This is a true work in progress and I will be posting the chapters as I complete each one.

An Eventful Journey

Chapter 1

Johnny shivered as he pulled his jacket tighter around his body. "This damn wind's cutting through to the bone."

"The train will be here soon."

"We could've stayed in the saloon and had another couple of beers."

"Stop complaining."

The silent and gloomy platform couldn't have been further removed from the warm, bright saloon with the noise of the out of tune piano and lively conversation. Yet, here he was, stuck waiting with his brother for a train he didn't want to board.

The planks under his feet creaked as he shifted his weight. "What d'you think the old man would say if I took off?"

A raised eyebrow and half-smile was the only reply he received.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Surprisingly, given the late hour, they weren't alone. A young couple was standing a few yards away. The girl was pretty, in a washed out kind of way, with strands of blond hair which had escaped from her bonnet resting on her pale cheeks. Although he preferred women with more fire in their eyes, she was worth an admiring glance. She was standing so close to her young man that they were touching at shoulder and hip. Looking down, he saw how their hands were entwined and a grin briefly chased away his irritation.

The only other person on the platform was an older woman, dressed in black. She sat on a bench looking sad and lonely, with three bags piled around her feet. As he studied her, she looked up and caught his eye. His brief nod of greeting was silently acknowledged, before she returned to her contemplation of the darkness.

Another gust of wind swept along the platform, sending the lamps outside the depot swinging. The flames leapt and spluttered, threatening to go out and deprive them of the little light there was.

Restless and discontented, Johnny elbowed his brother in the ribs. "Tell me again why we're getting on this train in the middle of the night."

Scott looked to be on the verge of losing his patience. Johnny had quickly discovered his brother liked a certain amount of order in his life, and didn't take kindly to having his carefully-laid plans disrupted.

"Because we have a meeting tomorrow morning at ten and you 'forgot' to come home last night. Taking this train was the only way to get there in time."

"I didn't forget," Johnny said, feeling defensive because he knew damn well that he was in the wrong. "Just lost track of time, is all."

"That wasn't what you told Murdoch. Out of interest, Brother, which of your girlfriends in Morro Coyo had the pleasure of your company for the night?"

Johnny pulled his hat lower to shadow his eyes. Scott could be a little too smart sometimes. "Lottie," he admitted. "You gotta admit she's worth riskin' the rough edge of our old man's temper."

"She certainly is."

Johnny peered out from under the brim when he heard Scott's smug tone. His brother's profile gave nothing away. With a heavy sigh he turned his attention to tormenting the beads wrapped around his wrist.

"Anyone would think that you were trying to wriggle out of this trip," Scott continued.

Which, of course, was the truth and Johnny had no doubt that everyone knew it. He hadn't exactly kept his views to himself. "You coulda gone without me. I mean, you don't need me along for something like this."

"Murdoch wants you to sit in on the meeting and get used to negotiating contracts."

Johnny grinned. "I know how to negotiate contracts."

"You know how to do a deal to sell your gun. This is different."

If anyone else had said that to him, Johnny would probably have punched them. Instead, he took the offensive, mostly to see how much he could irritate his brother. "Don't see how. We've got something they want and we just need to haggle until we agree on a price."

"You know perfectly well it's not that simple."

"Yeah, I know," Johnny conceded. He was tired and Scott was proving a little too hard to bait this evening. "I just hate sitting in offices listening to pompous businessmen, droning on about every little word. Hell, I'd rather be chasing cows."

"The exact wording of a contract is important…"

"You know, Scott, sometimes you scare me. You're starting to sound like our old man."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, Brother, you can take it any way you like."

A slight humming rose from the rails, followed by a shrill whistle. Johnny peered down the tracks, seeing the steam rising from the engine. He closed his eyes and turned away as the train rounded a bend, its bright light almost blinding him. When he could see again, he noticed two scruffy cowboys stepping up onto the platform carrying saddlebags. Out of habit, he looked at their guns before studying their faces. They were a mismatched pair, but there was nothing about them that marked them as trouble.

