Dusty Spurs

[Pix]

Skip took a chunk and ate it. The jerky wasn't the best, but he was starving at that point and would have eaten anything. The fire crackled while he thought about what town may be close. They had been going northwest by the river but hadn't run into any mountains yet. He figured Cody may be close but he wasn't sure.

"Possibly, Cody," he told her, "but to be honest I don't know for sure."

The low light of the fire softened Cassi's image, making her almost look like an elegant lady, but Skip knew better than that. He did begin to wonder what exactly would happen to both of them once they got to a town. Would Skip see her picture on a wanted poster? Would they just go their separate ways. He was intrigued by Cassi, but didn't want to be a party to any of her trouble.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Letting her head fall back she thought, nope town didn't sound familiar, which meant better odds on no one recognizing her. Cassi had been lucky enough to not land on any wanted posters in her career, but that didn't mean things couldn't change. If any of the others had survived she hoped they hadn't decided to get all chummy with the law. She was going to make this change come hell or high water. She finished her jerky with a sigh.

It was too dark to hunt so short of a rabbit or something just running up on their fire, this was the best they were going to get in awhile. The way Skipp looked at her, hadn't gone unnoticed. He was probably trying to decide why a woman who looked like she did had been almost dead on the back of her horse when their paths crossed. It didn't bother her though, while he seemed like a nice guy, better for him to be wary than to consider crossing her.

"So when we get to town, you have any plans?"

 

[Pix]

He looked at her with tired eyes when Cassi asked him about the future. He didn't want to keep rambling on about how he thinks his plans will be revealed to him by divine intervention, but it was true that he had had a destination before he wound up in the cursed cottage.

"I was on my way to San Francisco before I became stranded," he told her truthfully, "I don't know if I'll try to make my way out there again. I've also heard tell of a new gold rush up in Canada. So maybe if I were gunning for a fortune I'd head up there."

Skip wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. To get anywhere he'd have buy a horse or get passage on a wagon or a stagecoach. He thought he could always run security on a stagecoach and maybe meet the daughter of a rich politician riding in the cabin. He knew he could make it in the Pinkertons, but wasn't desperate enough to take such a risk. The last thing he wanted to become was the enemy of a violent horde of bandits and train robbers. That's the reason why Skip had pretty much traveled with himself since he was fifteen.

"The truth is," he said soberly over the crackling of the fire, "I haven't had much family since I was a boy, and I've just been meandering as far west as I could go. How about you? What's your plan?"

 

[AngelofDeath]

"A life as quite and nice as I can manage. Have the things I didn't have as a kid. Good home, some land, a few animals. The basics really. To just start over and leave m...the past behind." Cassi tried to make herself as comfortable as she could. "Don't need much and never really wanted much. Just a real home. A real life." She yawned and shifted onto her good side.

Anything was better than the life she had left behind and the life she had run from as a child. Her mother had done the best she could, but Cassi had known her mother only held mild affection for her. Whores couldn't afford to be saddled with a kid and what she'd earned as a maid as well had been barely enough to feed and shelter them both. If she hadn't run off, she'd have been a whore just like her mother. That had been the main reason she had run off.

Yawning again and with sleep swiftly creeping up on her Cassi said, "Wandering is fine, but sometimes its just better to settle in the best place your feet are currently planted."She was asleep before he responded.

 

[Pix]

Skip watched Cassi nod off in front of the dying light of the fire. He started to shiver himself as the flames waned. He slowly climbed to his feet and walked around the immediate area to look for a few more large branches or logs, and maybe some kindling if he woke up to a dead fire, cold in the middle of the night. He scuttled around the area quietly scrounging through brush and picking up some dead remnants of a once proud tree that had fallen and gone by the wayside.

While he gathered fuel for the fire, Skip reflected on the cryptic ways Cassi phrased her contributions to their conversations they had had thus far. She changed words, cut herself off, and did other quirky things that lead Skip to believe that she was lying or at least holding something back. In normal, everyday life, Skip may not have picked up on such things, but the gunshot wounds raised a skepticism in the young wanderer that few other situations could.

