The aroma of freshly brewed coffee smelled great as Jon sat alone in the corner of the Dead End Saloon. Jake set down a cup and splashed it full. “Waitin’ on someone?” he asked.
“Yeah, Cliff and Ned Sloan should be here shortly. Thanks again, Jake, for helpin’ me out with Barton the other day.”
“No problem, Jon.”
“Lou still out of town?”
“Yeah. I got a wire today from Escondido. Seems the love bug has struck the boss. Said he was going to take a little trip to Los Angeles with his lady friend. Won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”
“Couple a weeks. Sounds serious.” Jon blew on the hot coffee; the steam scattered above his cup.
“Yeah, weddin’ bells will probably be ringing before long.”
“You’d better have a talk with him,” Jon laughed.
“Maybe so,” Jake chuckled as he went back to the kitchen.
Jon was alone with his thoughts as he sat in the dark corner of the nearly empty saloon. Morning was a slow time at the Dead End. The late night gamblers were getting a little shuteye and wouldn’t show again until late afternoon or evening, and the noontime gamblers hadn’t arrived yet. Jon felt his anger growing at George Stanton. The usually friendly Maggie was not at her check-in counter again this morning when he left Callahan’s. Jon figured she was still recovering from the beating she’d received from Stanton and was spending more time in her quarters. A gentleman by nature, the beating of a woman was a hard thing for Jon to reconcile. The whipping he gave Stanton wasn’t enough in Jon’s eyes. The man was trying to bust the dreams of all the miners and wine growers in the area for his own personal gain. Jon detested men like him, especially women beaters. He wanted to put George Stanton in his grave in the worst way. Suddenly the batwing doors burst open; Cliff and Ned hustled in.
Jake stepped out of the kitchen and pointed them toward the corner. The men hurried over to Jon’s table.
“Sit down, boys. We got plenty to talk about,” Jon said quietly.
The men circled the table and sat down.
“What’s up?” Cliff asked.
“Seems as though Stanton’s got his eye on some bigger fish.”
“The wineries?” Ned asked.
Jon frowned and nodded. “‘Fraid so,” he replied.