Lady from Boston

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

Whiskey Hill, Texas

July 14, 1885

“Yee-haw!” Jude Bonner shouted while tossing his hat in the air.

With a big smile on his face, he ran toward the Lucky Lady Saloon to find his friend Sundog. Seeing him at the bar, he elbowed his way through the crowd and pushed the crumpled letter in front of him.

“It’s official, Sundog. The best little whorehouse in Texas will be mine in a matter of hours.”

After quickly upending a shot of whiskey, Sundog, a beefy blond cowboy with brown, sun-bronzed skin and the shadow of a beard, pushed the letter back at him.

“You’re dreamin’, Jude. Nobody’s gonna sell a moneymaker like that.”

“Believe me, this one will.” Jude slapped his quarter down on the counter and called out, “Hey, barkeep! A shot of whiskey here.”

“Yeah? What makes you think so?”

Jude leaned toward Sundog as if telling him a secret. “Because she’s one of them prissy little Boston females, and you know how they are. Cold fish from head to toe.”

“She’s comin’ from Boston? Who is she?”

“She’s Reno’s daughter, Lorraine Garvey. With him bein’ dead, Sadie’s been runnin’ it until she came of age. Now that she’s reached twenty-one, the Pink Palace belongs to her.” He upended the shot glass and drank the amber liquid in one swig, feeling the heat burn its way down to his stomach.

“Lorraine,” Sundog said, looking at his empty glass. “Sounds too damned uppity. You know, squeaky clean.”

“It sure as hell does, and as soon as that uppity little gal finds out what the Pink Palace is, she’ll be so anxious to get rid of it, she’ll probably pay me to take it off her hands.”

“I don’t get it,” Sundog said, turning to Jude. “Why don’t she know what it is?”

“Cause nobody told her, I guess. All his family knew was that he owned some kind of social club. At least that’s what she calls it in all her letters, so I guess that’s what she thinks it is.”

“Social club,” Sundog repeated thoughtfully. “Ain’t that the kind of club where ladies—”

“Sure is,” Jude said, upending another shot of whiskey.

“And she’s comin’ here to sell it? Jude, as soon as she sees it, she’s gonna know what it is. Why in hell didn’t somebody tell her the truth? It’s gonna be quite a shock when she finally finds out. When Reno died Sadie should have wrote the family and told ‘em.”

“Nah, not Sadie. I have a feelin’ she was protectin’ Reno from his family. Hell, Sundog, you know how his family was. He couldn’t tell them that he owned a whorehouse, so he called it a social club. Just between you and me, sometimes I think he believed it himself.”

“Reno sure left you with a can of worms.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“I’m talkin’ about his daughter. She’s gonna take you apart piece by piece when she finds out. Damn, Jude, I wouldn’t be in your boots for all the tea in China.”

“What are you so worried about? Don’t forget she’s a tenderfoot from Boston, and you know how they are. She’s probably the bookish type. You know, a horse-faced spinster that’s been sheltered all her life. Hell, I doubt she even knows what a whorehouse is.”

“Jude, you’re assumin’ that this gal is as green as cabbage. That’s your first mistake. Your second is forgettin’ that old Reno was a tenderfoot once hisself, and female or not, if she’s any kin to him, you’d better be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he was a fightin’ son of a b***h and she’s his daughter. I’m warnin’ you, Jude. If that little gal is anything like her pa, and she finds out you been lyin’—”

“Hell, I ain’t lyin’ to her. Reno was the one that did that.”

“Yeah, but you could’ve told her the truth in any one of them letters, and you didn’t.”

“Sundog, I’m just tryin’ to save her a little embarrassment. You don’t talk about things like that with a lady. It’d be…What do they call it? Vulgar. Ain’t that the word?”

“She won’t see it that way, Jude, and when she finds out, she’ll have your hide stripped off before you even know she’s mad at you. It’s what Reno would have done. That old coot didn’t get hisself hanged for nothin’, you know.”

“Put your worries away, Sundog. This is a sure thing. I feel it in my bones. Besides, what can she do? She’s just a delicate little female.”

“A delicate little female?” Sundog repeated and snickered. “Jude, them female cats is the ones with the longest claws.”

“You know, I think as a new management kind of thing I might offer the men a two-for-one deal.”

“All right, so don’t listen, but when that delicate little female starts rippin’ you apart, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Hey, I heard you. So, how about it? You wanna be my first customer?”

“I ain’t never heard of a ‘two-for-one deal.’ What’re you dreamin’ up now?”

“You ain’t never had two gals at one time?” He punched him in the gut. “Let me tell you, friend, whiskey ain’t the only thing that’ll make you crazy. When this deal goes through, I’ll set you up with two of Sadie’s best gals and take bets on whether you can live through it.”

“You know what, you smart-assed cowboy? I’m gonna hold you to that. But for the time being, let’s just wait and see what kind of trouble you’ve got yourself into this time. This is one show I’d give a month’s wages to see. When will she be here?”

“If the stage pulls in on time, she’ll be here tomorrow around two.”

“Me and the others’ll be there just to say I told you so.”

“Sundog, do you ever preach anything but doom and gloom?”

“Hey, I just call ‘em the way I see ‘em.”

“All right, have it your way,” Jude said and lifted his glass toward the bartender. “Hey, barkeep. Keep ‘em comin’ for me and my friend here.” He looked around. “Where’s Shiloh and Blaze? I’d like to give ‘em the good news.”

“Shiloh’s over at the Pink Palace spendin’ his last dollar on a little tart that’s been leadin’ him around by the balls, and Blaze is sittin’ over there losin’ his money to that big-city swindler in the string tie.”