Feels good to do somethin' right.

“Why we wastin’ time goin’ all the way back to the ranch? Lookie, I know that I done messed up, so give me a durn chance to fix it!” I pleaded all sweet-like.

“Why should I? You kicked up a row with that there horse seller for no reason. Why? Cuz you thought he was tryin’ to bilk us, or cuz he mentioned that feller you saw the other day? You, Miss Nina, sure need to stop livin’ with that big ole chip on that there shoulder of yours.”

“I don’t want to talk about that cheat! Let me just fix this! Let me try!” I pleaded again.

He looked on over at me and just sighed. “Okay. But let me say this right here, if you get us thrown in the calaboose this time cuz o’ yer temper, I’m goin’ to clean your plow and then drop you off at the ranch. Comprendo?”

My grin was all the answer he needed, even though he sure was lookin’ a little worried about it.

So we started our way to the next town, Big River. I did my best along the way to make up fer the difficulties I did. It made the time pass to town easier than hollerin’ did. We made it there in no time. I remembered that Big Cal was from there.. I was hopin’ that he made it back in after that difficulty we had at Wet River. He says he is kinda a big bug there, so I was sure settin’ my sights on him helpin’ us.

Well, sure ‘nuff, Big Call was sittin’ there on the first porch we past, grinnin’ like a jackass eatin’ cactus. Pinned to his chest was a shiny star with the words “Sheriff.”

“Sheriff? You a sheriff? Why didn’t you go on and tell me that?” I said to him as he shook hands with me and Ahanu.

“What? And spoil my fun. Oh, Missy, I couldn’t have you knowin’ all that. You would’na wanted to play cards with me if you thought I was a ace high man! Now what do you reckon I can do fer ya?”

So I told him everything. Well, everything about what I done, not everything concernin’ Danny McCoy. That’s still my secret and it ain’t passin’ these lips even after I’m six feet under.

He just gave me a disappointed look. “Now, Miss Nina. I knew all about that mess with Red Johnnie. I was there, member? Now, this tale you just told me’s not hard to believe but I reckon you deserve it if I didn’t help you. I’ve watched you coffee boil around and be so lazy that you wouldn’a even called Sueeeee!!! in a pig pen. But I’ll help you on account of yer uncle. He’s a decent feller, hardworkin’. And I’ll help you cuz I think that you finally realizin’ that you can’t live life trying to beat the devil around the stump. But, I suggest you best start learnin’ from yer uncle and this gent right here. Be someone he can tie to before he throws up the sponge with ya. But this just some friendly ad-vice from a friend.” And with that, he led us on down to the corral and introduced us to the horse seller.

As we started headin’ back to the ranch later on that day, Ahanu looked at me and said,” Well, if that don’t take the rag off! You finally listened to somebody and did a fine job at dickerin’ with that there seller. Weren’t it a good feelin’ to not take on so all the time and do a fine job? I hope you can keep on being sound on the goose and stop shootin’ yer mouth off. You might even be a person I can ride the river with on the next trip.”

What he said, right there, made me feel all warm inside. It kinda felt good to do something right fer a change. It sure weren’t no effort to do it, but don’t be thinkin’ I’ll be changin’ all my ways overnight! Sure as shootin’, I’ll still have some fun yet, just a more respectable kind of fun! Yeeee-haw!

Makin' a scene

“It weren’t my fault!!” I screamed at Ahanu, as we led our mounts down the trail that would take us back home.

“Sure, it weren’t. It weren’t your fault that we almost got our keesters kicked outta the horse dealer’s corral. It weren’t your fault that not only did we not get the dinero  that we was supposed to get, but now our reputation ain’t no good! You just couldn’t hobble your lip, could ya! We had the bulge over that dealer, with havin’ three good horses, and that we was repeat customers, we just needed to dicker a little. Now I got to find us a new buyer, cuz you just had to go be half seas over with whiskey and cause a shindy!” He said all this with such a sound in his voice that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The panic was startin’ to spread through my chest. It really weren’t my fault…..I know it weren’t .

First off, I sure as shootin’ didn’t count on seein’ Danny McCoy and for my back to get all up about it. I was feelin’ like all them emotions that four-flusher made me feel all them years ago all came back to bite me in my keester. So, after helpin’ with the horses, I left Ahanu to scout out the fort and found me some whiskey. With bottle in hand I went back to where the horses were, findin’ them all by their lonesomes, and I proceeded to get soaked.

