It had not yet reached noon as the mysterious figure of the vigilante strode around the parade ground kicking at its dusty surface as his mind searched for answers. Answers he had not been able to find no matter how hard he considered the problem of safely transporting the young Hooper girls to their next of kin.
Moon knew that he should have been preparing to ride out to his next port of call but something was keeping him in the huge fortress and he was damned if he knew what it was. He had done his bit and rescued the Hooper girls and single handily put a stop to the smuggling and slave trade which was rife in Lucifer’s Lair but he was troubled. Every fiber of his being told him that it was time to leave Fort Hook, so why could he not leave?
The question puzzled the tall figure.
It did not make any sense to him. As a rule, Moon never delayed his plans to leave anywhere once he had completed his task. Yet he found himself pacing around the parade ground of the fort like a headless chicken.
The sun was directly overhead and its heat overbearing for most of the inhabitants of Fort Hook but the intrepid vigilante had not even started sweating. He glanced up at the depleted sentries as they moved along the high parapets with their rifles across their blue uniforms. Moon removed his Stetson and allowed the blazing rays to find his face for a few moments before returning the black hat to his head.
Fort Hook was quiet for the first time in a long while and it seemed strange to most of the troopers but not to Moon. He knew that his actions had bought the remote outpost a little time. Eventually trouble would again raise its ugly head and it would all start again but that was not his problem. Soon he would be leaving Fort Hook in search of more injustices to right in his own unique fashion.
But not just yet. Something kept nagging at him. Telling him to remain for a little while longer. This was not the time to depart and head away from the fortress, his inner voice kept telling him.
Not just yet.
It was not over.
He strolled toward the cook house where they were preparing the next meal for a lot of hungry men. The vigilante could tell that some sort of stew was being prepared and he liked the aroma his flared nostrils were smelling. As his tall frame passed the living quarters where the individual officers and their families were housed, he heard a female voice just behind him. It halted his progress.
‘Mr. Moon?’ it said. Moon did not recognize the voice but it sounded attractive to him. He knew that sometimes a voice did not match a face and was wary of who had called his name.
The masterful Moon stopped and turned his head in search of the voice. He stared into the shadows through strands of his white hair hanging limply from the hatband of his wide-brimmed Stetson. The voice had sounded pleasant enough and neither young or old.
The vigilante was curious.
‘Mr. Moon?’ the voice repeated his name again.
‘Yep, that’s what they call me,’ he answered in a deep drawl.
Then a female emerged from the shadows beside the array of wooden structures behind the cook house. She looked to be somewhere in her thirties and quite handsome beneath a neat bonnet as she held a parasol over her shoulder. She was dressed in what Moon would have described as her Sunday best.
He touched his hat brim in greeting as she approached.
Like most females, she was about a foot shorter than his impressive height but did not seem to be intimidated by the fact and moved to within a few feet of him.
His eyes feasted upon her. She was an unexpected sight to his vivid blue eyes and he devoured every inch of her petite form. A delicate scent of French perfume filled his grateful nostrils as she moved coyly on the spot before him.
‘Can I help you, ma’am?’ he asked.
She smiled. It was the classiest smile his eyes had seen in a long time. Her small hands twirled the parasol nervously as her eyes remained glued to him.
‘So you are the man that Josie and Betty have been telling me about,’ she said in a kindly fashion as she smiled even wider. ‘You certainly made an impression with those young girls, Mr. Moon.’
The vigilante was not used to praise from anyone and it made him uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.
‘The names Uriah, ma’am,’ he said as he studied her carefully.
‘Oh I already know that,’ she said as her eyes sparkled in the bright sunshine. ‘They’ve mentioned it repeatedly since they were put under my wing earlier today.’
‘Call me Uriah,’ Moon said and nodded.
‘Thank you, Uriah,’ she almost blushed as she moved even closer to the tall figure as though pulled by invisible strings. ‘I didn’t want to appear too forward you understand. My name is June Marcus. I’m a widow. My husband was Major Marcus. He sadly was killed about a year ago when out on patrol. The army has kindly allowed me to remain here in the fort as I have nowhere to go. You may call me June.’
‘June.’ Moon raised an eyebrow as he studied the female more carefully. He liked what he was looking at and she did not seem offended by his daunting appearance either. He stroked his beard and tilted his head.
