Chapter 4
Cotter said, very plainly, "This girl took my money and didn't give it to the boss and now he wants me to pay again."
Jarrod was close enough to tell that yes, Cotter had been drinking. "Mr. Cotter," he said quietly, "Miss O'Hanlon has emptied her pockets and she doesn't have any money in them at all. Now, you've had a couple drinks – "
Cotter started to protest.
"Don't go denying it, Mr. Cotter," Jarrod said, trying to stay conciliatory with his voice but fierce with his eyes. "I can tell you've been drinking from your breath. Isn't it possible you just forgot to pay her?"
"No," Cotter said, but now his voice wavered. "I paid her."
Jarrod increased his calm and accommodating voice but also his determined eyes. "Mr. Cotter, I'm an attorney and I'm representing Miss O'Hanlon, so why don't we see if we can clear this up in a friendly manner right now? You're not from around here, are you? Where are you from?"
"None of your biz – "
Jarrod interrupted him. "Mr. Cotter, you're not from around here so I will give you a break. I'm going to ask Deputy Henry here to escort you out of Stockton – "
Cotter made an ugly face.
Jarrod quickly added, "Without paying your check. I'll see everything is taken care of. No one will arrest Miss O'Hanlon for taking your money and no one will arrest you for not paying your bill or for making a false accusation. You just go on your way to another town right this minute and never come back here, and you can go have as many more drinks as you'd like somewhere else." Jarrod gave him a wry smile for good measure.
Cotter didn't move or say anything else.
Jarrod motioned Henry over. The deputy came, took Cotter by the arm and said, "Come on, Mr. Cotter. You better get while the gettin' is good."
Henry gave him a tug, and Cotter allowed himself to be taken out of the café.
Jarrod went back to Antoinette, who was crying even more now. He sat down with her and took her hands in his. "Don't give it another thought, Miss O'Hanlon. This is over."
"What if he comes back after me?" she asked.
She was genuinely distressed. Jarrod pressed her hands a little more. "I don't think there's much chance of that. Henry will see him off and I'll lay odds by the time he gets to the next town and drinks a bit more he won't even remember your name or what you look like or what café in Stockton he was in. And if you ever see his face again, you just call on me or Henry and we'll see that he's arrested for what he tried to do to you today."
Antoinette sighed, slumping in relief. "Thank you, Mr. Barkley. I really need to believe that."
"Believe it," Jarrod said, giving her hands another squeeze, then letting go and sitting up straight. "And please, why don't you call me Jarrod, since my price for representing you is going to be having lunch with me tomorrow at the Stockton House?" He looked up Paul's way. "I don't think Paul will mind if you take an hour or so with me over there, especially after I pay Mr. Cotter's check. Will you, Paul?"
"You don't have pay the bill, Jarrod," Paul said.
"Taking me to lunch and paying that man's bill –" Antoinette said, "when I'm the one who owes you a fee."
"Letting me enjoy your company at lunch is my fee," Jarrod said, paying Paul. "Just say yes."
Antoinette couldn't believe it. The most horrible fifteen minutes of her life just turned into a dream come true. Jarrod Barkley wanted to take her to lunch. She smiled, nodded, wiped her tears off and said, "Yes."
Jarrod left Antoinette with a smile and a promise to come by here to get her and escort her to the Stockton House the next day. As he left, he was wondering what was going on at the Empire saloon that called the sheriff away, but he didn't have to wonder for long. He saw Heath heading out of his law office and hurried over to him.
"Glad I found you," Heath said.
"What's going on?"
"Nick got himself into a fight over a poker game at the Empire," Heath said. "Then he got mouthy with the sheriff and the sheriff arrested him. He's over in the jail and I was coming to get you because I don't have any money to bail him out with."
Jarrod was looking beyond Heath and got a sudden smirk on his face at what he was seeing beyond his younger brother. "Did you know Mother was going to be in town today?"
"Mother?" Heath said. "No, why?"
Jarrod nodded toward the jail. "She's going into the jail now, and she's gonna find Nick there."
Heath started to chuckle. "What do you want to bet she was in town for something and found out Nick needed bailing out?"
"Oh, this I gotta see," Jarrod said. "Come on."
Jarrod and Heath hustled down to the sheriff's office and got in there just in time to see Nick, sitting on a bunk in a cell, hanging his head as Victoria stood staring down at him.
Heath could hardly keep from laughing as he said to Jarrod, "Nick is getting bailed out of jail by his mother."
Heath gave in and laughed when Jarrod did too. Nick looked up at them with venom in his eyes and no dimples showing, but Victoria quickly intervened. "Don't look at them like they've done something wrong! You're the one sitting in the cell, and over a poker game?"
"I caught this guy dealing from the bottom of the deck," Nick said, lowering his head again.
"And that's a reason to start swinging at him?" Victoria said.
"He started it!" Nick said.
"How many times have I heard that one?" Jarrod said.
"And been on the receiving end of it, and sometimes it was true!" Victoria bellowed, turning on Jarrod now, but she was quickly back to Nick. "And you didn't have to start arguing with Sheriff Madden! That's what's put you in here!"
"I'm sorry, Mother," Nick said, just as he had said it many times before.
"I'll pay the fine, Mother," Jarrod said, reaching for his money clip. "Nick and Heath are both broke, and I think I can garner enough grace to spare my brother from being bailed out of jail by our mother. How much, Fred?"
Sheriff Madden told Jarrod the damages, and Jarrod paid the money. Just to put icing on the cake, Sheriff Madden handed the keys to Nick's cell to Victoria. Nick winced as his mother unlocked the cell, opened the door, and glared at him like he was ten years old.
"Jarrod will go back to work and you two will go home with me," Victoria said, pointing to Nick and then Heath. Then she led the way out the door.
Jarrod and Heath were still chuckling as they went outside. Heath couldn't resist saying, "Looks like that lucky coin wasn't so lucky for you after all, Nick."
Nick grumbled.
"But it worked for me," Heath said.
Everyone stopped. Nick glared.
Heath smiled. "I have a luncheon date with Miss Marie Simone tomorrow at the Stockton House."
"Ah, well it must have worked for me too!" Jarrod said, brightening up even more. "I also have a luncheon date tomorrow, at the Stockton House, with Miss Antoinette O'Hanlon!"
Nick grumbled some more.
Victoria finally smiled, crossing her arms, grinning at Nick. "You can take your mother to lunch at Cattlemen's tomorrow, Nick. That will keep your bad luck from rubbing off on your brothers tomorrow."
"All right, all right," Nick grumbled even more. He started to take his "lucky" centimes out of his pocket, but Heath quickly cut him off.
"No, no, Nick," Heath said. "I gave that to you as a gift. Toss it away and your luck will get even worse."
Nick would have sworn but his mother was standing there. Not that she hadn't heard swearing before, but he could just feel his mouth getting washed out with soap when they got home if he started swearing now. He put the coin back into his vest pocket. "Let's just get out of here."
"I have one more stop to make," Victoria said. "It won't take me long, and Nick, you can help carry the packages."
"Where are we going?" Nick asked.
Victoria smiled even more. "Miss Aggie's."
Nick looked horrified. "The ladies' – unmentionables store?"
Heath and Jarrod just laughed the harder as Victoria took Nick by the arm and drew him away. Heath said, "I think now I understand why I found that coin thrown away in the dirt. This might be the first time I ever heard of an unlucky coin."
"Or the first time you ever heard of a coin bringing bad luck to the carrier and good luck to everyone around him," Jarrod said. "Why don't we double up at lunch tomorrow?"
"That sounds like a lucky idea," Heath said.
The End
