Chapter 10

I screwed up my courage on Thursday morning and went to the courthouse to present myself to the court. I had with me a letter of introduction I’d written, listing my qualifications (all of them true, except for the name of the college). It turns out that the process was much easier than I had anticipated, as I didn’t have to do anything except present my letter to the clerk of the court, fill out a form and take an oath.

The Clerk of the Court of El Paso County was an officious, humorless man who acted as if I was a great bother to him. He did tell me that if I was competent as an attorney, I’d be most welcomed by the court because of its case load. If I weren’t competent, Judge Howard would soon send me packing.

It seemed that for all his other faults, Howard ran a progressive court. The clerk kept a list of available attorneys, so that when a defendant asked for an attorney, he was provided with two names off the list. The client and the accused worked out fees for services, but woe be unto you if you turned down a client outright. Howard was strict in his enforcement of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. I later figured out that Howard was outwardly running his court so properly, in order to deflect criticism from some of his other dealings.

I was one happy shyster when I left the courthouse. For some reason, I was bursting to tell Molly, so I clucked Melosa towards the boarding house, singing the Hollywood Argyles’s “Alley Oop” as we went. The song had a great beat that Melosa loved, plus it was a blast to sing. Go ahead, try it yourself:

He got a chauffeur that’s a genuine dinosaur,
(Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
and he can knuckle your head before you count to four.
(Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
He got a big ugly club and a head fulla hair,
(Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
Like great big lions and grizzly bears. (Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
(Alley Oop) He’s the toughest man there is alive,
(Alley Oop) Wears clothes made from a wildcat’s hide,
(Alley Oop) He’s the king of the jungle jive.
(Look at that cave man go!!) (SCREAM)

Told you.

So anyway, Melosa high-stepped me back to Molly’s place. When we arrived, I slid out of the saddle, tied Melosa to the hitching post by the kitchen and burst through the door. Molly was at the sink when I flung the door back onto its hinges. She spun around, her hand in front of her defensively. When she saw it was me, her green eyes squinted to little slits.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Tyler McGuinn, you’ve scared ten years off me life,” she said sternly.

She was probably pissed at me for startling her, but it didn’t matter — I was the new king of the jungle jive. I closed the distance between us in two strides, swept her up in my arms and spun her around in a great swooping circle. She squealed and beat against my chest as I slowed and set her feet back on the floor.

“Quit your bellyaching woman,” I growled, “and kiss the newest attorney of the El Paso County District Court.”

That got me the smile I’d been aiming for, then she threw her arms around my neck, kissing me soundly.

She sat me down at the table and told me to tell her all about it. I pulled her into my lap and kissed her again.

“It is your doings, Molly Dean. You made me feel so good this morning, that I went to my office, wrote myself up a letter of introduction, saddled up my horse and rode straight to the courthouse.”

Molly blushed in pleasure at my praise and hugged me tighter. I could see that she was genuinely happy for me. Then she leaned back in my arms and gave me that mischievous twinkling smile.

“So where’s me reward then, cheeky lad,” she said, putting on the lilting Irish brogue I loved to death.

“Right here’s your reward lass,” I said as I stuck out my tongue and wiggled it at her.

She hit me on the arm and called me a pig. Then she hopped off my lap and dragged me to her room just down the hall. By the time I had one boot off, her hair was out of its bun and wildly flying around as she worked on the fasteners of her dress. My second boot was barely on the floor when she stepped out of her bloomers and did the Fosbury flop, naked onto the bed. I finally struggled out of my trousers and moved towards her. She giggled when I grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed.

I knelt down and hooked her knees over my shoulders, so her ass was positioned on the edge of the bed. Her giggles turned to other noises when, without preamble, I buried my face in her sweet, almost hairless little muff. I kept after her for twenty minutes. She’d climaxed about a half a dozen times before I stopped. When I pulled my head back, her fragrant nectar coated my face and the inside of her thighs.

I showed Molly how to return the favor next. She wasn’t reluctant in the least to take me in her mouth. She had never done it before, but she learned fast and was a motivated pupil. She drained me as dry as the Sahara in only a few minutes.

When I was as sated as she was, we cuddled on the bed. To my surprise, Molly didn’t want to talk about a future between us.

“I like being with you like this, Ty, and I like the way you make me feel about myself. But you are young and have too many wild oats left unsown. For now, this is enough for me. I’m not going anywhere, so if you feel differently a year from now, we can talk about it again.”

Everything she said was true. I liked, probably even loved Molly, but I didn’t think my destiny was with her. And how would I know what that destiny was if I was tied down so soon?

By Thursday night, I was an old hand at running Pen’s saloon. Some of my little ideas, like free rounds for the gamblers, had started drawing us a bigger crowd. Chip sales were brisk right through to Saturday night, and three tables were usually full. I tasked the working girls with spending an hour each, fetching drinks for the players and giving them some eye-candy. Then I set the example by tipping them for their efforts.

I kept station at one of the poker tables, my back to the wall so I could watch the entire salon as I played. It soon became second nature to scan the place every opportunity I had, yet still concentrate on my playing. I bought into the game with twenty dollars every night and quit if I lost it. That happened for the first time Friday night, as a run of bad luck drained my stake by ten o’clock. I shrugged off my luck, wandered over to the dance floor and bought myself a ticket. I spent most of the rest of the night over there, getting to know the ladies.

I liked most all of the women Pen had hired. I had to give the wiry little Englishman credit. He had good taste and high standards. None of the women caught my fancy, but they all seemed to think I was just swell. I’d like to think that they really liked me and weren’t being nice just because I was the boss.

By closing time Saturday, despite my one bad night, I’d netted almost fifty dollars for the week in gambling. My stash of money was up to over three hundred and fifty dollars, all of it in coins or U.S. currency.

My law practice didn’t do as well, as the only legal work I had came from Pen Smythe. I was looking for that to change after I hung my stylish new shingle Saturday afternoon. Molly also dropped by on Saturday with my new curtains and table drape. I borrowed a hammer and some nails from Miguel, and tacked the curtains across the top of the window frame. Molly had also made two tiebacks to hold the curtains open.

To show her how much I appreciated her efforts, I locked the door, closed the curtains and gave her a little oral treat as she sat on my desk. Molly protested the entire time, but orgasmed in less than two minutes. She said she was scared to death of being caught, and that had made it the most exciting thing she’d ever done.

After christening my office, Molly walked over to Pritchett’s with me so I could buy myself a second suit. She recommended this brown number that fit me well, so I took it. Handy little Molly said she’d hem the trousers that evening for me. While I wasn’t looking, she also bought me a darker brown tie and pocket square.

I was wearing that suit the next day, as I stood with Melosa under the shade of the same big tree next to the San Elizario Mission. I was once again waiting on the Lopezes. I only had a five-minute wait this Sunday, before Hector pulled up with his brood. When they walked up to where I was standing, I doffed my hat to the ladies and greeted Hector. When my hat came off my head, Melosa did her cutest curtsy yet.

This Sunday was a repeat of the last, with Little Anna getting restless about three quarters of the way through the service. Once again, I escorted both Annas outside. I took the little girl from her grandmother when we reached Melosa, and swung her up on my shoulders so she could pet and love on my horse. Anna the Elder was standing close by my side, making sure I didn’t drop her nieta. I made sure no one was around and put my arm around Anna’s waist.