Westward Holiday (6 page)

“The women play cards?” Rebecca said.

“Yeah.  It’s pretty funny.  Jamie usually ends up battling her husband for the pot because they’re the best two players,” Jake said.  “You’ll see.  We usually play one Monday a month, and we decided on this coming Monday night.  I close early so we can play.”

“It sounds like fun,” Rebecca said.  She’d never attended a poker game since in her circles the women didn’t attend such events.  When she’d decided to come to Montana, she hadn’t expected to feel so far out of her depth.  It was as if all the rules had been thrown out the window and there really weren’t any.

Jake saw her confusion and sighed.  “How about we finish the tour and then you can practice?”

“All right,” she said. 

It only took ten more minutes to see the rest of his place and then Rebecca went back downstairs.  Gus smiled at her as she came out to the bar area.

“Hi, Miss Rebecca,” he said.  “How’re things?”

She smiled at him.  “They’re fine.  I’m going to practice for tonight.”

“I’m lookin’ forward to hearin’ you play,” Gus told her.

“Thank you,” she said and continued on her way.

There were few patrons in the bar at that time of day, so it didn’t bother Rebecca to play.  She found solace in the music and felt better when she was through than she had when she’d started.  A smattering of applause greeted her.

Joe Dwyer appeared beside her as she closed the lid over the keys.  “Well, well, Miss Walker.  It would appear that we have a concert pianist in our midst.”

Rebecca smiled at him. “I would hardly say that I’m of that caliber, Mayor.”

“Oh, come now.  I’ve heard some concert pianists in my younger days, and I would dare say that you put more than a few to shame,” he responded.

“Thank you for saying so.  It’s very kind of you,” she said. 

She frowned and Joe cocked his head at her.  “What’s troublin’ ya’ll?”

Rebecca sighed and asked, “May I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he said.

“You’re obviously a man of refined breeding and tastes and yet ya’ll have chosen to settle here.  May I ask why?” Rebecca said.

Joe drew a chair over and sat down.  “That is a complicated question, but I shall endeavor to answer it.  My daddy moved us here when I was nineteen.  We lived in Austin and I was so angry with him for uprooting us.  I had everything I wanted there.  Like your family, we were very prominent and well off.  I was becoming more involved in the family horse ranching business and I was in no short supply of female companionship.”

“Why did you come here?” Rebecca asked.

“My Mama’s family lived here and convinced Daddy that this was a good place to raise horses because the weather conditions here would make them heartier animals.  So we came here and Daddy hated it right away.  I didn’t like it either until I met Luke and his family.  They started showing me that it was true that horses do well here.  Not to toot my own horn, but I have excellent instincts when it comes to breeding and training horses.  It was those instincts that began producing results and our profits soared.”

“But it’s so rough here,” Rebecca said.  “I just don’t know what to think about any of this.”

Joe laughed.  “I didn’t either, but I’ll tell you what; it allowed me to set my true self free.  I didn’t have to be so bottled up all the time.  I confess that I became even wilder than I had been in Austin but I never harmed anyone unless they were out to harm me or my friends.  I went on a few cattle drives and played poker, drank and was rarely lonely, if you get my meaning.”

Rebecca flushed a little.  She knew that plenty of men exhibited this kind of behavior, but to hear one talk directly to her about it was a trifle embarrassing.  “I get your meaning.”

He smiled at her discomfort.  It reminded him of Lacey when he’d first met her.  “But the longer I’ve lived here, the more I love it and the people here.  Sure some of them are pretty rough and ornery, but they’ve had to be.  It can be a hard life in these parts and if I hadn’t toughened up some, I doubt I’d have made it.  These ranchers work hard to make ends meet and feed their families.  But some of the best beef comes from here and they’re constantly working at being innovative.  They may be rough, but they’re not dumb or lazy.”

“I see what you mean.  Is it true that your wife plays poker?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes, it is.  She’s not the best player because you always know if she has a good hand or not, but she has fun and that’s all that matters,” Joe said.  “Is that what’s bothering you?  Women playing poker?”

