"So why were you lookin' for me in the Lucky Lady? Just to let me know you were comin' back here?" We were sitting in our hotel suite, after a long day. It had taken us close to twenty-four hours to have this conversation, but eventually we'd gotten round to it.
"I saw Nate Turner dealin' Faro and Big Ed hangin' out at the roulette wheel." First things first.
"Turner dealin' . . . really. He's learned a new trick."
Just as I'd thought. "So that wasn't a regular occurrence in Dodge?"
Bret shook his head. "Nope. Maybe Nate's smarter than I gave him credit for."
"I doubt that. You suppose Ed was lookin' for new suckers to blackmail?" That seemed the most logical thing to me, and it sounded like big brother agreed with me.
"Probably. Somethin' else on your mind?"
"Yeah," I told him. "I saw you havin' a serious conversation with Jeanette at the Lady. Anything I should know about?"
"For sure. Jeanette worked at the Silver Star in Kansas City. She says Eamon used to hang out there when Nora was workin' across town at The Backwater. The first time he showed up here she recognized him. Seems he got himself in some trouble in Kansas City, too, and that's part of the reason the Garrity's left Kansas altogether. Our 'innocent boy' ain't so innocent after all."
"I think you were right. Poor Ally's the one that's been kept in the dark in all this."
"Now, now, Brother Bart, while that may be true, I can't exactly blame Nora for not spreadin' around what a pain her baby brother is. Not everybody's relatives turn out as good as you."
I started laughing then and I couldn't stop. It was even funnier if you could see Bret's face – he was totally serious! I finally got the giggles under control and told him, "I appreciate the sentiment, Brother Bret, but about half the country would disagree with ya!"
"Only half?" he asked, and I howled all over again.
"So what . . . what does that tell ya?" I managed to choke out.
"That this ain't the first time Eamon's been in trouble. But it's probably the first time he's been in trouble this big."
"And the first time Ally's known about it."
"Got to have been a burden on Nora all this time – knowin' what kind of a brother she had and still tryin' to get him outta trouble."
"So, where does that leave us? You know if we manage the impossible, he's probably gonna turn around and do it all again." I knew how Bret was gonna answer that, but I wanted it all out in the open. Nothing left unsaid.
Bret sighed. "I know. But we gave Ally our word. And I truly think Nora's just about done with her brother. Remember, she's the one that threw him out this time."
"Okay," I answered. "So if we can get rid of Everton – "
"We'll be doin' somethin' right, even if Eamon can't keep his hands clean."
"And the ladies can't blame us for whatever happens after that."
I stuck out my hand, and Bret and I shook on it. If we could dispose of Morgan Everton and get Eamon Garrity out of the mess he'd gotten himself into, he was on his own from now on.
XXXXXXXX
Needless to say, I didn't sleep that night. This was the first room I'd had in quite a while that didn't have a window view of the street, so there was nowhere for me to sit and ruminate on my life and what I wanted from it. In desperation I got dressed and went outside – yes, really outside, somewhere around three o'clock in the morning. I was surprised that the streets were bright enough to smoke a cigar without setting myself on fire, mostly due to lights from all the saloons. I wasn't ready to go back inside when I was finished, and poker, for once, had no appeal for me. It was the first time in a long while I felt that way.
I was emotionally caught between a rock and a hard place, and I'd put myself there. Why do I keep trying to get involved with women that want a man willing to settle down in one spot and stay there? Maybe that's all there is out there? Where's the female equivalent of Bart Maverick? Is she out there looking for me, asking the same questions? Or is there no such animal?
One thing was certain. I was head-over-heels in love with Ailish O'Rourke and I didn't have the faintest idea of what to do about it. I hadn't told Bret. Hell, I hadn't even told her. Maybe the best thing to do was keep my mouth shut until I had it figured out. Of course, knowing myself as well as I do, I could be sittin' on the porch rocking when that happened.
Alright, it was time to be honest, at least with myself. I loved poker. I loved being what Ailish called 'a tumbleweed.' I didn't want to change my life. But the more time that passed, the more I realized that there was somethin' else that I wanted, almost as much. I wanted a home. A wife. Kids. A whole passel of kids. Had I always felt this way and I was just now gettin' around to admitting it? If that was true, how long was it gonna be before I was willing to stay in one place to have all of those? And how much was I willing to give up to get it? Maybe, when you came right down to it, that was the real reason I was up at this time of night, or morning, walking towards the livery because I couldn't sleep and I didn't know what else to do.
A drunken cowboy – is there any other kind? – stumbled out of Long John's making all sort of noise, and that's what caused me to stop for just a minute as I crossed an alley. I looked down the alley to make sure there was nobody lurking there – I've run across my fair share of men who didn't wanna do anything to earn money of their own – the only thing they wanted to do was take somebody else's. And that's when I saw them. Eamon Garrity, Nate Turner and Morgan Everton. Eamon and Nate were arguing, quietly, with Morgan saying something every once in a while.
It gave me pause, to say the least, but I scampered across the alley before I could be spotted. Garrity did not look like the 'boy' that seemed to be terrified of Everton. Nor was he in the least afraid of Nate Turner. I wish they'd been louder; I needed to hear what the 'discussion' was about. It only lasted another minute or two and then they disbursed, with Nate headed one way down the alley and the other two in the opposite direction. Together.
I stood still right where I was, in the middle of the sidewalk on the way to the livery. What had I just witnessed? I needed to get back to the hotel and tell Bret what I'd seen, so I turned around in a hurry and almost fell over Big Ed, who was standing right behind me with his gun drawn.