‘I’m the colonel’s last surviving kin,’ he said.
‘I’ve heard all about you,’ she stated with a flutter of her eye lashes. ‘Your exploits last night have almost put you in the history books for bravery.’
He smiled as he looked down upon her.
‘I guess them girls have been mighty busy talking about what happened,’ he said as she turned in a way that implied she wanted to be escorted.
Uriah Moon obliged and walked beside her.
‘It is such a shame that the girls have to be sent away,’ she sighed heavily as she continued to twirl the parasol on her shoulder. ‘I would have liked to get to know them a little better before they left Fort Hook.’
Moon nodded in sympathetic agreement.
‘I guess they are good company for a widow lady like yourself,’ he said.
She looked up at his expressionless face and suddenly stopped as she studied his unusual features more carefully. His eyes were almost hypnotic.
‘You have very handsome eyes, Uriah,’ She announced breathlessly. ‘I’ve never seen eyes that blue before. They’re quite mesmerizing.’
Moon raised both his eyebrows upon hearing the flattering remark and cleared his throat again as his mind searched for something to say.
‘Thank you, June,’ he managed to utter. ‘You ain’t exactly hard to look at either.’
‘I scrub up well,’ June giggled and continued to walk slowly toward one of the wooden houses set close to the fort wall. As they reached a few yards from its door she paused and turned to face him. ‘I would like you to call here tonight at seven if that’s okay with you. I thought that Josie and Betty would be thrilled to have you as a guest for supper.’
The invitation caught Moon by surprise. He could not recall the last time anyone invited him to share a meal and it took him by surprise. He glanced at her with grateful eyes and nodded with a touch of his hat brim.
‘I’m obliged, June,’ he said before asking. ‘Where are the girls right now? I’d have expected them to be running around here playing.’
‘They’re sleeping,’ the handsome June said. ‘They were worn out and after talking for hours about how you bravely rescued them. They just fell asleep on the bed I’m sharing with them until they have to leave.’
The thought of anyone falling asleep because they were exhausted was alien to the high shouldered vigilante. He thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
‘I hadn’t figured that,’ he admitted. ‘I guess it’s quite normal for youngsters to get tired.’
Her eyes studied every inch of his impressive frame. He could almost feel them moving up and down in a fashion most females ration to choosing fabric to make window drapes. Moon had noticed other women of various ages doing the same thing to him over the years, but none of them did it as well as June Marcus.
‘They were utterly exhausted by the traumatic adventure you safely steered them through,’ she stated in a husky tone. ‘I imagine you are in need of sleep yourself about now.’
‘What do you mean?’ he wondered.
‘You must also be very tired,’ June said.
Moon shook his head.
‘Nope. I never sleep, June,’ he informed her. ‘I rest up to let my body renew its strength but I’ve not been able to sleep for years now.’
June Marcus looked concerned by his statement. Without even thinking, she touched him with her delicate right hand as her beautiful eyes peered into his features.
‘You never sleep?’ she gasped as her fingertips stroked his holstered Peacemakers for a brief moment before returning to grasp the handle of her parasol.
He shook his head. ‘Nope.’
‘I wonder why?’ she said with the hint of concern in her voice. ‘I thought everyone slept.’
Uriah Moon tilted his head and kept studying her in the same way that she looked at him. Even hidden beneath a well-tailored dress, he could tell that she had a fine body. It was one which he would have liked to see a lot more of.
‘Not sleeping has its benefits, June,’ he drawled.
‘It does?’
‘Yep, it sure does.’
‘Explain to me, Uriah.’ June twirled her parasol.
‘At least I don’t suffer from nightmares.’ He bowed at her and momentarily raised his hat off his head as he turned to leave her at her doorstep.
The handsome female waved a tiny hand at his departing frame and called out seductively.
‘Remember to be here at seven, Uriah,’ she reminded. ‘We don’t want to let Josie and Betty down, do we?’
Moon smiled. ‘That we don’t, pretty lady. That we don’t.’
‘Until seven then,’ she gushed.
‘I’ll be here, June,’ Moon stated as he strode away from the handsome female and back toward the cook house. As he walked he heard her door open and close behind him and exhaled loudly before pulling out his tobacco pouch and wondering aloud. ‘I got me a feeling I might get lucky and get offered coffee.’