Chapter 7
The carriage stopped outside a two story building a little outside of town. "This is my place, lets go." Shasta said hopping out of her seat. Trick and Brock jumped out behind her, but when Jack attempted to do the same, he found his body too weak to move it. "Ok guys, help him out! He's sick remember?" Shasta ordered the two guys. Her patience was at its edge, and when that happened, she got bossy. Jack was helped into her small apartment, and placed on the small couch in her living room.
"I'm going to find a doctor, stay here with him." Shasta said walking out the front door. The three guys were left alone to wait for her to return.
"So, ah, how do you know Shasta?" Brock said scratching his head not knowing how to start a conversation with two of the rebels at his former ranch.
Jack started to talk but was cut off by Trick since he knew the story as well and Jack had to save his energy. "Jackie boy here met her when he stopped here on his way to Sante Fe. What luck he had in Sante Fe." Scorn and contempt filled Trick's words as he spoke to Brock.
"Look it ain't my fault." Brock said backing up and looking nervously up at Shasta's ceiling and floor boards.
Trick just sighed. It was hopeless to be mean to him. He wasn't Mighty Joe. "So how do you know Shasta?"
"Heh, funny you should ask. We got a history, me and her. Used to be an item we were about 4 years ago." Brock had a reminiscent look, one filled with happiness and sadness. "We had something, that we did, but she broke my heart and left for here. I haven't seen her since. And then she just shows up at Mighty Joe's place and my life is turned upside down. Ya realize I don't have a job now?"
"Yea you realize Jackie boy is sick and we ain't go no jobs eithah?" Brock frowned and realized they were both pretty much screwed. "So why did Shasta leave ya?"
"I dunno. She never said. Just got up and left, leavin' me a goodbye note and not to come look for her. I wish I had." Both Jack and Trick could see he was hurting but nothing they could do about it. They had their own problems at the moment and it had been four years for him to get over her. But then again, Trick thought, he could see why Brock couldn't get over her. She was amazing.
After a short period of awkward silence that seemed to last forever Shasta and the doctor came wandering in.
"Alright let me have a look at the boy." The doctor who was pretty young, with a good head of blond hair and a fair complexion compared to the rest of the state. He went to work giving him water, food, and writing out a schedule of how much he was to eat and drink per day. As soon as he left Shasta let out an exasperated sigh.
"I could have done that. What the hell did we need the doctor for?" She looked over the list and threw it into the trash. "Alright Yank …ahh I see a problem. I call both of y'all Yank. Hm…oh well. You there Yank, eat this-" and she shoved some bread in his face along with a glass of water. "and then get some rest." She turned to the other 2 boys and wondered what she was going to do about them. "This place is kinda small for all of us, so, uh, how does the floor sound?" Both boys nodded in agreement and she went into the closet and shoved a couple blankets at them and laid one on Jack. "Um, tomorrow I hafta go to work, so you guys can stay here. Um, then we can go to my brothers ranch the next day. I can't keep ya here for too long. Goodnight." She closed the door to the bedroom and the boys were left, once again, to themselves. They set up themselves and headed to bed with a few short good nights.
*****
The next morning Shasta was up bright and early, well before any of the guys and was making her breakfast in the kitchen. The smell of eggs and bacon always reminded her of her pa's ranch in the morning. Her ma would be standing over the oven cooking fresh eggs from the hen house, bacon from the pig recently slaughtered and toasting the bread she had made over the weekend. Shasta missed those days. But her Ma was dead and her Pa was closing down the ranch since her brother had already opened his own ranch. What about her? Why couldn't he give her the ranch? She was just as qualified for the job, she'd helped her pa run it for years before she left. She knew everything about cows, and how to run a ranch properly. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Brock standing before her watching her.
"Oh!" She jumped, practically dropping the frying pan. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry. You looked busy in yer head so I didn't want to interrupt."
Shasta smiled. She had loved him for those little quirks of his. But that was over, a long time ago. He was something of her past, and she didn't want to go back to that part. And she was finding these new Yanks to be a good find. She just had to choose which one she liked better. She grinned at the thought and Brock curiously looked at her.
"What you happy fer?"
"Can't a girl be happy?" Shasta snapped back. Then regretted it, watching Brocks face fall into the all over frown. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at ya. Forgive me?"
Brock couldn't help but give in to the look she gave him. "Of course I'll forgive ya, for that. What the hell happened between us?"
Shasta hated confrontations and guess what, this was one. She didn't know what to say, she didn't want to say anything. But she couldn't stop avoiding this for the rest of her life. "Where do I start. I don't even know why I left. I just had to get out. It was you, well not just you anyway. It was everything, my whole life was in an uproar and I didn't know what I was doing. So I just left. I didn't have a reason, a good one anyway, but I just picked up my things and left." She paused, closed her eyes and thought about what she was going to say. "Brock, I'm very sorry that I hurt you. I hurt a lot of people, and they probably won't forgive me real easy. But for now you just have to understand that I was very confused at that time, and it wasn't personal at all, I just needed to start new, and that meant leaving everything I had behind."
