Hard Ride to Wichita (8 page)

The ride was more enjoyable than either of the young men had expected. Without familiar surroundings, their eyes could soak up the swaying fields of wheat and tall grass for what they were instead of being reminded about some day from years gone by.

They reached a little town named Wendt Cross toward the end of the second day. Although both of them had passed through there once or twice in their lives, the place wasn't familiar enough to spark any memories. After buying some supplies and watering the horses, Luke was ready to move on. Red, on the other hand, had other ideas.

“What's the hurry?” Red asked.

While Luke had climbed into his saddle and was getting situated, Red still walked beside the gelding that looked as if it had traveled more miles than both boys and the other horse combined. Even when the gelding had first been purchased, its coat resembled faded brown paint that was about to start peeling off after having seen too many rains. No matter how many times it was washed, that animal always looked dirty. As soon as Red's family scraped together enough to buy a stallion in much better condition for his brother, Red took the horse as his own and cared for it as though he could win every prize a horse could earn. Its mane was coarser than the oldest brush, much like its tail. The gelding had lost his right ear some time before the Connovers had bought him, and the nub that remained was so gnarled that it looked as if it had been chewed off. Because of that, Red's mother took to calling him Vincent. She said that was the name of some fancy artist, but Red didn't know much about that.

“We need to get to Wichita,” Luke said. “Did you forget?”

“No, I didn't forget. There's no reason why we can't stay here for a spell.”

“The more ground we cover before nightfall, the quicker we'll get there.”

“Yeah,” Red said. “I know how that works. I just think we'd be better served getting a hot meal and a good night's sleep in a proper bed than by spending another night stretched out on the cold ground.”

“It hasn't been that cold.”

Red responded to that with a furrowed brow and a hard stare.

Although Luke didn't exactly fold under pressure, he did take another look around at the little town. There wasn't much to see. Apart from a barebones assortment of storefronts scattered along the one street they'd ridden, the remaining places were either boarded up or unmarked or were offices that held no spark of interest for young men striking out on their own. After turning down another street, they did find one clearly marked as a hotel. Looking at that place, Luke said, “I think we'd be better off sleeping on the ground than on any bed we might find in there.”

“What about in there?” Red asked while nodding toward a place a bit farther down the road.

Luke shifted his focus in that direction to find a wide storefront marked only as S
TORMY'S
. “How do you know that's a hotel?” he asked.

Leaning over to him while dropping his voice to a whisper, Red said, “Look at them girls sitting on the front porch. By the looks of them, I'd say we can definitely find some warm beds inside. Know what I mean?”

“Not really.”

“Look at them girls!”

When he'd first looked over there, Luke had only seen a few people sitting on the front porch. At first glance, they were two women sitting on either side of one man. There were two more chairs placed on the other side of a set of doors leading inside. One of the doors was open and there didn't seem to be much movement beyond them. Now that he took a closer look, Luke saw that one of the ladies was fairly pretty. She had long black hair and an inviting smile that was plainly seen, thanks to her brightly painted lips. The other girl had black hair as well, but was much skinnier and had sunken cheeks. Both of them were paying plenty of attention to the fella who was lapping it all up like a kitten in front of a saucer of milk.

“That scrawny lady doesn't look too healthy,” Luke said.

“Maybe, but I reckon there's more inside to choose from.” Red wore a beaming smile that grew wider as he waited for Luke to respond. When he didn't get anything apart from a blank stare, he said, “They're whores, Luke. Have you got rocks in your head?”

Luke looked at them again. “How can you tell? Have you been here before?”

“Haven't you ever seen a whore before?”

“Just Patsy and Dinah at the Ox Yoke Saloon back home. They weren't anything like that.”

“I know. These ladies are a whole lot better! Well . . . the first one is.”

“If you're so interested in whores, I wager there's some to be found in Wichita.”

“They'll be cheaper here,” Red told him.

“When did you become an expert on soiled doves?”

“Matt worked as a hired hand on a cattle drive that went all the way to Texas. He came back with some mighty good stories, and one thing he said was that ladies like them charge less in small towns than they do in big ones. Although the ones in Wichita might know some more colorful ways to curl yer toes.”

“Good Lord,” Luke sighed.

“What are you? A preacher? You don't like girls no more?”

“I didn't ride all this way to waste money on whores.”

“They ain't evil, you know,” Red said. “They're just working girls trying to get by.”

“I think there's more to it than you feeling sorry for them.”

“Yeah! There is. And if you gotta keep asking me about it, then there must be something loose inside you after all.” Giving his friend a nudge, Red added, “Besides all that, a sweet little distraction could be just what the doctor ordered to get your mind off'a things for a spell.”

Luke rolled his eyes, knowing all too well how difficult it would be to steer his friend away from something once he'd sunk his teeth into it. More than that, there would be plenty of misery down the road if they did keep moving since Red wouldn't exactly let the matter drop. “Fine,” Luke said. “But we're leaving good and early tomorrow.”

“Yes, Pa,” Red chided.

“I mean it. And we'll stock up on supplies while we're here. There's got to be a gun store or some such around here. Both of us could use something better than what we've already got.”

“I like the sound of that,” Red said with genuine enthusiasm.

“And, for the love of God, don't let on about the money I'm carrying.”

“You mean
we're
carrying.”

Patting the bag still hanging from his saddle horn, Luke said, “I'm the one who took it and I'm the one carrying it.”

“And if things go badly in Wichita, we're both the ones that'll die for it.”

“I never asked you to come along.”

“And yet,” Red said with a grin that Luke often found to be particularly maddening, “here I am.”

Luke shook his head and muttered, “Here you are.”

“I thought we agreed to split some of that money. Not down the middle,” Red hastily added. “But that I'd get some sort of share.”

