Chapter 4 – Making an Attempt
The night went well; better than Ginny expected. Billy and Georgia were every bit as friendly as all the other girls, and it was easy to see why Billy was the 'den mother' of the bunch. In her late twenties, she was calm and logical, with an easy manner that could smooth the most ruffled of feathers, be they male or female. Billy was average height – certainly not the most beautiful girl on the floor, but serene and happy, and kept everyone in a good mood. With greenish eyes and long dark hair, she reminded Ginny of Mariel Stansbury, Arthur's wife. Nothing seemed to fluster or upset her, and she was able to deal with almost any situation that arose.
Georgia was a firecracker, petite and feisty, with silver-blonde hair and a ready smile. And she never stopped talking, making her a favorite out on the floor with the cowboys that were tired of talking to nothing but cows. Everyone appeared to be having a good time except Mae, who always seemed to be glaring at Ginny. 'It's a real shame', Ginny thought, 'Mae would be much more attractive without the look of contempt on her face.' That didn't seem to stop the cowboys from flocking around Mae, each one more eager than the one before for her attention.
When everyone came downstairs at seven o'clock, Ginny went straight to Frank for a discussion of her beverage of choice. "You a drinker or not?" the bartender asked.
Straight and to the point. "Not," Ginny answered. "You keep sarsaparilla back there?"
That drew a grin from Carson. "Yes, ma'am, we sure do. And we'll be glad to provide it for you. Have you met Doug or Will yet?"
Ginny shook her head. "No, not yet."
Frank turned his head and whistled, and the two bartenders made their way to the end of the bar. "Doug, Will, this is Sammi Jo Withers, our newest lady. Douglas Weary and Will Lambert. Our lady is a non-drinker, boys, so make sure you pour her sarsaparilla."
Ginny gave them both a smile, then shook hands. Doug was somewhere in his thirties, almost as muscular as Frank, and had an easy grin. Will was younger and slighter, with dark hair and eyes that reminded her of Bret. He blushed slightly when they shook.
Beatrice and Billy kept an eye on her all night and were right there if she had questions or concerns. Three o'clock came sooner than she expected and didn't realize how tired she was until she climbed the stairs. "You look like your wagon's draggin'," Billy remarked, and Ginny had to agree with her.
"It's been a while since I been on my feet that long."
"You'll get used to it again. You did real good for your first night. Go get some sleep. Alfie makes breakfast for anybody that wants it around ten. You want me to stop by and get you?"
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that. Right now breakfast sounds real good." Ginny waved goodnight and slipped into her room. She took her shoes off and sat down on the bed with a sigh. Within five minutes she was back on her feet, getting undressed while deciding who to investigate first. Mae was the most suspicious, but for some unknown reason Beatrice stayed front and center in her head along with Red, who seemed nice enough – but how much could actually go on around Lil's without someone in charge knowing about it? And if not Red, who? Frank Carson, maybe?
Ginny yawned as she climbed into bed. She really was tired and would have no trouble falling asleep. One more time she went over everyone she'd met, but the last face she saw before drifting off had black hair and black eyes, and revealed perfect dimples when he smiled.
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Bret had ridden a long way, and he was worn out. He saw the sign as he made his way into town: Hobbs, population 245. Right then he didn't care how big or how small the place was – all that mattered was it had a bed with his name on it. He left his horse at the livery and walked next door to the ramshackle hotel. Rooms were available and were plenty cheap, so he took one and headed for bed. He could take a good look around tomorrow and find out just what he'd ridden into, but for right now it didn't matter.
He'd intended to head back to Texas but changed his mind at the last minute and wound up here instead. He should be in Kansas City with Ginny rather than sitting in this dusty old hotel, but he wasn't, and by his own choice. What was he going to do now?
Best to get undressed and get some sleep. He did that quickly, laying his gun, as always, next to his pillow. As he burrowed under the blankets on the bed, the last thing he saw in his mind's eye before he drifted off to sleep was a stunning redhead with sparkling blue eyes and the most beautiful mouth God ever created.
