35
LAUREL, holding her skirt up, came along Main Street at a dead run. When she reached us, she whispered to Virgil. Virgil nodded.
“Pony came to the house,” Virgil said to me. “Wants us to meet him west of town at Red Castle Rock.”
“I know where that is,” I said.
Laurel whispered again to Virgil.
“We won’t see him, but if we sit our horses by the rock, he’ll find us,” Virgil said to me.
“Now?” I said.
Virgil looked at Laurel. She nodded hard.
“Now,” Virgil said.
He patted Laurel on the shoulder, and we set out for the livery to get our horses.
We followed the stage road west.
As we rode I said to Virgil, “I noticed something ’bout Laurel today when she come running up to tell us ’bout Pony.”
“With her tits bouncing?” Virgil said.
“You noticed it, too,” I said.
“Yep.”
“She ain’t a little girl,” I said.
“Nope.”
“What are we gonna do ’bout that?” I said.
“Don’t know,” Virgil said.
The road began to rise gently ahead of us. The horses adjusted to it.
“She know the facts?” I said.
“Hope so,” Virgil said.
He grinned.
“Allie sure ’nuff is qualified to tell her ’bout them,” he said.
“Virgil,” I said. “Laurel don’t talk to anybody, ’cept whispering to you.”
“I know.”
“You can’t go round the rest of her life translatin’ for her,” I said.
“Probably could,” Virgil said. “But don’t seem like I ought to.”
“So, what do we do?” I said.
“Don’t know,” Virgil said.
“What’s Allie say?”
“Allie don’t like me talkin’ ’bout Laurel to her,” Virgil said.
“She don’t?”
“Nope. Says I spend too much time thinkin’ ’bout Laurel.”
“Jesus Christ, Virgil,” I said. “She’s jealous of Laurel?”
“’Pears so,” Virgil said.
“Well, we got to do something about Laurel,” I said.
“We do,” Virgil said.
“What?” I said.
“Was hoping you’d come up with something,” Virgil said.
Ahead of us, with late sun shining from behind it, was the high remnant of ancient red rock that looked a little like the tower of a castle.
We stopped close to its base and sat our horses in its shadow, and pretty soon Pony Flores rode around the base and stopped beside us.