Tombstone.
I walked down the street this morning and saw David walked over. “Morning, David. Long time no see.”
“Howdy there Miss Trin.....awful long time indeed.”
“Last I saw you was when Lot wanted to teach you a lesson and you forgot all about me.”
“Yeah, that’s been a while ago... Heck I even forgot about my run in with Lot. But pretty lady like you I never forget.”
“I hadn’t forgotten,” I looked at him seriously. “Seems like you’d forgot about me that day.” He was silent for a while before I said, “Seems you’ve forgotten about that day too. Don’t I feel special...”
“Ain’t that at all. You’re pretty special... I just had a lot happen as of late, what with being shot twice in two days.”
“You report either incidents?”
“I prefer not see I pretty much instigated them... the last one well we shot each other so I say ended fair.”
“Then all is fair in love and war, as it were,” I chuckled. “Seems you’re settling in nicely.”
“I’m doing ok. Got work got a place to rest at night. Just need the lady and life be pretty swell.”
“Where are you working now?”
“Oh I work for Miss Bay as a ranch hand and I help with her deliveries.”
“Sounds like a decent job. Not sure I know Miss Bay.”
“Miss Baylinda’s place out in Benson.”
“The name isn’t familiar,” I shook my head. “Though I don’t go out to Benson much... Not much reason to.”
“Don’t normally go out that way either except work.”
“I’m either between here or Black Diamond.”
“I’m trying to get out and see more folks gets to comfortable to just stay around Allen St.”
“I understand. Feel like taking a walk with me? Maybe we’ll find some action. I’ve got nothin’ to do until I sing in a couple of hours in Bisbee.”
“What time you performing?”
“In a couple of hours, hon,” I winked and said again. “I sing at 1. That better?”
“Could have just said that,” he smiled.
“S’pose I coulda...” I winked. “Maybe we should get something to drink, hmm? Join me at the Oriental?”
“You sure it’s okay?” he looked around.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I looked back. “Ain’t like there’s anythin’ else going on right now.”
“Sure.”
We walked over to the Oriental and I went back behind the counter. “What can I get ya?” I asked him.
“Um, something hot.”
“Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea?” I chuckled a bit.
“Coffee would be fine.”
“What do you take in it?” I asked, reaching for the coffee pot and pouring two cups of coffee.
“Black’s just fine.”
I nodded and handed him the mug, adding some whiskey to my own coffee and taking it over to the table with him. We sat down and I smiled, “So... you finally get that drink with me.”
“Yes ma’am. I apologize about that day with Lot.”
“It’s fine, you had to prove yourself I guess,” I sipped my coffee. “Just that Lot ain’t exactly the smartest choice for that. He’ll kill you without caring.”
“Dead is a hard thing to be,” David smiled.
“Best avoid it then,” I winked at him, drinking more coffee.
“Come close to it a few times.”
“You wear guns at least... That’s a good start. Now you just gotta get better at ‘em.”
“I’m getting better. This last run was at least a tie.”
“I ain’t been shot at in a long while,” I nodded. “Ain’t been since August. Guess I should be proud of that.”
“I’m trying for the tough without bullets approach.”
“I agree... No need to just shoot someone down. I like to work things out verbally if I can. So far I’ve managed it okay.”
“Yeah some fellas quick for the pistol. Can I ask you a personal question Miss Trin?”
“So did you always want to be a ranch hand? Work with horses?” I asked at the same time and then smiled, “Of course.
“I’ll answer you first... nope wasn’t my first choice but the work is there and well I never been afraid to get dirty. Miss Bay don’t pay real well but I can get what supplies I need of the ranch.”
“I’m glad to hear that. What’s your question?” I nodded.
“You got yourself a fella, Trin?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I let things go where they will and try not to get too attached.. Most men just end up disappearing in the end anyway. So I enjoy whatever moments I get with someone because I may never see them again. Life is too unpredictable.”
“Suppose that’s a good perspective,” David smiled.
“Or just one from a bitter girl who’s been abandoned too many times,” I sighed. “My heart’s been broken too much to trust in happy endings anymore. So I’ll stick with happy moments.”
“Happy endings hard to come by... believe me I know that tale.”
“I focus on my work as a detective and as a lawyer... The rest I suppose will happen when it’s meant to.”
“May I refill your mug?”
“Sure, as long as you don’t forget that shot of whiskey,” I winked at him. He smiled and went to refill the cup and came back to sit down. “Thanks darlin’. If I order straight whiskey you’ll know somethin’s wrong.”
“Then I hope I never the reason you order straight whisky.”
“You and me both. So you ain’t married off?”
He stared at me for a moment before finally asking, “Uh, what? Me, married? Got close.”
“What happened?”
“She found a fella she liked better.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I finished the coffee and then looked at him in the silence. “What’s going through that mind of yours, David?”
“Well I believe stuff happens for a reason... and a lot happen after that.”