"Including me." Brock was hurt, the expression on his face showed it clear as a bell. Shasta couldn't help what she had done, it was over and done with, and she told him this.
"There's nothing more to be done. I'm sorry and I truly mean that, but we both
have to get on with life." And with that she picked up her piece of toast and headed out
the door. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen." She told Trick and Jack who were both up at that time. She hoped they hadn't heard her and Brock's conversation. But of course they had. "Well, help yourself to anything but don't leave me with nothin' so I starve." With that she placed her hat on her head and walked out the door into the blazing sun of early morning.
*****
Jack and Trick had indeed overheard Brock and Shasta talking, and when they finally were alone with Brock they didn't know what to say. With this third party, being who he was (the main man for Mighty Joe), they were very uncomfortable together. Jack still couldn't move around much, but he was eating and drinking and hopefully would be in better shape in the next week.
"I'm going out. Stay here." Brock said, and slammed the door to Shasta's apartment as he left. Trick and Jack just looked at each other not knowing what to make of it.
"Well buddy boy, we're finally free." Trick looked around at Shasta's sparcely decorated living room. There was the old couch Jack was sitting on, with a couple pillows. A clock was on the mantle along with a picture frame with money in it. Dried flowers were on a rickety little table besides an old wooden rocking chair. It was a much better view than stinky dirty feet hanging over bunk beds late at night or early in the morning with just a dim candle to light the rooms.
"Yep, it seems all I do is fight ta get free from one thing or anothah." Trick nodded in agreement.
"In ordah ta get by, ya gotta fight. And that's what we've been doin. And we'll continue doin' it until we die."
"What do we do now?"
"I dunno, we're going to Shasta's brothah's ranch tomorrow so we'll see. Maybe we'll work dere. Unless you wanna go back ta New York?"
"I dunno. I'se been thinking about it. But I got all dis way and I ain't turnin' back cause of one little incident." Trick laughed at his determination. Just like the little Francis he knew long ago. The change of name did not mean a change of character.
"Good fer you. I'se stickin out heah as well. Can't turn back now, most of me friends wouldn't recognize me back in New York anyway. But dat's life fer ya."
"You evah think about goin back?"
"Nah, well not until you showed up. I was happy as a clam, or a coyote, until you walked in and reminded me of me old life. It was a life that I once said I'd nevah be able to leave behind, but I did and I wouldn't trade this one for anythin'."
"Until ya find somethin' ya like bettah." Jack laughed and Trick had to chuckle for it was true. He once had said that he wouldn't trade being a newsie for anything but here he was, a cowboy. "Is bein' a cowboy all its made up ta be?"
Trick just laughed. "Nah, it certainly don't make ya a hero or nothin. It ain't grand or anything, but it was work and dats all dat mattahs. I got me clothes, and a friend or two and I'm all set. Now all I'se in need of is me own ranch and a goil. Didja have a goil back in New York?"
"Eh, I did. Sorta. Her name was Sarah but we nevah got anywhere. I kinda miss her but we weren't meant ta be."
Trick nodded knowingly. "I had a goil like that. All da guys thought we'd last forevah but it didn't last nearly as long as dat. We split the minute I said I was goin out heah."
"Dat's what happened between me an' Sarah. She hated the idea of me comin' out heah. The boys weren't too keen on it, but 'ey ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I don't regret—"
Jack was interrupted by Shasta running into the room, her face flushed, and out of breath. "We…have…to…" she paused for some breath, while the boys looked worriedly on. "GO!" she practically shrieked, grabbing at Trick and pulled the two out the door. Both were confused and had no idea what was going on, but they had to go apparently. The carriage was waiting outside and they hopped in and sped off out of town.
Once they were out of town and Shasta had slowed the speeding carriage, the boys started asking the questions.
"What the hell is this all about?"
"Where are we going?"
"Why—"
"OK! Boys shut up a second. Brock wanted to get back at me I guess and went off and sent a telegram to Mighty Joe about where y'all were. I don't think he knows where we're goin though. Hopefully not but we're not going down to Frank's right yet. Give them a few days. So we're goin to my Pa's place. He won't think of goin there, and if he did, Brock knows he'd get shot off the property. My pa doesn't like him too much. Especially after what I'll be telling him."
"Why da hell would Brock do dat?" Jack asked a little winded from the run from the couch to the carriage.
"To get back at me I suppose. I left him a while ago and I guess he never got over it. I shoulda seen it this mornin'. He sure wasn't a happy block for certain. Did he say anything?"
"No. Jus' that he had ta go and we had ta stay put."
Shasta nodded. "So he could come get ya and torture ya some more." He probably figures I fell hard for one of these boys and wanted them away from me, so he could try his hand with me again. She just shook her head at the thought. He was one very jealous little boy. But what could she do?
The rest of the ride was once again in silence. For more times than he could count Jack had been on the run from someone or other, and here he was again. It was like he couldn't escape his old life when trying to make a new one.