Callie was silent a moment, then she looked at Sam. "At first I did. But…not anymore. I just don't care. I do my best not to even think about him, anymore."
Sam's face flushed, it was still very raw with Sam. Although he didn't add anything to her statement, the look on his face confirmed that Sam still had a few issues.
"So why would I need to know about courting?"
"Because silly, you are growing up. You do the work of a man now. And I’m sure you've noticed a few girls, I expect. And someday you are gonna want to take them to dances and stuff." Callie told him. "You'll get married, and have a family."
"Me?" He shrieked, his big blue eyes widening.
"You, little brother. I have a date for the barn raising dance, and you are going with me."
"Who would ask you?" Sam stared at her with interest.
"Gil Sutton that's who."
"Gil asked you to the dance?" Sam slanted her an amused look.
"He sure did."
"That doesn't even make sense. He isn't sweet on you. I mean, I guess he used to be, but that was a long time ago."
"I didn't say he was. But he asked me. And we are going." Callie informed him. "It'll be good to get out of this place for a little while, see other people."
"Oh no…." Sam cried looking at Callie.
"What?" She questioned his outburst.
"He's gonna drill you about Joe, that's what. That's why he asked you to the dance." Sam shook his head. "And you accepted. And you'll likely come home mad and upset all night long."
"Of course, I want to go…and I'm not coming home angry. I'm going to dance to have fun. We haven't had fun in a long time Sam. We are overdue."
"You'll be sorry…"
Callie sighed heavily and turned away from Sam. It hurt that Sam thought that. Callie wanted to go and enjoy herself. And deep down, she'd like to think Gil asked her because he wanted to.
"I'm sorry, Callie," Sam laid a hand on hers. "I didn't mean that was the only reason he asked you. I mean when you wear a dress…you look like a girl."
Callie wished for once that Gill might think of her as a girl. Because after that kiss they shared, she sure thought of him as a man.
But Sam was right. He probably did want to ask her about Joe Boggs. All the joy went out of her suddenly, like ripping the sun out of the noonday sky.
"You are right Sam. He probably does want some information. Well, he won't get any. Not from me."
Sam nodded. "Not from me either."
Callie wished Gil hadn't kissed her. Even though she'd practiced with her pillow, kissing. Gil was the first man to ever really kiss her. And deep down, it thrilled her. But why did her first real kiss come from a man who wanted nothing but information about the Joe Boggs?
Chapter Five
"You asked her to the dance?" Lou asked staring at him for a minute, then smiling. "I knew it; you are sweet on that gal."
"I'm going to try to get it out of her. If she knows anything about Joe Boggs and the bank robbery." Gil defended his actions. "That's the only reason I asked her."
"No-no….you can't do that." Lou scolded glancing up at him.
"What do you mean?" Gil turned to look at him, surprised he wasn't pleased about it.
"You can't treat a girl that way. No girl, not even Callie. You ask her to the dance, you take her and treat her right boy. You start drilling her full of questions and you'll never get that girl to talk. You know how stubborn she is. Besides, she'll never trust you again. So if you know what's good for you, you'll treat her right."
"Well what would you suggest?" Gil frowned.
"Just take her to the dance and have a good time. You'll earn her trust that way. And maybe she'll open up about it, herself and tell you what you want to know. It might take a little time, but if you befriend her, she might talk to you. Just don't expect her to say much about it right now. Let it settle. But you treat her like your number one witness; she'll clam up and never tell you. Girls are funny that way. If a man asks her to a dance, she expects he's sweet on her. She expects him to treat her right."
"Well I'm not sweet on her, exactly!" Gil protested, but remembering the kiss long enough to realize that maybe that was a lie. "I just couldn't come up with anything to say at the time."
That kiss came to mind real quickly. What dumbstruck him was, he liked it. And he wanted to do it again.
"Don't matter. If you want any of the girls in town to respect you, you must show them you care and like them. News gets around that you took Callie to the dance just to drill her with questions; no girl will ever go with you again. You mistreat Callie, and it'll get around and no woman will have you boy. Don't you know anything about girls?"
