Tombstone.
I walked over to the crowd sitting in the street and saw a man I didn’t know. I leaned against the pole and greeted him. “Hey there. Don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Why hello darling. Something I can do for you, or you just going to be my own personal statue all day?” he looked at me.
I chuckled and said, “Care for some company instead of a statue?”
“Well darling, that’s about the best offer I had all day. Please, by all means... Sit.”
I smiled and sat down beside him. “Name’s Trin,” I reached my hand across the table.
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t shake hands... I’m Clint.”
I coughed at the name and clarified, “Clint...?”
“That’s me.”
I looked at him, shaking my head. It couldn’t be... It was too easy. “What’s your last name?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t really who I thought he was.”
“Curtis, if you must know. Are you always so informal with strangers, darling?”
I sighed with relief, “I’m sorry... It’s just that I..” I shook my head, “It’s nice to meet you, Clint.”
“Ya still lookin’ for Clint Houston Miss Trin?” Peta asked from a distance.
“Yes, a pleasure to make yer acquaintance, I’m sure,” Clint nodded.
“Yeah,” I nodded to Peta. I looked back over at Clint Houston to see if he recognized the name.
“Excuse me darling, but you keep looking at me,” he said. “Find me that attractive do you?”
I blushed and said, “Forgive me it’s just... I’ve been lookin’ for a man with the same name as you so when you said your name I was caught off guard.”
“Sweet Jesus, you mean there’s two of me? And I didn’t think they could improve on me.”
I chuckled and Peta said, “Hopefully ya ain’t Clint Houston, Mr.”
“Clint Houston?? He still round these parts?”
“You know him?” I looked at Clint.
He looked at me and said, “Reckon yer new round here darlin’... Everyone knows Clint Houston.”
“Only been in town just over a week now.”
“Want some friendly advice?”
“What can ya tell me about him? You gonna tell me to stop lookin’ for him?”
“Near burned my face off, once,” Peta said from amongst the crowd in front of the hotel.
“That dog won’t hunt. Leave it alone,” Clint warned.
“I can’t leave it alone. It’s my job to track him down.”
“Why darlin’, I believe you have an over-developed sense of duty,” he chuckled.
“Think it’s called dedication to the job,” I looked at him seriously. “How long have ya known Clint?”
“Three years,” Peta said then and headed to the dining room.
“Off and on a while now,” he looked me over. “For someone that don’t go heels, that sense of dedication gonna earn you a trip to the undertakers.”
“That a threat, darlin’?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Oh, I never threaten, darlin’,” he chuckled. “If I was gonna shoot you, you’d be dead already. I’m tellin’ you though since ya don’t go heels... Clint will kill you quickly. When he draws on you to fire, what are you gonna do?”
“Hope my backup takes care of him?” I looked at him.
“Well see that’s the rub, darlin’. If I were him this morning, you had no backup.”
I looked in the direction of the hotel and then back at Clint. “Guess you’re right. But if you were him, from what I’ve heard you woulda shot me already.”
“True... which brings this conversation full circle. An over-developed sense of duty.”
I shrugged, “You got somethin’ against a woman doin’ her job?”
“Nope, you wanna make a livin’ feel free. But when you are chasing the likes of known criminals with no sense of life, well, best you learn to return fire.”
“I figure since I don’t have the power to arrest anyway, I’ll leave the shootin’ and arresting to those who can do somethin’ about it. But you’re right, I do need to start thinkin’ about wearin’ that gun again...”
“Well since ya got no power to arrest anyone, you should stick to only huntin’ when the law’s about...” He said and I sighed, knowing he was right and looked over to see if Tye had emerged yet.
“And round these parts there ain’t much use fer law anyways.”
“Would seem to be a lack of them, wouldn’t there?”
“Makes my job easier,” he smiled.
“And what job is that?” I folded my arms across my chest, looking him in the eye.
“Why darling, I’m a gamblin’ man myself.”
“Gamblin with the law?” I winked.
“Gamblin’ with anything.”
“And that’s enough to keep ya goin’ huh?”
“I’ve done well by it so far.”
I looked him up and down and said, “Looks as if ya have.”
“You a gambler?”
“Never tried it, nope,” I shook my head. “I play poker when I get the chance, just not for money.”
“Be interested in a proposition, darling?”
“You can ask, I ain’t gonna promise anything though.”
“Well, ain’t much point to it then is there.”
“If it’s just a proposition, darlin’, I don’t have to promise anythin’.”
“Okay darlin’... be interested in a... friendly wager?”
“What we wagin’ on?” I chuckled softly.
“Your talent.”
“Which talent? I have many.”
“That remains to be seem, but for now, let’s say your talent at cathin’ outlaws,” he suggested. I sighed and leaned back, trying not to show him my lack of confidence in myself these days. “What you say, darlin’?” he smirked.
“You wanna place a wager on who can catch Clint Houston first, is what you’re askin’?”
“No... I’m waitin’ to see if you wanna make a wager on your talent at catchin’ an outlaw, then we can discuss terms and... prizes.”
“I’ll be honest with ya...” I hesitated. “I’m still very new around these parts.. still learnin’ names. I haven’t even been officially on the job in months until I got here. Tryin’ to ease my way back in, as it were.”
“So I will take your hesitance as a resounding... no.”
“For now I have to say no; I just need more time to... re-acclimate myself.”
“Maybe you oughta consider a safer line a work, like marriage and kids.”
“No... Investigating is all I know. Pursuing the truth.. Then letting the marshals take care of the leg work.”
“Well... Seems to me, with yer reluctance and all, you’re sorta questionin’... all you know.”
