The inside of the saloon wasn't all that dissimilar to what Buzz had been expecting.
Immediately beyond the swinging doors was one large room filled primarily by a sea of tables and mismatched chairs, all of which led up to a bar at the back that stood surrounded by tall stools. To the left there was a low stage with tattered curtains hanging around it, each with brightly coloured patches sewn onto them, covering various rips and holes. And to the right there was a band made up of elderly men clutching equally ancient looking instruments, the noises coming from them barely passible as music, but atmospheric nonetheless. Although Buzz was not shocked by the sights before him, such as the black toothed men playing cards, or the young cowboys slumped over tables having drunk their weights in beer and whiskey, he found himself becoming lost in the moment and it was only when Woody tapped his arm that he realized that the brunette was talking,
"We'll get you a beer, on me" he was saying, a bright smile on his face,
"Oh, thank you sheriff" Buzz nodded, blinking back to the situation at hand.
The man then led him over to the bar, dodging between tables as they went, heading towards a couple of empty stools beside Jessie, who had already gone back to her drink waiting on the counter.
"Take a seat Buzz" Woody instructed, tapping the stool right next to his sister, causing the stiff suede covering to give slightly, a wisp of dust hissing out of it,
Buzz nodded his thanks once more and sat, finding himself immediately embarrassed by the fact that his feet barely touched the ground beneath him, instead, his toes grazed the paneled flooring, and while Woody clearly hadn't noticed, Buzz didn't doubt that Jessie had. He could practically feel her eyes fixed on his blushing face,
He risked a glance at her, and their eyes met for a long moment. Buzz had expected Jessie to look away as soon as she saw him turning to meet her gaze, but instead she had stared right back at him,
The deputy blushed an even deeper shade of red and put his attention instead to the chipped countertop.
"Barbara!" Woody called, tapping the bar to be heard over the general ruckus of the saloon,
A beaming woman dressed in a checked, faded pink dress then rushed over to the counter before them, a jug of sloshing beer held in her hand as she bustled over,
"A beer for my new deputy" the sheriff beamed, slapping Buzz on the back.
The man smiled softy at the woman as a way of greeting, and she immediately dissolved into a flurry of questions, not one of which Buzz found the time to answer before she asked another,
"Another here too Barbie" Jessie then mumbled, pointing to her glass that contained nothing but dregs and a small layer of foam,
"I think you've had quite enough already" Woody said, his happy expression falling slightly as he addressed his sister.
Buzz was watching the interaction cautiously until a mug of beer was placed before him. He looked up to find 'Barbie' smiling at him again, one hand on her hip,
"Thank you" he nodded taking the drink in hand,
"You're so welcome" the blonde beamed, she then opened her mouth again, no doubt to set upon him in interrogation again, but was cut off by another call of her name further down the counter. Still sporting an illuminated smile, she set off to attend on the new customer, half filling Jessie's mug as she passed it, ignoring the arguing siblings who didn't seem to notice.
Buzz sighed and raised the glass to his lips, savoring the first mouthful of beer as he poured it into his mouth, swallowing it down solidly, reveling the way it soothed his parched throat. He found his mind wondering in that moment, as he watched a man flitting about the saloon, filling glasses with more warm beer as he went, his smile as bright as Barbie's, his suit brighter still and his movements akin to an energetic worker bee.
In the meantime, it would seem as though Woody and Jessie had stopped arguing, no doubt due to reaching a stalemate, and the sheriff was now observing the saloon patrons too, his hands on his hips,
"Expecting trouble sheriff?" Buzz asked, turning towards him,
"No, no Buzz" he dismissed quickly, "It's set to be a quiet night, so you can relax" he then paused as the doors to the saloon opened, and two young men entered, "I'm going to talk to Slink and Rex, you finish your drink", he said, not waiting for a response as he started over to them.
"What do you think?" Jessie then asked, drawing Buzz's gaze again,
"Excuse me?" the deputy asked, his eyes widening with shock at the very prospect that she was even talking to him,
"What do you think?" she repeated, pacing out the question a little more,
"Of what?"
"Of the town? My brother? The beer? Anything really. You look like a thinker, then again, looks can be deceiving and for all I know, your head could just be full of sawdust"
"Nice" Buzz blurted.
Jessie raised one thin eyebrow at him, "'Nice'?"
"The town, it seems quite nice, the people… they're-"
"Nice?" she suggested, bringing her beer mug up to her lips again, a slight smirk upturning them,
"Yes" he nodded, blushing violently and lifting his own drink in an attempt to cover his face.
It felt like hours had passed by the time Woody rejoined them, but it was better than nothing as Buzz had very nearly run out of beer to drink, and he was hardly feeling confident enough to ask the bubbly barmaid for more,
"Everything alright?" Jessie asked him as he finally sat on the only other spare stool on the other side of Buzz,
"Of course, they had no trouble" the brunette nodded, waving vaguely at Barbara who was passing with a refilled jug,
"What were they moving today?" his sister asked, staring into the white foam floating in her glass,
"Cattle" Woody answered,
Barbie then bounded over and poured a healthy portion of beer into each of their mugs.