Skips stomach rumbled as he set the wood down next to the fire. He couldn't see where Cassi had left the jerky. He almost called out loud to her but decided that given her current condition, and the ride for tomorrow, letting her sleep was probably for the best. After all, it was Cassi who was driving Luther to their salvation at the next town.

So, Skip walked over to Luther to check out the saddle bag Cassi had detached from Luther and the saddle for the night. He opened the bag and saw something he probably shouldn't have. He stared incredulously at the content in the bag and thought his suspicions had been confirmed. Cassi was indeed a dangerous woman, and Skip had no intention to do anything about it. The best case scenario he could hope for was to get to the down and split ways with the woman as soon as possible.

He closed the bag and threw a log to build the fire back up. His stomach grumbled, but he figured an empty stomach was worth it in order to try and forget what he saw. He closed his eyes and slept the sleep of the restless.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Cassi woke a few hours later before sunrise to relieve herself. Skip was still asleep when she came back. A shot of whiskey later she laid down to think and eventually sleep. The generous part of her nature had considered giving the man across from her some of the money she'd stolen. There was more than enough that loosing a little wouldn't put her in dire straits. He'd kept her from dying and had pointed her in the right direction to starting her new life. Of course there was the issue of explaining where the money had come from.

She could worry about that later. Cassi intended to get as much sleep as possible before they started on their journey again.

Morning found them both yawning and stretching. Cassi tossed Skip some more jerky, while she checked the wound in her side. They'd done a good job, while tender there wasn't any sign of infection. Letting her undershirt fall back down, Cassi pushed the stray strands of hair out of her face. "Don't know about you, but I am looking forwards to a bath and some real food."

 

[Pix]

Skip awoke and looked at the dangerous stranger he now relied on to keep living. She was yawning just as he had been, like they were the same. Skip was no stranger to some trouble, but he never went looking for it. Cassi had made small talk, Skip didn't know how to respond, but he figured for the time being he would have to put it out of his mind.

"Agreed," he said to the food and bath idea as he gnawed on the piece of jerky that made him stumble across the money he had seen last night that was keeping him on edge that morning.

Skip stood up and walked into a brushy area in the woods and relieved himself. He washed his hands in the stream that was supposed to be a river, and walked back to Cassi.

"So," he said, "shall we ride? If we get moving now, follow the river, we should hit the town by dusk."

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Not like there is much else we can do around here." A short while later they broke camp and were riding once again. Cassi patted the side of Luther's neck as they went, the horse would have earned some rest and some fresh hay by the time they hit the town. As the sun rose higher Cassi was starting to miss her hat once again. Without the benefit of a mirror, she knew her face was nice and sun baked. Cassi let out a yawn as she shifted in the saddle, forgetting for a second that Skip was behind her.

Which considering he hand one arm around her should have been hard to do. Even needing a bath and shave, she could see there was a handsome face there. A part of her wondered if she could find a man like him once she was settled. Young, good looking, kind.

 

[Pix]

As they rode, Skip gradually let his fear of Cassi slip back into his mind. While moving rhythmically to Luther's gallop, he started to wonder if what Cassi said back at the fire was true, if she really was going to try and fly straight. He hoped so, because even though she was trouble, she had rescued him from the cottage in the high plains.

Then Skip saw it, billows of smoke coming from over the horizon, white smoke signifying a controlled fire, such as one you'd find in a town.

"Look, I think that may be it," he said giddily has he patted Cassi on her thigh with excitement.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"It better be, I've already gotten myself ready for hot water and a steak." Cassi ignored the way his hand felt on her thigh. She gave Luther more of a nudge and the stallion responded by picking up speed. At the top of the hill, Cassi let out a small shout, They had made it. Easing up on the horse some the pair rode in. "Thank god, because my ass is starting to loose feeling." Their first stop was the livery stable. Cassi paid for two weeks of time and then asked for directions to the nearest hotel.

At the Golden Rose, Cassi paid for two rooms and when Skip started to protest she glared at him,"And if not for you I'd be coyote chow, so put your teeth back together and stop complaining." They did manage to agree though that dinner was first up before they got some real sleep. The whiskey was better than what she'd had and the atmosphere wasn't too bad. Of course the hotel doubled as a saloon, which meant there was a mix of good and bad about.