“Yes.  That and other things.” Rebecca knew it sounded as if she were being snobbish.  “I was shocked when I first saw Sammi.”

Joe let out a shout of laughter.  “Everyone usually is, even me, but I got a kick out of her right off.  Look, it’s simple, Rebecca; Dawson has taught me to meet everyone where they’re at.”

Her brow furrowed.  “I’m afraid I don’t understand that.”

“It means that you accept people for who they are without judgment.  It’s the whole ‘judging a book by its cover’ thing.  Sammi is tough as nails on the outside.  I know that from personal experience, but if it wasn’t for her, my wife wouldn’t be here, so I’m grateful to her.  Besides, she’s fun as hell.  She, Jamie, and Lacey all came from some very bad circumstances, but they’re some of the best women I know.  Actually there are a lot of good women here.  Men, too.  You can’t just look at some of these people and put them in any particular category.  You have to meet them where they’re at and get to know them,” Joe said.  “Does that help any?”

Rebecca mulled over his words and saw the wisdom in them.  “Yes.  I think it does.”  She looked at him and smiled.  “No wonder they elected you mayor.”

“Nah, that’s just because I’m rich and they had no one else good runnin’,” Joe said as he stood up. 

“I somehow don’t think that’s true,” Rebecca said.  “I think you’re much smarter than you let on.”

“Shh.  Don’t be spreadin’ that around, Becky,” Joe said and laughed when he saw her frown at the use of a nickname.  “You might as well get used to that, too, because unless you get real cranky with people about it, you’re gonna get a nickname.”

Rebecca arched an eyebrow at him.  “Do you have one?”

“Yep.  Joey.  Or dumbass.  It depends on who’s talkin’ to me at the moment,” he told her and gave her a huge smile.  He patted her on the shoulder and said, “See ya’ll tonight.”

Rebecca stared openmouthed at Joe as he walked away.

              As Jake had told her, that night was wild compared to the night before.  She sat behind the bar with Jake a lot because it was so noisy.  Jamie and Joe sang as they had the previous night, but Seth Samuels had come along to play with Luke and the two fiddle players helped get the crowd even more wound up than normal. 

              Jake served drinks, often tapping his feet while doing so.  Every so often, he’d have Gus watch the bar and go out to dance.  He always invited Rebecca to go with him, but she declined.  She didn’t want to try to learn in front of all the other people who would laugh at her.  Often times when Jake hit the dance floor, a cheer went up.  The crowd liked seeing the bar owner strut his stuff.

              As Rebecca watched him dance, she enjoyed the way his strong body moved and saw quite a few of the females in the bar did, too.  He looked virile as he stomped, turned, and clapped and she wondered who’d taught him how to dance that way.  During one such dance, Seth tapped Joe on the shoulder and shook his head at him.  Joe shut his mouth and passed along the message to Jamie and so on until Seth and Luke were the only ones playing.

              Jake laughed and recognized what they were up to.  So did the crowd.  Every once in a while, Seth and Luke challenged him to keep up with a crazy fiddle duel and not get tripped up.

Joe stopped everyone and hollered, “Whoa, whoa!  Let the betting begin!  Who will win tonight, folks?  The bawdy bartender with legs of steel or the furiously fiddling fiddlers?  Hurry up, ya’ll!”

There was a flurry of activity as money was given to Wendell who usually kept track of the bets. 

              “All right!  Let’s get down to it!” Joe shouted and the fiddle players started playing.

              At the appropriate place, Jake began dancing again and the crowd clapped along with the beat.  The tempo increased until it seemed impossible for Jake to keep up, but keep up he did.  Luke’s arm gave out before Jake’s legs and he stopped playing.  Seth went on for only a little while before he had to stop, too.

