2 Chapter 2
1
Whiskey Hill, Texas
July 14, 1885
“Yee-haw!” Jude Bonner shouted while tossing his hat in the air.
With a big smile on his face, he ran toward the Lucky Lady Saloon to find his friend Sundog. Seeing him at the bar, he elbowed his way through the crowd and pushed the crumpled letter in front of him.
“It’s official, Sundog. The best little whorehouse in Texas will be mine in a matter of hours.”
After quickly upending a shot of whiskey, Sundog, a beefy blond cowboy with brown, sun-bronzed skin andthe shadow of a beard, pushed the letter back at him.
“You’re dreamin’, Jude. Nobody’s gonna sell a moneymaker like that.”
“Believe me, this one will.” Jude slapped his quarter down on the counter and called out, “Hey, barkeep! A shot of whiskey here.”
“Yeah? What makes you think so?”
Jude leaned toward Sundog as if telling him a secret. “Because she’s one of them prissy little Boston females, and you know how they are. Cold fish from head to toe.”
“She’s comin’ from Boston? Who is she?”
“She’s Reno’s daughter, Lorraine Garvey. With him bein’ dead, Sadie’s been runnin’ it until she came of age. Now that she’s reached twenty-one, the Pink Palace belongs to her.” He upended the shot glass and drank the amber liquid in one swig, feeling the heat burn its way down to his stomach.
“Lorraine,” Sundog said, looking at his empty glass. “Sounds too damned uppity. You know, squeaky clean.”
“It sure as hell does, and as soon as that uppity little gal finds out what the Pink Palace is, she’ll be so anxious to get rid of it, she’ll probably pay me to take it off her hands.”
“I don’t get it,” Sundog said, turning to Jude. “Why don’t she know what it is?”
“Cause nobody told her, I guess. All his family knew was that he owned some kind of social club. At least that’s what she calls it in all her letters, so I guess that’s what she thinks it is.”
“Social club,” Sundog repeated thoughtfully. “Ain’t that the kind of club where ladies—”
“Sure is,” Jude said, upending another shot of whiskey.
“And she’s comin’ here to sell it? Jude, as soon as she sees it, she’s gonna know what it is. Why in hell didn’t somebody tell her the truth? It’s gonna be quite a shock when she finally finds out. When Reno died Sadie should have wrote the family and told ‘em.”
“Nah, not Sadie. I have a feelin’ she was protectin’ Reno from his family. Hell, Sundog, you know howhis family was. He couldn’t tell them that he owned a whorehouse, so he called it a social club. Just between you and me, sometimes I think he believed it himself.”
“Reno sure left you with a can of worms.”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“I’m talkin’ about his daughter. She’s gonna take you apart piece by piece when she finds out. Damn, Jude, I wouldn’t be in your boots for all the tea in China.”
“What are you so worried about? Don’t forget she’s a tenderfoot from Boston, and you know how they are. She’s probably the bookish type. You know, a horse-faced spinster that’s been sheltered all her life. Hell, I doubt she even knows what a whorehouse is.”
“Jude, you’re assumin’ that this gal is as green as cabbage. That’s your first mistake. Your secondis forgettin’ that old Reno was a tenderfoot once hisself, and female or not, if she’s any kin to him, you’d better be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he was a fightin’ son of a bitch and she’s his daughter. I’m warnin’ you, Jude. If that little gal is anything like her pa, and she finds out you been lyin’—”
“Hell, I ain’t lyin’ to her. Reno was the one that did that.”
“Yeah, but you could’ve told her the truth in any one of them letters, and you didn’t.”
“Sundog, I’m just tryin’ to save her a little embarrassment. You don’t talk about things like that with a lady. It’d be…What do they call it? Vulgar. Ain’t that the word?”
“She won’t see it that way, Jude, and when she finds out, she’ll have your hide stripped off before you even know she’s mad at you. It’s what Reno would have done. That old coot didn’t get hisself hanged for nothin’, you know.”
“Put your worries away, Sundog. This is a sure thing. I feel it in my bones. Besides, what can she do? She’s just a delicate little female.”
“A delicate little female?” Sundog repeated and snickered. “Jude, them female cats is the ones with the longest claws.”
“You know, I think as a new management kind of thing I might offer the men a two-for-one deal.”
“All right, so don’t listen, but when that delicate little female starts rippin’ you apart, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Hey, I heard you. So, how about it? You wanna be my first customer?”
