Blue Bonnet by Fay Risner

looked shocked. “Really? Are
you sure you want me along?”
    “I'm sure. When ya close up the
shop, I'll come by with a buggy. We're goin' for a ride,” Bat
said.
    “Where?”
    “Out to my ranch. I'd like to show
ya where I've lived most of my life. Would ya like to see the
ranch?” He asked, evading the answer she really wanted to
know.
    “I'd love to see your ranch,” Leta
said dubiously.
    She enjoyed the ride and listened
to Bat talk, with pride in his voice, about the ranch. He wanted to
familiarize Leta with his life. He could tell she seemed
interested. So far so good, but he wasn't going to breathe easy
until this evening was over.
    Suddenly, Leta said, “You know I
really don't know much about you. What I do know I like you
understand, but I've been curious. Bat is a strange name. It must
be short for something. What does Bat stand for?”
    “Ooh,” he groaned. “I was hopin'
ya wouldn't get around to askin' me that.”
    “Why?”
    “I've never been fond of the name
my folks saddled me with. If ya got to know, my name is
Bartholomew. My daddy tagged me with Bat, because it wasn't such a
mouth full to say. I think it was about the time Bat Masterson was
makin' such a name for himself. The older I got the more I was
grateful to my daddy for helpin' me out like that.”
    “I see. Well, you would be the
same nice man with any name your folks chose for you. However, I'm
fond of Bat, too,” Leta said, scooting closer to him and wrapping
her arm through his.
    When they pulled up in front of
the house, Bat, stopped the buggy and pointed toward the bunkhouse.
“That was my first home where the cowhands live now. Hannah and I
lived there for a few years before I built this house. We needed a
bunkhouse for the men so it was time to move.”
    He held his hand out to help her
down. “Climb out of that buggy and stretch yer legs. Seems like a
long drive out here.”
    “Not for me. I've enjoyed every
minute of the trip,” Leta assured him. She started toward the
porch, and he stopped her.
    “Let's go for a walk. It's cool in
the shade of the path down to Sidewinder Creek,” Bat said. He took
her arm as they walked down the path. “We used this path every day.
Sometimes, several times a day when we needed water. We had to
carry the water from Sidewinder Creek.”
    “Why is the creek called
Sidewinder?”
    “Ever see a sidewinder snake
crawl?” Bat asked.
    “Yes, once there was one in my
front yard. The snake crawled sideways one way and then the other,”
Leta said.
    “Yip, and that is the same way
this old creek winds through my ranch,” Bat said.
    The water level in the creek was
lower than in the spring. They stood on the edge of the bank,
looking at the red, muddy water that moved lazily along. Bat picked
up a pebble and skipped it across the water.
    “You have a lot of good memories
on this ranch with Hannah, don't you?” Leta asked.
    “Couldn't have held onto the ranch
without her helping me defend it. I went off to get supplies not
long after we moved in, and Indians tried to carry Hannah and
Billie off when they came for water,” Bat said.
    “What happened?” Leta asked in a
hushed voice.
    “Hannah and Billie fought like
wild cats. Six Indians couldn't calm them down enough to carry them
off. The Indians wound up leavin', and they didn't come back,” Bat
told her. “That was just the first time of many we fought side by
side.”
    “Billie's quite a woman, and it
sounds like Hannah was, too,” Leta said.
    “She was. Would ya like to see
where she's resting?” Bat asked.
    “Yes, show me,” Leta
said.
    They walked on the path and came
out behind the house. Leta walked with Bat up the hill. A small
green lizard darted among the rocks in front of them all the way to
a semicircle of cedar trees. Hannah's large stone was in the middle
of the fenced area.
    Bat took his hat off and pointed
at the tombstone engraved with Hannah's name and dates. “That's
where she rests.”
    Leta studied the