That’s where Ahanu found me the next mornin’, all roostered and stinkin’ to high heaven. He dragged my tail on out of the stable and dunked me into a barrel of water.

After I gasped, coldly, I glared at him and crawled out.

“Jesum Joseph! What ate your biscuit this mornin’?” I hollered while I stomped off to our room to get changed.

“Where you think you going, Miss Nina? We ain’t got time fer all that. We got to get on down to the seller before he finds some other feller to buy from. You’ll be dry as buzzard bones by the time we git to it. Now let’s git to it!” He grabbed the reins of the three palominos and started leadin’ them out.

By the time we got to the trader, I sure was in no mood to be nice and lady-like. Besides, I was tellin’ the truth to that swindlin’ seller when I told him we weren’t as stupid as he was, tryin’ to offer half of what them horses was worth! Well, I reckon he didn’t like that. Then what does this low-down, dirty blowhard do? He says,” Well, I guess we all got some stupid in all us, don’t we Miss Nina? I heard o’ you from your little friend, Danny McCoy.” He said all this with a smirk.

 I saw red and felt red. It was like a splash of crimson was thrown across my eyes and started to boil my insides, right on outta my ears. I walked right on up to him, and stood glaring up in his ugly as homemade sin face, and hocked a big ole loogie. It landed right on his cheek.

It was so quiet after that, I turned and saw a group of people just starin’ at me in shock. Ahanu was blood boilin’ mad. Before I could turn back to face the seller, I felt a blow land on the side of my face. It hit me so hard that I fell right on down to the ground.

“You git her on out of this town, you hear me?! You tell Chogan we ain’t got no more business. He best find himself another seller. You got til noon.” So we skedaddled on out of town as fast as we could.

Now, it’s been a few hours since we last hollered at each other. I looked at Ahanu, finally realizin’ the mess we was in and sighed. “What we gonna do now?” I said.

“We ain’t gonna do nothin’. I’m gonna go to take you on back to your uncle, let him deal with your good fer nothing ways, and then I’m gonna go to the next town and try to get some more business. Tryin’ to fix your mistakes, that’s what I’m gonna do.” We rode the rest of the day in silence, unpacked the camp in silence, and passed the rest of the night in silence. I got to fix this somehow, but where do I start? I know I done messed up this time, and I now reckon that it’s my fault.

Danny McCoy

Me and “He laughs” made the rest of our way up yonder to Fort Benton without a hitch. Things still ain’t changed, with him all still hollerin’ at me to fetch this and that and me givin’ him some lip, but not like the other day. I know I need to start actin’ like I’m ace-high, but just got no clue as to how to even start. And I still ain’t got no clue as to why I still got saddled with all this here work, with no never mind from him! And he’s the one callin’ me a deadbeat!

So, we ride on into town and we start lookin’ for a place to hole up. Here we are just ridin’ along, minding our own business when I hear this man shootin’ off his mouth to me.

“Well, if it ain’t little Miss Fortin! All grown and lookin’ as fine as a palomino!”

I stopped short. That voice sounded like a burro with a bad cold! I knew that voice.

I turned my head and sure as shootin’, standing there looking all high and mighty was Mr. Danny McCoy.

Ahanu raised one o’ his big black eyebrows in my direction and continued on down the promenade.

“Well, well, well, Mr. McCoy. Fancy comin’ across your ugly face! You here tryin’ to chisel some lollys outta a youngin’s hand?”

Mr. McCoy was a smooth talkin’ bunko artist that I had the mispleasure of knowin’ soon after my ma and pa passed. He tried to get me in the neck with regards to my ranch. If it weren’t on account of my uncle bein’ such a curly wolf, he’d a gotten it, the whole durn thing! Just seein’ him struttin’ about in his lightfoot clothes really got my blood a’boilin’!

“Now, now, Miss Nina. You still got a grudge against me for all that business a ways back? That’s all it was, darling’, just business. But you sure have come a long ways since then. Why don’t we mosie on down to the saloon and get you something to wet your whistle?” He said all this with a grin as big as a weasel in a hen house.

