“Maybe,” Orville said as he tucked his outdated revolver back under his belt and covered it with his jacket. “Maybe not. Let’s just see how it goes.”
“All right, then. How about we head back into my saloon so we can have that drink?”
“No,” Jim snapped. “My uncle’s already been attacked once in there! Lord only knows what you got inside if’n he sticks his face in there.”
“He wasn’t attacked. He didn’t even—” Caleb stopped himself, took a breath, and said. “Fine. We can talk somewhere else. But I’m not stupid enough to follow you three into some alley after getting bushwhacked once already.”
“Where’d you rather go?” Orville asked.
“What about the Alhambra? It’s just one street down.”
Orville and his two nephews started walking down Main Street to where it intersected with Houston. Caleb, on the other hand, remained rooted to his spot. Kyle was the one to stop and wheel around like a bull that was about to charge.
“Come on, then!” the fat man grunted.
“First I want to know what this is about,” Caleb demanded. “I’ve been through too much lately to waste my time with senseless bullshit from the likes of you fellas.”
This time, the nephews glanced over to their uncle before saying another word.
Nodding. Orville said, “It’s about an arrangement that needs to be struck between us. After what I been through and what I done already, I deserve something by way of payment.”
Caleb let out a choppy, humorless laugh. “Look, everyone in the Flush last night got a scare, and from what I saw, you skinned out of there quicker than most.”
“Yeah, but I heard about what them gamblers said. They meant to cheat me out of my money and my claims. Them things is my bread and butter.”
“Well, they didn’t get anything from you they didn’t win fair and square. Two of those men are dead. I’d say that settles things between you fellas.”
“That still doesn’t settle up between us.”
“How so?”
“It’s because of me that you’re not sitting in that jail cell right now.”
That struck a nerve inside Caleb’s chest that had been itching ever since his backside had left that old, smelly horse blanket. “What do you mean?”
“You’re either going to make this right,” Orville said, “or I’ll rethink the story I told to Ben Mays and see to it that you get tossed right back into jail. I can also add a few more things to my story that will more than likely get you strung up.”
Caleb let out a sigh. Even as he started walking down Main Street, he felt like his boots were sinking in quick-sand. “All right,” he grunted. “Let’s have that talk.”
[11]
The Alhambra was one of the finest-looking buildings in sight. Unlike many of the other structures, this one hadn’t been slapped together from a kit. A fire that had swept through town the previous autumn had taken out a good number of businesses, including the Alhambra’s previous location. In fact, many gamblers said the place was better than ever now that it was in a prime location on the corner of Main and Houston Streets.
Caleb had only just been feeling the bite of having such a competitor so close to his own establishment. That bite sank in a little deeper when he walked into the Alhambra to spot plenty of faces that had only left the Busted Flush less than twenty minutes ago. Rather than find some other place to have this talk, Caleb ignored the smarmy waves thrown to him by the Alhambra’s barkeep and picked out a table in the corner next to the piano. He sat down with his back to the bar and hoped nobody else had seen him walk in.
“Hello there, Caleb,” said a petite waitress with her shoulder-length blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon. “Did you run out of good bourbon at the Flush?”
“Maybe I just came to sample this beer,” he offered. “You ever think of that, Sarah?”
The blonde stared down at him with an amused smile and said, “You must really be in the mood for our special brew since I hear there’s a party being served in your honor down at—”
“Just get me a beer,” Caleb interrupted. “Please.”
Letting him off the hook with a squeeze on the shoulder, Sarah leaned down to plant a quick kiss on Caleb’s forehead. “Anything you say. What about your friends, here?”
Since he’d been more than happy to be distracted by the brush of Sarah’s hair against his face, Caleb was reluctant to acknowledge the “friends” she’d spotted. Even so, there was no mistaking the pungent odor of the humpback’s breath or the loud creak of Kyle’s chair as it squealed for mercy when the fat man sat down upon it.
“Bring them beers, too, I guess,” Caleb said grudgingly.
Sarah nodded, tossed a flirtatious grin at the other three men, and turned to walk away amid the rustle of her bright red skirts.
“Appreciate the drinks,” Orville said. “That’s right friendly, considering the circumstances.”
Caleb smiled amiably. “Great, then why don’t we just consider us squared up?”
Orville shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
“All right, then. Let’s get this over with as quickly as we can. How about we start off with how you think you’re responsible for me getting out of jail?”
The old man pulled in a breath and steeled himself. “That’s the God’s honest truth, mister.”
“The name’s Caleb Wayfinder.”
Hearing that caused Kyle to chuckle. Under his breath, he muttered, “Goddamn Injun.”
Seeing the glare on Caleb’s face was enough to cause both Kyle and Jim to start reaching for their guns.
“Why don’t I just call you Caleb?” Orville offered. “Like I was going to say, me and my nephews helped get you out of that jail.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because I showed up at the request of Dr. Holliday to offer my version of what happened when Mike Abel was killed.”
“Were you the only one that showed?”
“We was there, too,” Jim said. “And we talked you up real nice.”
Nobody at the table seemed to have even noticed that the humpback had opened his mouth.
“There were others,” Orville said. “Dr. Holliday saw to it that plenty showed up. Some of them didn’t even know Mike was dead. I think it was the first time a few of them had even stepped foot in your saloon.”
“That’d account for most of Dallas,” Sarah said as she stepped up and set mugs of beer down in front of each man. Like most servers who made a decent living at the job, her timing was impeccable.
Caleb waved off the sarcastic comment, but Sarah wasn’t going anywhere. “I can settle the bill later,” he told her.
“I’m to collect it now. Manager’s orders.”
Twisting in his seat, Caleb spotted the well-dressed manager of the Alhambra who was waving at him from across the room. “What ever happened to professional courtesy?” Caleb asked.
Sarah shrugged.
Even though he knew Sarah and the manager were just needling him, it couldn’t have been a worse time to look for a laugh. Caleb slapped some money into Sarah’s waiting hand and quickly turned his back to her. Only then did the blonde study the table with concern.
“Is everything all right with you boys?” she asked.
Kyle had yet to take his eyes off of her. More specifically, he had yet to take his eyes off the plunging neckline of her dress. “We’re just fine, darlin’. Don’t you worry.”
Dealing with the likes of Kyle and his equally leering cousin was just another part of Sarah’s job. She bent down to whisper in Caleb’s ear, ignoring the way Kyle and Jim’s eyes widened at the extra bit of cleavage she showed them.
