by Alan Black
Maine dropped into the chair. “Um…hi.”
Veronica flashed her best smile showing as many teeth as she could. She leaned in a bit, offering her cleavage for his view. “Hello, Maine. I haven’t heard from you in a while, and I missed your voice.”
He said, “Oh. It’s good to hear your voice too.” His eyes never left her cleavage.
She leaned back and stretched. After fluffing her hair, she crossed her arms over her head, copying the model in the sample Cosmo video. She tilted her head to the side, allowing her hair to fall away from her face. “I just took a shower and was thinking about you,” she said. “Have you been thinking about me?”
Maine nodded. A blush started to creep up his neck. “I thought about you some. Pa said you ain’t half bad for queer bait. I mean, for someone who was married to a fag…um…a hom—I mean, a gay guy.”
Veronica almost choked on her first thought. She smiled anyway. “Maine, I don’t care what your Pa says. I want to hear what you think.”
Maine gave her a small smile, “I think you ain’t half bad either.”
Veronica responded with a little pout, “Not half bad? Well, I thought you liked me, Maine. I’m trying to look good for you. Don’t you think I look nice?”
Maine nodded and smiled. “Yeah, you look nice. I like your hair down that way.”
She smoothed her hair and tossed her head. “This old way? I haven’t bothered to comb it yet.” She stood up, lifted her shirttail waist high, and turned around wiggling her rear end. She looked at Maine over her shoulder, “Does that look nice, Maine?”
Maine nodded and licked his lips. “Yeah, that’s nice.” He looked away and then back at the screen, “Show me some more.”
Veronica slid into her chair and wagged a finger. She ended the wag by sliding the finger between her lips. Her moves were so obvious she would have laughed if she saw it in a movie or read it in a book. But, the Cosmo videos showed models applying the same techniques and swore they worked. Her ex-husband, Elias, would have laughed, but Maine stared. He looked almost too choked up to speak.
“I want to show you more, but I can’t on a vidphone.”
“Aw, just a little?”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t, Maine. I want to, but I can’t. What I have is for my husband, Maine. It’s not for anyone else. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To see and have more of me? Just you, all of it for just you?”
He nodded. “I’d like that. You and I’d be good together.”
“Can we meet again, maybe in town, just you and me, please? I don’t want to be a tease, but I want to see you.”
“Yeah, sure. I thought you’d be mad because of what happened the last time we got together.”
Veronica said, “You mean when my cattle got shot? I know that wasn’t you. How could it be? You were with me the whole time. Even your father and Dillon came to get you from the opposite direction of the gunshots. How could they have done it?”
Maine said, “Yeah, um, okay. We were heading into town as soon as Pa comes back in from the barn.”
Veronica said, “Town? Tonight? Can we meet in town in an hour? Can you and I have a little bit of time alone? Please?”
“Well, Pa and Ma did want to talk to you. They said they was going to call you some time, but this might be better. Maybe we can sneak off after. We’ll meet you in the saloon in an hour.”
She ended the call with a smile and a wink.
A year ago, she would have washed her face and rinsed her mouth out with soap. That was before she met the Halberds. She combed her hair then put on her nicest dress and best shoes.
She was not happy with her performance, but it was the best she could do with what she had to work with. She was not a vamp. She was not a man magnet. However, her research and study on attracting males seemed to have done the trick. Maine took the hook. Now she had to sink the hook in deep and she reel him in.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dee Halberd wondered what the Smith woman wanted with Maine. She was the boy’s mother, and she loved him…well…sort of. She would admit the kid was about a beer short of a six-pack and he wasn’t near as pretty as Dillon, but he wasn’t a troll either. Poor Maine, he got poked a few times by the devil’s ugly stick, but he didn’t get beat real bad.
“Not like poor Evie,” she murmured to no one in particular. “I should ’a quit with Dillon. Each of my kids got uglier and dumber than the one before. Good thing we stopped with Evie or the next one would ’a only been fit for a circus freak show.”
She went to the barn to hunt down Buckner. She looked around to make sure her children were not nearby. This was talk for grownups, not her youngsters. It did not matter that both of her sons were in their twenties, they were still young boys in her mind.
“Buckner, I can’t imagine what Smith wants with Maine. It would make sense if the woman were hot for Dillon, he’s a looker and smart enough to be a good catch. Of course, he is married, but I don’t suppose that would bother him or his wife if he went in for a little slap and tickle on the side.”
Buckner said, “I don’t know what her motives are and I ain’t sure I care.”
Dee said, “Now if she was just hot for Maine then why did she mention that bit about being my daughter-in-law. Is she angling to get married?”
“There isn’t too many single men hereabouts. Maybe she’s just working on getting the best deal she can.”
Dee snorted. “Ha! I love my Maine, but she can do better than him, he’s so far out of her league, he ain’t even in the same ballpark.”
“It’s true that he isn’t exactly movie star quality handsome, but he ain’t so bad.”
Dee poked her husband in the chest. “And you ain’t a woman that’s got to look up at that face as he mounts you, grunting and groaning and all.”
