Little Sharpshooter Chap 9

Randy was shaken from the snake encounter all morning. Trevor must have been too because he didn’t say much all day. When they could see Silver City off in the distance, Randy stopped and waited for Trevor to come up beside her.

“I don’t wanna burn all my money on gettin’ two rooms,” she said.

“Well, that’s gonna start some talk.”

“Do we say we’re brother and sister?”

“I don’t think we look it at all.”

“What do we do?”

“We’re old enough. We tell them we just got married.”

Randy’s face flushed. She frowned at the city and then at Trevor. “I don’t like that idea.”

“It’s the best idea. No one will question it. Especially if we wear those rings you got around your neck.”

“What?” Randy pulled the necklace from underneath her shirt to look at her parent’s wedding bands.

“That’s what made me think of it. You’re dressed properly. I mean you’re wearing nice girly clothes even though I know you don’t want to. I’m old enough and so are you.”

Randy sighed, undid the clasp, and slid the rings off. She wondered if it was a good idea with how much he obviously liked her. He might get some idea that getting married was the thing to do. She handed Trevor Pa’s ring and swallowed the lump in her throat. She slid Mama’s ring on her third finger. It was tight.

“You need to put it on your left hand.” Trevor slid Pa’s ring on his finger. It was loose but he made it look natural as he held his hand up for her to see.

Randy slid the ring onto the finger of her other hand. It fit perfectly. Her eyes filled with tears. She pressed the back of her hands into her eyes. Trevor rested his hand on her thigh.

“I still feel like that sometimes,” he said. When she looked at him, his eyes were glassy too.

“Well, lets quit actin’ like a couple babies and go find a place to stay. Maybe we can get a good night’s sleep.” Randy squeezed Al’s sides and they were off.  She avoided eye contact with Trevor until she had her emotions under control.

They were heading into the biggest boomtown in the territory. A few years earlier, Silver City had been famous for people getting rich quick. That wasn’t quite the story anymore. Her pa told her how dangerous it was there and had been commissioned out of retirement several times due to big problems in the mining town. Randy was appreciative of Trevor’s presence beside her as men watched them while they headed up the main street. She couldn’t tell if they were watching her or her horse. Maybe it was both.

“We need to find stables for the horses first,” Randy said, but wished that they weren’t so dead set on staying in Silver City for the night. But there was no telling how far the next town was.

The livery stables were across from the boarding house. The next dilemma was whether or not Al would attempt to break the stall door down to find her. He almost did in the last town she stayed in when she was sick. She sighed. Leaving home was possibly a huge mistake.

“Let me do the talkin’,” Trevor whispered before he dismounted.

Randy frowned and folded her arms. He was going to play the part of husband. Al pulled her to the water trough for a drink. She leaned against a post to observe.

“How much to stable these two horses overnight?” Trevor asked.

“Depends on if the horses are yours or stolen.” The stablehand’s mouth parted into a partially toothless smile.

Trevor drew his head back and pursed his lips delaying his response. “The horses are ours, I assure you.”

“How’s a boy like you find himself a purty little girl with a fancy horse? You has to be a thief. Ain’t no way you earned somethin’ as nice as those two little prizes.”

“I think you are bein’ mighty offensive with those remarks. Randy, let’s go find us another stable.”

“There ain’t no other stables. At least none that have room. It’d be a fiver for the night. Each.” He spat tobacco juice out the side of his mouth and placed a hand on his hip waiting for Trevor’s response.

Trevor looked at Randy. She raised her eyebrows not sure of what he wanted her to do.  Obviously he had no clue. She took a deep breath and then batted her eyes helplessly at Trevor.

“I don’t know what we can do now. I thought for sure this place was a nice place to come with plenty of kind, honest folks. At least that’s what my pa told me. But maybe he was deceivin’ me cause he wanted me to think the place was all nice, full of folks that didn’t take advantage of others. That’s why he let me marry you. You were a good and honest boy.” She had her face all worried but her eyes shot at Trevor to pick up where she left off. He barely shook his head.

“You know what my pa told ya.” She tilted her head slightly.

His eyes widened and he smiled. “Oh yes, Mr. Carter. I promised Mr. James Carter I’d take good care of you. There was no way I was gonna rile up a Texas Ranger for mistreatin’ his daughter. Oh, no. He promised me that his reputation was a good one and that the folks in Sliver City especially would take good care of us.” Trevor nodded and kept nodding when he looked back at the stablehand.

The man shifted his weight and spat again. He sighed and then looked Al over.

“Mighty fine horse. Your pa is James Carter?” He reached out to pet Al.

Al blew air out his nose at him and pawed the ground with his hoof.

