IT WAS STILL only halfway through the blisteringly hot afternoon as the vigilante stepped up on to the boardwalk and strode toward the hotel doors. He had left his gelding at the livery stable with Gus Thorson and declined to share the blacksmiths pot of coffee. Moon knew where he could find a far more flavorsome brew of his favorite beverage in the hotel.
As was his ritual, Moon paused before the hotel doors and glanced around the street in search of potential enemies who might make the mistake of getting his tall frame in their rifle sights. Only when convinced that there was nobody with evil intensions did he grab the brass door knob and twist it.
Hector the hotel clerk glanced up as he heard the door open and stared at the tall figure of Uriah Moon entering. Hector blinked hard as he watched the awesome vigilante stride across the foyer floor toward him.
Hector was both pleased to see the familiar Moon but also a little scared of the ominous figure. The clerk was all too aware that the vigilante was totally unpredictable and could strike like a rattler at any moment.
Nervously, the clerk cleared his throat before the vigilante reached him. Hector forced a smile as he adjusted his horn-rim glasses on the bridge of his nose.
‘Welcome back, Mr. Moon,’ he stammered as he looked up at the far taller man. ‘We didn’t expect to see you back here so soon.’
Moon stopped as he reached the counter, turned the register around and accepted a pen from the clerk. He said nothing as he scrawled his name on the register before returning the writing implement to its inkwell. His eyes vainly surveyed the interior of the hotel lobby in search of the beautiful young female named Maria.
‘Any chance of a meal to go with room, Hector?’ Moon asked ominously.
The hotel clerk grinned. He knew what the vigilante actually wanted and felt a slight sense of power momentarily wash over his feeble body.
‘You wish a late lunch or an early dinner, Mr. Moon?’ he asked dryly as the sound of singing drifted from the kitchen area out into the foyer.
It was the melodic sound if the ever cheerful young female singing as she made her way through the kitchen toward the impressive hotel foyer. Hector could see the vigilante almost grow as he heard the unmistakable voice of Maria.
Uriah Moon raised his eyebrows.
‘As long as it’s served by that young filly,’ he said wryly before running a thumbnail down his cheekbone. ‘I’ll eat anything she rustles up.’
Hector rolled his eyes.
‘I guess you’ll want a pot of coffee to wash it down with?’ he assumed.
Moon slowly nodded his head as the alluring Maria suddenly appeared from the doorway behind the desk clerks back. She beamed at the vigilante and came rushing out toward the tall dusty figure. Her shapely figure matched her beauty as she yelped in excited delight.
Somehow the vigilante did not reveal his own delight in the sight of the voluptuous Maria. He did not move a muscle as she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his head as her bare legs wound around his middle. Moon could feel the heat of her loins burning into him as he cradled her in his arms.
After smoothing his expressionless face with a score of kisses, she dismounted him and sighed. Moon looked down at her and saluted her with a barely noticeable nod.
‘Say something, you hairy galoot.’ The breathless female smiled as her hands barely managed to contain her heaving breasts as they attempted to escape from her low-cut blouse.
The vigilante had a face which was designed to play poker and it never revealed anything. He tightened the leather lace around his long beard and dryly spoke to the attractive female as she jumped up and down on the spot.
‘Nice to see you again, Maria,’ Moon drawled as his unblinking eyes enjoyed her excitement.
Hector looked heavenward and sat down on his chair behind the desk and shook his head. The desk clerk clasped his hands and patiently waited for the two utterly different people to settle back down.
Maria could barely keep her hands off the vigilante and wanted to carry on from where they had last left off.
‘I knew you would come back to me, Uriah,’ she cooed like a lovesick dove as she toyed with his long white beard. ‘You have missed your little Maria and had to return to me. Am I not right?’
Uriah Moon accepted his room key from the slightly annoyed desk clerk and looked down at the alluring female as her breasts heaved inside her white blouse. It was a sight that few men could ever see and not be stirred by.
He had to clear his throat before being able to answer.
‘Yep, I did miss your coffee, Maria,’ he drawled in a tongue in cheek manner. ‘It’s the best I’ve ever had.’
Hector frowned. ‘I never thought her coffee was that good.’
Moon raised his eyebrows but did not respond.
Feverishly, Maria clapped her hands together. Her mane of black wavy hair cascaded over her beautiful features as her head turned toward the desk clerk. She looked at Hector as he sat with his arms folded.
‘What do you mean?’ she pouted. ‘My coffee is the best. You just do not know how to drink my coffee, Hector.’
The clerk was confused.
‘He’s also ordered a meal, Maria,’ Hector confirmed. ‘I guess he likes your cooking as well.’
The alluring young woman looked overjoyed. She hopped up and down on the floor boards with her hands clasped together as she winked at the vigilante.
‘I will make you the very best food, Uriah,’ Maria said as though she had been gifted a bag of diamonds and not given a chore. ‘And the very best coffee.’
Both men watched as Maria ran barefoot back into the kitchen.
Uriah Moon glanced at the bewildered clerk. He fished a gold coin from his vest pocket and tossed it to the slightly built man. Hector managed to catch the coin and then looked hard at the vigilante as Moon made his way to the stairs and prepared to ascend to the landing.
‘She’s a very strange girl,’ Hector sighed innocently. ‘I’ve never known anyone get so excited about coffee before. Have you, Mr. Moon?’
‘Nope,’ Moon said.
The hotel clerk shrugged his bony shoulders and appeared completely dumbfounded as he thought about the fact that his attractive assistant could be heard singing in the kitchen behind his chair. Hector leaned forward toward the tall figure and whispered in case he was overheard.
‘Normally the girl is quite calm,’ he explained as he shuffled a few papers around on his desk. ‘For some reason when you have visited my hotel, Maria becomes different. Totally different. She doesn’t even act the same.’
‘Is that right?’ Moon asked as he stared through loose strands of white hair hanging before his ice blue eyes. ‘What do you mean exactly?’
Hector adjusted his spectacles. ‘Maria does not like working usually. She’s only here because her uncle owns the hotel. I have to do everything as a rule.’
Uriah Moon remained expressionless.
‘She is very passionate about coffee,’ he said blankly.
‘Exactly,’ Hector agreed with a baffled look on his face. ‘Does that make any sense?’
Moon rested his hands on his holstered gun grips. It suddenly became obvious that the hotel clerk was probably as naïve as the average politician. He imagined that he knew everything when he actually knew nothing.
‘She does make pretty good coffee, Hector,’ Moon drawled and watched the reaction of the mystified clerk. The vigilante turned and slowly started to walk toward the staircase.
The look of surprise engulfed the face of the far smaller man as he waved his arms around like a windmills sails. Puffing with exhausted frustration, Hector rested his hands on the desk but continued to rant.
‘She does? I’ve drunk her coffee many times, Mr. Moon,’ Hector admitted innocently. ‘I’ve never thought it was that good. And why does she get so damned excited making the stuff for you? It just doesn’t make any sense.’
Moon glanced over his shoulder. ‘Maybe it’s the way that you prepare the drink after you’ve poured it, Hector. Do you add sugar?’
The clerk stared at the vigilante. ‘Yeah, I add sugar. How can that make any difference?’
There was a long silence as Moon continued on toward the staircase and slowly started to ascend to the landing. As he reached the midway point, he paused and again looked over his shoulder.
‘It all depends what you stir it with, Hector,’ he said dryly before continuing on to his awaiting room.
The mystified clerk raised his eyebrows.
The bemused Hector was no wiser.