Chapter Six

Brandy was limping.

“Whadya do to my dang horse?” Jesse reined in beside Alex as they got into town.

“Prob’ly only a stone, Jess. We’ll take him over to Vernon’s and let him have a look,” Cal mediated.

“Yes, if we can find any place to tie up. Look at it!” Alex grimaced.

Loveland was busy. Not only was the circus here, but it was Saturday shopping for most people in from the outlying farms and ranches. The place was swarming.

“Behind Miss Bea’s. No one ever ties up there.” Cal exchanged a questioning look with Jesse who nodded and they walked the horses round the back of the main street. There they found free space on the hitching rail behind the saloon.

Jesse heaved a sigh as he dismounted. “You two wait here. I’ll walk Brandy over to the Liv’ry and see what’s happenin’.” He ran his hand down Brandy’s leg to the fetlock. “Damn,” he mumbled, “looks like a scrape. All right,” he said looking up again. “Be right back.”

Cal leaned back against the rail and watched Alex watching Jesse walk away. Almost as tall as Jesse, but dark, he wore his Stetson pushed well forward to shade his eyes. He was never really clean-shaven, but neither did he have a beard, a fact that had fascinated Alex when she was little as she could never figure out how he maintained that stubble.

She looked back at him. “So?” She smiled.

“So...” he responded quietly. Whatever he was thinking, he wasn’t letting Alex know.

Alex crossed her arms, still smiling over at Cal. She was comfortable with her friend, always had been, but his occasional inscrutability both amused and infuriated her. She turned back as Jesse came toward them on the boardwalk, a bag of candies in his hand. Just then, one of the soiled doves slipped out the back door of the saloon, a cigarette between her stained fingers, blouse sliding off one shoulder.

“Those for me, Jesse dear?” she crooned.

Jesse stopped in his tracks. He looked across at Alex and then at Cal, both of who turned and stood by to see what Jesse would do.

Cal chewed his gum, then said, “Mabel, you got a smoke there. I don’t think you need them candies as well.”

The girl flicked ash in Cal’s direction, then turned back to Jesse. She swayed her hips a bit before giving Jesse a slow smile. “See you real soon, darlin’,” she purred, just loud enough for Alex to hear, before turning to go inside.

Alex sauntered over to where Jesse still stood transfixed, the bag in his hand. Their eyes met as she nodded her head slightly and lifted the bag from him. “Those fer me, darlin’?” she said.

****

“So when does it start? I can’t see anything!”

“Well it hasn’t started yet so ’course ya can’t see nothin’, dummy,” said Cal.

“But I won’t be able to see!”

“Wanna sit on my lap?” Jesse asked mildly.

Alex looked around to see whom she knew in the audience. Just about everyone, by name at least, was her answer. “I think there’re enough rumors about me for the moment, thanks.”

“You worried what people might say, Ladilex? That ain’t like you. I thought you were above that sorta thing now. Beyond reproach.”

Alex snorted. “I don’t care what people might say but I don’t have to give them fodder for gossip either, Cal.” She craned her neck to see over the man in front.

Cal tapped him on the shoulder. “You mind removin’ your hat, sir, so’s our lady friend here can see?”

The man looked at Cal then over at Alex and nodded politely before removing his hat. Then he faced front and put it right back on.

“Look here,” started in Jesse tapping the man on the shoulder again. “We jus’ asked you real polite-like to—”

“Jesse! Leave it...it’s fine. I can see well enough.” Alex sat back and crossed her arms before stealing a glance at Jesse. He was biting his lip, suppressing his anger. “You haven’t changed,” she muttered over at him. “Not one bit.”

They watched intently as the acrobats and jugglers performed, laughed at the ridiculous things the clowns did, thrilled at the balancing acts and got nervous when the lion tamer came out. The crack of the whip and roar of the beast sent Alex covering her eyes and cowering into Jesse, but she sat up again to see the trick riders. Jesse and Cal exchanged looks over the top of her head.

“Hey, Alex, maybe you should try that instead of ropin’. Be right entertainin’ watchin’ you do that ’round the corral.”

“Yeah,” joined in Cal. “I wanna see ’er stand on ’er saddle tippy-toe-like and then do a headstand like that.”

“Go on. Have your fun, you two. You’re only jealous because you know I can outride either of you any day of the week.”

“Ohhh,” the two men said together.

“Whoa, now, sweetheart,” Jesse went on. “Them’s fightin’ words.”