Waiting on their food she looked at him over the rim of her glass, "Well, we made it. One piece and all."

 

[Pix]

Skip laughed, he had been nothing but relieved, like he had been set free, when he first spotted the small town on the ride. It may have been small, in the land area department, but Cody was simply bustling. He was shocked when the inn keeper told them that two rooms were available, by the amount of people walking around town, Skip thought every room in the saloon/hotel had been spoken for. He was glad he would have a little privacy away from Cassi that night, part of his mind was ready to split in the middle of the night to leave the dangerous woman behind, but he had felt he owed her something for getting him out of the high plains. He was conflicted. He also wouldn't mind seeing what Cassi looked liked cleaned up.

"Well," he said, "you came back in pieces, but to be fair you were like that when I saw you."

He smiled at the woman with the gunshot wounds, nervously. He didn't think Cassi would do something dastardly to him on purpose, but if push came to shove, Skip was certain she'd throw him to the lions.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"My aren't you a charmer," Cassi laughed as she took a sip of her whiskey and looked around. The Golden Rose was nice, those little touches of class that could make one forget they were essentially in the middle of nowhere. It was much like the hotel and saloon she had grown up in, though that one had been more high class, not really the sort of place any old farmhand or cowpoke would just walk into.

Their dinner arrived, a pair of steaks, some bread and stewed vegetables. The two of them didn't hide their hunger because they both torn into their meals with the sort of hunger that came from days without a good meal.

 

[Pix]

"So charming that I ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere, fifty miles in any direction from civilization," Skip retorted back and chuckled. The beef steak was much better than the char-fired horse steak he had fed himself at the cottage. He ate ravenously, almost as quickly as Cassi. The two shared pleasant dinner conversation, much to Skip's surprise. He couldn't believe how easily they talked to one another, pretty much about nothing. Their discussion pretty much stayed on the point of weather, horses, food, whisky, and not much more, definitely not much personal conversation, Skip figured that was probably for the best.

"One more round?" Skip asked Cassi as he held up his empty glass the saloon girl cleared the dishes away from their table.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"I think one more round is all we can handle." Cassi topped off his glass and her own. For a man who seemed wary of her, Skip was pretty decent and at least could carry a conversation. With her glass empty and turned over Cassi got her saddle weary body up on two legs and gave Skip a nod and a small bow. "Good night Skip and thanks for saving my bloody and dusty hide once again." As she turned and made her way upstairs it was obvious it was more pain than booze affecting her stride.

Upstairs Cassi was glad to find the bath room at the end of the hall was vacant. She took her time washing the grit, blood and dust off her body before making her way back to her room. Tomorrow she was gonna have to buy some new clothes. Laying down on the bed, Cassi let out a content sigh. Skip lingered on the edge of her thoughts, God knew why.

 

[Pix]

Skip lingered in the saloon after Cassi made her way up to the rooms. He watched the exit, contemplated splitting for awhile as he sipped the last of his whisky. A working girl approached him, she had strawberry blonde hair and looked fresh in the face, she may only have been 18 or 19 years old, but Skip knew she had more experience than most women twice her age. Whores were never at the top of Skip's list for things he fancied, he had a greater destiny ahead of him than just a long line of unsatisfying women employed in the world's oldest profession.

"Hey there, cowboy," she said to him with all of the professionalism one would expect out of a whore. She seem completely enamored with Skip, but he saw through it, "looking for a little company tonight?"

"No thanks, miss," Skip said gently but detached, he smiled at the pretty young girl.

"Well," she started her pitch, "maybe I'm not your type. If you want, we have some new Chinese girls in the back, fresh from Shanghai."

The burly man working behind the bar slammed his hand against the bar. "Martha," he yelled getting the strawberry blonde whore's attention, "they ain't ready yet!"

She looked a bit startled but turned on the charm once again and smiled at Skip, "Maybe something else then?"

"Sorry, miss," Skip said, "don't have the money you're looking for."

She smiled and left the table. Skin finished his whisky about ten minutes later and walked upstairs. He thought it was pretty peculiar the way the bartender got so harried with the mention of the Chinese girls. And what did they're not ready mean?