The station master had come out of his office, settling his cap on his grey hair. He was carrying a lantern which he swung from side to side as he walked to the end of the platform. Johnny's last hope of escaping the boredom of the next few days disappeared when the train pulled into the station. Noticing that the older lady was struggling with her bags, he shoved his own bag into Scott's hand and walked over to her.

"Can I help, ma'am?"

"Thank you." A smile lit her face, chasing away the haunted look and making her appear younger and less worn down.

Johnny gathered up the bags and followed her to the last of the three passenger carriages, where Scott was waiting at the bottom of the steps to help her inside.

"Last chance, Brother," Scott said. "You could always make a run for it."

"Very funny." Johnny climbed up after the woman, stowing her luggage on the overhead rack while she made herself as comfortable as possible on the hard bench seat.

"I am obliged to you, young man."

Johnny touched the brim of his hat before turning to join his brother. The young couple had taken seats at the far end of the carriage, sitting side by side and gazing into each other's eyes. The two cowboys had entered from the opposite end and were sitting in the row of seats in front of Scott. Johnny's bad mood evaporated as he got his first look at the two young women who were already settled in the carriage. One, fair-haired and blue-eyed, returned his appraising stare with a frankness that surprised him although the other, dark-haired with green eyes, was giving him an icy glare. He sauntered along the aisle to join Scott, giving the women a cheeky grin on his way past.

He slid into his seat and leaned forward. "Those are two mighty fine looking young ladies," he said softly. "Maybe I can talk them into having a late supper with us when we get to Sacramento."

"You're more likely to frighten them off. It takes a certain level of sophistication and finesse to handle a situation like this."

Johnny leaned back. "Last time you exercised all that sophistication and finesse you ended up in jail."

"That was hardly my fault," Scott protested.

"Yeah, I know. She suckered you real good." Johnny smirked at Scott's offended expression before turning to look out of the window. The mail clerk, who would be riding in the baggage car at the back of the train, walked past. Johnny moved closer to the window, eyes narrowed as he watched the man talking to the station master. "Be right back." He got up and walked out onto the narrow deck at the back of the carriage.

The clerk strode quickly back as the whistle sounded again. As he walked past Johnny their eyes met. When the train inched forward, the man pulled open the sliding door in the side of the car and swung himself inside, and then he slammed the door shut, leaving Johnny alone. Leaning back against the railing, Johnny considered what he'd just seen. He had a good idea who the man was – or at least what he was. What he didn't know, was why a Pinkerton agent would be pretending to be a mail clerk.

He was lost in thought as he went back into the carriage, wondering if he should say something to Scott. He stopped just inside the doorway and took a long look at his fellow passengers. The young couple was huddled together talking softly and oblivious to what was going on around them. The older lady had pulled out some knitting and was sitting with it in her lap, staring out of the window.

The lamp light was casting ever-changing shadows, the lanterns swinging gently to the sway of the train as it slowly gained speed. Scott was bent down, rummaging in his case as Johnny waited by the door. He felt for a moment as if he were invisible. No one paid him any attention, each person living in his or her own little world. He liked being a spectator and his willingness to watch and listen had helped to keep him alive during his years as a gunfighter. Even though he was now a respectable rancher it was hard to shake the habit.

He turned his attention to the two cowboys, just in time to see one exchanging a look with the dark-haired woman. Her blonde companion turned to look over her shoulder at him. Her smile was flirtatious and inviting, and he couldn't help smiling back. She sure was a fine looking woman, with curves in all the right places. Embarrassed at being caught staring, he suddenly found himself the focus of too many pairs of eyes as both cowboys looked his way.

The train lurched forward, forcing him to grab hold of the nearest seat back to steady himself. As it settled into its rhythm he walked back to join his brother.

Scott straightened up as he approached, holding a pack of cards. "Want to try to win back some of the money you lost last Saturday night? "

"Sure. Look, Scott there's something…"

"Mind if we join you?"