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Ginny was awake and dressed when the knock on her door came. "Chow, Sammi!" she heard Billy's voice call, and was soon downstairs in the back dining room with Lilybelle, Carmen, Suzanne and Beatrice. Billy introduced the tall, balding man scooping scrambled eggs onto plates as Alfie, and Ginny took her place at the table with the few who'd shown up for breakfast. The coffee pot was passed around, and biscuits followed.
Ginny was delighted to find Alfie an excellent man with eggs and thoroughly enjoyed his food. "Why so few for breakfast?" she asked Beatrice, who was sitting next to her.
"Beauty sleep. Especially Mae. She never comes down to eat, just buzzes in later and grabs coffee. You never know how many'll be here, and sometimes Alfie gets stuck cooking breakfast twice."
"I don't mind," Alfie explained. "I'd rather be doin' this than pourin' drinks this early in the day. You just get in yesterday, Sammi Jo?"
"I did, and I must say, I'm impressed. Red's put quite an operation together here."
"Red Mitchell's one of the finest men I ever met," Suzanne, who was sitting on the other side of Ginny, offered. "A gentleman through and through. If you need anything, Red's always there for you."
"And a great boss. You'll like workin' for him. If Red's not around there's always Frank. And Frank cooks as good as I do!" Alfie laughed. "He's a good man to have as a friend."
"So what's the story on Mae?" Ginny asked Beatrice as she poured another cup of coffee.
"We don't know for sure. She ain't friends with any of the girls and keeps mostly to herself. Two or three times a week she goes somewhere alone but never tells nobody where."
"How long's she been workin' for Red?"
"Three years," Suzanne replied. "Beatrice hadn't started yet when Mae got here. She was a lot friendlier at first, too. Got along with everybody, never caused no trouble. Then somethin' happened that changed her whole personality. There was a shootout over a faro game one night, and Mae got caught in the crossfire. If it wasn't for Frank, she woulda died. When she came back to work she was different – moody, standoffish, hard to get along with. The only one she still talks to is Frank."
"Are they close?" Ginny asked, curious about the relationship.
"Friends, yes. Close? I ain't sure you could call 'em that," Beatrice stated.
"I think they're close," Suzanne offered. "Whenever you see her talkin' to anybody and it ain't a payin' cowboy, it's Frank."
Beatrice set her coffee cup down and thought for a moment. "Well, maybe you're right. Never gave it much thought. We just all ignore her." Just as Beatrice finished her remark the door opened, and in walked Mae. She grabbed a coffee cup and poured a full one, then turned and started back out the door. Ginny jumped up and stood in front of her.
"Mae, I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot yesterday. Can you stay and talk for a minute? I'd like it if we could be friends."
"Now why would I want to be friends with you?" Mae gave her a haughty look and pushed on past Ginny, out the door and around the corner.
Ginny sat back down. She glanced at Suzanne, then Beatrice, then chuckled slightly. "That was a waste of breath. I thought maybe . . . "
"That's alright, honey. You ain't the first one to get shot down; probably won't be the last." Suzanne patted Ginny's shoulder. "Me and Sierra are goin' over to the general store and see if they got anything new in we can use for dresses. You wanna come with us?"
"Sure, it'll give me a chance to get outside for a while. Beatrice? You comin' too?"
"Nope, not today. I got an appointment with a regular customer later. You take good care of her, Suzanne. Don't wanna lose somebody the second day they're here."
"Lose somebody?" Ginny asked innocently.
"Just a joke, honey. Beatrice is always kiddin' around like that. Come on, let's go roust that lazybones Sierra outta bed so we can go shopping!"
Ginny took a peek at Beatrice as she got up to leave with Suzanne. From the expression on Beatrice's face there was no kidding involved, and the agent made a mental note to question her new friend about the remark later.