by Linda Bridey
Then he smiled as he thought about how cute Chloe and Ryan were. Rick remembered their laughter and was happy that he’d been able to ease their anxiety for a while. He’d often wished for someone like that when he was a child, but there’d been no one, so helping children be able to laugh during hard times was important to him.
Going back to his seat, Rick shook off memories he didn’t want to see. They served no purpose and distracted him from his job, which was to create peace where there was chaos. He propped his feet up, pulled his hat down, and closed his eyes so he could listen. The other bouncer working that night came and sat beside him.
Rick smiled. Reckless, a Lakota brave who lived in the area, was a good man to have around. He and Reckless were of a similar mind about some things and could agree to disagree on others. Mostly Reckless was pleasant and amusing, but also enjoyed fighting and wrestling.
“There’s Sitting Duck,” Rick said.
Reckless sighed. “I liked it much better when you called me ‘the other one’.”
Rick laughed softly. “So you want me to find another name?”
“I have a name. Call me that,” Reckless said and kicked Rick’s chair, knocking his feet off the table.
Rick tipped his hat back and said, “That wasn’t a very nice thing to do, Lame Duck.”
Reckless’ black eyes sparked with annoyance. “Are you looking for a fight tonight?”
“Me? You’re the one in the bad mood. Care to tell me why that is?” Rick said as he resumed his position.
“No.”
“Are you and that pretty wife of yours fighting again?” Rick asked.
“No,” Reckless said as a grin spread across his face. “She and the baby are fine.”
“She looked cute the other day when I saw her. She’s starting to show some now,” Rick said. “So what are you going to name it if it’s a girl?”
“We won’t know until he or she is born,” Reckless said. “You know that.”
Rick grinned. “What will you do if you see a bear crapping in the woods when it’s born? Name it Crapping Bear?”
Reckless laughed. “Wait until I tell Brook that. It will make her laugh. Crapping Bear. No, we will not name it that.”
“So if your Uncle Marcus delivers this baby, are you going to assist in the birth? You know that’s one of the things he’s big on,” Rick said.
“If Brook wishes it, I will do so. It is up to her,” Reckless said.
“Will that be strange for you? I know that’s not normally how the Lakota do things, or Indians in general, for that matter. Hell, it’s not how it’s done almost anywhere, I don’t think,” Rick said.
“Would you do it?” Reckless asked.
Rick tipped his hat back up and looked Reckless in the eyes. “You better believe I would. The chance to help bring your own child into the world? No one would keep me away, I know that much.”
Reckless nodded. “I know that my uncle says that it is helpful, but he cannot convince everyone of this.”
“I wasn’t asking about everyone else, Reckless. I asked about you.” Rick looked around Reckless and said, “Damn it. I’ll be back.”
Reckless wondered what the problem was. It must be something bad to make Rick irritated. Usually Rick was calm and didn’t show anger in the usual ways. It was rare to hear him shout or see him glare at a person. His gaze was steady, but rarely anger-filled. He turned in his chair to watch the deputy cross the room.
Rick walked calmly up to the table that needed attention. “Excuse me, but I think you should put the money back on the table that you just tried to steal from your buddy.”
The sandy-haired man looked up at Rick and sneered. “What’s it to you?”
“Well, I’m not only a bouncer, I’m a deputy. I’m giving you the chance to do the right thing so that I don’t have to arrest you for stealing,” Rick said.
“I didn’t take any money,” the guy said.
Rick sighed. “Ok. I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” He put two fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle.
Reckless heard it and his eyes grew big. This was something that only happened when Rick was not in a good mood. He looked at Rick’s coat that hung over his chair and saw it begin to move. A furry little face poked out of an inside pocket of the duster. The ferret clambered out of the pocket and dropped to the floor. It ran across the floor, dodging swiftly around feet, both those moving and those still, until it reached its master.
The troublemaker had been waiting for something to happen after Rick whistled, but nothing did. He laughed and said, “It doesn’t look like your Indian friend over there is coming to help you.”
