Chapter 19

While I was singing Irish Eyes to Molly Dean, Feleena and about half the girls from Rosa’s came in. I gave Molly a kiss on the cheek when I finished the song and joined in as the Hombres swung into ‘El Paso’. For once Feleena acknowledged my singing by tilting her head in my direction and smiling at me. The ladies’ happy hour passed quickly as the women from the different saloons and dance halls rotated in and out. Feleena stayed for fifteen minutes and had a glass of wine. I stopped by her table when I wasn’t singing and said hello to her.

“I am glad to see you are not sitting around pining away for me, Mister Abogado,” she said.

Funny, she didn’t sound that glad at all.

After I finished singing ‘El Paso’, I asked Liz to dance with me. She smiled and looked at Pen inquisitively. When he nodded, she stood up and stepped into my arms. I mentioned before that Liz and I were a well matched couple and we both knew how to dance, so we put on a show. As the Hombres played a nice waltz, I swirled Liz around the room. She gracefully followed me, anticipating my movements from when we’d danced before.

It was the first time I’d danced at the Toro, but it wouldn’t be the last, as the Toro girls cornered me and made me dance with Conchita. Conchita wasn’t the polished dancer that Liz was, but she had a grace about her that I appreciated.

I checked both bars and the card tables then I asked Molly for a dance. She was hesitant at first, but finally agreed. Molly had danced before, as learning to dance was part of the tutoring she received in being a good wife. Molly had been all smiles the entire evening.

“You look as if you are having a good time, Molly Dean, which makes me very happy.”

“I am having a wonderful time Tyler, thank you so much for inviting me. I had no idea you were such an accomplished singer and dancer.”

I laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

“I’m not either of those things, but it was sweet of you to say so.”

I walked Molly back to our table as soon as the song ended. As I passed Feleena’s table, she and her friends were standing up to leave. She caught my eye and arched her eyebrows.

“You dance and sing surprisingly well for a Gringo,” Feleena said.

Before I could reply, Molly jumped in.

“He does many things amazingly well,” Molly said in her sultry bedroom voice.

Feleena’s mouth tightened into a straight line as she headed out the door. I kissed Molly on the cheek again.

“Thanks for saying that, my little cutie.”

She smiled and patted my arm.

“I’ve never had a problem with telling the truth, Ty,” she replied.

I asked Pen if he was okay with me walking Molly home at eleven. He said sure and told me that he and Liz would close up so I didn’t need to come back.

As we strolled home, I put my arm around Molly and this time she cuddled right up against me.

“I’m glad Mister Smythe gave you the rest of the night off, Ty, because your singing and dancing has me feeling very amorous.”

I laughed and let my hand slip down until it was resting on her nicely rounded hip. As we walked, I told her in great detail what I was going to do to that amazing ass of hers when we reached my room. My words had her hips swishing as she started walking faster.

As soon as we reached my room, I kissed her then spun her around and leaned her over the back of my armchair. She moaned as I flipped her dress and crinolines up over her back and pulled her bloomers down her legs. I think she started coming before I was half way into her.

Molly Dean had a gorgeous ass. Even though I hadn’t lit my coal oil lamp when we arrived in my room, I could still see it clearly from the glow of the moonlight washing through my windows. Molly’s butt was smooth, pale and flawless. She had muscular cheeks that jutted out provocatively and fit into my hands perfectly. Molly’s ass was also very sensitive. She loved for me to play with it while we coupled. As I drove into her, I swatted her firmly. She cooed and dropped her head down to raise her ass up higher.

The next day things were nearly back to normal as Pen, with help from Liz, re-assumed more of his duties at the Toro. Liz was openly living with Pen now and had quit her job at the Gold Nugget. They were even talking about marriage. I was really happy for the both of them, because I thought they were perfect together.

At two in the afternoon, I put the money from Señor Trujillo in an envelope and took it over to the courthouse. I handed it to the clerk of the court along with a note that said Trujillo had a change of heart about filing charges. Two hours later, a deputy came to the Toro and said the sheriff wanted to see me.

I gabbed with the deputy as we walked down to the jail. He was a gregarious man of middle age, who acted mostly as the town’s jailer. I guessed that he didn’t get to talk all that much, being cooped up with the taciturn Sheriff Faulkner. Faulkner had a staff of eight deputies spread out between working the courthouse, tending the jail, patrolling the town and policing the county. He had a big job and a small crew with which to accomplish it. I didn’t envy him a bit.

When I arrived at the jail, Faulkner was sitting at his desk with Carlos Trujillo sitting in a side chair. He looked up when I strolled in, his look inscrutable.

“The charges have been dropped against your client, counselor, and he’s free to go. I wanted you down here before I released him so you could hear what I’m about to tell him.”

I nodded my head respectfully and gave him my undivided attention.

“You were lucky this time Trujillo, because the men you attacked changed their minds about pressing the charges against you. Next time you bring a knife into my town, I will arrest you and throw you under the jail. I don’t care how many lawyers you hire. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” we both said in unison.

Faulkner sent Carlos with the jailer to get his horse and tack from the stable, but asked me to stay for a minute. When we were alone, he gave me a much kinder look.

“I keep hearing good things about you McGuinn, this time from that federal man, Gordon. He came in here and apologized for not consulting with me before he arrested Toliver. He also told me that you played a big part in finding the counterfeiters and were considering a job in law enforcement.”

I told him what I wanted to do with the U.S. Marshall up in Santa Fe, and he nodded his understanding.

“Listen McGuinn, I can offer you the same deal as a part time deputy too. I have a pool of seven or eight part-timers that I call up for posses or special events. I don’t know how long I can keep you on, because Judge Howard had a county law passed that the sheriff will be elected, instead of appointed, starting next year. I’ll stand for election, but I’m not Howard’s first choice for the job, and he controls a lot of votes.”

I told Faulkner to let me think about it for a couple of days, but I was pretty much sold on the idea already. He guffawed when I told him if the elections were held after the first of November, I’d be old enough to vote for him.

“Hell, son; the way I hear it, you could get yourself elected if women could vote. My deputies tell me that there is a stampede of fallen doves headed to the Toro every night to hear you sing.”

Until Faulkner said that, I hadn’t even remembered that women couldn’t vote in the 1870s. How freaking stupid was that, especially for a lawyer?

Before I left his office, the Sheriff had a request for me. He asked that I escort my client home. Faulkner didn’t want to chance Carlos and the cowboys he’d carved up running into each other.

I could hardly say no to his request, so I headed down to the stables to catch up with Carlos.

Carlos was saddling his horse when I walked up. I asked him to wait for me so I could ride home with him. I saddled up Melosa and soon we were on our way. I dropped by the Toro and Molly’s to let everyone know where I would be, then we set out towards the Trujillo spread. While we rode, I talked to Carlos about the looming conflict over the rights to the salt flats. Carlos said that Mexicans had had unrestricted access to the salt for almost three hundred years. He said that it had been only in the last ten years that one group had tried to control the vital salt.

Carlos told me the Mexican communities on both sides of the river were becoming resigned to the notion that there’d be bloodshed before it was all over. Everyone thought that as soon as the last troops were pulled out of Fort Bliss and sent north towards Indian Territory, Howard would have free reign. The last detachment of soldiers was due to depart on the first of July, only a week away. I was finding more and more that Judge Howard was a serious megalomaniac. He thought that he was the emperor of El Paso County and West Texas.