Cowgirl Thrillers

by Barbara Neville

Riding down the draw Spud and I reach a vantage point with a fabulous view down to the beach. Below us is a sprawling log edifice, majestic by Rock standards, which is one or two rooms for the most part. Being a newly settled land, most creature comforts are a dim dream for the future.

  “Now that there’s a fine spread,” I say. “Like to build one like that myself someday. How about you?”

  “I like my place just like it is now.”

  “This too fancy for the likes of you, eh?”

  Spud shakes his head and laughs.

  As we approach the place I see that it is built of huge pine logs notched and set tight to keep out the weather.

  We ride on down the draw and up to the fabulously carved front door. Spud dismounts and opens the door.

  “My humble abode,” he says.

  “Holy cats and dogs, you must have the building bug.”

  “Did.”

  After we put the horses up, Spud takes me inside.

  “Welcome to my lair. I have a bottle of Sir Jakey’s finest. Shall we indulge ourselves?”

  “Let’s do,” I say in awe.

  “Have a seat.”

  While I settle on the overstuffed leather sofa, Spud grabs a bottle from behind the log and antler adorned bar and pours us a drink.

  “Bottoms up.”

  “Damn, I was thirsty,” and nervous, and gettin’ kinda hot and bothered. I slug down mine and go fer another.

  “You know, a few years back,” says Spud, “there was a fiesta in Cowtown on Triassic. That is where you hail from, right?”

  “It is.”

  “I went to this harvest fiesta lookin’ for some fun. I spotted this cute little pigtailed girl twirling around in a red mariachi skirt. Never have forgot her.

  “The music was rocking and I was watching this beautiful girl, finally I told myself to man up, for just 10 seconds. My Pa used to say 10 seconds of courage can change yore life. So I bucked myself up, walked over and asked if she wanted to dance.

  “Quick as a flash she pulled a derringer out of her garter and pointed it at me.

  “I said, ‘Guess that means yes,’ and sure ‘nough we danced.”

  “Shit, that was me, but that was Walter who asked, a little skinny kid from out of town.”

  “You’ve growed a bit, Annie. I didn’t recognize you at first. So have I, I’m still Walter, but most folks these days call me Spud. Something about a potato cannon I built back then. Sure had a lot of fun with that sucker. Always did like shootin’ things.”

  I was floored. “Well, I’ll be damned. Walter. You grew up also, filled out too.”

  “The Annie fooled me too, but then I heard that Federal fella Soames call you Señorita Rockefeller. I been studying on you ever since. You really are Rocky Rockefeller, ain’t ya?”

  “Roxanne.”

  Spud stares at me a minute. “Haw haw. Naw, I remember now, the boys there called you Roxy Rocks! Yore still a pistol.”

  “Gawd that was a long time ago. Ain’t been called Roxy Rocks in years. We was just kids.” I am truly aghast.

  “Yep, stupid teenagers,” says Spud. We both nod.

  “Holy cow, does that mean we’ve already done the deed?” Spud asks, then he hesitates. After a moment of thought his face turns red and he says, “Damn, I shore think we did.”

  “No matter,” I say, “no law against doing it agin.

  “Yeah, Walt, we’ll likely be a mite less awkward now,” say I.

  “Awkward, me? Naw that was you.” by then we are both laughing.

  “Sheeit” I say. “Speak for yore own self, bud. I disremember any awkwardness on my part. Ha ha ha.” Okay, I’m lying.

  “I think you, Roxy Rocks, will want to dance again.”

  “Parts of it are purely a blur.” I must look hesitant, or even scared shitless.

  “How ‘bout we get more comfortable?” Spud pours us another glass of wine. “Follow me.”

  We head out to a back porch where Spud has a fabulous pool. “Swimming? Hot swimming, that is. There is a hot springs up the draw here, why I picked the spot. Great for soaking, swimming, talking...”

  We wade in and find convenient underwater boulders to sit on and enjoy our wine. After a bit of drinking, soaking and general horsing around we head back to the wine bottle for a refill.

  Spud laughs and says, “So Roxy Rocks, of all the planets in all the constellations in all the galaxies of all the Cosmos, how the hell did you end up here?”

  “Hey, don’t get fresh. I are a virgin,” I say, “again.”

  “Seriously Roxy, you’ve been stuck in the deep corners of my mind since that dance, whatever the fuck it was. I always wondered where you went. We had such a good time, so much silly fun. It was a memorable evening.

  “Then, I don’t know what happened, hell of a one nighter. It was like a time warp, something happened, remember? We were saying that if either of us invented time travel that we would travel back to that time, that spot and relive that moment.”

  “OMG, what did we do after that?” I ask.

  “You left. I thought it was just a one nighter to you.”

  “No, I didn’t, I thought you left. I looked for you.”

  “Something weird happened, I wonder what,” says Spud. “Something cosmic.”

  “Ironic, isn’t it, that you named your ship Cosmic?”

  “Not ironic, I remembered.”

  Whoa.

  19 In the Midst of Battle