“Any day, Jesse Makepeace, any day!” Alex affirmed. “I know more about horses than the two of you put together. Put together,” she repeated when she saw Cal’s smirk.

At the end of the show, they filed down the midway with everyone else, past all the sideshows. “Can we go see the snake pit?” Alex wanted to know.

“Heck no,” answered Jesse, “there’re enough dang snakes in Colorado without paying good money to see them.”

“Well, can we see the bearded lady then?”

Cal laughed. “Here,” he said, sticking his chin out toward Alex, “ya can feel my face again. That’s just as good, ain’t it?”

“Come on,” said Jesse suddenly pulling Alex’s hand. “I’m gonna win you a doll with throwing them balls.”

The three of them got in line for Jesse to have a turn throwing balls at wooden faces. As disappointed customers drifted away, Jesse reached in his pocket for his nickel and slapped it on the counter. The roustabout slid it into his pile and turned to set up the wooden faces once more before handing Jesse the three balls.

Jesse felt the heft of the ball in his palm before pulling his arm back and throwing it. Bang! Down went the first one. He turned and gave Alex a smug smile before pulling back and slamming out the second. Bang! Cal stopped chewing in expectation and Alex gripped her hands together as if in prayer. Jesse’s arm pulled back and released the third ball, hitting the face squarely.

But it didn’t go down.

“That shot was good,” said Jesse staring the man down.

“No sirree, the little man has got to go down for it to be good.”

“I think you all better think ’bout that some.” Cal leaned on the counter with his hand noticeably on his six-shooter.

“Now looka here. I don’t want no trouble from you all. You lost fair and square—”

“The hell I did.”

“Jess, I don’t really want a doll anyway,” Alex conciliated. “I’ve rather outgrown dolls, haven’t I?”

“Well, I sure as heck want my nickel back,” he responded still staring at the man.

There was a moment in which Cal made a small movement with his right arm before the man slipped the nickel back across the counter and Jesse pocketed it, his eyes steadily on the roustabout.

“Just for friendly relations, sir,” the man said as the three walked off.

“Ah, good ol’ Jess,” sighed Cal. “Black and white, right and wrong…”

“I didn’t see you holdin’ back from the matter none.”

“Well, heck, Jess, I know you better’n you know yerself. I don’t hold back none for my friends.” They walked on a bit. “You have no gray areas, Jess. Couldn’t be the shot were jus’ not strong enough to get the wooden face down?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t spoil it!” Alex turned and gave Jesse a push. “Don’t spoil it by being moody! I’ve just had one of the best days of my life and—”

“Come ’ere.” Cal crouched. “I’m gonna give you a piggy back ride back to the horses.”

The diversion worked. Alex held her stomach with laughing so hard and Jesse laughed too. “Gosh durnit, Cal, if that offer ain’t plain indecent I don’t know what is.” But he was still laughing.

“Yes, I think I’m past my piggy back days. Past my doll days, if I ever had them. My piggy back and my sit in lap days are gone now.” She threw up her hands as if in disgust.

They passed the saloon and Alex looked over the top of the swinging doors. Cal laughed now but Jesse said, “For goodness sake Alex, what the heck are you thinkin’?”

“What? It’s only music and drinkin’, ain’t it Ladilex?” defended Cal.

“Hmmm. I don’t know. But it seems like there’s some really good music being played in there. Everyone seems to be having a very good time. Why can’t women go in? Why shouldn’t women be allowed to go? I mean, you know-ordinary women.” She fluttered her eyelashes in all innocence.

There was a momentary silence before the two men burst out laughing.

“All right, all right. Have your fun,” Alex moaned as they approached the two horses. “But one day women will have equal rights and—”

“Aw, heck, Ladilex. You ain’t gonna be one of them suffrage women now, are you? We always thought you were one of us anyways. What you wanna go spoilin’ a good thing for?”

Alex laughed again. “Well, now we have a problem,” she pointed out as they reached the horses. “Two horses, three people.” She turned to look from one to the other.

Cal made the decision for them. “You ride with Jess. Brimstone don’t take to strangers kindly and he’s only half-broke.”

Jesse extended his hand and pulled Alex up behind him. They took to the road at a gentle lope as the town started to empty out. Alex wrapped her arms around Jesse’s waist, resting more or less on his gun belt. She didn’t give a second thought to holding him like this until, moving back some while adjusting her seat, her hands slipped onto his stomach for a moment. She suddenly felt as if she had swallowed a gallon of ice water and froze. The sheer firmness of his body, the taut muscles, the solid, rock hard strength she felt astounded her.