Skip walked into the empty bathroom and washed up. He didn't feel like putting his dirty clothes back on, so he simply lay down on the bed naked. He thought of Cassi, and thought maybe another day with her wouldn't be so bad, but he didn't want to get sucked down into whatever downward spiral she was in.

 

[AngelofDeath]

The next morning Cassi got up with a groan. Washing her face she got dressed and headed downstairs. After some coffee for herself and covering Skip's breakfast when he came down, she went looking for some replacement clothing. Her first stop was at the general store to pick up a new hat, fresh ammo and some liniment. From there it was over to the clothier. Cassi managed herself a new pair of pants, and two new shirts.

She wasn't too sure yet if Cody was the place for her, but it was isolated enough that it was good odds she could totally reinvent herself with no trouble. Returning to the hotel Cassi left her purchases up in her room and then made her way back downstairs.

 

[Pix]

Skip made his way downstairs after sleeping in later tan he intended, but he finally felt rested for the first time in weeks. He approached the bar and was told his meal had already been paid for. He assumed Cassi had spotted him once again and he wondered where she was. He thought she was probably out in the town, maybe headed to the doc or to buy some clothes. Part of Skip wondered if maybe she had split town, but he reckoned that she would probably tell him, although he wasn't sure.

As he ate the thick fried bacon and drank a thick grainy cup of black coffee, Skip tried making small talk with the bartender. It had been the same burly man from the night before. The man was busy and didn't really pay much mind to Skip at the bar eating. Skip clutched the hammer head hanging from the belt around his waist. He probably shouldn't have pressed the issue, but he was curious at the outburst from the last night.

"What's with the Chinese girls?" Skip asked casually, almost annoyingly nonchalant.

The bartender whirled around and scowled at Skip and grunted, "What are you talking about?"

"The girl from the night before mentioned something about Chinese girls."

"That girl should have kept her damn mouth shut, and if you were smart you would do the same."

Skip glared at the man and thought about smirking, but just put his head down and finished eating. As he was finishing up the food he saw Cassi make her way downstairs with a brand new hat.

"Hey, Cassi," Skip called to her, "I'm gonna make my way a little bit outside of town to the river for a little while. If you're bored, you're welcome to join me."

 

[AngelofDeath]

Cassi was surprised that Skip was open to the idea of her tagging along with him. Getting herself a cup of coffee and some biscuits and gravy she sat down next to Skip. "Sounds good. Might as well get a feel for the area before I make any long term decisions." A blind man would have seen the look the bartender was giving Skip. Cassi had learned however that being nosy could get one killed, so for now she was going to leave it be. She quickly made her way through her breakfast and then the two of them headed down to the livery stable. She rented a second horse for Skip.

As they saddled up Cassi asked, "So got any better idea of what your plans are?"

 

[Pix]

"Well, I figure I may just try to finish my trip to San Francisco," Skip said as they began to ride outside of town. The horse was not like Cassi's Luter, but it was serviceable and it was just a five minute ride. Skip felt good with the horse underneath him and the reins in his hands. He appreciated Cassi giving him a lift, but nothing compared to being in control.

The hammer handle smacked against Skip's leg which was covered by his dirty clothes. The horse had started to gallop and the wind swept across their bodies. Skip spotted the river over a hill and pulled ahead of Cassi. Skip dismounted from the rental horse at the river and took in the sound of the running water and the wind blowing through the tall grass. The horse bent down to drink some water and Skip started to take his clothes off and put them in the water down stream from where the horse was drinking.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"A good a plan as any I suppose," Cassi answered. She watched Skip's horse pick up the pace and beat her and Luther to the river. If they had farther to travel Cassi might have let Luther have his way, but instead she kept his pace easy. By the time she caught up with Skip, he was washing his clothes off in the stream. He had a nice body, of course if asked, Cassi would say she hadn't noticed at all.

Dismounting she let Luther have the drink he wanted and shrugged out of her duster. She bunched it up a little and made herself comfortable on it with her hat pulled low. If she tried, and she did, Cassi could still take a glance at Skip. "Its a nice town. A little small for my tastes, but it might work. Haven't really made my mind up yet."

