Horse With No Name by Alexandra Amor

left hand around Lily's upper
arm. She was pulling away but he held fast. The look on Lily's face
was one of mingled annoyance, fear and defiance.
    "Excuse me," Julia said while the door closed
behind her. "I'm looking for Mrs. Finnegan." The energy in the room
was charged, like a building thunderstorm.
    The man whirled around, startled. He let go
of Lily's arm and looked Julia up and down with a quick flick of
his eyes, a male habit that always annoyed her. There had been an
angry expression on the man's face as he turned, but it was wiped
away so quickly Julia almost thought she'd imagined it.
    The man removed his hat. "Good evening, Miss
Thom."
    Julia wasn't sure how he knew her. "Good
evening, Mr...?"
    "Cecil. Alan Cecil. I'm Lily's husband." He
smiled.
    "Nice to meet you, Mr. Cecil. Hello Lily."
Julia looked past the man. "You're working late tonight."
    "Yes, Miss. I'm just finishing up and then
Alan and I will head upstairs."
    Julia remembered that Millie Jones had
mentioned the Cecil's lived at the hotel. She met his eyes
again.
    "You weren't having a go at that poker game,
were you?" Cecil grinned at her, his eyes sparkling now.
    "I'm not sure I want to say, Mr. Cecil."
    "Tell us now," Cecil leaned against the
kitchen counter and crossed one ankle over the other, "I'll bet you
beat the pants off those guys, didn't you?"
    All the hostility around Cecil and Lily was
gone. The drover exuded warmth and friendliness. Julia felt herself
slightly charmed by his relaxed attitude and roguish grin.
    She smiled back at him. "As a matter of fact,
I did."
    Cecil laughed. "Ah! I knew it. You're a smart
one, you are. You'd have to be to teach all those little rodents in
your classroom. Can't have them getting one up on you, ever, right?
They'd mutiny in an instant."
    Julia chuckled, "What kind of a student were
you, Mr. Cecil? I bet you caused a bit of trouble in your day."
    "You're spot on, Miss Thom. I turned my
teacher's hair white, I did. She was an old battle-ax though. A
tough old bird." He laughed again, remembering, "We got up to lots
of trouble, we did. Me and my mates. How do you keep your little
ones in line with such a pretty face as you've got?"
    Julia blushed slightly, unused to such blunt
compliments. She was about to answer when Caroline Finnegan came
through the swinging doors from the dining room.
    "Lily!" She seemed surprised. "I thought
you'd gone up ages ago."
    "Just leaving now, Mrs. Finnegan. I was
waiting for Alan."
    "Right then. Off you go. See you
tomorrow."
    Lily untied her apron and shook it gently.
She and Alan moved toward the back door and the staircase that
Julia had just come down. "Good night," Lily said to Caroline.
"Good night, Miss Thom."
    Alan winked at Julia, "If you ever need any
help keeping those wee beasties in line, Miss Thom, you let me
know. I'll come and knock some sense into them."
    "Thank you, Mr. Cecil. I will."
    Julia nodded at the couple and then they were
gone, the door flapping into the frame behind them. Caroline pulled
off her apron and hung it on a hook where several others waited. "I
thought you'd gone too," she said to Julia. "Did you get what you
wanted from those idiots?" She jerked her head toward the second
floor, but used the word with fondness.
    "I did," Julia answered. "And," she held her
purse aloft and shook it, making the coins within jingle
pleasantly, "I made a profit."
    "Good for you!" Caroline seemed genuinely
thrilled. "Spend it here, willya? We seem to be bleeding money at
the moment."
    "Really? This place is always busy."
    "Aye, there may be bottoms in the seats at
all hours, but no one can nurse a drink like this town's citizens.
I should implement a three drink minimum or something."
    Julia was sure Caroline was exaggerating.
Other than a recently opened tea shop, that was mostly for ladies,
Finnegan's restaurant was the only game in town if you wanted a
meal other than one you'd cooked yourself. Not to mention the only
place in town that served