“I agree,” I nodded.
“So ‘bout a year ago I was living in Georgia seeing Miss Peaches... Well Miss Peaches run off with a fella named Picker. Well at first I was sure sore Picker took Peaches.”
“I bet you were.”
“They moved up north and got married which was good ‘cause the house they lived in Georgia got destroyed with the hurricane and they’d of sure died if they hadn’t left.”
“But you’re still left alone.”
“Suppose so but after the hurricane I decided to move out west.”
“Met some really mean folks...” he paused and then looked at me sweetly. “Met some really pretty folks. All of what past brings to today.”
“Indeed, I suppose it does,” I nodded. “Don’t mean we always have to like our past though.”
“Why? You learn something from it, didn’t cha?”
“I guess so... But when the list of tragedies pile up... it starts to get old and it gets hard to see the good.”
“That it does,” he nodded. “I’ve had a lot of bad crap happen to me... hell, more than my share I think... but you know what? I’m here right now in this moment. Alive and breathing.”
“Yes you are... And the moment is what matters, not the past. And God knows we can’t control the future.”
“Well pasts are important, makes us who we are... just cant dwell there like a dead skunk.”
“How’d you get to be so smart?”
He looked around and leaned close to me. “I’m not sure,” he whispered.
I blushed at the closeness and smiled into his eyes. “Anything else you want to know about me?” I rested my hand on the table in case he wanted to touch it. He looked at it and nervously moved his hand to mine. I smiled at the contact and traced my thumb along the palm of his hand. “David? Anything else you want to know about me?”
“I had a thought Miss Trin. Would you want to have dinner with me sometime?”
“Perhaps... if the moment called for it...” I winked as he rubbed my hand softly. I rubbed a finger around his wrist and said, “It’s almost time for me to change and get to Bisbee... Will you be coming to hear me sing again?”
“Thank you for the drinks... I hope to see you there.”
“I have a few deliveries for Miss Bay but I will do my best.”
“See you soon, David,” I nodded and took his hand, pulling him close to kiss his cheek before walking out to get ready for the show in Bisbee.
Bisbee.
After finishing my set at the Stock Exchange, I thanked everyone for coming out and talked with them about the snowball competition coming up that evening. I spoke with a woman named Bailey who I hadn’t seen since May and she told me she was living in Bisbee now.
Tombstone.
I walked out of my office and saw a woman that I didn’t recognize. “Hi there, miss. How are you this evening?”
“Hello Miss. I am Victoria and this is Miranda.”
“Victoria, we’ve met before. I was just greeting this new woman I haven’t met yet.”
“Miranda this is Trin. Trin, this is Miranda,” she introduced.
“Hello,” Miranda nodded.
“Are you alright there?” I looked at her.
“Yes, I am fine.”
“Are you new to the town, Miranda?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t suppose you’ve had any run-ins with any bad folk since coming, have you?”
“No I have not, unless Victoria here is bad,” she smiled.
“I just wanted to warn you about someone who seems to have been targeting new women to the town.”
“No, no, I try to behave myself,” Victoria smiled.
“Oh, who might that be?”
“Well we’re not exactly sure his identity, that’s the problem. He robs women and then kisses them before leaving. Usually new folk to the town. I just wanted you to be careful.”
“I will, thank you.”
“And if anything happens like this... Please do let me or the sheriff know? I’m a detective and we’re trying to catch this man.”
“Is he a good kisser?”
“That’s not really the point. The point is he robs women.”
“I got nothing worth taking, so if he’s gonna rob me and kiss me, I might as well enjoy it.”
“She has a point there,” Victoria smiled. “Just kidding.”
“Well I’ll leave you two to chat. Have a good evening.”
I walked into to the Oriental and smiled when I saw Dash. I knew that I needed to get on his good side so I would have to turn on the charm around him. “Well hey there!”
“Howdy, Miss Trin,” Dash said from behind the bar.
“Oh, hi Miranda,” I looked over at her.
“Hello again, Trin,” she said.
“So Dash... Reckon you and I are workin’ together now, eh?” I smiled at him as he poured two glasses of whiskey.
“Oh is he the sheriff you were telling me about?” Miranda asked.
I blinked, trying not to hesitate. It was true that Dash was who we suspected but I couldn’t say so for sure. “No, because I’m working here at the Oriental as well.”
“Dancing girl?” Miranda asked.
“Um... I reckon so,” Dash looked at me.
“Bartender,” I smiled. “But Dash here is workin’ tonight.”
“Oh,” she looked me over. “Should have been a dancer.”
“Thanks, I think?” I chuckled.
“Nice top,” she smiled.
I looked to Dash and said, “Nice to know I’ve got options.”
“Yep,” Dash nodded. “Options always good to have... I always leave myself many of them.”
“Say, I’m not interrupting am I? You two want some alone time?” Miranda asked.
“Yer fine, miss,” Dash said and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh, I thought perhaps you might have been her beau.”
