I picked up my bag and walked to the stairs, as I started climbing them I heard a familiar voice whisper, "So, what's her name?" I looked back and saw O'Boyle standing close to the desk clerk. He glanced up at me, noticing that I was watching him, he smiled and nodded.
Chapter 5
Room 14 was sparsely furnished, but then again, it is a small town hotel. I stood my rifle up in the corner of the room, behind the door, and then put my pistol on top of the little round table by the bed. The single bed had an iron bed frame and when I dropped my bag on it, the old metal springs squeaked under the weight. The chest had three drawers, and the window next to it was already open. There was a little bit of noise from the road below, but it wasn't too bad. I knew I was gonna sleep okay even if the bed did squeak some. I'd been sleeping on the trail for the last couple of nights, any bed would be a good bed, in my opinion. One chair was placed in the corner of the room.
There was a colorful quilt laying on the bed. I lifted it to see how bulky it was, noting that it was heavy enough to keep me comfortable even with the window open throughout the night. The sheets looked and smelled clean. I smiled to myself. To no one in the room, I muttered, "It's way better than my sleeping roll."
Talking to yourself, Jake?
The knock at the door startled me. I opened the door to see O'Boyle standing there.
"Hello, again. I was hoping maybe you would let me take you to supper over at the café?"
"I suppose that would be okay. I was going to take a bath before I went anywhere, so would about 60 minutes be good?"
"60 minutes is perfect. Jake."
I laughed. "Jake is just a nickname, I've had it for a long time. But, you can call me Mildred."
"All right, then, Mildred. I will be back in about 60 minutes and we can go over to the café." He tipped his hat and turned to leave.
"I will see you then." I know my voice sounded happier than I meant for it to, but he was so handsome…..
Chapter 6
I entered the bathroom at the end of the hall with my clean clothes, a washcloth and towel from the room, and found the OCCUPIED sign inside on the top of the cabinet. I hung it over the nail on the outside of the door, latched and turned the lock on the door.
The water was relatively warm as I pumped it into the large tub. It's always nice this time of year in Wyoming, not too hot, and winter still a ways off on the horizon.
I pulled off the sweat-stained clothes from the long ride and dropped them into a pile on the floor. I hung my clean ones on the hook next to the basin. I lowered myself into the tub and enjoyed the soothing feel of water washing over my body. I reached for the washcloth, and used the bar of soap, left there for everyone to use, to suds it up. I scrubbed hard in order to get the grime from the road off of me from the top of my head to my toes. It felt good to rub the cloth against my skin, there were a few rashes and cuts on my arms and legs from the 160 mile trip across the southern part of the state. Fortunately, I wasn't one of those females who thought I had to wear a dress, even when it seemed inappropriate. The blue jeans and heavy, long-sleeved plaid shirt had protected me from getting too cut up by brush along the ride. In the evening, when I stopped to bed down, I just pulled my sleeping roll over me, fully clothed, as I laid down in the back of the wagon next to the two trunks I packed along with me, which held all of my worldly possessions. It felt great to get out of the dirty traveling clothes today.
My horse didn't wear a saddle when pulling the wagon, but I knew he would need it once I got to Rock Springs and didn't need him to pull the buckboard all the time. I kept the saddle at my feet as I slept, with my rifle at my side. I didn't come across any outlaws this trip, for that I felt blessed.
I shook from my daydreaming and realized the bath water was cloudy from all the soap suds, so I pulled the plug and listened to the water run out, down the drainpipe onto the field below. I stepped out, grabbed the soft towel and rubbed myself almost raw. It felt good to feel the dirt stripped from my body and I was totally refreshed. Although I could still use a good night's sleep.
Now, I'm ready for supper with O'Boyle. At least I won't stink.
Chapter 7
Once I was dressed, I put the UNOCCUPIED sign back into the bathroom as I left. I carried the towel and washcloth back to my room and threw them over the rod behind the door.
It felt nice to be in my stocking feet. As I pulled my boots on, I tucked my jeans into the tops of them and stretched to my full height of 4'9". The full length mirror in the corner of the room confirmed, at least to me, that I was presentable. I looked around the room as I stepped out, making a mental note of everything and its place inside. I turned the key in the lock and walked down the hall to the staircase.
The old man looked up at me and