 

[Pix]

Skipped washed his clothes in the river as Cassi settled in to relax. He pulled them out and walked over to a nearby tree to hang his clothes to dry in the sun. He was only covered by his undergarments, but he was pretty certain that it would probably take a lot more than a nearly nude man to make Cassi blush.

He listened to his unlikely companion tell hi about Cody being a little small for her tastes and Skip felt the same way, after all, San Francisco was a big city and that had been his destination before he got stranded in the high plains. However, Skip felt that he was in Cody for a reason, and he thought it maybe had something to do with the working girls in the saloon. He pondered telling Cassi about his suspicions. Not sure how she would react, Skip brought it up.

"Agreed, it is small," he carefully began, "however, there is something...possibly a big something going on in the town. Something just didn't feel right to me in the saloon, and I think it has something to do with Chinese girls working there."

Skip walked over to Cassi and sat down next to her, "Did you happen to sense it?"

 

[AngelofDeath]

"The only thing I've sense lately other than hunger is the fact the bartender looked like he wanted to throw you out head first." Skip had mentioned Chinese women, and if she had lived a different life, been born to a different mother, Cassi might have assumed something else by his words.

"Probably were promised a new life, a job the works. Of course having no money means having to pay back their kind benefactors." She'd seen it before. Vulnerable women with no support made easy targets for the less than decent of souls. Whores were always in demand and brothels could always use something fresh and exotic. Cody was a bit small for something like that, which meant it was either a small number of girls or some where gonna be shipped off elsewhere.

Casi turned her head towards him. Skip was the sort to want to do right even if it could get them killed. Now truth was it was none of her business what foolheaded thing he did, but he had saved her life. That actually meant something to her, since he hadn't done it for some ulterior reason other than the fact she had needed help.

 

[Pix]

"I don't know, Cass," Skip had said with the familiarity of a long relationship, "there's something weird going on. What if these women aren't women at all? What if they're girls, or being used as slaves? Hell, they could have been brought here against their will to begin with! And I'm beginning to think there are other things at play here, too."

Skip had been impassioned and angry. Sitting out in the high plains he had resigned himself to a lonely death, now he wanted to face the world's evils just to prove he had actually survived and wasn't living out some queer trip through purgatory. His emotion got in the way of his learned wariness of Cassi, but he would find exactly who she was confronted with the dilemma he had presented her. Skip laid back, nearly naked, in the tall grass. The sun was drying the little beads of river water on his skin, as well as the water that had cleaned his clothes. He pondered what destiny he was about to encounter, and whether Cassi would face it with him.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Anything is possible Jake. Being a woman isn't all its cracked up to be. Least of all a woman with no means and no support. It takes a special sort of woman these days to survive without a husband or family. To make a life for herself by her own means and her own hands, without being on her back to do it." her mother may not have been that sort of woman, but Cassi was.

She looked over at him, "You've got the look of a man about to do something foolhardy. Some advice from one who's been there, always have three plans. Plan A is if everything goes right. Plan B is if things go wrong. Plan C is...well if you have to resort to plan C things have gone beyond wrong and its a matter of living or dying."

It wasn't that Cassi didn't sympathize with the position those women and/or girls might be in. She did. She also however knew just the sort of men who would be running things. They'd slit the neck of their own firstborn to keep their operation running as was.

 

[Pix]

Skip became annoyed quickly with the maudlin take Cassi had on his inquiry. He wasn't sure if it was just because it sounded overly pessimistic or that she was right, but either way he knew it was not what he wanted to hear. He understood her point of view on the topic though. She was out for survival, at least until she was strong enough to rob from someone again, and Skip thought he had a higher purpose, those weren't the type of world views to co-exist over something like immigrant whores who may be in distress.

"Look," Skip assured his former riding companion, "I'm not planning a gun fight or anything, I just think a little snooping wouldn't hurt. If things get harry, I'll just hightail it on out of Cody and head west."

Skip looked at the woman giving him the skeptical look. She probably wanted no part in his quest, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, "Are you interested in doing a little digging?"