“No ma’am,” Dash laughed and I blushed a bit. “Not that Miss Trin isn’t a good catch... I think we would see things a bit different most of the time.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know darlin’... I think we’ve got more in common than you might guess,” I smiled at him.
“Her being a detective and well... me being an um... a bartender.”
I chuckled at that and asked, “We both enjoy a good time, don’t we?”
“Oh,” he slanted his head looking at me. “How’s that?”
“Oh my, everyone enjoys a good time,” Miranda put in.
“I’m sure we do... Just in different ways, perhaps.”
“Well you know... Dancin’, etcetera,” I smiled at him. “Again... you never know.”
“See, this could be a match made in heaven,” Miranda said.
“I don’t think so... I dated a law woman once, named Storm. Didn’t go so well,” Dash said.
“With a name like Storm... Go figure, Sir,” Miranda said.
“Besides... Dash knows I’m more of an ‘in the moment’ kind of gal,” I winked at him.
“You look like the cat that ate the canary,” Dash looked back at me.
“Nah, just happy to see you here, Dash. Been a while since you and I caught up.”
“Help! Help!” Sommer’s voice came from outside.
“Excuse me, ladies. Let me go see what’s going on.”
“S’pose I should too,” I said and followed him outside.
There was a crowd gathering near the river and Mysti was sitting in a wagon that had gotten stuck in the mud. “How did that wagon get in the river?” Dave was asking.
“What happened?” Serenity asked in fake surprise as V gasped dramatically.
“Looks like a bad situation you are in,” Dave said.
“Oh goodness,” David shook his head next to him.
“Thought you tightened the bolt but now the wheel is loose,” Mysti looked at V.
“Let’s get those horses unhitched,” Dave said.
“Well what did ye do?” V asked.
“Mysti has a loose wheel?” Dash asked.
“Yeah, it fell right off. Funny thing,” Sommer said.
“The wheel came off,” Mysti said.
“I fixed that wheel up good,” V insisted. “Ye must have did some crazy driving.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking about my grandfather who used to always say “Had one once but the wheels fell off it.”
“Look, the wheel is on the ground, not on the wagon!!” Mysti exclaimed.
“V, do you remember which way is loosen and which way is tighten?” Dave asked.
“Maybe you should try to release the horses and pull the wagon then backwards out of the river,” a girl who I didn’t know suggested.
“I drive this pretty good, if the wheel didn’t come off,” Mysti said.
“Left, right?” V scratched her head.
“Mysti even said herself that it was havin’ some problems with her wheel,” Serenity said.
“That would be my suggestion,” Dave said.
“Ok, I’ll let ‘em go. Unhitch them,” Mysti said.
“Seems suspicious to me,” David whispered.
“Anyone have any horses they can use to help pull that wagon out?” Dave asked.
Mysti stood up and reached down, careful not to fall into the water, and released the horses.
“Wait, lefty loosy, righty tighty...” V looked at her hands.
“Show me your right hand, V,” Dave requested.
“Oooh, V that’s backwards,” Mysti pointed out.
“Well hell, I am left handed,” V said.
“No wonder the wheel came off,” Mysti said.
Sommer put hr hands on her hips and asked, “Now what?”
“Can y’all help me pull this wagon out of the water?” Mysti asked.
“We need to hook the horses up to the back of the wagon and pull it out,” Dave said.
“I’m allergic,” V coughed.
Mysti started to pull on the wagon and slipped. “Mysti, careful,” I warned.
“Oughta hook V to the wagon and make her pull it out,” Dave chuckled softly and I laughed at that.
“I ain’t no horse!” V grumbled.
“We should use some ropes to pull it out of the water,” the other girl suggested.
Dash looked at David and said, “Go on in there and help the woman David. You too sheriff. I’ll supervise.”
“I supervise Dash Supervising,” V said.
“Ya all ready... on my count... Heee hooo!” Dash said.
“Oh please, Sir, I’d be much obliged,” Mysti said to David.
“Ok you supervise V... I’ll help by gettin outta the way,” Dash suggested.
I moved to help the boys push the wagon out of the water and then Dave got a log and set it down, looking for a board to use as a lever. I handed him one and Dave set the board over the log under the wagon. David put the wheel back on the wagon and the men tightened the nuts on the wheels to make sure they were sturdy and then tightened the horses back to the wagon.
When the wagon was secure and the horses were tied back to it, Mysti offered a dinner for everyone who helped. I walked over to her and asked, “Where’d you get this wagon from, Mysti?”
“Trin, V was tightening the bolt but loosened it instead... by accident i am sure,” Mysti insisted.
I offered for Mysti to change at my apartment out of her wet clothes but she was more interested in getting the wagon back home. I talked to Dave and asked what he thought happened but he was sure it was just an accident. Seeing as I wasn’t needed anymore, I headed back to the saloon to get a drink.
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