She had the greatest urge to run her hands over him, to feel that strength, to know those muscles and to finally rest her head against him. She faced straight into his back, looking at the way his shaggy hair fell over his shirt collar just peeking out of his leather vest. The knot of his bandana was just visible under his hair and Alex had a further urge to lift his hat, push his hair aside and untie the neckerchief so she could kiss his neck. Oh, lord, what was she thinking?

She adjusted her hands back onto Jesse’s gun belt hoping he hadn’t noticed her moving them. Then the thought struck her as to where her hands actually were—within inches of... She turned her head to the side as if one of the men could see her blush. She looked out toward the ranch, trying to dispel those thoughts but as they approached the western range, Alex spotted a cloud of thick dust in the distance.

“What’s that?” she asked.

Jesse looked where she was pointing and Cal saw it at the same moment. “Holy— It’s a stampede!” Jesse pulled up his bandana. He spurred his horse into a gallop and followed Cal toward the herd. The thundering Longhorns were coming straight at them, noise and dust enveloping them, and no other puncher had managed to get to point yet; the cows were following their leader and headed down the dry draw. Alex gripped Jesse more tightly and bent her knees in to grip the horse’s flanks as best she could.

Cal raised his six-shooter and fired several shots in an attempt to scare the herd into turning, but the noise was such and the distance so great that the shots were barely audible. It was hard for Alex to see anything through the dust. Her eyes stung and her mouth tasted as if she had eaten mud pies. She leaned further into Jesse.

Jesse signaled to Cal and the two men split off to the sides of the bunching cattle and turned their horses to get back at the front. With Alex still hanging on, Jesse fired his gun and turned his horse toward Cal, and the two men finally got the herd into a mill. Confused and with no leader, the cows at last crowded in on themselves, stopped their run, and settled. The three riders sat gasping for air amid the settling dust.

“Jeez,” said Reb riding up. “I thought we was surely headed into the Rockies to stop them cows.” He stopped to catch his breath. “Shit,” he said totally forgetting himself, “you did all that with Lady Lex on your rear?”

Jesse’s hand felt for Alex’s arms about his waist as he turned back to look at her. Bedraggled and dirty, blinking the filth from her eyes, with her hair loose from its plait and her face streaked with mud, she had the widest grin on her face he’d ever seen.

“Can we do that again sometime?” she smirked.

There was no way to hide what had happened. When Alex appeared at the house, Oliver was livid.

“You rode into a stampede!” he thundered.

“Jesse knew what he was doing, Uncle Oliver; there was never any danger—”

“Never any danger? Are you out of your mind? That was not some canter through Hyde Park, Alex. You could have been killed. One man on a horse in a stampede is dangerous enough, but sitting two—”

“Are you saying I’m not a good enough rider to hang on to the back of someone? Oh, for goodness sake.” She turned on her heel and started to leave.

“If you had fallen...You could have been crushed in the melee. You could have been shot by a stray bullet. Anything could have happened. Have you no sense at all?”

She stared at him, her lips pursed in anger. “No sense? I had the sense to hang on. Jesse had to do what he did or your cows would’ve been in Estes Park! He did his job, and he did it damn well I have to say, and he had every consideration for my having to be there,” she lied.

“Every consideration? Just what consideration did he give you? He should have set you down, should have left you somewhere.”

“And then what? If the herd had changed direction I could be standing there with no cover, no place to go! Everyone knows cows panic more when they see a person on foot. I was far safer on the back of his horse!”

“He’s fired!” Oliver shouted. “I gave you permission to go to the circus with two of my hands—permission against my better judgment I might add—and what happens? You nearly lose your life.”

“I did not lose my life! I didn’t even come close to losing anything. I am perfectly fine. And,” she strode up to Oliver and took several deep breaths, “if you fire that man, I swear you’ll be sorry!”

“Are you threatening me?” Oliver growled.

Alex paced the length of the drawing room while Oliver watched, his eyes blazing. Wilson, the butler, knocked but as he entered Oliver waved him out and the door shut again.

“I’ve looked at the ranch accounts, Uncle Oliver. I’ve seen the accounts—”

“You what?” he said, his voice lower, hoarse.

“I’ve seen. I know. You won’t fire Jesse.”