“I remember.” Luke dug into the bag while glancing from side to side. There were only a few other folks walking past on either side of the street and none of them seemed interested in what the two young men were fretting about. Having removed a bundle of cash, Luke counted what was in his hand and gave it to Red. “Take it and don't ask for any more until we get to Wichita.”

“This is . . . sixty dollars!”

“Seventy-three. I swear you were asleep every day we were in that schoolhouse.”

“I was too busy watching Mrs. DeLoach bend over to pick up them little pieces of chalk I tossed onto the floor.”

The darkness that had settled onto Luke's features cleared up considerably. “That was you tossing chalk onto the floor?”

“Yep.”

“I didn't know that.”

“Figured I had to be sneaky about it,” Red admitted. “Did you ever see the size of Mr. DeLoach? He's a bear!”

“Anyway, don't throw all that money at one woman.”

“That's right. We gotta save some for the saloons. Think we could get a poker game going?”

“Oh yeah. Watch the whiskey, though. We're moving on to Wichita tomorrow even if you're too drunk to sit in your saddle. I'll just tie your feet to that sorry excuse of a horse of yours and ride toward the roughest stretch of road I can find.”

Rubbing his horse's neck affectionately, Red said, “I won't hear that kind of talk about Vincent. Now let's get ourselves to that cathouse so you can see me sweep a lady or two off their feet. If'n I don't get one of them to bed for free, I bet I at least convince them to give me a mighty fine discount.”

Rather than try to burst his friend's bubble, Luke held his tongue and followed Red toward the place with the busiest front porch in town. “Shouldn't we find a place for the horses?” he asked.

“There's a hitching post and trough right here.”

“If we're staying, I want someplace better than—”

Having caught the eye of the prettier of the two ladies in front of Stormy's, Red tipped his hat and said, “Excuse me, ma'am. Could you tell me where I might find some feed for this fine horse of mine?”

She stood up from her chair, allowing one hand to linger on the shoulder of the man sitting beside her. The fellow looked to be in his forties and had a finely clipped set of sideburns. His dark blue suit was slightly rumpled after being rubbed by both women, but he didn't seem to mind that nearly as much as he minded losing one of his companions to the two young arrivals. The girl on his other side brushed up against him a bit more to take up the slack.

“There's a nice little stable out back,” the prettier lady said. “Just go right down that alley and around. You won't be able to miss it. Of course, that's for our paying customers.” Slipping her fingers through the raven black hair flowing over one shoulder, she added, “You will be staying on with us for a bit, won't you?”

“Indeed we will, ma'am,” Red said in a hurry.

The woman smiled, which made her skin seem even smoother and her face even more beautiful than before. “Good,” she said. “Why don't I show you inside? Just one thing. Don't either one of you call me ma'am. Makes me sound like some kind of spinster.”

“Yes, m— I mean,” Red chuckled. “I'll call you whatever you like.”

“You two put your horses up and I'll meet you inside.” When she turned toward the building's front door, she captivated every man within eyeshot. Her hips swayed. Her hair swung against the creamy curves of her shoulders and neck that were bared, thanks to the plunging lines of a dark green dress that clung to her like a coat of oil paint. When she opened the door, a few bars of music drifted from inside. Whatever song it was, it did a mighty fine job of accompanying her enticing gait.

“I might need some more of that money,” Red mumbled.

Although he tried to put on a stern front, Luke didn't have any trouble sympathizing with his friend. He'd seen a few women that drew him like a cat tugging at a bit of string, but none of them had the polish of that black-haired beauty. Even knowing that she was just trying to bring them in to spend their money, he couldn't help going along with it. In some respects, that didn't seem like such an outlandish request. Luke didn't mind paying for a show, and her walk alone was one unforgettable performance.

The stable was a narrow building that was just over half as long as the main structure. Its twin doors were tended by a bald man with tired eyes and a waistcoat that looked to have been plucked from a heap of trash. From the grime on his face, it was difficult to discern whether he had a dark complexion or was just in need of a good scrubbing.

“We need two stalls,” Red announced.

“They's for paying customers only,” the tired man said.

“That's us, sure enough.”

“If'n one of the managers comes out to check and you ain't a customer, your horse and gear will be kept for a fee.”

“Held for ransom, sounds to me,” Luke grumbled.

“Call it what you like,” the stable man said. “I'm just providing fair warning, is all.”

Red slapped the older guy on the back hard enough to get him to wobble where he stood. “No need for the warning, old man,” he said. “We're both headed in there to see some of them fine ladies.”

The stable man wasn't outwardly impressed. “Fifty cents a day, then. That's for each horse, including feed and water.”

“Not charging for water?” Luke said. “How generous.”

“Don't pay no mind to my friend,” Red said as he handed over a dollar. “He's just desperately in need of Stormy's services.”

“Ain't we all?” the older man grumbled.

Already in high spirits, Red laughed while unbuckling his saddlebags to drape them over one shoulder. “There any places in town where I could purchase a gun?” he asked while handing over the reins.

The stable man looked at the pistol tucked under Red's belt, but his eyes lingered on the double-rig holster strapped around Luke's waist. “Looks like you already got guns.”

“It's a dangerous world out there,” Red said. “And we don't intend to stay here for long.”

“Best place would be Jordan Bickle's store down on Westminster. The Eastern Trading Company. He gets a good supply of just about anything you might need.”

“Much obliged.” With that, Red sauntered toward the back door of Stormy's, which was currently being held open by a curvaceous redhead in a black dress with lace trim.

Luke took the bag from his saddle horn and then removed the ones attached to his saddle.

“You two headed to Wichita?” the stable man asked.

Luke became still and studied the man's dirty face carefully. “Why do you ask?”

“Lots of folks pass through here looking like you.”

“Looking like what?”