Lips That Touch Mine by Wendy Lindstrom Page B

and
chuckled. Radford rested his mug on his bent knee. "For being a
blatant philanderer, Boyd, you don't know a thing about women. They
don't give up until they get what they're after."
    "Hogwash," Boyd retorted. "Five dollars says
they last a week, maybe two at most."
    Radford lifted his mug. "My money says they
won't stop until they close every saloon in town, including
yours."
    "It will never happen." Boyd tapped his mug
to Radford's. "I'm confident enough to double the wager."
    "Count me in," Kyle said. "I'm with Radford
though. Once a woman gets it in her head to do something or change
something, there's no reasoning with them. They won't give up.
They'll keep after you like a saw blade against a tree, scraping
and cutting until you fall."
    "Not if they fall first," Karlton said. "I'll
triple the wager that the women quit before we give in."
    Boyd looked at Duke. "What's your wager?"
    "I'm staying out of this. I know how
hardheaded you are, but those women are serious about their cause.
They've gotten financial backing from a large group of men and they
have the support of every church in town. They aren't going to back
down any more than you are." Duke lowered his hands to his knees.
"The saloon owners are irritated by the ladies' visits. The ladies
are outraged by some of the owners' rude treatment of them. And
they're all complaining to me."
    "Maybe you should tell the ladies to stop
marching," Karlton said, walking away.
    "They have a right to march."
    "Well, I have a license to sell liquor," Boyd
argued.
    "That's my point, Boyd. Both sides are
entitled to do what they're doing." Duke lifted his mug and took a
long drink before setting it on the bar. "This isn't my fight. All
I can do is keep the peace and make sure nobody gets hurt."
    "No one's asking you to choose sides." Boyd
signaled for another round of drinks, but Karlton wasn't behind the
bar. Assuming he was in the stockroom or relieving his bladder,
Boyd got up and poured the drinks himself. He felt better behind
the bar.
    How ridiculous to think a band of women could
close down several profitable saloons. Duke was just feeling
pressured because of his job. Radford and Kyle were giving the
temperance women too much credit because of their own experiences
with their lovely but strong-willed wives.
    The women could march and pray all they
wanted, but it wouldn't change a thing. They couldn't vote. They
couldn't revoke his license to sell liquor. They were wasting their
time with all this foolishness.
    Radford pushed his mug forward, but instead
of ordering another, he stood up. "Good luck with your lady
friends," he said, buttoning his coat.
    "Where are you going?" Boyd asked.
    "Home. I promised Rebecca and William a story
before bed." Boyd had always enjoyed his freedom, but sometimes he
envied Radford. Three years ago Radford had come home from the war
with his four-year-old daughter Rebecca, both of them emotionally
wounded and hurting. Evelyn Tucker had loved and healed them and
gave Radford a son a year after they married. They had found a deep
happiness with each other, like Kyle had found with Amelia.
    Like Duke would someday find with a woman of
his own.
    Like Boyd would never have.
    "I'll walk you out," Kyle said, getting to
his feet.
    Boyd nodded to Karlton who was carrying in a
fresh keg of beer from the stockroom. "I'll be back in a few
minutes," he said, then followed Kyle and Radford outside. He bade
them goodnight, then stood on the porch and watched them walk down
Main Street. It wouldn't take them ten minutes to reach Radford's
home and livery on Liberty Street. Kyle would have to travel five
minutes farther to reach his home near their sawmill in Laona.
    The night was cold, but Boyd breathed in the
frigid air, wondering what it would be like to have a wife and a
family. Marriage had changed his brothers. Radford wasn't so jumpy
and tense anymore. Kyle had found his sense of humor again. Both of
them seemed content and happy. But did the