Nineteen year old Byron Sully rode into town with his wife and his wagon. Abagail Bray-Sully had straight dark hair and soft brown eyes. She was a perfect combination of her mother and father. Strong but fair, smart but respectful and Sully had never seen any woman so beautiful. She wasn't just beautiful on the outside either, she was interesting and complex. Everything a woman should be. Sully considered himself truly lucky to have found someone so special to share the rest of his life with.
"Why is every man in town gathered by the old saloon?" Abigail questioned her husband, pulling him from his thoughts.
"I'm not sure." Sully furrowed his brow. He pulled his wagon to a stop. "I suppose I could look into it while you get what you need from your father's store." Abigail nodded in agreement as her husband helped her out of their wagon.
"Daddy will come around to you eventually, you know." She insisted before heading towards Loren Bray's store.
"Unlikely." Sully grunted when he knew she was out of earshot. Sighing, he made his way over to the old saloon. Jake Slicker, the Barber's young apprentice, was standing towards the back of the crowd trying to see over the heads of several men. "Hey Jake, what's going on here?" Jake looked slightly embarrassed when he realized Sully was standing beside him.
"Oh, uh, you don't want nothing to do with this." Jake assured the married man.
"And why is that?" Sully put his hands on his hips.
"Word is someone's come into town to reopen the Old Saloon, and he's brought girls!" The apprentice barber explained.
"Girls?" Sully repeated.
"Yeah, you know, girls." Jake wagged his eyebrows suggestively.
"Oh, girls." Sully nodded with understanding. He crossed his arms over his chest not sure how he felt about prostitution coming to Colorado Springs. Though he supposed lots of towns must have a saloon with such entertainment. Besides it wasn't as if he'd be spending anytime in there. "I've got to be getting back to Abigail." Sully told Jake. As he turned to leave a man with long curly hair stepped out of the saloon's entrance.
"Men of Colorado Springs, My name is Hank Lawson, and these are my girls!" The long haired man stepped aside and a parade of girls exited the building.
"Well there goes the neighborhood, Aye Sully?" Jake scoffed.
"I 'spose." Sully mumbled. "I really gotta be getting back…" He tried to leave again, but one of the girls caught his attention.
Inside the Saloon a gaggle of half dressed women waited on their cue from Hank. They'd all been living at the saloon for about a week, but Hank hadn't let any of the girls outside so as to "Not spoil the surprise." It had been a long time since Hank had moved his business to a new town, but he seemed so sure that Colorado Springs would be a good place to settle especially with so many new women in his grip. Kat was one of those newer girls. She was just sixteen years old, having met Hank less than a month ago when he offered to take her out west. She knew what kind of business he ran and the sort of company he kept, but rather than being scared the idea had excited her. Of course she hadn't really had time to put much thought into it but that didn't trouble her at all.
"You look nervous, are you alright?" Myra, an older girl who had been with Hank for some time, asked Kathryn.
"Oh, I'm fine." The younger woman answered her. "It's sort of thrilling that we finally get to see the town though isn't it?"
"I suppose it is." Myra replied quietly. She saw a lot of herself in Kat. A young girl with no family to speak of. She'd become smitten with Hank's kindness and the promise of adventures out west. All she had to do in return was give herself over to anyone who could pay. The sixteen year old girl didn't even blink before signing the contract with Hank. She had started training for work that afternoon. Myra didn't have time to mull over her thoughts, though, as Hank waved her and the others forward.
Kat stumbled out into the sunlight, which seemed excessively bright when compared to the dimly lit Saloon. Blinking in the light she took in the sight of at least twenty men who were leering at her and her friends. Immediately she pushed her shoulders back like Myra had taught her. She turned to the side and hiked up her skirt a little just like Hank had asked. Then all of a sudden someone was calling out her Name.
"Kathryn Jane Sully!" She whipped her head in the direction the voice had come from. It was a tall young man with neatly cropped hair and kind eyes. She'd recognize him anywhere even though they'd been apart for eight years. Jake stared back at Sully with a gaping mouth. Somehow the straight-laced young man with a beautiful wife knew one of the town's new prostitutes. Sully didn't explain anything to the young Barber as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Kathryn, what the hell are you doing?" Sully called out once he reached the porch of the Saloon. Kat stomped across the porch of the Saloon with a scowl on her face.
"Go away Byron." She ordered, but Sully didn't move.
"You know this fella, Kat?" Hank asked, he stepped in front of her protectively. This wasn't his idea of a flawless opening for the new Saloon, but he wasn't going to let some blowhard hurt one of his girls on the first day.
"Yeah." Kat said with crossed arms. "We have the same Ma and Pa." Hank looked back at her with confusion.
"You ain't never told me you had a brother." He looked worried. Kat's brother could mean trouble. Hundreds of things can go wrong when a whore's family gets involved.
"That's because I ain't got a brother." Kat assured him. Hank visibly relaxed. "And I told you to go away Byron." She added in Sully's direction. She then marched away and resumed her position next to Myra. Sully lurch forward to charge after her but Hank stopped him.
"You heard the lady." The Saloon owner said firmly.