“I ain’t never heard of a ‘two-for-one deal.’ What’re you dreamin’ up now?”
“You ain’t never had two gals at one time?” He punched him in the gut. “Let me tell you, friend, whiskey ain’t the only thing that’ll make you crazy. When this deal goes through, I’ll set you up with two of Sadie’s best gals and take bets on whether you can live through it.”
“You know what, you smart-assed cowboy? I’m gonna hold you to that. But for the time being, let’s just wait and see what kind of trouble you’ve got yourself into this time. This is one show I’d give a month’s wages to see. When will she be here?”
“If the stage pulls in on time, she’ll be here tomorrow around two.”
“Me and the others’ll be there just to say I told you so.”
“Sundog, do you ever preach anything but doom and gloom?”
“Hey, I just call ‘em the way I see ‘em.”
“All right, have it your way,” Jude said and lifted his glass toward the bartender. “Hey, barkeep. Keep ‘em comin’ for me and my friend here.” He looked around. “Where’s Shiloh and Blaze? I’d like to give ‘em the good news.”
“Shiloh’s over at the Pink Palace spendin’ his last dollar on a little tart that’s been leadin’ him around by the balls, and Blaze is sittin’ over there losin’ his money to that big-city swindler inthe string tie.”
* * * *
Later in the evening, Jude began feeling his drinks and started crying in his beer. Turning to Sundog, he said, “You know, Sundog, I been thinkin’ about Tempest. My past ain’t too pretty. Do you think it’ll matter to her once we decide to settle down?”
“Tempest? You got a thing for Tempest?”
“She’s a real special female.”
“But she’s a damned whore, Jude.”
“I know, but she’s better than any other female around here, and I ain’t gettin’ any younger. Besides, I want a female that wants to do it as bad as I do. I ain’t gonna saddle myself up with a woman that says no six days a week and maybe on the seventh.”
“Jude, Tempest can’t say no. She’s a damned who—”
“Don’t use that word, Sundog.”
“The point I’m tryin’ to make is, the minute you stop givin’ her money, her answer changes.”
“Damn,” Jude said, looking up at Sundog. “You think so?”
“I know so. Hell, Jude, you got plenty of time to pick and choose. Besides, you got somethin’ workin’here that’ll take all your attention. Don’t get hog-tied to no female until all this is over, hear?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. You know,” Jude said, “if I can make this deal with this Boston gal, it’ll make up for everything that’s ever happened to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know I’ve chased lots of rainbows in my life tryin’ to make quick money. I always had the idea in mind that when I get enough I’d move out of that rat trap I’m in now, get me a spread somewhere, and settle down with a real special woman. I did pretty good at first, never goin’ outside the law until I met Luke Jensen and his gang. I was young, Sundog, and didn’t have a brain in my head, but one mistake was all it took for me to ruin my life. I paid the price for my part in robbin’ that Wells Fargo stage, but the people around here won’t let me forget. Now that I’ve got a reputation, thelaw watches me like I’m a rattler ready to strike. Okay, so I made one little bitty mistake. Do they have to look at me the way they do every time a bank gets robbed or someone gets shot? I’m the first one they suspect. What the hell’s wrong with these people?”
“Jude, my God, stealin’ a payroll from a Wells Fargo stage ain’t exactly a little bitty mistake.”
“I know, but no one was killed, and they got the money back. I been thinkin’, Sundog, maybe you and theothers would do a lot better with me out of the picture. My reputation’s done shot to hell, but it ain’t too late for you guys.”
“Hell, Jude, are we gonna go through this again?”
“Sundog, you know as well as I do that it’s gettin’ harder and harder to make a buck around here. If it wasn’t for practically killin’ ourselves workin’ in that damned rodeo, we wouldn’t have a dime to our names. No one trusts us anymore. I hate to say it, but maybe we better split up.”
“Jude, shut up, for God’s sake. You get in this mood every time you start drinkin’. We ain’t splittin’ up, and that’s that.”
“But I’m just thinkin’ of you and the others.”
“Hellfire, Jude, it wouldn’t do any good to split up. We’d follow you around like a hound dog followshis master. I done said it once, and I’ll say it again. You’re stuck with us, so get used to it.”
* * * *
Nightly a tinny piano, wild, raucous laughter, a few passionate moans, and a stream of raunchy words could be heard echoing down the dusty street from a small rise where the Pink Palace stood. This gaudy pink building might have been an eyesore to some, but it’s what kept the small town of Whiskey Hill alive.