“Now that’s a mind picture I didn’t want to carry with me.”
Dee laughed, “That’s my point exactly. Why would any smart woman want to get attached to Maine? And make no mistake about it, she is smart.”
Buckner looked skyward as if thinking. He shook his head. “Can’t say, ‘cuz I don’t know for sure. I’m thinking that she may be trying to get her hands on Maine’s land, but hers is twice the land size his is, so I can’t see much sense in that. But, it do play right into our hands.”
“What? Maine getting bedded by the Smith woman?”
Buckner said, “No. If we can wrangle—tactfully—a marriage between her and Maine, then in a short while, our boy can inherit her whole place. She may be broke, everybody says so, but I’ve ridden across her land. It beats this piece of hell, sure as fire burns.”
“Not to mention that we got a standing offer to sell her place if we can get our hands on it.”
Buckner said, “We don’t mention that offer, remember? Let’s try to ease into the subject of marriage; we don’t want to scare her off.”
“I don’t want our boy to have to live with that woman for long. He already had one harpy wife and while he ain’t much, he is our son, and I want him happy. I don’t want him tied down to another shrew.” Dee said.
Buckner laughed. “Don’t you fret about that, she’ll be gone before he can get tired of playing hide the salami with her.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Peaceful Junction had not changed a bit since her last visit, but it did look softer, as if somehow in the gathering darkness, the shadows hid its blemishes. Lights were coming on over the two businesses open late, the saloon, and the combination walk-up fast food restaurant of dubious quality with a drive-thru liquor store.
Veronica did not want to meet with the Halberds but she saw no other choice. If she had brought a gun to this new planet, it would be a simple matter to shoot them like rabid dogs.
She thought about the phrase in cold blood. It made no sense. Her blood was hot. It had been since Dillon and Maine killed Cal. Every time she met with a Halberd her blood’s temperature ratcheted up a notch. It would not cool down until the
Halberds paid for everything they had done to her.
Veronica admitted she was not the type of person to seek revenge to get even. She wanted justice and she wanted the Halberds in the position where they could do no harm to anyone ever again. She also admitted she preferred to take the long way around most problems. She enjoyed tweaking a plan and twisting the snare to trap her enemy so they never saw it coming.
At the university, she heard people call her a backstabber more than once, only because they were foolish enough to insult her and then turn their backs. Maybe other people had short memories for insults and offenses, but she did not.
Still, she worried over the problem of committing murder. It was a recurring thought she dealt with, twisting the idea around in her mind, turning it in many directions trying to determine if it was something she had the stomach for. The Halberds were viable candidates for killing—justifiable homicide. Could she be the one to bring about their deaths? The closer she came to the culmination of her plans, the more she doubted she could actually kill another human being, even if they brought it on themselves. Could she do it? She did not know if she could, but she would chase her plan to its conclusion. She would make the decision when the time came.
She parked her truck in front of the saloon. Sheriff Eustace was not around and his office was dark. She wondered what the man did in his spare time, finally deciding she did not want to know.
The saloon was empty with only the auto-bartender on duty. Veronica bought three bottles of 180 proof whiskey with the last credit in her account. It was the strongest alcohol the saloon stocked. She took the bottles to her truck and reentered the bar. She actually wanted more than three bottles. If her plan worked—rather if she could commit first-degree murder—she would not need more than a bottle or two. If she shied away from murder, she would be married to Maine Halberd and would need as much alcohol as she could get to keep him so drunk she would never have to consummate the marriage.
She re-read the saloon’s menu before selecting a glass of ice water. The auto-bartender extruded a glass from the copier and filled the newly minted glass with ice and cold liquid. Water was the only drink listed as free of charge. It was all she could afford until they harvested her next crop.
Almost all of the credits earned from the sale of her beef carcasses went to buy six large self-heating kettles. All six were currently boiling down bamboo tree sap for sugar. She had enough cash left over to buy copper cooling coils for a distillery, but they were unable to find any available for sale on the planet. The Guirards promised to continue looking for her. She could only spend that earmarked money in an emergency because the ranch needed it. Still, she had managed to find enough credits left over to give each family a small stipend. These three bottles of whiskey drained her credit balance.
She picked a table and sat down with her back to the wall leaving space to escape if she began to feel trapped or cornered. She easily saw the front and back doors from her position.
Dragging the tabletop menu over, she looked through the music selections though she was not much of a music aficionado. Classical, rock, and opera all sounded much the same to her. She found a search function and matched music selections to the Halberds previous choices. It was a strange mixture of show tunes and commercial pop music. She salted the playlist with songs chosen by Maine over the past year.
The Halberds arrived. The parents came into the saloon first, strutting like they owned the place. They should have owned it for all the credits they spent in the place, Veronica thought. Dillon and Maine followed close behind. Their daughter was not with them. The four marched straight to the auto-bartender and ordered up their drinks before looking in her direction.
She politely stood. She found the manners she learned as a child, hard habits to break. Standing for your elders when meeting them, was one of those manners. Maine came to the table first and stood next to her. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“That’s a lovely shirt, Maine,” she said.