“Fiesty. I ain’t seen many like this. But they like things their way. Been told you can’t break the spirit outta these.”

“He is spirited. In fact, I think you oughta let me tend him so his stall door stays put until we leave.”

“If ya promise to make my work light, I’ll only charge ya two for them both. That just pays for the feed and I’m out two stalls if I get some better payin’ folk. Like I said, the other ones are full.” He headed into the stable to show them the stalls.

Randy happily tended her horse. Trevor took care of Storm. They carried their saddles and saddle blankets, and saddle bags across the street to the boarding house.

“Now, I don’t wanna go hangin’ on my pa’s reputation everywhere. But I learned a long time ago that I can twist crooks straight when I use his name. That one was tryin’ to skin us.”  Randy limped up the steps. She wondered if she was ever going to walk on it right again.

Randy dropped everything to the floor when they reached the counter. The heat was as stifling inside as it was out. She wiped off sweat with her sleeve to keep it from running into her eyes.

A man with a long face, droopy mouth, and dull eyes stepped out from a back room.

“What can I do you?” he asked peering over his glasses.

“We’d like a room.” Trevor answered.

“For how long?”

“Just overnight.”

He studied Randy and then Trevor.

Trevor sidestepped closer, resting his arm around Randy’s shoulders to pull her tight to his side.

“We’re newlyweds.” He grabbed Randy’s hand with the ring and showed the man their ringed fingers.

“I figured. Now don’t be making a racket or I will send you over to the brothel to stay. I’ve had my share of really young newlyweds and I don’t have the patience for them anymore. Not sure why I came out west to start a business. No one is civilized out here.” He slapped keys down on the counter. “The bath is extra. You need to let someone at the front desk know if you want one and it takes an hour to prepare. Only one at a time.” He wrinkled his nose as he filled out a card.

Trevor glanced at Randy to make sure the man was asking a fair price before he paid. She nodded. They headed up the stairs to their room.

Once the door was shut, Randy set her saddle down on the floor as quietly as she could. She looked at Trevor puzzled.

“What did he mean he would send us to the brothel if we made too much noise?”

“Don’t ya know what married people do or what brothels are for?”

Randy shook her head and flushed.

“Finally something you don’t know and I do. But I’m not sure I should be the one to tell you all about it. You might not like me anymore.”

Randy decided it was one of those times she should just take his word for it as she quietly dug through her saddlebag.

“You don’t have to go tip-toein’ around the room. That’s not gonna get us kicked out.”

“I want a bath, but I think I want it cold. It’s so hot in here.” Randy pulled out clean clothes from her saddlebag.

Trevor dropped something on the floor and cleared his throat. “Umm, I’ll go tell the droopy faced man at the front desk.” Trevor did his best to imitate the droopy faced man as he walked stiffly out the door. Randy giggled.

Randy took her time in the bath. She studied her leg since she had been ignoring how bad it was. With the deep indentations on each side of her calf, she would probably walk with a limp forever. Randy pressed her palms into her eyes and exhaled slowly before she scrubbed the dead skin and thick scabs off her leg.

Randy braided her wet hair while she walked back to their room. When she opened the door, Trevor was asleep. Drawn in by how endearing he looked, she paused. With her hand hovering over him, she shook her head to stop whatever tightened her chest. She poked his shoulder.

“I’m done. Were you going after me?” she asked.

“Oh, yes.” He was up and bounded out of the room.

Randy looked in the mirror and frowned. Her dress was not the best, old, worn and almost too small for her. She had a better one, but it was filthy from traveling. She sighed winding her braid in a tight knot at the back of her neck. Even with the bun, she looked much younger than Trevor. No wonder everyone they encountered tried to take advantage of her. She sat down on the bed and threw herself back. Spreading her arms out beside her, she relaxed on the pillow soft bed until Trevor returned.

When Trevor came in the room her heart flipped in her chest and started to race. His face was cleanly shaven. His dark damp hair curled a little more than it usually did. He smelled of soap. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath wondering why she was suddenly feeling out of sorts and uncomfortable in her own skin in his presence.

Trevor plopped down on the bed beside Randy.

“Are you all right?” He lifted a stray strand of hair away from her eyes. Her heart raced.

She nodded with her cheeks burning and forced a smile into the corners of her mouth.

“Are you sure?” He brushed his thumb against her cheek. Her heart jumped again.

She sat up. “I’m hungry.”

“Let’s go find somethin’ to eat then.” He stood up and reached out to help Randy to her feet. She ignored his offer until her balance was off from her bad leg. She scrunched up her mouth and took his hand. He didn’t let go as they headed for the stairs.