep in a separate room?” I asked Elizabeth.

“I don’t recall that your cock was THAT long.”

“I mean, I don’t want you to think that you have to sleep in the same bed or the same room with me.”

“Chris, am I or am I not your woman?”

“You tell me.”

“I am and I will be until such time as I become your wife.”

Wife!? That was a thought I had not had. But of course, that was the logical end to two people living together.

“Let’s look for that tally book.”

We went through every drawer we could find and when we didn’t find anything I said, “It might be in the barn or stable. We can check in the morning. I really don’t feel like walking in the dark with a lamp and giving a bad guy a target.”

“Bad guy? Who do you think might be around?”

“Elizabeth, we don’t really know if the four men in the gang were the four men living here. One of them might have his own spread and the fourth man living here might walk in any time.”

“Are you serious or just trying to scare me into sleeping in your room?”

“Or bed,” I replied with a sly grin.

“Or bed! Seriously, Chris. Do you really think that might be the case?”

“Seriously, Elizabeth. I have no idea. But honestly, I think I got all four of them. You should be able to sleep anywhere you feel safe.”

“I feel safe with you.”

We got up and wasted a bit of time washing each other. We were both a little stinky from the night before. That took some time because we got stinky again. Breakfast consisted of flapjacks and bacon and coffee. We cleaned up and then went to check the stable for the horses and then the barn.

The horses were fine. We mucked the stalls and then fed them and turned them loose in the pasture area attached to the stable. We examined the stable and found nothing that looked like a tally book or a record of ranch business.

We walked to the barn, hand in hand, enjoying the closeness. It was a beautiful day and we could see from behind the barn a wide open pasture area that had 51 cows in it. We both counted. Inside the barn there was a small mountain of hay sheeves and a couple of rigs set up to plow and to cut. There was also a buckboard and a buggy. The buggy didn’t seem to fit the picture of the four members of the gang.

Then we found what we’d been looking for, the tally book. There were a set of shelves near a side door, on them were a couple of lanterns and several books. I glanced into each of the books and decided that there was too much to look at while standing in the barn.

“Come on Elizabeth, let’s get some coffee and look these over more carefully on the porch.”

I took down two thick books, Elizabeth took one and a package of wrapped up papers. When she lifted the papers, the board behind them moved. I removed it and found a small strong box. Pulling it out, it felt heavy.

“This is interesting. Let’s take it to the house and open it up.”

I had two books and the strong box and Elizabeth had the third book and the package of papers as we walked back taking in the surrounding area that we couldn’t see when we rode in.

“Chris, this is a beautiful place.”

“It is that.”

“I would love to live here with my husband.”

“Well, maybe you can do that after I move on.”

She looked at me and I noticed that her ears were turning red. They seemed to get more red as we approached the house. I opened the door and nodded my head to let her know that she should go in first. She entered, walked to the table, and threw the package of papers and the book down onto the table with a lot of force.

I’m not an expert on women but I began to suspect that my little joke about her finding a husband after I was gone was not taken in the spirit it was offered.

“Uh, Elizabeth?”

“What?” She stormed.

“I was joking.”

“I know,” her voice didn’t sound any less peeved.

“Good.”

“I knew you weren’t serious when you said you wanted me as YOUR whore. I knew you were joking when you said I was YOUR woman. I understand.”

“ELIZABETH! I was joking! I love you. I want you. I cannot, however, tell you that I want you HERE. I don’t know if this place will be worth it or safe for us and our children.”

Elizabeth looked at me and blinked several times like I’d dumped a pail of cold water on her anger.

“Children?”

“Yes,” I said, now committing to the idea.

“Chris, this is a great place for children!”

“Well then, let’s go through these books and see if it is safe and if this place will allow us to afford children.”

We kissed and Elizabeth patted me on the cheek. I sat at the table and arranged the books by the dates on the covers. Elizabeth got two cups and a pot of coffee before joining me.

“This book is from a few years ago. The place belonged to a fella named Grant and he set up the spread at the same time the town started. That explains the buggy. He was supplying beef to the town and the mines in the mountains west of here. He was also raising horses. He had an entire string of Grullas. It would appear that maybe my stallion is from a strong line.”

“Chris, the papers in this package are mostly receipts. Mr. Grant kept everything. There seem to be a lot of doctors’ bills around two years ago.”

I closed the book I was looking at and opened the one from about a year ago and found that Grant was losing stock. Mostly cows but a few horses. At the time the tally book says that he had 300 head branded as the Bar G and 450 head branded as the Double G but had lost a total of about 160 head.

“Suddenly he was losing a lot of cattle, got sick, and had to sell out. Brundle bought him out at a huge loss.”

“Brundle’s name is on the transfer papers and the mortgage with the bank,” Elizabeth added.

“And about that same time the tally book shows Brundle had a huge increase in his herd. Do you want to guess where they came from?”

“Brundle rustled them,” Elizabeth surmised. “And then brought them back after Grant lost the spread. And there’s a note here that Grant had no family. He attested in the paperwork that no family would be around to contest the ownership.”

“Let’s see what’s in the strong box?” I said, taking out my knife.

I examined the latch and the box popped open with no force. Inside I found a stack of currency and many $50 gold pieces.

“Elizabeth, there’s got to be thousands of dollars here. Brundle must have been planning to buy a lot of stock for the spread.”

“Or he was rustling cows on the times when he was away and that’s the money. Now with Brundle dead, and if what Claude said is true, we can take ownership with no problems.”