Gil wanted to defend himself to Lou. But he knew he invited Callie for the wrong reasons. Still, he was impressed at how she'd had cleaned up the cabin and wore a dress and all. And that kiss was better than any he'd ever had. Maybe Lou was right about this. Besides, he really didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"I don't want to marry her Lou. I just want to find out what she knows…" Gil said and then realized how cold blooded that sounded.
"Marrying Callie wouldn't be such a bad idea. It would sure keep her away from the Boggs. And it might be just what you need."
"Lou! What do you mean, just what I need?" Gil shouted his anger at him. "Who said I needed anything?"
"I mean you have no family. Your folks been dead quite a while boy. That's why I offer my advice so freely. You're like a son to me, Gil. I wouldn't steer you wrong."
The sentiment touched Gil, but he wouldn't mention it.
"But I'm not a kid anymore, Lou."
"No, but everyone can use advice every now and then. All of us can."
"First you tell me to treat her right, and then you tell me to marry her to keep her away from Joe Boggs. That doesn't make sense. I'll take her to the dance and try to be nice and not ask questions, how's that?"
"Well, that sounds better, son. Callie isn't the enemy you know. Even if Joe Boggs did it, she isn't to blame. I know for a fact that she and Mrs. Boggs visit each other off and on. It doesn't mean she's sweet on Joe."
Gil thought about that. "I guess you are right. Callie was always one to tend the sick. Besides, I don't think she's sweet on Joe, either."
"Now how would you know if she was or wasn't."
"I kissed her, that's how," he blurted before thinking.
"Kissed her? Well now, maybe you are sweet on Callie."
"Maybe…" he mumbled, mulling that over in his head.
"Did you know she sat up all night with old lady Mitchum? And she helped Susan Cummings with her new baby. You remember she had the colic for nearly three months. No one in town would do a thing to help that poor girl, but Callie came to the rescue and didn't expect a thing in return." Lou glanced at Gil for a moment.
"Yeah, I remember." Gil smiled to himself. "Funny, you don't think about people who help others much…until you need them. But she sure could help us with a little information. I know she isn't guilty of anything, but maybe she saw something or overheard something."
"Maybe, but you be a friend and she might tell you. You keep treating her like a star witness, she won't." Lou frowned. "Besides, you're sending mixed signals if you kiss her one minute and interrogate her the next."
Gil ignored that remark.
"She's fixed that cabin of hers up pretty nice." Gil muttered as if to himself. "I mean, it's small and they don't have much, but she puts flowers on the table and she made curtains for the windows. I guess it's rough for her not having a Ma. And then that no account Pa of hers running out on them like he did."
"Maybe she's finally realized she is a female." Lou smiled at him. "Maybe the motherly instincts has her changing her ways a bit, for Sam's sake. You know that's one good kid. And a lot of the reason is Callie."
"Maybe. Oh…alright. I won't mention Joe at the dance."
"Good. If she thought that was why you asked her, she'd probably never speak to you again. Women
are like that you know."
"No I didn't know. And I didn't know you were an authority on women either." Gil shot him a raised brow.
Lou frowned and eyed him.
"Just listen to me, will you. Believe it or not I was young once myself. And I sure made my share of mistakes." Lou shook his head. "Callie hasn't done anything wrong yet that we know of. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that. And you were telling me this not long ago."
"But you can't blame me. You had that circular out about her aiding and abetting."
"That's true, but a circular don't mean a lot when you know someone pretty well. Callie is stubborn, but she's no outlaw. As soon as I get this robbery out of my hair I mean to send some telegrams to take that circular down."
"Oh alright. I'll treat her right, Lou. It just seemed like a good way to get her to talk, while she enjoys the dance. You know get her to relax."