Johnny looked up slowly. The two men were now standing beside them. Before either he or Scott could answer, the men had occupied the aisle seats, crowding them against the side of the carriage. Johnny had an almost irrational feeling that they were being penned in, particularly as his gun was now wedged against the wall.

Scott's expression was amiable as he pushed his hat to the back of his head and set his case on end to act as a makeshift table. He began to shuffle the cards. "I'm Scott Lancer. This is my brother, Johnny."

Johnny looked at the man sitting next to him. He reckoned the stranger was about twenty years old, with sandy colored hair and pale blue eyes. He was fidgeting so much that it looked to Johnny like he was sitting on an ant hill. The other man was almost twice that age, with light brown hair, a moustache, and penetrating brown eyes. Johnny casually looked down as Scott began to deal the cards. Neither of these men had hands that bore evidence of a hard days work.

"Name's Art," the older man said. "My friend over there is called Rick."

Johnny settled back in his seat, sorting his cards, although his mind wasn't on the game. He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. After the first round of betting he lay two cards face down, accepting two new ones from his brother. He studied the random assortment of cards, keeping his expression carefully neutral. Whichever way he looked at it, he had a lousy hand, but he'd won often enough in the past thanks to his ability to bluff convincingly.

"Where're you boys headed?" he asked casually.

"Sacramento."

"I guessed that much seein' as this train don't stop 'til we get there. You looking for work?" He concentrated on his cards, still unsure why he was feeling so on edge.

"Eventually."

Scott raised the stakes and leaned back. "Plenty of the ranchers around Green River and Spanish Wells are hiring."

Johnny smiled to himself. He could tell by the tone of Scott's voice that his brother had noticed something as well.

"We ain't interested in herding cows and stringing wire."

Art sent a sharp look in Rick's direction following that comment and the younger man quickly shut his mouth.

"What are you interested in? Call." Johnny threw a couple of coins down to join the growing pile. "You boys ain't gunhawks and, even if you were, I ain't heard of any range wars brewing round Sacramento. Hell, the place is becoming too civilized for that. Reckon it won't be long before they ban everyone from wearing guns in town."

"We can turn our hands to most things." Art laid down his cards. "I fold."

Rick called and his hand of three nines was good enough to beat the brothers. He gathered up the money gleefully.

"What about you boys?" Art asked.

"We have some business to take care of in Sacramento." Scott collected the cards, shuffled and prepared to deal again. "Another game, gentlemen?"

"Sure. It'll pass the time." Art stretched his legs out, blocking the brothers' route to the central aisle. "You work for one of them ranchers you were talking about?"

"You could say that." Scott dealt five cards to each player.

Silence returned as each man studied his cards, although Johnny's mind wasn't on the game. This time it was Scott who took the winnings. "If your luck doesn't turn soon, Johnny, you'll find yourself owing me next month's wages."

"Just giving you a head start, is all."

Art leaned forward to look at Johnny. "What makes you so sure we're not gunhawks?"

"The way you're wearing your guns."

"Sounds like you know something about it."

Johnny's stare was a challenge. "I used to."

"I think I could use some air," Scott interjected hurriedly. "Johnny?"

Johnny heard a rustling of material as one of the women stood up. The scent of a delicate perfume reached him, far more subtle than the one used by the girl whose favors he had enjoyed the previous night. He ignored her as he edged his hand toward his gun, keeping his eyes locked on Art's. The older man licked his lips before showing his teeth in as insincere a grin as Johnny had seen in a long time.

"I would prefer it if you gentlemen stayed right where you are."

Johnny looked up. The soft southern drawl was appealing, although the expression in her green eyes remained unfriendly and the hard line of her ruby tinted lips wasn't exactly welcoming. He stared at her beautiful face for several heartbeats before his gaze swept lower. What really captured his attention then was the revolver pointed steadily at his chest.

Tbc

Caroline

Jan 08