Westward Holiday (3 page)

              Jake wasn’t sure what to think about Rebecca.  She was certainly beautiful and well-bred.  The beautiful part he had no problem with, but the well-bred part worried him.  He wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the Watering Hole was no gentlemen’s club, that was for sure. 

              He ran upstairs and changed into his usual outfit and then ran back down to bring up a couple more kegs.  It was sure to be a busy night and it was better to be prepared.  He was opening a little late, but it couldn’t be helped.  When he opened the doors, there were three men waiting.  They were his regular daytime customers and ribbed him about keeping them waiting.

              Gus came in and sat in his usual seat.  “So did ya meet her?”

              “Yep.”

              “Well?  What’s she like?” Gus asked.

              “She’s a real beauty,” Jake said.  “Looks just like her letters said she does.  She’s a lady, too.”

              “So why don’t you sound happy about that?” Gus asked. 

              “You’ll understand when you see her.  We’ll see how she reacts tonight.  This may be more than she bargained for.  You know how it gets,” Jake said.

              Gus chuckled.  “Boy, do I ever.  I hope the crew shows up to play and sing.  She’d better get broke in right off.”

              Jake nodded.  “Yep.”

              As the day wore on, the bar became busier and busier.  Jake was kept stepping and the time passed quickly as usual.

              Around eight o’ clock Rebecca finished dressing and went downstairs.  Jolene eyed her as she made her way to the reception counter.

              “Hello,” Rebecca said.  “Is Ricky available to take me to the Watering Hole?”

              Jolene said, “Sure thing, honey.  I’ll just go get him.”

              Rebecca wasn’t used to being called “honey” and took slight offense to it.  Jolene came back with Ricky.  He was a tall young man with blond hair and blue eyes. 

              “Hello, miss.  Jolene says that you wanna go to the bar,” Ricky said as his eyes automatically went to her cleavage.  He blushed.

              Rebecca smiled.  His discomfort was a little amusing.  “Yes, that’s right.”

              “Come with me, miss,” Ricky said.

              He was quiet as they walked.  Rebecca said, “So did you grow up here?”

              “Yes, ma’am.”

              “Do you like it here?” Rebecca asked.

              “Yeah.”

              It was very hard to draw him out, she discovered.

              “Do you have a lady friend?” Rebecca said with a smile.

              Ricky smiled.  “No, ma’am.”

              “Oh, come now.  A handsome fellow like you?  Surely there’s some pretty girl that you have your eye on?” Rebecca teased him.

              “Well, maybe,” Ricky said.

              “I knew it.  Life is short, Ricky.  Don’t wait too long to act,” Rebecca said.

              As they neared the saloon, Rebecca could hear piano music and she smiled.  The closer they came, the rowdier things sounded inside. 

              Ricky said, “Here you are, ma’am.  I better get back now.  Nice talkin’ with you.”

              “And you,” Rebecca said. 

              She stepped onto the porch, opened the door and went in.  Instantly she was enveloped in the smells of beer and whiskey.  Off to the right was the bar and beyond it was a very large barroom.  Jake had told her it was large, but she was surprised by how big it was.  As she walked further inside, she could see that at one end of the barroom stood a piano.  An older gentleman played it, while a very large, muscular man played a fiddle.

              She saw the mayor and a very beautiful redhead singing together.  Rebecca didn’t recognize the song, but they were very good singers.  It was a different kind of music that they played, but not unpleasant.  Then she caught the lyrics they were singing and Rebecca’s eyes got big.  It was a very raunchy song that brought on a lot of laughter and foot stomping.

              Looking over at the bar, she saw Jake’s head bobbing along with the beat and filling mug after mug of beer.  He lined up five shot glasses on the bar and went right down the line with a bottle of whiskey.  He passed out four and picked up the last one.  The group of men clinked their shot glasses with Jake and they all downed the booze and laughed.

              Towards the back of the barroom some kind of disagreement broke out and Rebecca saw a woman wearing blue jeans get up from a table and head in that direction.  Rebecca edged further into the barroom and watched to woman walk right up to the culprits.

              “Shut the hell up!  Can’t you see that the entertainment is goin’ on?  You’re being rude,” she said and walked away again. 

              The guilty parties quieted down.  The song ended and loud applause and cheering broke out.  Joe bowed gallantly while the redhead curtsied.  Then the next song started and more foot stomping ensued.  People started getting up to dance.  Jake hadn’t caught sight of Rebecca yet.  He left the bar from the opposite direction and made a beeline for one of the tables where he held his hand out to a very pretty brunette.  She smiled at him and jumped up.  Rebecca narrowed her eyes as she watched them laugh and have a good time together.

              Jake was a very good dancer and looked good doing it.  Rebecca was able to see more of his physique in the jeans and western shirt and she felt a trifle warm as she watched his broad shoulders and lean hips twist and his strong legs move in intricate steps.  The brunette matched him perfectly and people enjoyed their performance.

              When that song ended, Jake went over to the piano and banged on it.

              “Hey!  Listen up!  One round on the house!  Come and get it!” he hollered and ran back to the bar.  Suddenly it became a stampede and Rebecca moved out of the way quickly.  Jake poured booze and Gus helped pass it around.  Jake kept a close watch on who had a free drink.  He might be forgetful about dates and times, but he never forgot who drank what and how many.  He was able to keep a mental record of everyone’s tab and never forgot to collect whenever someone was leaving.

              The crowd around the bar thinned out as the customers got their free drinks and went back to the barroom.  Rebecca took the opportunity to go over to the bar.

              Jake looked up and saw Rebecca.  “Hey!  There you are.  I was beginning to wonder about you.  Come around back here.”