"Nope, that's wrong thinking. You want her to trust you. You want her to tell you what she knows of her own free will, then you got to treat her with respect. Right now, she's just a girl, not a suspect. Anyway, she wouldn't rat on her friends. Joe Boggs has been her neighbor for some time now. Think about that. I doubt there is anything between them but friendship. And I'd swear Callie wasn't guilty of anything. She's got a young brother to raise and she's been doing pretty well with that. She's been Mama and Daddy to him for nearly six years. Just go to the dance and enjoy yourself, you might learn something you didn't know. I don't think most folks realize that Callie took over the job of mothering Sam at the age of twelve. She wasn't fully grown herself yet. Some folks wanted to send them to an orphanage. Callie fought that, your dad and I stuck up for Callie and Sam. The people laid off about it. In a lot of ways, she's to be admired. Plus most of the folks out where she lives rely on her a lot."
"Alright, I said I would, didn't I? Let's drop it."
"I'm a little surprised you asked her. And even more surprised you kissed her. Not that I disapprove or anything, but I thought after the ribbing we gave you the other day you'd never speak to her again." Lou laughed.
"I've known Callie all her life." Gil defended. "Not talking to her, would be like not petting Precious."
"Treat her right, you might be surprised at the results, son." Lou prompted.
"You had her right the first time, Lou. She won't rat on a friend." Gil acknowledged.
"Then just enjoy yourself and forget about it. We'll work on Joe Boggs theory later." Lou smiled. "Besides, it might not even be him. That older fella they mentioned, that has me stumped."
"Did Mr. Phelps say anything about the robbery?"
"I didn't get anything out of him, he was sleeping, and the doctor gave him something since his head was hurting pretty bad."
"Maybe he knows something." Gil suggested.
"Maybe, give him a few days to feel better then we'll check with him on that."
"Alright. Did you clean my gun too?" Gil asked looking at him.
"Why would I do that, you're plenty capable of cleaning your own gun." Lou shot him a strange look. "Why don't you go check the telegraph office and the mail for me? Then maybe I'll clean your gun for you."
"You will?" Gil looked doubtful.
"Sure, better than having to get up and run all over town." Lou said with a chuckle. "Just leave it on the desk; I'll take care of it."
"Okay, I'll be back in a bit, then. I'm gonna check with Homer and see if he's had any horses he don't recognize."
"Good idea."
Gil left Lou in the office and headed for the telegraph office first. All the while, he had Callie on his mind. He wasn't sure why.
Maybe she had changed; he hadn't seen her in a while. Maybe she did go to her Aunt's and maybe her Aunt gave her some advice, as relatives usually did.
She sure did look pretty in that dress.
There were no telegrams but there was a heap of mail. Mostly wanted posters for Lou. So Gil headed for the blacksmith shop.
"Hey, how's things going?"
Homer shot him a quick glance, "'Bout the same as always."
"No new horses in the stable?"
"Nope. You know, those fellas could have come from somewhere else. If they did, we'd never get any clues here. And I can't see them coming here, where they held up a bank to get a horse shoed, can you?" Homer concluded.
Gil shrugged. "Maybe your right. Maybe we are looking too close to home. But they got away with ten thousand dollars. If they are around here, we'll be noticing something before long. They'll get an itch to spend it."
"Well, we'll see. If they are smart, they won't come here to spend it. Have you talked to Mr. Phelps yet?"
"Not really, he wasn't up to talking much."
"I reckon not."
"So…you going to the barn dance?"
"Yeah…I guess so." Gil didn't want to talk about it.
"You got a girl?"
"Sort of. I'm taking Callie."
Homer's head jerked up and he stared at him, and then smiled. "Well now, that's right interesting. She's a pretty gal."
"You think so?"
"You know so. Why, I bet if she put a dress on, she'd be as pretty as anyone here in town." Homer laughed.
"She had a dress on when I went to ask her." Gil scratched his head as though trying to figure out why.
"Was she pretty?"
"Yeah…she was."
"See, didn't I tell you. Well, I'm playing my fiddle at the dance, so I'll see you there." Homer smiled.
Gil nodded, "You're pretty good with that fiddle. How about a girl, you bringing one?"
