Chapter 25 – Pistols and Partnerships

My first instinct was to jump up, grab my brother by the elbow, and push him out the back door. Which I assume Lil's had. I made myself sit still and watch instead. Bret was deeply involved in his poker game, and Newton walked straight over to the bar without looking around. "Bart," Ginny hissed at me.

"I see 'em." I wasn't sure what Ginny wanted me to do, but sitting there watching the two of them probably wasn't it. Newton talked to the bartender for a minute or two and then disappeared into the back room. I glanced at Bret quickly – he hadn't looked up from the game.

"Can we get him out of here?" Ginny asked.

"Not when he looks like that," I replied, having seen the intense expression on my brother's face. "Just sit still. I'll handle it." I waited until the poker game was over, then got up from the table and walked up behind Bret. I leaned down with my hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "We have to go."

He looked up at me and asked, "Why?"

The door behind the bar opened and Newton stepped out. I felt Bret stiffen under my fingers. "That's why." Without removing my hand from his shoulder I half-turned and motioned Ginny to the poker table. "Pick up your money, we're leaving," I directed at my brother. Bret didn't move.

When Ginny got to the table I told her, "Get his money and get him out of here." She bent down and gathered his funds as I turned and made my way to stand in front of Ben Newton and temporarily block the view.

"Mr. Jamison. I had the feeling I'd be seeing you tonight." Newton wasn't at all startled to see me standing in front of him.

"I came to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" he asked.

I moved aside so his line of vision was clear. He seemed to freeze when he caught sight of my brother, who had just risen from his seat. Ginny got him to move; she had her hand wrapped around his arm. Neither of them looked happy – Malone even less so when Bret stood tall but didn't budge an inch. He was staring right at me, and I mouthed the word 'Please.'

I felt Newton's arm begin to move downward, towards his gun, and I grabbed his wrist. "Don't. He's not heeled." That wasn't exactly accurate. Bret didn't have his gun belt on, but his derringer was in his waistcoat pocket. Ben shifted his eyes to stare at me, and I continued, "You can't shoot him. Too many witnesses." He seemed to understand what I was saying, and I felt his arm go slack. "Just let her get him out of here."

There was a slight nod of the head and I turned my attention back to the Pinkerton agent. "Go." I almost shouted it, and she tugged on Bret's arm. He finally glanced at her and gave her a half-smile, then looked back at me and Newton. He tipped his hat and they walked very slowly away from the table and out of the saloon. I breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Newton's wrist.

"Thanks." I was surprised by the lack of emotion in the remark. Ben Newton didn't strike me as a dispassionate man about anything, much less someone interfering in his business. "You bring him here?"

I shook my head. "He brought himself. He wanted to play poker, and this was the closest saloon. I came along to protect . . . everybody. Just in case."

"Good move. I need a drink." He walked behind the bar and pulled out two glasses. "Whiskey or brandy?"

"Neither. Coffee."

"Sure, why not?" Ben discarded the glass and pulled out a coffee cup instead. He was in an awfully calm mood for somebody that was ready to pull their gun and shoot just a few minutes ago. Or had that all been for show?

Just exactly what was really goin' on here? Newton had asked me once before if I would stay with him when Bret went back to 'work,' and I dodged the question. Were those the waters he was testing now? I couldn't be that important to his plans, could I? He poured my coffee, and his whiskey, and walked out from behind the bar and over to a table. I picked up the coffee and followed him. "What was all that about, anyway?"

"When I saw Maverick . . . I thought he was here to gun me."

"And you thought I brought him here to do that? Why?"

He downed the shot of whiskey and poured himself another. "Why not? You worked for him a long time before you worked for me."

"With him, Ben, I worked with him. Just because I called him boss don't mean we weren't partners."

"Is that what it would take to keep you here? A partnership?"

Maybe he thought that's what I was after, a piece of the pie. If everything I'd told him about Bret and me was real and true, wouldn't I be? When working again with Bret was uncertain at best? Something was telling me to play along, see where it took me. So I did. "You want me to stay here?"

"Instead of moving on with Maverick? You're a man of many talents. I think it could benefit both of us."

I let him think I was mulling it over. "What about him stayin'?"

He shook his head. "Maybe before . . . but not now. There's too much distrust between us."

"What about the girl?" Did he have something planned for Ginny?

"Don't you think she'd go with him? Seems awful close to him not to."

"You may be right." I finished what was in my cup. "It's somethin' to think about. Stayin' here, I mean. Thanks for the coffee."

I picked myself up and left before Newton could throw anything else at me. Besides, I still had a brother to deal with, and I had no idea what kind of mood he'd be in.

XXXXXXXX

I found Bret standing outside the hotel in the dark, smoking a cigar. There was no trace of Ginny. "You all done takin' care of your boss?"

"I had to play up to him for our plan to work. You know that."

He agreed with me surprisingly quickly. "I know you did. Good thing, too. He was awful quick to go for his gun."

"Said he thought you were gonna shoot him."

There was just enough moonlight that I could see the faintest trace of a smile. "With what?"

"I'm just tellin' you his excuse."

"What'd you talk about after I left?"

I didn't know how he'd take my conversation with Newton, but now was no time to lie. Besides, we always tried to tell each other the truth. "He hinted at offerin' me a partnership to stick around after you leave town."

"One way or the other, huh?"

I shrugged. "Figures there's not much reason for you to stay when you're well enough to travel."

"What'd you tell him?"

"That I'd have to think about it."

Bret threw what was left of his cigar into the street. "Bart, let's get out of here. It's my fault we're mixed up in this to begin with. Let's just take Ginny and go, before somethin' else happens that we can't fix."

"Run, you mean? What about Newton?"

"He's Tedford's problem. Or the next man he tries to cheat, somebody that's just a little faster than he is."

"Ginny wouldn't leave now; not with the way things stand."

"She would if I married her."