I turned round to find Ahanu, eyein’ my situation from a few feet back. “Sorry to spoil your attempt to soft solder me outta my wits, Mr. McCoy, but I got some work to do.” All the while, my mind was runnin’ off with all the low-down things he done, I was so mad I coulda bit myself.  

I followed Ahanu to the back of the hotel where the stables were, mutterin’ to myself as I started workin’ on un-saddlin’ the horses and brushin’ them down. Outta the corner of my eye I seen Ahanu with a smirk, shakin’ his head.

“Well, what you all grinnin’ about?” I said.

“Got some work to do, huh?” he said, laughing. Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! He’s laughing! “I ain’t seen you do work without bein’ told for the past week, and here ya are, just takin’ too it like you been doin’ it without no lip the whole time.” Still he’s shakin’ his head. “What he do to ya, anyway? I know it musta been perty bad. You just fittin’ to bust!”

“He tried to steal the Day Star right out from this here nose o’ mine, that’s what he done. If it weren’t for Uncle, he probly woulda too.” I said this last part a little shamefully. Danny McCoy didn’t just try to bilk me outta my ranch, he tried to seduce me like I was some rich grass widow. I think my face turned all red, and with that Ahanu turned back to the horse. “Well, that’s enough o’ this here chatter. Let’s get them horses lookin’ less like crowbait so we can get them a fair price.”

Without much proddin’, I continued on brushin’. What woulda happened if I lost the ranch? I’m findin’ that I don’t like thinkin’ about not havin’ it. It’s gonna be a long way back to Wet River.

Tryin' to stand the gaff....

Here I am, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, travellin’ to Fort Benton to sell some horses. I reckon Uncle didn’t appreciate the difficulty over Red Johnnie. After we fought like Kilkenny cats, he euchered me into going on this here expedition.

“Oh you knocked into a cocked hat now, didn’tcha  missy?!” He said. “So you think you some ace-high gal? Go on, prove to me here that you can be fine as cream gravy and do somethin’ bang-up for a change. Ain’t no hide off my back if you can’t do it. I don’t need you here no more and you can just go on and high-tail it on out to some namby-pamby place. Miss big, high and mighty.”

That’s right, folks, he got me. And of course, I can’t even head out by my lonesome, he done got me a baby-sitter. It’s been two days and I still can’t get Ahanu to crack a smile. “He laughs” my keester! Why would you go on and name someone like that? More like “he hobbles his lip.” Ahanu used to be a part of my mamma and uncle’s tribe before they kicked him out on account of his love for white man living, too much into them oh-be-joyfuls and gettin’ as full as a tick every night. Then my uncle took him in and made him someone to run the river with.

 But I don’t care no continental about all that. He has done nothing but been all ruffled up since he found out I was goin’ with him. “Go on and fetch that water for them horses. Fetch me some sticks for a fire. Don’t go on and be all coffee-boilin’ about it and get to them horses.” Nothing but orderin’ me around like I’m some deadbeat! Why don’t you just go on and throw in the whole kit and caboodle while you’re at it! I’ve never been so played and dragged out in all my life.
“It’s hotter than a whorehouse on nickel night, and you expect me to do all that!” I yelled.
“You better pull in your horns, Miss Nina. I ain’t got no time for you and your shenanigans. I’da already been up an about, headin’ to where I needed to be if it weren’t for you and your fandango ways. So hobble your lip and pony up.” He said back to me.
“Well, who done shot your dog and said it’s dancin’? I muttered. Why is he yellin’ at me like that? Ain’t my fault that he had to watch over me.
“You know you sure ain’t holdin’ a candle to your blood. I ain’t never seen someone who done pass the buck like you. Here you got a ranch, kin that love you, and a way to go through the mill and give up bein’ such a shave tail, but you just wanna peter it all out. For what? A grand ole time, right?” as he said this to my face, he looked like he done swallowed a horn toad backwards.
Instead of shootin’ my mouth off, I just shut my bazoo and got us up and ready to leave. The last thing he said to me got me feelin’ somewhat shameful. The guilt started tricklin, in. I guess I ain’t had no gumption to make Uncle proud of me. Reckon I got a lot to think about while I'm out here, travellin' in Paradise.