Texas Blue

chapter 2



LEWT PATERSON WALKED INTO CRYSTAL’S NOT INTERESTED in gambling tonight, or drinking. He needed to think, and a noisy bar felt more like home than anywhere on earth. He ordered a beer and looked around for an empty table near the back. Duncan had gotten him dreaming about getting married and living a respectable life. He needed to wash such thoughts out of his head and accept reality. Wives and children didn’t belong in his world, and he had no idea how to step out of it into another.

His gaze came to rest on a stranger dressed in black, sitting alone at a table with fine leather luggage piled around him. A tall man about Lewt’s size with glasses perched on a nose that must have taken generations of money to breed. His clothes were expensive, but conservatively tailored, his pale skin Boston light. Boredom seemed permanently tattooed across his face.

Lewt knew without a doubt that he was looking at one of Duncan’s picks to go north at dawn and court his cousins. The stranger might as well have had old money pinned all over his chest.

Lewt ordered a second beer and wound his way toward the potential bridegroom for the cousins. Duncan had said he’d picked only from the finest families and insisted they all be well educated.

The man didn’t look up from his book as Lewt neared—an easterner’s mistake in any western bar. Lewt only hoped the stranger would live long enough to learn.

“Pardon me, mister, but I was supposed to meet a Duncan McMurray tonight and he doesn’t seem to be around. He said he would be with a gentleman in his late twenties, and you’re the only man in the bar who might fit the description he gave me.”

The stranger looked up. “What description was that?” he said in a bored tone.

“Tall, distinguished, obviously from a good family.” Lewt smiled. Flattery worked every time. “Any chance you are a friend of Mr. McMurray?”

“I know him, but I’ll not call him a friend.”

The stranger had just made his second mistake. Never admit anything to any man until you knew you could trust him.

The stranger moved his book as Lewt set the drinks on the table. “McMurray never said anything about my meeting anyone tonight. In fact, I hadn’t planned to set foot in this place.” His pale eyes studied Lewt from flashy clothes to fancy hand-tooled boots.

Lewt had no doubt the stranger found him lacking, but he didn’t care. “You did get the train ticket and the instructions?”

His question caught the man off-guard.

“Yes,” he stuttered slightly. “And the room key, but I wish to inform Mr. McMurray that the room was not at all satisfactory. I’d rather sit up for the night than be subjected to such filth.”

“Crystal’s rooms are some of the best around, I’ve heard.” Lewt took a seat, acting interested in the complainer’s problems. He served the beer without expecting a thank-you.

“Sir, you wouldn’t believe it, but the sheets were dirty.” The stranger sampled a drink, then showed his distaste for the local brew before taking another swallow. “When I informed the staff I needed the linens changed, they told me it wasn’t Wednesday yet. Can you imagine?”

“Horrible.” Lewt offered his hand. “Harry’s the name. Harry West.” He’d learned a long time ago that people rarely remember common names, and he had no intention of ever seeing this fool again after tonight.

“Walter Freeport the Fourth,” the stranger said. “I don’t know about you, Mr. West, but I’ve seriously considered backing out on this visit my family seems to think might be worth my while. If conditions near the capital are so primitive, what must it be like in the mountains?”

Lewt played along. “I’m inclined to agree with you. One has to wonder what these princesses of Texas must look like if they have to search far and wide and offer passage from anywhere to eligible men. And I’ve even heard that the ranch is in the hills of Texas. The word mountain came when they translated the place from its Indian name.” He lifted two fingers at the bartender, silently ordering whiskey. “It’s said the ranch is so huge, Apache still make winter camps in its hills.”

Fear flashed in Walter’s eyes. He took the whiskey delivered and downed it quickly. Then, somewhat calmed, he raised his eyebrow and studied Lewt’s clothes. He had the look of a man tolerating someone lesser than himself.

Lewt grinned into his beer as he shoved the second whiskey in front of Walter. He was in. Accepted. It might be interesting to spend some time with the stranger. Lewt considered himself a good judge of character and had already figured out that Duncan hadn’t come face-to-face with Walter or he wouldn’t have sent the man a ticket. “This your first time west, Mr. Freeport?”

“And my last,” Walter answered. “If I find one of the McMurray women to my liking, I’ll be making it plain from the beginning that we’ll live north with my family.”

“Wise choice,” Lewt said, thinking this fellow didn’t have a chance of taking a McMurray anywhere. “The women here are beautiful, though,” he added.

“Not from what I’ve seen. One of the girls who works here followed me to my room and offered her services. She wasn’t even pretty and when she had the nerve to touch me, I was forced to slap her hard.” Walter brushed at his coat as if the touch had left a stain.

Lewt gripped the mug in his hand so hard he wouldn’t have been surprised to see the glass shatter. He’d like nothing better than to slam his fist into Walter Freeport the Fourth’s straight little nose. The girl he’d hit was just trying to make a living. She didn’t deserve to be slapped. “What happened?” Lewt finally asked.

“She crawled away.” Walter smiled. “A woman who doesn’t know her place is a stain on nature. I’m telling you, sir, that if I weren’t a gentleman I might have kicked her to help her along the way.”

Lewt watched Walter as he talked on about his philosophy, but Lewt had already made up his mind. If he had to tie Walter Freeport up in dirty sheets, this man would not be on the train at dawn. He didn’t even know Duncan’s cousins, but they deserved better than the likes of this man.

As the evening passed, Lewt wasn’t sure when the idea crystallized into a plan, but he decided maybe he should take Walter’s place. At first he thought it might be a grand joke on his friend Duncan, then he thought it could probably be a great chance to see what a real working ranch was like and to see how a real loving family acted. It might be worth the trip to see what he’d missed out on. Lewt guessed, like everything else in life, family ties weren’t all they were cracked up to be. He could be nice and polite to the ladies. At least they wouldn’t feel like they’d been stood up. When Duncan got back, Lewt would explain everything.

His mind made up, Lewt turned to Walter Freeport the Fourth. “Any chance you play cards?”

Walter strutted. “I do, and I must warn you I’m quite good. What say you we pass the time with a friendly game?”

Lewt grinned. No matter what he put on the table, he knew he’d be playing to help the women of Whispering Mountain out and it felt good. They might never know, but he was saving them from a horrible fate.

Six hours later, a very different Lewton Paterson stepped on the northbound train. He was dressed in conservative black from head to toe with thin wire-rim glasses on his nose. Nothing remained from his former life except the double eagle gold piece in his pocket he always carried for luck and a knife slipped between the stitching of his belt. Everything else, from his fine leather suitcases to his watch, spoke of old money and breeding.

By the time Duncan McMurray got finished fighting at the Mexican border, Lewt would be on Whispering Mountain. If he did nothing else, he’d prove to Duncan that he could be a gentleman . . . someone worth introducing to the family.

Lewt could play the gentleman. He’d learned early that men like to play cards with a man they consider an equal. He’d spent months polishing his speech and learning which fork to use on a fancy table. Now, there’d be no bets on the table. This time, he was gambling with his future.

A hope began to form in his mind. If he could pass at Whispering Mountain, maybe he could take all the money he’d saved and buy a business. Maybe he could even marry and live a life in the daylight for a change.

Lewt pushed his dreaming down. Hope was a terrible thing. It would keep you warm now and then, but when it died the cold always came back more bitter than before.