The girl sat on the bench staring intently at the two young men across the street. One was tall, slim, and blond while the taller of the two wore a buff colored hat, was dark complected, and sported a mustache. They both were very good looking though she preferred the blond one for some reason. But then again they both were not as handsome as her Stephen. She wondered what they were talking about.
"Mary, did you hear me?" Mary snapped her head around to see her mother standing next to the bench staring down at her.
"Mary, you're fifteen and it seems to me you're old enough to stop daydreaming. Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, Mama."
Her mother rolled her eyes heavenward as if to gain strength and continued on. "I just came out here to tell you that your father and I will be at the attorney's office for an hour or two. I want you to stay close by. We should be done in time to catch the stage back to Indianapolis and then the train home sometime tomorrow."
"Uh-huh......."
Mary's mother glanced down at her daughter one last time, shook her head and then walked down the boardwalk to the attorney's office.
Mary was glad to have some time to herself. Ever since they'd left home she'd been with one of her parents or a relative. The funeral had been yesterday for her great uncle and now all that was left for her parents to do was settle some details with the attorney.
She'd found the trip to Indiana exciting and interesting but would be glad to get back home and see her friend Rose Travis and especially Rose's brother Stephen. She would have a lot to tell them, especially to Stephen who was always talking about going west. She enjoyed talking to Stephen very much. Mary sighed.
She glanced again across the street to find that the two young men that had attracted her attention earlier were still across the street but now they were staring back at her.
Her first reaction was to glance away but she suddenly thought better of it and met their stare with her own. If they thought they could intimidate her they were wrong!
She watched the tall blond smile at her and then Mr. Mustache nudge the blond and smile also. They then turned and walked on down the boardwalk.
Mary watched them until they disappeared around a corner. She stared at the spot where they had disappeared and ran the blond man's smile through her mind several times. The sound of approaching horses on the street in front of her brought her out of her daydream and she got up and wandered down the boardwalk toward the mercantile.
She needed to buy a birthday gift for Stephen and something for Rose. She entered the mercantile and slowly began an inspection of what the mercantile had to offer. After much thought, she chose a belt buckle for Stephen and a lavender sachet for Rose. She was on her way past the front windows of the mercantile to purchase the items when she heard tapping on the window and looked up to see the two young men she had eyed earlier standing outside the window peering in.
Mr. Mustache kept tapping on the window and looked to be trying to get someone's attention. Mary was about to point to herself in way of asking him if it was she he was trying to talk to when she heard giggling behind her. She turned to see that the giggling came from a red-headed girl who was at the moment moving toward the door to greet the two men outside.
Mary watched as Mr. Mustache picked her up and twirled her around all the while laughing. Mary glanced to the blond man and saw to her surprise that he had been watching her. Mary didn't look away but instead felt drawn to him and so just stood on the opposite side of the window looking at him and he at her.
The sound of someone saying, "Miss, can I help you", broke the moment and she turned to see the clerk behind her. Mary handed the belt buckle and sachet to the clerk and before following her to the counter turned once more to the window only to see the two men and the red head walking away.
Mary idly wandered the boardwalk looking into the different shop windows and occasionally looking up and down the street. She finally ended up sitting once more on the same bench she had occupied earlier. She had no idea how long she had sat there thinking about the days events when she realized her Mother was talking to her.
Mary couldn't have told anyone what her mother had been talking to her about, as she'd only caught something about staying another night due to some court case. Mary did not ask for her Mother to repeat any of the details of the conversation as she did not want to hear another lecture on daydreaming. Her mother continued to stand at the end of the bench until Mary realized that she was expected to get up and follow her back to the hotel. So she reluctantly got up and followed her mother to the hotel room.
Later that evening when Mary's parents had gone out to speak with the attorney once again Mary found herself bored and wandered down to the lobby and then to the boardwalk outside and peered up and down the street.
It was Friday night and the little town seemed to have come to life especially around the saloon down the street. There was also a commotion of some sort going on at the schoolhouse at the opposite end of town.
Before venturing further down the boardwalk Mary quickly rationalized that her parents had not said anything about her leaving the hotel. Besides what could happen to her in such a one horse town as this? She began to stroll on down the boardwalk toward the school.
As she neared the school she could hear music and laughter and when opposite the front door she could see that they had cleared the one room schoolhouse of benches and desks and made room for a dance. Several couples were dancing while others stood around the edge eating and talking.
