Chapter 9

Kate was absent from our little hovel for almost three full days now and I was starting to get a mite concerned because this was the longest she had been out on her own in the entire time that we had been living together in the state of sin.

I knew deep down inside my gut that she was a tough moll and could take care of herself without any man to ride trail on her pretty ass.

Still, in order to survive, I had developed this strange sense of knowing when things are out of kilter and this certainly felt like one of those times.

I had reached the decision that it might be time for me to stir out of my lair and start looking around all her haunts to see what the irritating bitch was up to. We had a sort of love-hate relationship that was anchored in the fact that we both depended on each other for certain needs that one would prefer to keep private in mixed company.

No sooner had I decided to take action, a sort of hesitant knock on the hotel room door made me check my left hand gat to make certain it was all put together properly and loaded for any eventuality. My other handgun was scattered in pieces all over the table letting the oil soak in and waiting for my pleasure in reassembling the deadly effectiveness of a dangerously explosive confrontational past history spurting lead without mercy from my skillful hands. At the moment, only my left-hand gun was functional, except for the twin derringers safely hidden up my sleeves as a final line of defense against evil forces. I seldom used them except as a last resort because I preferred not to advertise I had a pair of tiny handguns as my private backup. They had saved my worthless ass on multiple occasions when instant action was needed to prevent my exit from the stage of life.

My recent bout of a typical coughing spell had left me a bit frazzled on the edges and I knew I should probably just head for that isolated line-shack and get far away from Kate, the whiskey, and the risky danger that constantly surrounded me every time I sat down in a card game across from strangers with hard eyes.

I walked carefully over to the door staying out of the line of fire. One never knew when some old enemy was plotting to get even for some forgotten slight or insult that was carelessly dispensed without serious intent.

The knock came again and I confess my curiosity overcame my usual common sense approach of extreme caution and I cracked it open to peek outside.

I had to crane my neck to look down because the female on the other side of the door was almost two feet shorter than my six foot six lanky frame.

The pretty young thing dressed all in black was not a midget or a circus freak, she was just a short girl with an extremely fetching face that tugged at my heart strings and places further south right on the spot and with no reticence on my part about hiding my erection.

I opened the door all the way and quickly scanned the hallway left and right and checked the stairs to make certain that there were no bad men lurking in the shadows.

I grabbed the startled girl under her elbow and pulled her into the room pausing only to put both locks back on and propping a chair under the knob to keep someone from busting down the door in an attempt to catch me off guard.

“Oh, my, I was looking for Mrs. Kate. She used to take care of me when I was growing up and she told me to come to her when my pa passed.”

I looked at the girl and saw her bosom heaving from the excitement of the moment.

Her generously sized upper body development was most impressive and I had a sudden urge to start kissing and licking her hidden nipples like she was a mama feeding a hungry child. I had no such urge with my Kate or most of the floppy chested females that worked the saloon circuit because their shop-worn tits were better out of sight than staring you in the face when you were trying your best to shoot your load without slowing down.

This girl couldn’t be much more than eighteen and she had that bloom on her face and a look in her innocent eyes that informed me she had precious little experience with men exploring her hidden assets.

It reminded me of my earlier years in the beloved State of Virginia when I did my best to act like a gentleman at all times and would only bed a female that left me no doubt about her sincerity in requiring well-directed hardness in her secret feminine places without further delay. I took pride in the fact I adhered to the unspoken rule that such congress should be kept in confidence by a man that aspires to a reputation of not divulging any private matters to other parties.

I had found that my discretion led to many repeat performances by the ladies in question and that their fluttering close to my flame of desire was continued even after they joined in holy matrimony with some poor fellow that never suspected their spouse’s depth of hidden sexual desires. I tended that special flock with dedicated fealty and never had an urge to marry and claim monogamous rights to a female according to the generally accepted rules of modern society.

It was with some degree of dismay and downright conflicting “second thoughts” that I left the relative safety and comfortable insulation of my homeland for the dangers of the Wild West and coming face to face with the need to lose my gentlemanly manner and become a wild beast with enough gumption to survive in a world without pity for the weak or the maimed.

The doctors had informed me that my terrible coughing fits would certainly be the death of me unless I moved to a more hospitable climate and the region around the Territory of Arizona and New Mexico seemed well suited to my physical needs.

Being without a steady source of income from my family fortune due to my untimely departure, I had to resort to my old hobby of card playing and sometimes engaging in medical matters with oral problems that required immediate intervention. I had plenty of experience in dental hygiene and I would have started my own practice in Virginia if fate had not stepped in and sent me West for a change to extend my life span with a change of climate.