              Jake laughed and took a sweeping bow while the audience stomped and hooted.  Then the bartender ran back behind the bar and began accepting congratulations from the patrons.  A poker game turned violent and a lot of fighting was heard.  Rebecca looked at Jake, but he kept serving booze as if there was nothing happening in the main barroom. 

              Then Sammi came through pushing a guy ahead of her whom she slammed into the closed door.  “Oh, sorry about that!  I didn’t see that the door was closed,” she told the man which made Jake laugh.  She picked him up while Gus opened the door.

              “Thank you, Gus,” Sammi said.  “You’re a true gentleman.”  She quickly dispatched the man outside and came back in.  She no sooner entered the barroom when she shouted, “Who wants to be next?”  Things quieted down a little after that.

              Jake looked at Rebecca and said, “See why I hired her?” and winked.

              Rebecca suddenly saw the humor in the situation and began laughing, which pleased Jake.  He didn’t want her to be afraid.  Jake ran back to his office and returned with a wine glass which he handed to her.  “Drink up, sweetheart.  You’ll be on soon.”

              Rebecca looked at the white wine in the glass and sniffed it.  It was a wonderfully dry bouquet and she marveled again that Jake knew fine liquor.  Then she cocked her head as she watched him and thought who better than a master bartender to know such things.  She took a sip and knew that the wine had to be very expensive.

              Jake looked at her and she nodded her appreciation.  His grin caused her stomach to flutter.  She drank more of the wine and then sat the glass down.  Jake spoke into Gus’ ear and the older man disappeared.  When he came back, he motioned for Rebecca to follow him. 

              “Go get ‘em,” Jake said with a smile to Rebecca.

              She smiled and went with Gus.

              Joe banged on the piano and the room grew quiet.  “Folks, we have someone in our midst who will add a touch of class to our humble lives.  She comes to us all the way from Georgia.  This Southern Belle will delight your hearing and thrill your soul with her musical ability.  I now present to you the ravishing Rebecca Walker!”

              Rebecca smiled at Joe’s introduction as she walked to the piano.  He gave her a nod and a smile and went to sit down.  After seating herself on the piano bench, Rebecca closed her eyes and centered her mind on the melody flowing through it.  Jake came out from behind the bar to watch her play. 

              He quietly pulled up a chair so he didn’t disturb her and sat back in it as her fingers began to move over the keys.  The music began to crescendo and soar and Jake closed his eyes and let the notes roll through him.  He had no idea what the songs were and he was betting that not many people in the audience did, either.  What he did know was that they evoked strong emotions within him.

              Jake opened his eyes as the first song ended and he was mesmerized by the euphoric expression on Rebecca’s lovely face as she began playing another song.  Much as the crowd did whenever Jamie sang solos, they stayed quiet and didn’t interrupt.  Every time Rebecca played she was drawn into a place where all else ceased to exist but she and the music.  There was no pain, no shame, and no turmoil.

              He hated to, but when her second song was over, Jake had to go back to serve drinks again.  However, the bar was quiet enough that he could hear her other songs.  When she stopped playing and sat quietly, the bar was hushed for several moments before whistling and claps broke out.  Rebecca sat as the applause washed over her and smiled because she could tell that they truly appreciated her performance. 

              What Joe had said to her about getting to know these people came to her then.  That these people living in a remote part of the country where lives could be very hard and dangerous at times could be touched by the kind of music she played drove his point home to her better than any words ever could.

              She rose and turned and gave them a deep curtsy.  Then Rebecca was once again plied with drink offers and surrounded by men.  Suddenly the wall of well-wishers parted as Luke and Seth pushed their way through to her and made the rest back off.

              “Give ‘er some room, you idiots,” Seth shouted at them.  “How do you expect her to breathe?”

              Rebecca smiled up at Seth.  He said, “Sorry about that, Miss Walker.  The guys don’t mean any harm.  They just get a little excited.”

              “I understand.  It’s all right,” Rebecca said.

              “Lordy, listen to that accent,” Seth said.  “You know, you could probably get any guy to do anything you wanted to just by askin’.”