A Tuesday Morning, Fort Stockton, 1881

It was a warm Tuesday morning in September 1881 when Jared Brewster pulled in the reins to stop the buckboard. He was neither young nor old, neither tall nor short; but he was a man to be reckoned with. Lean and solid, iron hard body, calloused hands, face creased and burnt from long days on the range, a good shot with a rifle or pistol. Beside him was his woman; Lori, another man's cast-off wife, once a Comanche then a Kiowa captive, that sort of told it he figured. Behind her sat his three children: Todd fourteen, Mim nine, and Becka who was four.

He'd heard about Lori from a prospector out of Tuscaloosa, so he had to go see for himself. He remembered; it was her, a girl he'd known back in Tennessee. She'd married and gone west with some farmer, but she'd been abducted by a Comanche war party. He heard they'd abused her horribly and then sold her to some Kiowa renegades who'd treated her even worse. Then in 1875 another of those wilderness types, prospector he said, thought he'd seen her, and said she was still alive. Seems another man had bought her for a few cattle, then traded her to another man who took her "home" to her husband, but the husband wouldn't have anything to do with her, what her having been spoiled by Indians. So with no place to go she ended up at some El Paso hotel scrubbing floors, doing laundry, and just generally being mistreated by her own people. That's where he found her. He bought her for a handful of pelts, more than she was worth the man who ran the hotel said, but he didn't think so.

Jared's real wife had been a Georgia girl named Nancy. He and she had started a small spread just north of Fort Stockton, it was called Saint Gaul back then, put poor Nancy, having dreams of her own never could handle the hardships of the frontier, so she'd run off with a gambler who must have made her promises about San Francisco and the fancies Jared could never afford. Up to about a month ago he'd figured she'd made it, but then a cowboy who worked for him on and off showed up and said Nancy was back in town. He supposed that was one of the reasons why they were in town that morning.

So reins in, brake locked, Jared turned to his boy Todd, "Get some water for the mules while me, Lori, and the girls go in the store." He'd pulled up just outside Dalton's General Store so they could get the supplies he'd already bought and they'd need for the coming winter.

Jared climbed down and reached up, "Come on Lori. Let's go see what Mr. Dalton has for us."

Lori reluctantly took his hands and climbed down; not everyone was as good to her as Jared was. Once down, she fetched Becka and Mim, and with each girl squeezing a hand they went in, her trying to hide her face under the bonnet Jared had bought her some time back.

Inside the store Jared turned and looked into her now velvety pink heart shaped face with the big violet eyes, long lashes, curled up nose, and dimpled chin. He recalled she hadn't looked like much when he first got her, nose red and swollen, ugly bruises on her cheeks, angry welts all over her body from the strap the hotel man had used on her.

"You don't need to hide under that bonnet in here," he said.

She hesitated, so he reached over, carefully undid the bow to let the unsightly coverlet reveal her long thick hair; her lush tawny hair that until that second had been held in a tightly braided circlet. He thought she was a real wonder. Her hair had been all scraped and cut up when he got her, but that was some years back. She looked like one of those women in the pictures from one of those eastern magazines now. "There," he said, "you need to let yourself breathe now and then."

Lori pleased him with a warm smile and shook her head; her hair cascaded out in long luscious curls that went halfway down her back.

Jared thought, 'that woman; she's a wonder.'

Nervously, Mr. Dalton came around, "Good morning Mr. Brewster, Lori. I've got everything you said you'd need stacked right over there in the corner." Anxious to get them gone he added, "No need to keep you waiting. I'll get my boy to help you load it."

Jared gave Dalton a stony look, "What about the cloth you said you had?"

Mr. Dalton hedged, "We have some in the back."

Not fooled, Jared strode down the aisle to where Dalton usually kept his best. He found it, "Come here Lori. Have a look at this," he started fingering some of what he thought was rich looking material. "I like this Lori," he pulled out the end of a bolt of blue and yellow checkered calico. "You and the girls would look mighty pretty in something like this come some Sunday in church." In truth, the town being some distance from their ranch they seldom got to church, but they still did manage to get in every month or so. Even so it mattered little as Lori read scripture to them almost every night. Lori said once she could play the piano, but he knew that from back in Tennessee. He'd sworn to himself some day he'd get her one.

Lori walked down and looked at the cloth, "It is pretty."

Jared pulled more out, "Here, feel it Lori." He glanced at Dalton again while he let his right hand rest lazily on the Colt strapped to his right hip.

Hoping to get Jared and Lori out of his store before any customers came in Dalton scurried down, "That's fine cloth, an excellent choice. I'll cut some off for you."

Jared pondered how pretty she'd look in a new dress she'd make for herself, "Lori, you figure out how much you'll need for three dresses," He turned sharply to Dalton, "Get out those boxes of buttons. You know, the penny a piece kind," back at Lori he said, "Pick through them. Get as many as you want, feel over them good, every one. Don't take any you don't like." Then he added, "You'll probably need more needles and some thread to match the cloth."

Lori softly smiled, "We won't need much."

A little impatient Jared said, "Get more then you need. There's always a lot of sewing to be done," looking at some more distant cloth he added, "and get some of that pretty yellow over there for collars and cuffs and such, maybe even for a new apron."

Just short of a genuine giggle Lori murmured, "That material's not for aprons."

Trying to hide an oncoming blush Jared replied, "Get what you want darling."

Just then Todd came in, "Wagon's loaded pa."

Jared grinned at his boy. To Dalton he said, "Get my kids some of that rock candy you keep hidden in the back."

Though Dalton did not hide the candy he quickly stepped back behind the counter, "Over here Todd. Bring your sisters."