"Naw…not me."
Gil smirked and left. The more he thought on it, the happier he was for asking Callie to the dance. And the fact that she invited Sam along made him think too. Maybe there was more to Callie Evans than he thought.
Chapter Six
Saturday came before anyone was ready for it.
"What do I have to go to the dance for?" Sam wailed combing his hand through his light brown hair.
"Because I'm not leaving you home alone, that's why." Callie glanced at him and saw the frown.
"What am I supposed to do while you are dancing and stuff?"
"There will be plenty of food there, enjoy it. And maybe even some of your friends from school." Callie tried to sound positive, but Sam wasn't having any of it.
"I'm not afraid to stay home, Callie. I've done it before." Sam insisted.
Callie wasn't budging though. "You are going and that's my last word on it. Besides, that darn cougar is out there somewhere and I don't want you being brave and getting yourself all cut up with that cat."
"Someone's got to get him. He'll get our chickens if we don't." Sam insisted.
"That someone isn't you."
"It could be. You still going with Gil?" Sam asked trying to change the subject.
"Of course. I accepted his invitation. I can't back out now."
Sam perked up a bit. "Really. I thought you didn't like him."
"I like to dance." Callie wasn't about to say anything about Gil. Since he kissed her, she felt confused about him. She knew he was dying to ask her about Joe, but he hadn't and that impressed her even more. But she hadn't expected the kiss, and she certainly hadn't expected to like it.
"I like Gil." Sam looked at her funny.
"So take a bath and get ready, he'll be here about six." Callie told him.
"Alright, I'll go. But you owe me…"
She looked at him and smiled. "You think so?"
"I know so."
Callie had already taken a bath in the washtub and she had it ready for Sam. Now she had to figure out what she was going to wear. She didn't have a lot of dresses, but she did have one dark blue dress with flowers around the neck and at the edge of her hem. It had been her mother's but she had fixed it so it fit her and it looked very nice on her. She wondered if Gil would pay any attention to her at the dance. He wasn't sweet on her.
She laid out some clothes for Sam and then she dressed.
She wore her hair pulled back at the front and side, and curled at the bottom. She unraveled the empty thread spools from the bottom of her hair and smiled at the curls they made.
Her mother had left her a bottle of perfume that she saved for special occasions, it was rose water and it smelled heavenly even after all these years. She managed to use very little of it and it still smelled as sweet as it did when her mother wore it.
She tried to remember her mother, but each year it got harder and harder to remember what she looked like. The only thing she remembered her by was that rose water, her music box and a set of thimbles she used to sew with all the time.
She looked in the small silver mirror that her mother gave her long ago and set it on her dresser. She tried to remember her mother's face, but it was a blur now. Her mother had been such a tenderhearted woman, with manners and lots of spunk.
Satisfied that the other women wouldn't laugh at her for wearing an old dress, she waited for Sam to get out of the tub.
He was out back and singing at the top of his lungs. She laughed. At least he sounded in a good mood.
Gil arrived on time. Callie was impressed that he wore his best shirt and pants and slicked his hair down. When he dressed up, he was very handsome. She especially liked the fact that he shaved and wore clean clothes all the time. But she wouldn't be telling him that. She figured he thought well enough of himself already.
"Callie, you look very nice." Gil smiled and handed her some daisies he'd picked himself.
"Thank you. Sam is almost ready. Want a cup of coffee?"
"Yeah…sure, why not." Gil nodded.
Sam came in as she handed him the cup of coffee.
"Hi Gil." Sam smiled. "You look good I guess."
Gil smirked. "Thanks."
Gil sipped his coffee and looked at her off and on.
"I'm a little surprised you asked me to the dance, Gil." Callie remarked as she sat at the small table across from him.
"We were friends a long time. Why not?" Gil asked.
Callie sighed. "You have never asked me out before, that's why I'm surprised. But I love to dance."
"I remember you tapping your foot to the music more than once." He smiled.
Brides of the West-Part One Page 65