A Small Price to Pay

Prologue

New Orleans. The Bayou. Food like no one had ever tasted. Music and drink and any kind of poker game your heart desired. Good cigars and beautiful women. Antebellum mansions and titled gentry. French aristocrats and Cajun land barons.

Dark, dirty seaport. Shifty and dishonest card sharks. Scam artists. Every kind of criminal that existed. Shanghaied if you weren't careful. Robbed if you were.

Bart Maverick had been here nearly two months and experienced most everything the city had to offer. His brother Bret had departed almost a week ago, worn out from living the high life/low life in the same city at the same time. Returning to a less exciting and more civilized existence, being thrown out of whatever town came next on the roadmap back to Memphis. Bart had stayed on, waiting to see where his heart and his wallet were leading him next.

He hadn't anticipated the wire that arrived one morning while he was still trying to decide. It was simple and to the point.

Hurry home.

Need you to walk me down the aisle.

June 16. Bring Bret.

Love, Jody

He'd only had one letter from Jody in the time he'd been in New Orleans. It was joyful but vague on details. He wrote back right away and then got nothing but silence. Maybe she was too involved with the saloon. Since Marcus Hook had been arrested and tried for various and sundry crimes, including murder for hire, business had been booming again as Silver Creek, Montana continued its growth spurt. None of the other saloons that had been bought out or closed down re-opened and 'The Three Mavericks' was now the only gambling hall in town.

So the wire caught him by surprise. Sounded like Jody's life was progressing even faster than he thought; he started making plans to head north as soon as feasible. He sent his own wire to Bret in Memphis, played poker one more night and indulged in one or two of the other vices the city offered, then packed his bag and caught the next stage. He'd made a promise to his 'sister' a long time ago and he was going to keep it. Come hell or high water.

XXXXXXXX

Everything was perfect. Marcus Hook had been tried and convicted; he would never attempt to take over another town. Business was back to normal and everyone at the saloon was in high spirits. Beau Maverick had returned to Silver Creek as promised and he and her mother were seeing each other again. Travis had asked her to marry him and she'd said 'yes.' Everything was perfect.

But it wasn't. She needed the counsel and advise of her brother, Bart, and she needed it now. So she lied about the wedding date and sent the telegram, knowing that he'd be there as soon as he could. It was just a small lie. The wedding was actually set for August first and not June sixteenth. He might be upset with her at first but he would get over it. His being momentarily angry was a small price to pay for his presence at the most important time of her life. At least that's what she kept telling herself.