              Rebecca smiled as she did as he asked.  “I was watching you dance with that pretty woman.”

              Jake arched an eyebrow at her.  “Are you jealous?” he asked with a smile.

              Rebecca smiled back.  “Should I be?”

              Jake laughed.  “Nope.  That’s Lacey, Joe’s wife.  We just like to dance together, that’s all.”

              “Oh, I see.  You’re a very good dancer.  I don’t know these dances but it looks like fun,” Rebecca said.

              “I’ll teach you,” Jake said.  She looked good enough to eat in her pale pink dress, he thought.  She showed off some cleavage and Jake had a hard time not looking at it too much.  “You’ look beautiful,” he suddenly said.

              Rebecca lowered her eyes demurely and said, “Thank you.  You look very handsome.”

              “Thanks,” Jake said.

              Sammi came by pushing a guy ahead of her.  She had his arm up behind his back and he kept yelling.

              “Shut up and get out!” Sammi said as she shoved him through the door and off the porch.  She came back in and grinned at Jake.  “Took care of him.”

              Jake said, “You sure did.  That’s why I hired you. Sammi, this is Rebecca Walker.  Rebecca, this is Sammi Taylor, my bouncer.”

              Sammi leaned over the bar and held out her hand.  “Nice to meet you, Rebecca.”

              Rebecca took Sammi’s hand and was surprised at the strength in her grip.  “Likewise,” Rebecca said.  She’d never seen a woman dressed like Sammi.  She wore jeans and a Western shirt.  With her strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes, she was a strikingly beautiful woman.  Then her eyes got even bigger when she saw that Sammi wore a gun.

              Sammi followed her eyes and laughed.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t shoot you unless you misbehave.”

              “Stop it, Sammi,” Jake said smiling.  “Sammi is not only my bouncer, but she’s also a deputy.  Her husband is the sheriff.”

              Rebecca’s shock was amusing to Sammi.  “Jake, you’re scaring her, I think.  You’ll get used to it, Rebecca.  We’re not your typical town.”

              Another ruckus erupted and Sammi was off like a shot.

              “Shouldn’t you help her?” Rebecca said.

              “Not a chance.  She’ll kill me if I try.  If she asks, that’s one thing, but until she does, I stay where I am,” Jake said.

              “You’re scared of her?” Rebecca said.

              “Yep.  She’s scary when she’s mad.  Trust me,” Jake said.  “She fights better than most guys and enjoys it.”

              “Is it like this all the time?” Rebecca asked.

              Jake smiled.  “I’m afraid so, Rebecca.  This is my life and I love it.  I’ve got the best friends in the world, work that I love, and my pa right down the road.  I want to share it with someone.  You’ll have to figure out if that someone is you.”

              Rebecca swallowed and nodded.  “Yes, I will.”

              An Indian man came over to the bar.

              “Owl!  How the hell are you?” Jake said and grasped arms with Owl while Rebecca watched open mouthed.  In Georgia he wouldn’t have been allowed in a saloon.

              Owl smiled broadly.  “Fine.  You?”

              “I’m good,” Jake said and introduced Rebecca to Owl.

              She shook hands shyly with the handsome Lakota man.  She’d never had any contact with an Indian before. 

              “When are we gonna get the chief in here?” Jake asked Owl.

              “I don’t think ever,” Owl said.  “I’m not sure how he would take all of this.”

              “Owl’s brother is chief of the Lakota tribe outside of town,” Jake told Rebecca.

              “I see,” Rebecca said.

              “You want your usual?” Jake asked.

              “Yes,” Owl said.  He was enjoying Rebecca’s reaction to him.  “Where are you from, Rebecca?”

              “Savannah, Georgia,” she said.

              “I don’t know where that is so it must be far,” Owl said with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

              “Don’t listen to him.  He knows where it is,” Jake said as he poured two beers for Owl.

              “Nice to meet you,” Owl said as he picked up the beers.  “Thanks, Jake.  Put it on our tab.”

              “You got it,” Jake said.

              Rebecca noticed that Jake didn’t write anything down and asked him about it.

              Jake tapped his temple.  “I got it all up here.  I don’t need to write anything down when it comes to tallying up everyone’s tab.  I get it from Pa.”

              “You remember every drink you serve?” Rebecca asked with disbelief.

              “Yep.”

              The music had stopped and Joe stepped up to the bar.  “Well, if it isn’t Miss Walker.  How are ya’ll?”

              “Very well, thank you,” Rebecca said.

              Joe smiled at her shell-shocked expression.  “Don’t worry, Rebecca.  You’ll get used to us.  Jake, my fine friend, I need one last shot with which to wet my whistle.  Hey, say that three times fast,” Joe said and laughed.  “And after that shot, tell me what I owe you.  Then it’s time to get home to the sweet baby of ours.”

              “You got it, Joe.”  Jake poured the shot and Joe tossed it back and made a face. 

“That hit the spot,” Joe said.

“You got King and Rook to take you home?” Jake asked.  Joe wasn’t feeling any pain and he was betting that Lacey wasn’t either.  They only did this once in a great while.  Usually when they came, they only had a couple of drinks each, but apparently tonight was the exception.

“I do, sir.  Thank you for your concern, but our trusty steeds will deliver us safely home.  Not to worry,” Joe said.  “Well, I’m off to collect my lovely wife and get out of here.  Rebecca, it’s good to see you.”

“Wait, Joe.  Your total comes to eighty-four dollars,” Joe said.

“Oh, yeah.  Sorry.”  Joe reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet.  He extracted a hundred dollar bill from it and handed it to Jake.  “Keep the change, barkeep,” he said and left to find Lacey.

Jake smiled and put the money in the till.  “He always overpays for everything.”