The three then fell into an uncomfortable silence, nursing their drinks with varying degrees of enthusiasm,
"Get in for eight o'clock tomorrow" Woody then said standing, his drink drained,
"Err yes sheriff, I'll be there" Buzz nodded,
"Please Buzz, just Woody is fine" the brunette assured him, smoothing down his shirt, "Now your room is here, upstairs, Barbara will be able to show you I'm sure",
"I need to get my bag from the office still"
"Oh don't worry about that, Jessie will fetch it for you" the sheriff said dismissively,
"I'll do what?" Jessie asked, frowning at her brother.
"His bag Jess, you'll get it from the office" Woody said, his hands on his hips,
The redhead glared at him for a moment, before tipping the rest of her drink into her mouth and standing from the bar, making the stool stumble and clatter on the wood flooring, "Sure" she grumbled,
"No, no it's okay I'll-" Buzz began, but it was too late, she was already half way out of the saloon, heading for the doors. The deputy watched as she left, his eyes lingering on the exit long after she was gone,
"Barbie, can you show Buzz his room?" Woody asked, making the woman in question pause on the other side of the bar,
"I'm a little busy right now sheriff, but Ken can help" she said, nodding towards the thicket of customers.
"Okay then" he nodded in response, turning to look out over the tables, "There he is, come on" he then said, pointing to the man from earlier who had been moving around the saloon with such enthusiasm,
"Kenneth!" Woody shouted, approaching the man,
"Ahh, sheriff!" he cheered, turning gracefully on the spot and regarding him, "Oh, who is this?" he then asked with an outrageously exuberant smile,
"This is my new deputy, Buzz" Woody replied, his smile magnitudes dimmer than that of the man before him.
"Ahh, enchanté!" Ken said, offering his spare hand to the man,
"Err, hello! Buzz nodded, taking the offered hand and shaking it,
"That was in the French" the man said grandly, placing the hand on his hip once they had parted,
"I see"
"Buzz is staying here for a few days, just while his house gets the finishing touches, could you show him to his room?" the sheriff asked, drawing Ken's bright blue eyes away from Buzz who had started to squirm under his persistent gaze,
"Sure thing sheriff!
0o0o0
"Here you go partner" Ken beamed, opening the door into the small, neat bedroom,
"Thank you" Buzz nodded, catching the other man giving him the once over out of the corner of his eye as he passed. The deputy's smile waned into a look of discomfort, and he entered the room swiftly, trying to get away from the awkward situation.
"I'm sure it's a lot less than a…big 'city boy' like you is used to, but it's the very best we have", Ken was now hanging from the door, still smiling brightly and observing Buzz with a hooded gaze,
"It's fine thank you" he replied stiffly, putting his hands behind his back.
An unsettling silence than stretched between them, at least Buzz found it uncomfortable, but Ken was apparently enjoying it extensively from the look on his face,
"Can I get you anything? Something to drink? A little food? An extra blanket?" he asked,
"No, I'm quite alright, truly, I'm fine" Buzz answered surely,
"That you are!" Ken laughed in return,
"Excuse me?" the deputy responded, his eyebrows shooting up as he realized just what the other man had said,
"I'll just leave you to it then" Ken said, still laughing softly, but apparently having conveniently missed the previous question, "I'll give you a call in the morning, seven thirty sound okay? Steak and eggs for breakfast, made by yours truly".
"Sure" Buzz sighed, turning away from the man,
It was another few seconds before the deputy heard the door close, but when it did, he let out a long sigh.
The town was indeed 'nice' as he had said to Jessie, but it was also coming off as a little odd, more like the kinds of make believe places that were found in kids' books, the kind of place where people had names like 'Slink' and 'Potatohead' and villains with thick black moustaches and eyepatches wreaked havoc.
It was a caricature.
Buzz shook his head, he supposed that he fit in, what with a name like 'Buzz', and as such, he chose to drop the strain of thought, instead thinking to set about checking the contents of the room.
There was a bed of course, a little smaller than a double, dressed in clean white sheets, there was also an old wooden table, featuring a stack of thick paper, a bible, an ink well and pen, and a lit lantern, that illuminated the room. Otherwise, the room was bare, save for the empty dresser by the door- it was better than nothing though.
A knock sounded at the door, and Buzz paused, picturing Ken leaning in the doorway again, he sighed and headed over to answer it anyway, deciding that if it was indeed Ken, he'd probably come in regardless, but answering the door was the polite thing to do.
It wasn't though.
Jessie stood out I the corridor, holding Buzz's bag of belongings, "You found the room then?" she asked, coming in without invitation,
"Err yes, Ken showed me" Buzz replied, closing the door softly, and watching her as she in turn slowly observed the room,
"Ah, of course" she nodded, dropping the bag on the bed with little regard for its contents, "How did you find him?" the redhead then asked, dropping herself down onto the bed along with the bag, making the frame squeal and complain, "'Nice'?",
"Enthusiastic" Buzz replied, leaning on the desk, wincing as he tried to find the right word, folding his arms tightly over his chest as he did so.