Rick made an annoyed face at the guy as he felt Curtis climb up his back. “I wouldn’t whistle for Reckless, you idiot.”
The guy saw Curtis’ head pop up from behind Rick’s shoulder and he said, “What the hell’s that thing?”
Rick reached back, picked up Curtis, and cradled him in one arm. “This, jackass, is Curtis. Curtis, this is Jackass. Now that you two have been formally introduced, we can get on with our business. I’m going to ask you one last time to give your buddy back his money.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Oh, so you admit that you have the money. Now we’re getting somewhere. Well, if you don’t give the money back, I’m going to send Curtis in after it. You will not enjoy that,” Rick said. “Have you ever had an angry ferret loose in your pants? It’s not pleasant, from what I hear.”
Curtis bounced from Rick’s forearm back up onto his shoulder and then across to his other shoulder.
The man Rick had labeled “Jackass” cringed a little when Curtis made a chattering noise. “You can’t do that. I’ll shoot it.”
Rick laughed. “Have you ever tried to shoot a ferret on the move? It takes an expert shot to hit one. One last time; put the money on the table.”
Jackass looked at Rick and then the ferret.
“You know, this is a choice even a child could make. I’m going to count to three and then, if you don’t have the money back on the table by the time I hit three, Curtis is going to become very busy retrieving that money. One…”
Curtis bobbed his head up and down and his nose twitched.
“Two…”
Curtis yawned, revealing an impressive set of fangs.
Suddenly Jackass couldn’t put the money up on the table fast enough.
“Smart choice. Now get out,” Rick said.
The man skirted carefully out around Rick and ran. Rick casually walked after Jackass to make sure he left. As he reached the bar, Curtis jumped onto it and scampered down to Jake who smiled at him. The ferret blinked at Jake and sat up on his hind feet.
Jake laughed. “You want paid, huh? Ok.” The bartender reached underneath the bar, pulled out piece of jerky, and tore off a little piece. “Be nice,” Jake said and held out the jerky to Curtis.
Curtis took the jerky and quickly devoured it. Then he looked at Jake again and hopped back and forth a couple of times before rolling over on the bar. Jake put the jerky away and brought out a small red ball. Curtis became very excited and bounced around all the more. Jake rolled the ball down the bar and Curtis joyfully chased after it.
The ferret caught up with the ball and jumped on it. He did a somersault with the ball and then began pushing it back up the bar. He wove back and forth, keeping the ball from going over the edge onto the floor. He arrived back at Jake who took the ball back and gave Curtis another piece of jerky.
His job complete, Curtis jumped onto an empty bar stool and then dropped onto the floor where he raced across the barroom until he reached Rick’s coat. Reckless watched Curtis climb back into the inside pocket of the duster and smiled. He made a kissing noise to the ferret and Curtis popped back out and hopped over onto the table. He burrowed under Reckless’ hair and stayed on Reckless’ shoulders underneath the brave’s thick, black hair.
“There’s my very brave brave,”
Joe said from behind Reckless.
Curtis poked his head out from the back of Reckless’ hair and Joe literally jumped a foot in the air. He let out a stream of curses and put a hand to his chest as his heart beat in triple time.
“Why is that thing here?” Joe shouted. “Damn I hate him! Never did I think I’d ever have a rat in my bar!”
Reckless was breathless with laughter and couldn’t respond.
“Get that thing out of here!” Joe said as he made a wide berth around Reckless.
Joe might not like Curtis but Curtis liked Joe. He slid from Reckless’ hair and bounced across the table towards Joe who backed up even more. “Call it off. Rick! Where are you? Get over here and control that rat!”
Rick laughed as he came over and let out a melodic little whistle. Curtis looked at Rick and then scrambled back into his coat. “Joe, how many times do I have to tell you not to yell at Curtis? It only makes him more excited. And he’s not a rat. He’s a ferret.” Rick sat down and propped his feet up again.