Suddenly Mary heard muffled giggles and she walked a little further beyond the school building and saw several couples spooning in the shadows of a large oak tree. It was so dark on this side of the building that she could barley make out the entwined couples.
Mary cast her eyes down and thought what her father would say if he ever caught her kissing Stephen like that. She would be sent to her room, given a sound lecture and probably never get to see Stephen for a very long time. She shuddered at the thought.
She walked back to the front of the school so she could see the dancing couples and listen to the music. Her eyes were half closed when she began to slightly sway to the tune floating out into the night air.
The music ended and after eyeing the couples for a moment longer Mary began to walk slowly back up the boardwalk toward the saloon. She had never seen the inside of a real western saloon and she was curious. She wouldn't dare go in but she thought she might take a peek over the batwing doors or take just a glance in the windows.
She wasn't very far from the school when she heard running footsteps coming her way and she looked up to see three dark forms running toward her and two more forms following some distance behind.
She quickly plastered herself against a shop wall trying to make herself small and inconspicuous. How would she explain herself to her parents if something happened and she ended up in the sheriff's office or worse? She scrunched herself even harder against the wall hoping to look as small as possible.
Mary began to repeat the word "no" several times in a row and slightly shake her head back and forth. She stopped her chant of "no" when she suddenly recognized the front three forms as the two men she had eyed earlier and the red headed girl from the mercantile. She stood watching as the tall mustached man suddenly made a sharp turn to the right dragging the little red head into an alley way. One of the two large men chasing them split off to follow Mr. Mustache and the blond continued toward her.
Before she could get out another round of "no, no, no's" the blond man had seized her hand and pulled her back toward the school. She had no time to protest as he propelled her along into the school, swept her up and began to dance.
Mary was about to dig in her heels and demand to know what he thought he was doing when she heard the blond man begin to speak. He spoke rapidly and quietly saying he wasn't going to hurt her, but there were some men after himself and his friend Buck due to a misunderstanding about Buck dating Sally Ann. He also got out that his name was Chris and that he would be forever grateful if she would help him. Mary assumed that the red head was Sally Ann. But before she get out any questions she heard Chris swear under his breath.
Mary turned her head to look across the crowded dance floor to see what had made him swear. In the doorway was a very large man with what looked like a club in his hand intently studying the dance floor. Suddenly she felt herself being danced toward the back of the room toward the back door.
Chris was out the doorway pulling her after him when Mary managed to glance back to see the man with the club suddenly look up and see them exit the dance floor.
Chris pulled her across the grass toward the big oak tree and the spooning couples. Once they reached an empty spot by the trunk of the tree Chris put a finger to his lips warning her to be quiet. Mary could feel her heart pounding and found herself not scared one little bit but rather exhilarated at the whole turn of events.
Suddenly she saw the man with the club walk by where they were standing and begin to peer into the darkness eyeing several spooning couples near by. She then saw him approach a couple and grab them to look at their faces and when satisfied that it wasn't who he was looking for had moved on to the next couple. The man was coming closer and closer to where they stood and Mary was getting a little concerned.
Mary was about to voice her concern when Chris bent down and with no warning kissed her hard on the mouth. The kiss surprised and confused her and by the time she realized she should be making some show of resistance it was too late and she found herself enjoying the kiss very much and responding back to the pressure of his lips on hers.
"Chris......Chris!"
With the sound of his name being called Chris pulled away from Mary leaving her feeling a little dizzy and she had to take a big breath to get her bearings. She had just gotten her heart under control and breathing near normal when she heard again someone calling out in a loud whisper, "Chris, I lost the one follown' me and Sally Anne's brother is headed back to town. Lets go!"
"I'm comin' Buck, just a minute."
Chris whispered a "Thank you", pecked her on the cheek and then turned into the darkness and disappeared.
Mary stood as if stunned until noise from a giggling female brought her back to her senses and she realized she should be getting back to the hotel before her parents found out she was gone. She hurried as fast as she could back to the hotel and made it with minutes to spare before hearing her parents return.
The next morning Mary glanced up and down the street one last time before boarding the stage with her parents. Seeing no one of interest she stepped up into the stage and sat next to the door so she could look out across the street. The stage began moving and as Mary glanced one last time across the street she saw a slim, tall, shadow move from under the porch roof across the street, step forward, smile, and touch the brim of his hat with the tips of two fingers. Mary smiled back and when she could no longer see him settled back in the coach seat only to hear her Mother say, "Mary, have you heard anything I just said?"
The End
