"Mrs. Dora! How are you?" That greeting was from Willie; it had been almost six months since Doralice had been inside Maude's. "And this must be the newest Mr. Maverick."
"It is, Willie. How are you?" Doralice asked as she came around the back of the bar and kissed Willie on the cheek. "Is Bart here?"
"No, ma'am, he stepped out for a few minutes. You want to wait in his office?"
"Did he leave with anyone, Willie?" She suspected he had, but she waited for Willie's answer.
"No, ma'am, he was alone when he left."
'Well,' she thought, 'maybe it's not what I thought it was.' "Is Maude here today?"
"Yes, ma'am. Back in her office."
"Thanks, Willie." She had intended to leave Beauregard with her mother while she walked down to the vacant lot, but changed her mind. She took her son and left the saloon, going south on the boardwalk, past just two buildings. When she got there it took but a moment to discover she'd been right all along – Bart was there, along with Pauly Wilcox and Josephine Whitlock. The three of them appeared to be in deep discussion about something. Bart heard her when Beauregard gurgled and looked up sharply.
"Doralice, honey, what are you doin' here?"
"I guess I might ask you the same question."
"We was tryin' to figure how to build this dang building, Miss Dora," Pauly answered her. "Maybe you can help us out. Take a look at this drawin', would ya?" He started to hand her the drawings before realizing she had an armful of baby. "Say, is this the little feller I keep hearin' so much about? He's a healthy lad, ain't he?" Bart reached over and took the baby from Doralice. Pauly then handed her the building diagram and pointed out the problem to her. "See, right here. If we do this, then there ain't no way to get around the back side."
Josephine spoke up for the first time. "Mr. Wilcox, I hardly think Mrs. Maverick will know what – "
"Oh yeah, she will," Pauly interrupted. "Miss Dora's real bright like that."
"Look here, Pauly," Doralice pointed something out to the handyman. "If you put this here instead of there, and swing this around the other way, your problem's solved."
"By dang, it is." He turned to Josephine. "Told ya Miss Dora was bright."
"Yes, she is," Bart spoke up. "Brightest woman I know. That's one of the things I love about her."
"Well, I'm amazed. And eternally grateful. You solved a real problem, Doralice. I would love to see what other ideas you might have. I already told Bart I wanted to have the two of you join me for dinner. How about tonight at six o'clock? At Sawyer's? And Mr. Wilcox, could you be there, too?"
"We can do that, can't we, honey?" Bart asked expectantly.
"Sorry, Mrs. Whitlock, I'm workin' a job I can't get away from right now. But pickin' Miss Dora's brain is a good idea."
Having dinner with Josephine Whitlock was not high on the list of things Doralice wanted to do, but she saw the look on her husband's face and agreed. "We'd be happy to join you for dinner," Doralice did her best to sound pleased with the invitation. "Should we meet you there?"
"Nonsense," Bart insisted. "I'll walk down to the hotel and meet Josephine, then I'll stop at home and get you. That should work out fine." Beauregard picked just then to wake up and get fussy; Doralice took him back from his father and soon had him settled back down.
"Then perhaps we should wait for you to give me a price until we're satisfied there are no more changes," Josephine suggested.
"A bright idea, Mrs. Whitlock. I can meet you on Friday to see what we're gonna alter, then we can get started next week. If that works for you."
"Here at 2 o'clock on Friday. That would be most acceptable, Mr. Wilcox. I shall see you then. Bart, thanks very much for your help. I shall see you and Doralice tonight at six."
Before you could blink, Josephine Whitlock was gone, presumably back to her hotel. Pauly tipped his hat to Doralice and headed to the job he was currently working at, leaving the Maverick's standing in the empty lot. "That was interesting," Doralice remarked.
"She's an interesting woman." It finally dawned on him that Doralice had come to Maude's for some reason. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"
"Nothing, really. We went to see Simon and then just stopped down to say hello to daddy. I'll go back to the saloon with you; I can ask Maude if she'll stay with the babies tonight."
Bart caught on to the 'Simon' visit right away. "Simon? Is there something wrong with Beau?"
"No, no, I thought he might be coming down with something, but it looks like I was wrong." They were at the saloon already, and Doralice went straight back to her mother's office. Maude didn't come in much anymore, but she kept a small office just in case.
She was sitting in there now, looking over something until she heard the baby. "Is that my grandson? It is, what are you two doin' here?" Maude held out her arms until a certain young man had been deposited into them.
"I've got a favor to ask you, Momma. Can you come over and stay with the babies tonight for a couple hours? Bart's accepted a dinner invitation and I have to go with him. About half-past five?"
"Of course I can. Grandma can always come stay with her favorite grandbabies, can't she?" Beauregard lived up to the reputation of his namesake whenever there was a lady around and gave Maude the biggest smile, while Maude reciprocated by smothering him in kisses.
"Thank you."
"You don't sound very happy."
Doralice gave her mother a wan smile. "I'm not. I really don't want to go to dinner with this person."
"Who is it?"
"Josephine Whitlock."
"I haven't met the lady yet. If you don't wanna go to dinner, why are you goin'?"
"That's a good question, Momma. I'll let you know when I figure it out."