“I don’t care what it is. I’ve told you time and again I don’t want him in the bar,” Joe said.
Reckless had recovered and said, “But Joe, he just helped get rid of a guy who was stealing. You should be thankful to Curtis.”
Rick said, “I only call him out when necessary or I’m feeling a little irritated. Otherwise you’d never even know he was here.”
Curtis chortled inside Rick’s pocket and Joe cringed. “I even hate the little ratty noises it makes.”
“It’s called ‘dooking’.”
“Yeah, well I’m gonna duke it out with him if he comes after me,” Joe said as his heart rate began to settle down. “Damn, now I don’t even know why I came here. I need a drink.”
Reckless and Rick laughed as they watched Joe stride out to the bar. Rick got back up again and followed Joe. “Hey, boss, how’s Gina and the kids doing?” he asked as he settled at the bar with Joe.
“Where is that thing?” Joe said, looking around suspiciously.
Rick chuckled. “He’s back at the table. Answer my question.”
Jake put a shot in front of Joe and grinned. He’d seen Joe jump and heard the commotion. There was only one thing that got to Joe like that and it was Curtis. Joe drank the shot and the hand that held the glass shook a little.
“She’s fine and so are the kids. They’re getting’ along real well with Emily. I’m gonna buy her a sewing machine tomorrow. I had a rip and she’s gonna fix it for me. It’s inside. I don’t want a bulge in it. Oh my Lord. I can’t even make sense now,” Joe said and rubbed his face with his hand. “I have a rip in one of my vests and she’s gonna repair it for me. She needs a sewing machine so I’m gonna get her one. I have other work for her, too, and I’m sure she can get more work around town.” Joe’s words were very deliberate as he fought to regain his wits.
Rick said, “That’s very nice of you. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the help. I’m glad they’re doing ok. It’s a shame for them. I appreciate you taking them in.”
“Happy to do it,” Joe said. “I still don’t know what I came in here for. Oh, yeah, it was to see Ben. I just wanted to say howdy to you idiots and then I was goin’ upstairs. Ok. I’ll see you fellas later.”
Jake said, “I can’t believe he’s that scared of Curtis. It cracks me up every time.”
Rick chuckled. “Yeah. It’s entertaining all right.”
He didn’t have to call Curtis out again that night, which made it a good night in Rick’s estimation. As he rode home that night, his thoughts kept turning to Gina and her kids. He’d meant what he’d said to Jake about Gina being very pretty. She certainly was and Steve would have been a lucky guy had he lived. Rick felt that Gina and the children would have been happy with Steve, too.
His death had caused chaos and Rick hated chaos. It was why he’d gotten involved in law enforcement. He wanted to keep chaos to a minimum and doing that kind of work allowed him to do that in some small way. He was tired and wondered if he would get any sleep that night. He hoped so.
Chapter Five
Gina sat in the room Joe had dubbed the “sewing room” in front of a beautiful new Singer single treadle sewing machine and thought she’d died and gone to heaven. The machine was perfect and had many nice features that would enable her to do almost any kind of work. She had insisted that Joe take a little out of her generous pay to reimburse him for the machine.
Joe hadn’t been happy about it, but had finally given in. He’d had her pick out all kinds of material that she might need and insisted that she was not paying for it out of her pay because it was work related. Gina looked at the mound of clothes Joe and Lacey had for her to work on and knew that Joe hadn’t been kidding when he said there would be plenty of work.
She smiled as she heard the kids across the hall in the play room. Zach Bradbury had come to stay over and he and Ryan were getting along well. They were all playing jacks and laughing loudly. Little Timmy was down the hall far enough in the nursery that their boisterous behavior didn’t disturb his nap.
As she began working on taking the bad lining out of Joe’s vest, Gina counted her blessings. Within the space of two days, she’d lost the man who she was supposed to marry, but had gained some friends, a place to live, and a job. She shook her head a little as she thought about how unpredictable life was. When she’d answered that ad, she’d never dreamed that all of this would come from it.
Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock on the doorframe of the room. She looked up to see Deputy Westlake standing in the doorway.
Gina felt a funny little flutter in her stomach at the sight of him. He was certainly an attractive man, she thought as he smiled at her and took off his hat.
“Hello,” he said. “You look busy.”
She smiled. “Yes, thankfully. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks. And you?”
“We’re settling in fine. As you can hear, the kids are having a good time,” Gina said.
“I’m not surprised. Emily is very outgoing and kind. She gets that from both of her parents,” Rick said. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
“No. Go right ahead.”
Rick picked a chair that was close to Gina. He looked the room over but his gaze settled on her from time to time. She wore a deep maroon skirt and white blouse. The outfit emphasized her hourglass figure and Rick could well imagine what it would feel like to embrace her. That thought had come out of nowhere but he didn’t mind. Her deep brown eyes were luminous and she wore her dark hair loose. The soft waves flowed down her back.
Gina said, “Thank you for all your help with Ryan and Chloe yesterday. It was nice of you to entertain them.”
“Are you kidding? I can’t stay away from kids. They’re great kids, too,” Rick said. “You’re very lucky to have them.”
“I know. They’re my blessings,” Gina said. “I was so happy both times I found out I was pregnant. Tony, my late husband, was thrilled. He was such a good father. Ryan doesn’t really remember him since he was only two when Tony passed away. But Chloe remembers and it’s been so hard on her. She misses him so much.”
Rick nodded. “Losing a parent at such a young age is a very difficult thing to have to deal with. I think you’re doing a great job given everything that’s been thrown your way. It’s obvious that you’re a good mother.”
Rick’s praise brought color to Gina’s cheeks. “Thank you. I try to be a good mother,” she said with a smile.
Rick’s coat began moving and Gina’s eyes grew wide. “What’s in your coat?”
Rick smiled. “Would you like to meet Curtis?”
“It depends on what Curtis is. Please don’t tell me it’s snake. I hate snakes,” Gina said, becoming nervous.
“No, Curtis isn’t a snake. He’s a ferret,” Rick said. “Do you want to see him?”
“Does he bite?” Gina said.
“Nope. I promise that he won’t hurt you,” Rick said.
“Ok. If yo
u’re sure.”
Rick made kissing noises and Curtis came out of his pocket and settled on Rick’s lap.
Gina looked at the furry little critter with interest. She liked animals but had never seen a ferret. He was a handsome little animal with his dark brown and tan coat. Curtis rolled over and Rick scratched his belly. The ferret made noises of contentment.
Gina smiled. “He’s very cute. So he likes being held?”
“Oh, yeah. He loves attention,” Rick said.
“Can I hold him?” Gina asked.
Rick’s one eyebrow rose. It wasn’t every woman who would want to hold a ferret. “Sure. Just make kissing noises and he’ll come over to you.”
Gina puckered her lips and made the appropriate noises. Curtis immediately dropped to the floor, ran over to Gina, and stood up against her legs. Gina reached down and Curtis practically jumped into her hands. She brought him up to her lap and he moved towards her face.
“He likes to sniff ears to get to know your scent and he loves hair. So he’s not trying to attack you or anything,” Rick said.
“Oh, ok,” she said and let Curtis climb up on her shoulders so he could sniff her ear.
She laughed. “It tickles. He’s so soft,” she said as she stroked his fur.
Curtis made dooking noises as he plopped back onto Gina’s lap and rolled over. Gina rubbed his soft belly as she’d seen Rick do. Curtis grabbed her hand and began washing it.
Rick laughed. “That means that he likes you a lot. He doesn’t do that to just anyone. I think it’s because he can tell when someone really likes him.”
Gina grinned as she picked up Curtis and said, “I like you, too. My goodness he has such a cute little face. His markings are beautiful.”
Rick was very pleasantly surprised that she appreciated Curtis’ beauty and his estimation of Gina rose even more. “Yeah, his wife and kids think so, too.”