With Dalton tending the candy Lori whispered to Jared, "We shouldn't stay."

Jared knew a big part of her reason for saying anything was her fear they'd be mistreated if one of the so-called "better" people came in. Secretly Jared hoped someone would come in, but for Lori's sake he said, "We're almost through."

A minute later they were back outside. Jared lifted Lori up on the seat and looked around. A handful of curious town's people, a few saddle tramps and a couple cowboys probably in town on ranch business were milling about. He figured they'd most likely heard he and Lori were in town and they wanted to get a look. Lori had helped the girls up and was putting her hair back in place so she could get her bonnet back on when Jared spoke to her.

Jared looked at her. She was so pretty, like an angel almost. "Why don't you leave that bonnet off?"

She softly but firmly cut him off, "Jared, I'm not for show."

Embarrassed, he clenched his jaw, "I didn't mean..."

Though she knew otherwise, with eyes hard she asked, "You getting in?"

"Not yet," he answered, "think I'll cross the street."

She knew why, "Going to see her I suppose."

Stetson pulled way down so she couldn't see his irritation he muttered, "I'd like a beer."

She wasn't to be put off, "It's getting hot out here."

He looked up. Raising his brim, soft eyes now, he replied, "Just a beer Lori."

She looked down, hands folded in her lap, her eyes breathing love with every blink, "We've got a ways to go."

He touched her hands, "Just one," and then he turned toward the saloon; the Majestic was its name. He sauntered over, spurs chinking rhythmically as he strode purposefully across the dusty street.

Inside the saloon he saw three men at a table to the left playing cards, a drunk was asleep at a table to the near right, and he saw a man he couldn't immediately place at the bar, but he recognized a man who had the look of a killer. There were several women about; one was cleaning the floors, but two were obviously hostesses, one was his wife. She saw and recognized him, but didn't acknowledge it.

Jared walked to the bar and spoke to the bartender, "I'll have a beer."

One of the cowboys playing cards recognized him and most likely knew Nancy was his wife hollered out, "ooh wee!"

Jared ignored him and took a long drink of his beer. The place was dirty and gloomy, dirtier and gloomier than he remembered. He took another swallow of beer.

Nancy slowly strolled over, "Buy a girl a drink?"

He didn't look, but answered, "Why should I?"

She ignored the rebuke, "You still got that Indian woman?"

He finished his beer, "Lori? Yeah."

"That the best you can do," she asked?

Regretting coming in, he replied, "Better than before."

Nancy held her anger, "You look good. How're my kids?"

At last he looked her way; she seemed tired, dark vacant eyes, yellow, jaundiced face. She looked old. He felt ashamed and didn't know why, he said, "They're outside. Have a look."

Nancy turned, strolled over to one of the grime encrusted windows and looked outside. "Todd's gotten big. He looks like you. Mim's looking prettier than ever. For a moment she let her mask drop, "Do they ever ask... about me?"

He set a firm jaw, "At first a lot, Todd a long time. Not so much now, but Christmases sometimes, and your pies."

"You tell em anything?" she asked.

"They know you're still alive."

She half grinned, "Still in that old soddy I suppose."

He turned, "The soddy's still there, but we're in a cabin now. You remember how we planned a cabin along that old tree-line? We built it, front room, kitchen, two back bedrooms, and a loft, got a barn now too."

Nancy's mouth turned down, "Who's the littlest one?"

"Becka," he said, "she's Lori's and mine."

"She making out all right," she asked?

"Suppose so," he said, "least she ain't run off yet." He threw a coin on the bar, "Gotta go," and went out the way he came.

Back inside Nancy watched her one-time husband leave, then she swung and swayed her way over to the card players. She was tired. Her saloon girl's dress, such as it was, was worn and frayed, her bodice was torn, her too thin legs had lost their charm. She asked, "Anybody good for a frolic upstairs?"

The youngest of the three grinned, "I'm up. Think you can handle me?"

Nancy dipped her chest, and with a wooden smile said, "It'll be five dollars."

The boy got up and shuffled toward her, "I got it."

Nancy lifted her right arm as she turned, "This way Romeo." Nancy was an educated woman, she came from a good home, her father was a lawyer, she was well read. She mentally counted ahead; six paces to the stairs, thirteen stairs, then ten steps to the door on the left. Open the door, wooden bed, thin mattress, white sheets turned grey from dirt, grime, sweat, and who knows what.

She cast a timorous look in the direction of the dark man at the bar. He was wearing a grey coat, holstered forty-four strapped to his left hip, thin string tie, thinner mustache, Stetson down over his right eye, but not so low he couldn't see. She thought back, 'she had her dreams, but not today. She had to get the five dollars.'

Outside Jared climbed aboard the wagon. Lori sniffed, "Had your beer?"

"Yeah," he said, "we ready?"

She hooked her left hand in his right arm. Slightly leaning her head on his shoulder, "It's a long way home," home, she liked the sound of that word, "fifteen miles at least."

He snapped the reins, "We'll stop by the creek like we did on the way in. The kids can sleep on the blankets; we'll go a little upstream."

She squeezed his arm ever so slightly, a little upstream. She felt the twinge in her stomach, 'maybe February, maybe a boy this time, he'd like that.' She looked up at the cloudless blue sky, 'what a wondrous world,' she thought. Her voice had the trill of a small bird in the morning, "I packed extra from home. We've got some meats and some vegetables. We'll have a nice supper under the stars."

As the buckboard slowly trundled out of town Jared whispered, "I like the sound of that." He wasn't sure if it was the idea of the food or the gentle lilt of her voice he liked the most, and he thought, 'all for a handful of pelts'.

The end.