Much to his surprise, Jessie laughed at the answer, and crossed her legs familiarly before her, "Yeah, I don't know how Barbie puts up with him all day, every day" she said looking to her dirty nails casually, "But I guess she must do, or they wouldn't have been married for so long",
"They're married!?" Buzz blurted, certain he must have misheard her. Surely he couldn't be married to her?
"Yeah, why?" Jessie laughed again,
"No reason" he replied, shaking his head,
"I'll guess we'll talk about it some other time" she shrugged, standing from the bed, wiping her hands on her skirted thighs as she did.
"Oh, okay" Buzz said, mimicking her standing position, suddenly made nervous by her presence again,
"I'll see you tomorrow", bright and early" Jessie added, heading to the door, she then paused as she opened it, letting her hand linger on the handle, "Goodnight" and with that, she blew a kiss to him, smirking slightly as she did.
Buzz's cheeks burnt red, and he only managed to yelp out a brief 'Night' as the door was already closing behind the redhead.
Standing, staring at the spot that Jessie had just been in moments before, the deputy briefly wondered whether the night's in this town were always quite so hot.
0o0o0
The next morning, Buzz was thankful of the fact that he was awake, cleaned and dressed by the time Ken came to wake him, even in the new knowledge that he was in fact married, and seemingly happily so, to the beautiful women whom he owned the saloon with. He thankfully accepted and ate the breakfast that Ken cooked, although not all of it, as there was probably more than enough to feed most of the town. Buzz then left the saloon, and made the short walk down the street to the outskirts where the police office was.
Stood outside was Jessie, sweat slicked over her brow, and her ponytail loose down her back- Buzz thought the look suited her quite nicely,
The redhead had her back to him as he approached, her hands working at brushing the side of a beautiful chestnut horse, but she opened her mouth to address him all the same,
"Good morning" she huffed, the early morning sun tiring her as she worked,
"Morning" he nodded, "Who's this then?" he added, moving forward and cautiously resting his hand on the horse's neck.
"You haven't spent a lot of time with horse before, have you?" Jessie asked, pausing to watch him,
"Err, no" he admitted, taking his hand off swiftly, and putting it in his pocket,
She laughed softly and took a small step back, placing her hand on his wrist, making him jump slightly, as if he'd received a static shock from her, "His name's Bullseye-" she said as she pulled his hand from his pocket, and placed it once more on the horse's neck, "-and he's the fastest horse around… or so they say",
Buzz blushed as she guided his hand across the thick chord muscles of the steed's neck, the soft trimmed fur beneath his palm, while Jessie's delicate but calloused hand held the top of it.
"He's incredible" he smiled, watching as Bullseye moved tiredly before them,
"Hmm" she nodded, pulling away, "I love this horse, more than I love anything" she said fondly,
"More than you love your brother?" Buzz laughed, brushing his hands together,
Jessie opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by the man himself-
"Well good morning partner" the sheriff said, stood in the doorway of the office,
"Morning sheriff" he nodded, placing his hands on his hips.
"Getting acquainted with Bullseye are you?"
"Yes, he's magnificent" the deputy nodded,
"That he is, that he is" Woody agreed, "But it's probably time you came in for work… and time Jessie took him inside, don't you think?".
Jessie scowled at her brother, but nodded, and silently guided the horse around the side of the office, heading for the small stables behind it,
Buzz then followed Woody into the office, sighing softly as he did,
"Most of the time, the town is quiet, like I said-" the sheriff began, walking to his desk, "-so you should be paced into the job pretty nicely, not that you need it of course-" he added with a laugh, "-I hear you were real professional back in the city",
"So they tell me" the deputy nodded, taking an offered file from Woody,
"Let's get started shall we?".
0o0o0
It was midday when Buzz finally got through signing all the necessary paperwork and sealing and sending all of the letters he had to,
Woody would occasionally attempt to regale Buzz with stories of past crimes and conquests, but they soon dried up, leaving the two of them in silence, not even Jessie came back to see them,
The deputy considered asking more than once what the redhead did during the day, or at least more about their history as siblings living in the town, but every time it occurred to him, he thought better of it.
Buzz was just going through another bout of thinking about Jessie when the doors to the office swung open, revealing a small, flustered looking man,
"Slink, what's wrong?" Woody asked, standing quickly from his desk,
"It's the cattle Woody! Jane's at 'em again!" the man replied, panting heavily,
The sheriff grabbed his hat from his desk in a flash and hurried to the door, "Come on Buzz! We need to saddle up!" he yelled as he disappeared out onto the street,
The deputy sat, blinking for moment, before shooting up from his seat as well, grabbing his jacket as he went, and following the men out from the office, muttering a bewildered, 'Saddle up?' as he went.