Dillon said, “Thanks. I let him borrow it for tonight. It looks better on me than him, though.”
“I’m sure Maine has cute shirts of his own.”
Dillon said, “Nah, we swap my stuff back and forth so often it doesn’t much matter whose is what.”
Veronica said, “I find that surprising. I think that what a man has of his own—what he chooses for his own and what he keeps as his own—says a lot about who he is. Your things don’t mean much to you if you always let others use them. It tells me you don’t put a high value on your stuff or on the people you loan them to.”
Dillon shrugged. “Well, I’m a generous kind of a guy.”
She grabbed Maine’s hand and slid close to him as they sat. She dropped her hand into his lap. “Maine, you value our friendship, don’t you?”
Maine nodded.
Her hand rested on his groin. She could tell the blood was starting to race away from his brain, settling in his nether region. He was already low enough on brainpower that he could not afford the blood loss.
She said, “Mr. and Mrs. Halberd, it’s good to see you again. I know we don’t always see eye to eye on things, but I hope we can put the past behind us. Where’s your lovely daughter?”
Mr. Halberd said, “We left Eve out in the flitter. We thought that it might be good for just the grown-ups to talk for a while.”
Mrs. Halberd said, “She’ll be okay out there.”
Veronica smiled. “I’m sure she will be.”
Mrs. Halberd said, “You seem to have taken a shine to Maine, Mrs. Smith.”
“Please, call me Veronica.”
“Okay Veronica,” Mr. Halberd said, “we hope you don’t take this wrong, but we wanted to talk to you. We’re kind of…well, we’re just a’lookin’ out for our boy here.”
Veronica said, “Of course, I understand, the family is paramount. Please feel free to ask me any question if you have concerns. I certainly want Maine to get everything coming to him.”
She leaned forward, shifting her position enough to rub the back of her hand against the growing bulge in Maine’s pants. The movement placed her cleavage on display for Dillon. She twisted. It caused the top of her dress to open a bit wider. The movement of her hand caused Maine to clear his throat. She kept her face passive and looked at the man’s mother as if she had no idea what she was doing.
Dee Halberd started to say something and then stopped.
“Please, go on,” Veronica urged.
“You was married before we left Earth, that over and done with?”
Veronica nodded. “Yes. I signed the divorce papers and filed them with a lawyer before we left Earth. Once here, I made sure Elias’ name was removed from every title and deed on my place.”
Mr. Halberd said, “That be a good thing.”
“Yes sir,” Veronica replied. “If memory serves me right, back on Earth, it was you that said the exact same thing during a committee meeting. You said we shouldn’t have anyone remaining on Earth owning property on this new unnamed planet or telling us pioneers what to do.”
Mr. Halberd said, “Well, I don’t rightly remember, but it sounds like me. It probably was something I said.”
Veronica nodded and smiled. She remembered who said what during the arbitration in their efforts to keep her off this planet. The arbitrator was who insisted she file her divorce papers before leaving Earth, forcing Elias to lose all rights to any claim.
Mrs. Halberd said, “Dillon. I’m dry here. Get us another round of drinks.”
Veronica held up her glass. It was still half-full. “I’m fine, no more for me. I had a few while I waited for you folks. I was anxious to see Maine, so I got here a bit too early.”
Mr. Halberd said, “Enough chitchat. Maine said you two been talking about marrying and I ain’t sure I like the idea.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Veronica nodded and squeezed Maine’s hand. “Mr. Halberd, Maine hasn’t even asked me yet. You tell me what I have t
o do to get your blessing and I’ll do it.”
Dee Halberd said, “Honey, if you’re waiting for the man to pop the question, you might just wait forever.” She looked at her son. “Maine, do you like this here woman?”
Veronica shifted in her seat managing to give Maine another rub.
Maine nodded to his mother.
Dee said, “See there, all taken care of.”
Veronica said, “This is all I want. I want to take care of Maine in the way he deserves.” She smiled at the Halberds and wiggled closer to Maine. “I have four good sections of land and some cheap labor to help work the place. His section is right up against mine so we can have an even bigger place. I know I can take care of Maine. Please understand I’ve never had much of a family life. I was an orphan as a child so Maine’s family will be my family and all I want to do is take care of my husband and my family.”
Veronica smiled. Her parents would understand the lie about her being an orphan though they never understood her desire to move to a planet with no name. Her mother certainly understood revenge and feuding because she was a Hatfield before marrying Dad. Veronica wondered if the Halberds were part McCoy.
Mr. Halberd shook his head. “Not so fast. Maine’s first wife, Missy, threatened to take the boy’s land. She was going to steal it out from under him. A man who don’t have land around him for his family, ain’t nothing.”
“I’m glad you said so, Mr. Halberd. I wouldn’t want Maine to think I was after him for his land. And I know he doesn’t want me to think he’s after me just for my piece of land.”
Dillon laughed. “Yeah, he’s after your piece alright.”
Dee backhanded her son across the head without looking. “You shut up, Dillon, and go get me another drink.
“He don’t mean to be crude, Veronica. Dillon’s just like most young boys. He don’t think with his brains.”