Chapter 12 – Jim Dandy

Not only did Julie Maxwell own a dress, but she also looked splendid in it. When he knocked on the door to the Maxwell house a little before seven o'clock, the vision that he saw was not what he'd expected.

The dress was a beautiful golden color that bared her shoulders and made her eyes an even deeper brown. She wore her hair in a long side braid and was stunning enough to take Bart's breath away. "Miss Maxwell," he managed to get out as she opened the door to him. Somehow he'd been able to procure a bouquet of yellow-leaved daisies which he handed to her, along with his profuse apologies. "They're nowhere near as pretty as you are."

He wouldn't have expected a blush out of her, but that's what he got. "Really, Mr. Maverick. You clean up pretty good yourself." Bart had worn one of the black silk waistcoats he'd had made in Natchez, along with a black frock coat and black hat. Together they made a handsome couple.

"Let me put these in water and I'll be ready. Won't you come in for a minute?" Bart followed her inside, where he found her brother Lee and Tommy Slade with their heads together. Lee looked up and gave a nod of the head; Bart tipped his hat. Slade was reading something on a piece of paper and didn't look up.

When Julie came back to the front room, she carried a brown shawl with her. Bart helped drape it around her shoulders and opened the door for her as Lee called out, "You kids have fun now."

"I'd think he'd object to you goin' to dinner with me."

Julie laughed. The sound she made was deep and throaty, a good, rich sound. "He's so happy I'm leaving the house that he can't see straight."

"Even with me?"

"Just remember it's his fault I met you," she answered back. "That doesn't give him the right to object."

"Did he?"

"No."

Bart helped Julie into the buggy and they headed for town. "Burned out on steak?" he asked her.

"Pretty much."

"Like Mexican food?"

"I love it."

"Good. I know just where to take you."

When they reached town Bart drove on through, to the very edges of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo. There they pulled up to a small cantina named 'Mama Carmela's'.

"May not look like much, but they've got the best food anywhere around."

"I was born and raised in Laredo and I've never been here," Julie told him. "Looks are over-rated, I'd rather have substance."

And that's exactly what she got. The food was excellent, and Mama's had a home-made Prickly Pear Wine that was delightful. After a dinner full of delicious food and good laughs, Julie was marveling at how much fun she was having. Bart was easy to talk to and knew something about almost everything, including poetry, Charles Dickens, and the Bible.

"How did you get into your current line of work?" she asked, trying to be delicate about calling his profession 'gun running.'

"I'm not sure I remember," Bart told her. "We were spendin' most of our time playin' poker and we just kinda fell into it."

"And that legendary temper I saw some of last night?"

"Oh, sorry about that. Most of it's an exaggeration. Now I just trot it out for show when I need to, like last night. They were so busy arguin' they weren't discussin' anything of value."

"And where do you go when you're done here?"

"Wherever we feel like it."

"No one out there waiting for you?"

He thought about Caroline, then Rose, then Domino. "Nope. Not a soul."

"So if you wanted to stay here – "

Bart got serious. "Depends on what happens here."

"What do want to have happen?"

Impulsively he leaned over and kissed her. Her lips tasted like chili peppers and wine. "More of that."

"And if it could be arranged?"

His right eyebrow raised about half an inch. "Right now?" he asked and kissed her again.

"Right now."

He dropped his napkin on the table. "I'd say what are we waitin' for?"

XXXXXXXX

Even though the days were warm, the nights still cooled off pleasantly. Julie shivered slightly and Bart pulled her shawl up over her shoulders, then pulled the girl toward him and kissed her. They were by the shores of Lake Casa Blanca, a small body of water slightly northeast of Laredo. Bart had been here before, but never in quite such a pleasant situation as he now found himself in.

The gambler was lying on his back on a blanket while the girl with the burnished copper-brown eyes leaned over him and planted kisses on various parts of his face. It was a most pleasant sensation, and he was enjoying it immensely. The moon was a waxing crescent, giving off just enough glow from its one-quarter light so that it wasn't pitch black outside. He reached up to her face and pulled her down to kiss her full on the lips, and she stayed down and snuggled next to him.

"Julie – "

"I know. I'm a brazen hussy."

She would have laughed if she knew where he'd been and what he'd been doing in Natchez. "No, you're not. But I think we're going a little too fast here."

"Bart – Henry – which do you prefer?"

"I like the way Bart sounds. He's a better fellow, anyway."

"Then Henry?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Why doesn't Henry change?"

He thought about the real Geoff and Henry, and what their lives might be like behind bars. "I think he'll have to."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yep." He didn't like lying to her.

"Then I'm glad I met you when I did."

Bart wondered how she'd feel if her brother ended up in jail, or worse. "How did all this get started, anyway?"

"It's been brewin' ever since the war ended. There's some people here who blame everything bad that's happened on the Union Army. They're certain things would be better if we were our own country again. I don't know – I was too young to remember. Lee's one of 'em. He's convinced beef prices would go back up, and we'd have a better chance of makin' a decent profit on everything else."

"And whatta you want?"

"I want peace and quiet. I want people to quit snipin' at each other. I want everybody to stay out of my living room. And I want to do this." She leaned over with her eyes closed and they kissed again. Bart let himself go for a minute, and just tasted her lips and her mouth and traces of the wine and dinner before reminding himself why he was there.

"Do they really have as much money as they said they had?"

She sat up then, uneasy that he seemed more interested in the Republic group than her. "More. They've got over thirty thousand dollars. Do you know Jim Buckley?"

Bart almost choked when he heard the name. "Buckley? What's he got to do with this?"

"Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Lee's been talking to Buckley about guns and supplies, too. He's supposed to be here on tomorrow's stage."

"So what's he plannin' to do, pit us against Buckley in a biddin' war?"

"I don't know. All I know is Buckley's due to arrive tomorrow."

"Good God. Buckley can't be trusted. He's a scalawag, and a con man, and a swindler, and anything else you can think of." Bart sat up; something had to be done about Dandy Jim before he got here and ruined everything.

"But you said he was a friend."

Bart shook his head. "Nope. I told you I knew him. I'm not sure Buckley has any friends."

"I shouldn't have told you." She was even prettier when she was pouting, which is exactly what she was doing now.

"No, I'm glad you did. But I need to go talk to Bret right away."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, right now. Sorry. Can I see you again?"

"You want to?"

Bart leaned over and kissed her but ended the kiss before she could pull him back down on the blanket. "Yes, ma'am. Very much."

"Tomorrow night. There's another meeting at six o'clock. I'll fix dinner and we can take the buggy back out and eat away from all the tempers and shouting."

"I might have to stay there for a bit if we need to deal with Jim Buckley, and the group."

"Alright. But you will come with me for supper?"

He stood up and pulled her to her feet, kissing her again in the process. "I will."