“You need to understand somethin’, Clint... Before I came to Tombstone I had lost everything. My friends betrayed me, my man left without a word, the job I wanted to do got turned on its head... I came here lookin’ for a fresh start, a place to find myself again in the one profession that always gave me that sense of... purpose. Identity.”
“Well darlin’ we all have our trials and tribulations.”
“I’ve worked cases against gangs, natives who would seem to bully rather than create peace, viscous men like Jesse James and the black brothers...”
“Well bein’ as bonafide as you are then, a little wager oughta not hurt then.”
“Tell me the specs of the wager.”
“Easy. I’ll give you seven days to find Clint Houston. It’s a rather pass-fail wager. If you succeed, name what you want. If you don’t, you give me what I want.”
“I don’t know you well enough for that kind of wager.”
“That’s why they call it gamblin’ darlin’.”
“Besides we ain’t really on a fair playing field. I’ve been workin’ on this case for about a week. You’ve probably known the man for years.”
“My known the man is inconsequential to yer success.”
“Not true. Your knowin’ the man will help you find him faster than me.”
“You two still sitting here?” Jamie came over.
“Hey there Jamie.”
“Hi Miss Trin. I just had the best breakfast ever!”
“Oh did you? Where was that?” I asked, grateful for the change of subject.
“It was really flat pancakes with strawberries and cream on top. And they even let me lick my plate. You should try it sometime.”
“Bad manners,” Clint said.
“Mr. Tye called it I think... Creeps?” Jamie pronounced the word wrong. “But it was so good and I asked first.”
“Sounds real good,” I smiled.
“So it not bad manners,” Jamie said to Clint.
“Mr. Tye is a creep?” Clint laughed.
“I’m gonna have to go try those soon enough.”
“Who ya lookin’ for today, Miss Trin?” Jamie asked me.
“Bad men, like always, Jamie,” I smiled at her.
“What der name, maybe I can helps? I sees lots of people in town.”
“It’s alright. We’ll find ‘em. Just need time,” I looked over at Clint.
Another girl came over and Jamie talked with her. Clint looked over at me and asked, “Now Miss Trin... Where were we?”
I looked back at him and said, “It’s too soon to be wagerin’ anythin’.”
“No such thing as too soon darlin’.”
“Oh really? So it ain’t too soon for me to take you in that saloon and let you sweep me off my feet?”
“Not at all,” he said and I chuckled, standing. “Lead the way, darling.”
We walked into the saloon together and started dancing. “So Clint...” I said as he swayed me around the dance floor. “What is it that you want?”
“Well, if we was wagerin’.. I want a night with an off-duty detective, dinner, drinks, and dancin’.”
“You know if ya wanted that we don’t have to wager nothin’. You could just ask,” I smiled.
“I know, but there’s no challenge in that...”
“Does everything have to be a challenge?” I chuckled.
“No, I tend to find that few things are truly a challenge.. the wager was more or less to be used as a means of serving two possible purposes.”
“I know one of ‘em.... Care to enlighten me on the other?”
“Actually you know neither of them so I will enlighten you to both. The wager serves two purposes. If you succeed, it bolsters your confidence, if you fail perhaps it would be a call to re-examine your calling.”
“You don’t think I can do it..” I summed up. “I
“If it were anyone but Clint Houston,” he said and I nodded, knowing I’d taken on a giant case and wondered why Ansar had trusted me with it. “Especially bein’ unarmed, you signed your own death warrant.”
“Then maybe we make a smaller wager... You help me learn how to shoot again... and I’ll give you that dinner, drinks, and dancin’ evening a lot sooner than ya might think.”
Tye stepped into the saloon then, and I heard him busting out laughing as he walked back out of the saloon. I looked to Clint, waiting his response. “What do you think?”
“Sure, darling. I see Mr. Durden gave up law and became domesticated.”
“You know him?” I looked at him as we continued to dance.
“We’ve met. I used to harass Sarrah in a rather playful manner. He and I used to banter back and forth a bit.”
“How long have you been in Tombstone, exactly? Seems like ya know a lot.”
“Oh, I been here a while.”
I smiled and spun around in his arms. “You’re pretty good at this dancin’ thing too.”
“Thank you darling, I try.”
“There a shooting practice area somewhere ‘round here?” I looked at him.
“Yes darlin’, you wanna go?”
“Just need to get a gun from the office. Walk with me there?”
“Sure.”
We headed to the office and I got a gun belt and wrapped it around my waist. I clipped the gun into its holster and asked, “How does that look?”
“Sexy,” he smiled and I chuckled.
“Prove it,” I blushed, looking him up and down.
He slid up close to me, taking me in his arms and pressed into me. “That’s no gun darling.”
I swallowed hard as we kissed and then we went to the target range to practice shooting. I went back to the office when we’d finished and said goodbye to each other.
***
I walked into town later and greeted the group in front of the hotel. Tina was saying how she was a deputy in Benson and Tye told her to put the gun away before she scared someone. I went into the hotel and got some coffee and Tye nodded to me.
“Yeah, I got a new belt,” I smiled at him, catching his gaze.
I made myself a cup of coffee and headed back outside. I listened to the chatter going on in the crowd and greeted Sky as she came over to join us. I showed her my new gun belt and she said it was about time I started to wear one. Tye told us how he would need to get a badge again to help the law out. I finished my coffee and went back in the kitchen to place the cup in the sink and then went back outside and pulled out my notebook. I went to work on more files and then went back to the shooting range with Skyla and Tye to learn best how to use my gun again.
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