to it.”
“Is it? That’s why you were so mean-tempered rude to her lackeys? You just don’t want her gratitude? And that’s why she’s so eager to meet you again, just to express that gratitude? Be serious, Colt—”
“I am. I’m letting you keep your teeth. Now take yourself down to the O.K. Livery and collect our horses. I’ll meet you out on the street in fifteen minutes. If we ride fast enough, we can make Benson for a late lunch.”
Yeah, and kill our horses , Billy grouched to himself. Since it was almost noon already, and Benson was a good twenty miles north, that was probably just what they’d do. No, he was being unfair. Colt would never take a bad mood out on his horse. But he was damn determined to quit Tombstone and fast. Before the duchess came up with some other way to see him?
Colt had already left the room to settle the bill, so Billy gathered up his things and went out the back way to do as he’d been told. The stable wasn’t far. Camillus S. Fly had a photographic gallery at the back of his lodging house, and the O.K. Livery and Corral was behind that, right in the center of the square, accessible from any vacant lot along 3rd and 4th streets, or Fremont and Allen.
Billy was back on Fremont with time to spare, but without the horses, as Colt noticed when he stepped out of Fly’s Lodging House. “Now don’t look at me like that,” Billy protested quickly. “My horse threw a shoe just as I was walking her out. It’ll only take a couple hours—”
“A couple?”
“The smith’s busy,” Billy explained. “That washis estimate, not mine. So what do you say to an early lunch instead, and I’ll challenge you to a few games of billiards over at Bob Hatch’s on Allen Street.”
“You’re just asking for trouble, aren’t you, kid?” Colt replied, but his expression wasn’t half as dark as it had been earlier.
“I don’t think we’ll run into young Clanton, if that’s what you mean.” Billy grinned. “Fact is, I just heard his brother Ike was buffaloed by one of the Earp brothers this morning, then hauled before the judge and fined. It must have been Wyatt. They say he has a fondness for bending his gun barrel around hard heads. Billy has probably taken his brother back to their ranch by now. So where would you like to eat? The Maison Dorée?”
Colt’s answer was a soft kick to Billy’s backside.
Chapter Ten
M rs. Addie Bourland’s Millinery Shop was sandwiched between the offices of a stage line and a doctor on Fremont Street. The last thing Jocelyn needed was a new hat, but she had come here to order one, two, or a dozen, however many it took to keep her there until she caught sight of Colt Thunder either coming or going from his lodgings, which were just across the street. Vanessa had suggested she simply present herself at his door, but she was hesitant to do that. The men she had sent there that morning had not been received well, and she had no reason to think she would be any more welcome. No, a chance encounter on the street was the thing, and although there would be little “chance” to it, Mr. Thunder wouldn’t know that. She would not let him ignore her again.
She had arrived in her coach just before two o’clock, but since she had sent it away, the curious it had gathered had also departed, so there was nothing to indicate she was ensconced within the millinery shop. The guards were a necessity she could not get rid of, though, six for this outing. They were stationed at the front and rear exits, those in the front room trying to be inconspicuous but failing. They had quite flustered Mrs. Bourland to begin with. She wasnot accustomed to so many men invading her small shop. Even one at a time was a rarity. But she was ignoring them now as the prospect of such a large order caught her full attention.
With Vanessa stationed at the window to watch for Colt, Jocelyn kept Mrs. Bourland busy with the vast selection of feathers, flowers, colors, and
“Is it? That’s why you were so mean-tempered rude to her lackeys? You just don’t want her gratitude? And that’s why she’s so eager to meet you again, just to express that gratitude? Be serious, Colt—”
“I am. I’m letting you keep your teeth. Now take yourself down to the O.K. Livery and collect our horses. I’ll meet you out on the street in fifteen minutes. If we ride fast enough, we can make Benson for a late lunch.”
Yeah, and kill our horses , Billy grouched to himself. Since it was almost noon already, and Benson was a good twenty miles north, that was probably just what they’d do. No, he was being unfair. Colt would never take a bad mood out on his horse. But he was damn determined to quit Tombstone and fast. Before the duchess came up with some other way to see him?
Colt had already left the room to settle the bill, so Billy gathered up his things and went out the back way to do as he’d been told. The stable wasn’t far. Camillus S. Fly had a photographic gallery at the back of his lodging house, and the O.K. Livery and Corral was behind that, right in the center of the square, accessible from any vacant lot along 3rd and 4th streets, or Fremont and Allen.
Billy was back on Fremont with time to spare, but without the horses, as Colt noticed when he stepped out of Fly’s Lodging House. “Now don’t look at me like that,” Billy protested quickly. “My horse threw a shoe just as I was walking her out. It’ll only take a couple hours—”
“A couple?”
“The smith’s busy,” Billy explained. “That washis estimate, not mine. So what do you say to an early lunch instead, and I’ll challenge you to a few games of billiards over at Bob Hatch’s on Allen Street.”
“You’re just asking for trouble, aren’t you, kid?” Colt replied, but his expression wasn’t half as dark as it had been earlier.
“I don’t think we’ll run into young Clanton, if that’s what you mean.” Billy grinned. “Fact is, I just heard his brother Ike was buffaloed by one of the Earp brothers this morning, then hauled before the judge and fined. It must have been Wyatt. They say he has a fondness for bending his gun barrel around hard heads. Billy has probably taken his brother back to their ranch by now. So where would you like to eat? The Maison Dorée?”
Colt’s answer was a soft kick to Billy’s backside.
Chapter Ten
M rs. Addie Bourland’s Millinery Shop was sandwiched between the offices of a stage line and a doctor on Fremont Street. The last thing Jocelyn needed was a new hat, but she had come here to order one, two, or a dozen, however many it took to keep her there until she caught sight of Colt Thunder either coming or going from his lodgings, which were just across the street. Vanessa had suggested she simply present herself at his door, but she was hesitant to do that. The men she had sent there that morning had not been received well, and she had no reason to think she would be any more welcome. No, a chance encounter on the street was the thing, and although there would be little “chance” to it, Mr. Thunder wouldn’t know that. She would not let him ignore her again.
She had arrived in her coach just before two o’clock, but since she had sent it away, the curious it had gathered had also departed, so there was nothing to indicate she was ensconced within the millinery shop. The guards were a necessity she could not get rid of, though, six for this outing. They were stationed at the front and rear exits, those in the front room trying to be inconspicuous but failing. They had quite flustered Mrs. Bourland to begin with. She wasnot accustomed to so many men invading her small shop. Even one at a time was a rarity. But she was ignoring them now as the prospect of such a large order caught her full attention.
With Vanessa stationed at the window to watch for Colt, Jocelyn kept Mrs. Bourland busy with the vast selection of feathers, flowers, colors, and
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