within a few minutes.
A man who could be Ed, only older, answered his knock.
"Wondered when you'd get here, son,” Roy greeted him. “Come on in, and Annie will get you some fresh apple pie. Never saw a boy who would turn down a piece of Mama's apple pie."
Black didn't want to offend Roy, so he accepted the invitation to come into their home. It was a smaller replica of the ranch house, and just as well kept.
"Mama does a good job, not only here but up at Belle's place, too,” Roy said once they were seated at the kitchen table enjoying pie and coffee.
"The pie is good,” Black admitted, “but that's not the reason I came. It was you who sent for me, wasn't it?"
Roy nodded. “I sent for someone, didn't know it would be you. Mama knew the minute she laid eyes on you this morning. I would have, too. Should, since Ed's described you enough in his letters."
"So what's your stake in this? You certainly haven't lost any cattle."
"No, but our girl has. You see, her pa and me was best friends for longer than I care to admit. When his wife died, Annie and me tried to talk him out of sending Belle back east, but he was set on it. He kept saying that his wife's kin could take better care of her that he could. Maybe he was right, but it almost broke our hearts when he sent her away. I always thought that her and Ed would get married, but young folks have different ideas than the older generation."
"What Roy is trying to say,” Annie said when she joined them at the table, “is that this is our home. Both Belle and her pa have been very good to us. What affects the Double Bar B affects us as well. Belle doesn't think I know about the rustling that's been going on, but I'd have to be blind and deaf not to have caught wind of it."
"Mama and me figured that if we asked Ed to send us one of his men we'd be able to at least have a hand in getting the rustling stopped. As much as we'd wanted our boy to come home, we knew it would be best if he sent someone else. We asked for the best and that's what he sent us. He tells us no one is better than Black Conley. Maybe you can get our little girl out of this trouble she's in and remind her she's a woman with a woman's needs. I can't believe she hasn't let at least one man in her bed, what with all the goings-on over there."
"What a terrible thing to say, Roy,” Annie admonished.
"Don't see why you'd think it so terrible. We both know what them girls do at night with the passengers from the stage. A good roll with a good man might be just the thing Belle needs. Even at our age, it's good to warm up the sheets now and then."
Black laughed at the banter between husband and wife. Even if he agreed that Belle needed to be fucked, preferably by him, he wouldn't come right out and say it. “From what I can see, Belle needs to have someone catch that no-good neighbor of hers in the act. What can you tell me about Clayte Adamson and Joe Calhoun? I have a gut feeling that the two of them are in this together."
Once Annie went back up to the ranch house to fix supper, Roy filled Black in on the thefts that had prompted his letter to Ed.
"Is anyone else getting hit?” Black asked, once Roy stopped for a bite of pie and a sip of coffee.
Roy nodded. “There are four ranches that have lost cattle. Pete Morison's spread is to the north of Clayte's place, Jeb Taylor to the south, and Zeek Willows to the east. If you ask me, which you didn't, I think they've lost steers to take the suspicion off of Clayte. If it were only Belle getting hit, everyone would suspect Clayte immediately. The others are all friends. You know, the kind who drink together every Saturday night, take a poke at the whores who work upstairs at the Purple Moon and act pious as hell on Sunday morning in church."
"What about Joe Calhoun?"
Roy's brow knotted and a dark look filled his eyes. “That son of a bitch runs after Clayte like a puppy dog. Clayte says shit and Joe asks what color and how much. He's as bad as
A man who could be Ed, only older, answered his knock.
"Wondered when you'd get here, son,” Roy greeted him. “Come on in, and Annie will get you some fresh apple pie. Never saw a boy who would turn down a piece of Mama's apple pie."
Black didn't want to offend Roy, so he accepted the invitation to come into their home. It was a smaller replica of the ranch house, and just as well kept.
"Mama does a good job, not only here but up at Belle's place, too,” Roy said once they were seated at the kitchen table enjoying pie and coffee.
"The pie is good,” Black admitted, “but that's not the reason I came. It was you who sent for me, wasn't it?"
Roy nodded. “I sent for someone, didn't know it would be you. Mama knew the minute she laid eyes on you this morning. I would have, too. Should, since Ed's described you enough in his letters."
"So what's your stake in this? You certainly haven't lost any cattle."
"No, but our girl has. You see, her pa and me was best friends for longer than I care to admit. When his wife died, Annie and me tried to talk him out of sending Belle back east, but he was set on it. He kept saying that his wife's kin could take better care of her that he could. Maybe he was right, but it almost broke our hearts when he sent her away. I always thought that her and Ed would get married, but young folks have different ideas than the older generation."
"What Roy is trying to say,” Annie said when she joined them at the table, “is that this is our home. Both Belle and her pa have been very good to us. What affects the Double Bar B affects us as well. Belle doesn't think I know about the rustling that's been going on, but I'd have to be blind and deaf not to have caught wind of it."
"Mama and me figured that if we asked Ed to send us one of his men we'd be able to at least have a hand in getting the rustling stopped. As much as we'd wanted our boy to come home, we knew it would be best if he sent someone else. We asked for the best and that's what he sent us. He tells us no one is better than Black Conley. Maybe you can get our little girl out of this trouble she's in and remind her she's a woman with a woman's needs. I can't believe she hasn't let at least one man in her bed, what with all the goings-on over there."
"What a terrible thing to say, Roy,” Annie admonished.
"Don't see why you'd think it so terrible. We both know what them girls do at night with the passengers from the stage. A good roll with a good man might be just the thing Belle needs. Even at our age, it's good to warm up the sheets now and then."
Black laughed at the banter between husband and wife. Even if he agreed that Belle needed to be fucked, preferably by him, he wouldn't come right out and say it. “From what I can see, Belle needs to have someone catch that no-good neighbor of hers in the act. What can you tell me about Clayte Adamson and Joe Calhoun? I have a gut feeling that the two of them are in this together."
Once Annie went back up to the ranch house to fix supper, Roy filled Black in on the thefts that had prompted his letter to Ed.
"Is anyone else getting hit?” Black asked, once Roy stopped for a bite of pie and a sip of coffee.
Roy nodded. “There are four ranches that have lost cattle. Pete Morison's spread is to the north of Clayte's place, Jeb Taylor to the south, and Zeek Willows to the east. If you ask me, which you didn't, I think they've lost steers to take the suspicion off of Clayte. If it were only Belle getting hit, everyone would suspect Clayte immediately. The others are all friends. You know, the kind who drink together every Saturday night, take a poke at the whores who work upstairs at the Purple Moon and act pious as hell on Sunday morning in church."
"What about Joe Calhoun?"
Roy's brow knotted and a dark look filled his eyes. “That son of a bitch runs after Clayte like a puppy dog. Clayte says shit and Joe asks what color and how much. He's as bad as
Similar Books
