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Once inside the saloon, Stone was ambushed by the
smell of smoke and whiskey. Then a scantly dressed bar maid slipped in front of
him with one hand on her hip and the other supporting a tray of empty glasses.
“Howdy there stranger, I’m Ruby,” she said as
though he was interested. “Ain’t seen you around before. Can I get you
anything?” She looked him over with a mischievous grin, but Stone refused to
play along.
“No thank you, ma’am,” he replied plainly as he
stepped away from her.
With few patrons occupying the place, Stone was able
to guess which man was Jake, even from behind. Jake was seated at the bar and
hunched over a drink; Stone helped himself to the stool next to Jake. When the
two made eye contact, Jake easily recognized his old pal and discretely gave him
the once over.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” was the first
thing Jake said to him. Jake didn’t offer to shake hands and almost had a look
of disgust on his face.
“How’s life been treatin’ you, Hound?”
Although Stone was in the mood to throw himself around his old friend, he
resisted the temptation.
“Rougher’n I’d like,” Jake admitted.
“’Hound’. It’s been a long time since I heard that name. Brings back a
lot of memories too.”
In comparison, the two men looked vastly different.
Jake’s muscular build had softened, his hair was seasoned with patches of
white, and his face was covered in a mangy beard. Stone was firm from all the
work he’d done for the railroad while imprisoned, and long days in the sun had
lightened his hair. Jake was several years older than Stone, and now, every day
showed.
“Who’d’a thought I’d be the one to end up in
jail,” Stone said, referring to some of their wild antics as younger men. He
was hoping to ignite Jake’s sense of humor.
“I told you to keep away from them McClain boys,”
Jake said with a chuckle.
“You were right. Guess I should’a been more like
you and ran down the aisle after Josie said yes. Getting married and havin’
kids sure tamed you.”
Jake’s smile faded, and resentment set in.
“More like drained the life right out o’me,”
Jake said bitterly.
Stone and Jake were a lot like Cody and Buck: they
only hung out together to cause trouble, and Stone loved him like an older
brother. Of course, things changed once Jake matured and started courting Cally.
Jake slowly lost interest in supporting a bad reputation and focused more on
winning Cally’s heart. Once the two were married, Stone use to spend much of
his time helping Jake run his new farm. Soon, Jake and Cally were blessed with
two daughters, but money was tight, as his crops had not been bountiful. Though
they struggled, their love for each other remained strong.
And then love took hold of Stone Hawkins. It was
almost as though he woke up one day and discovered his love and desire for a
certain young girl, Josie Evans, and for Stone, it felt like it had been there
all along. What had amazed him the most though was realizing that she was
already in love with him. Josie would stare at him and be close to him every
chance she could. The two became engaged the day Stone finished school. Since
Josie still had another two years of school left to finish before they could
marry, Jake encouraged Stone to take that time to work hard, buy some land and
build a house. But Stone still had a rebellious nature about him. He’d seen
Jake work hard with little satisfaction, and little financial gain; he
determined not to live his life that way.
Instead, Stone, who’d befriended the McClain
brothers, a seedy, rowdy bunch of brothers, leaned his ear toward their advice.
The young men often bragged about how easy it was to steal from the general
store at night, then sell the goods in another town. Knowing that Stone was
fixing to marry soon, the brothers offered to help get him off to a good start.
Together they stole and sold goods for weeks, turning a handsome profit. Then
one of the brothers read about a stagecoach robbery in the local paper and
decided it was time for their gang to move on to bigger and better scores. Stone
was worried, since this involved facing people with guns and threatening
violence, but the brothers assured him that they wouldn’t harm anyone.
Jake knew Stone was spending most of his time with the
McClains, and like most people, he knew what they were up to. He cautioned Stone
that he was bound to get caught or killed, and that it was no way for a man to
live his life, but Stone, blinded by greed and arrogance, didn’t heed Jake’s
warning.
Once the gang started robbing banks, things changed,
and one of the brothers was badly injured during an escape. Stone wanted out,
but agreed to do one last robbery, and, of course, that’s when he and the
brothers were finally arrested.
Stone was sentence to ten years of hard labor in
prison. The McClain brothers received steeper punishments since stolen goods
were found in their homes. Stone lost everything—the money he’d stolen, the
greatest friend he’d ever known and the only girl he’d ever loved.
“Try prison sometime, then we can talk about not
havin’ a life,” Stone said.
“So you met my boy,” said Jake, changing the
subject.
“He’s quite a character. Tells me you’re out
diggin’ for gold.”
“Yep. I had me a couple good strikes. Now I just got
to hold on till the big one.”
Stone was careful not to discourage Jake, especially
since he knew that Cally had already served up plenty of doses. Besides, what
business was it of his?
“What made you give up farmin’, Jake?”
“Couldn’t hardly support my family. Seemed like
there was always somethin’ workin’ against me: the grasshoppers, the
weather, the crows…Just no way to live.”
“Doesn’t seem to me like you’re doin’ much
better.” Though it was doubtful this brutal honesty would help break the ice,
Stone couldn’t restrain himself. “Cody says you’re never around, and that
Cally’s workin’ to support the family.”
“What do you know? You been here a day or two and
think you know everything about me and my family. I work hard out there at that
claim. Look at these hands.” Jake thrust his filthy, callused hands in
Stone’s face, but Stone didn’t seem moved. “I ain’t been sittin’
around rottin’ in no cell all these years. I just need one big strike, then
everything will be fine.” He soothed his conscience with a shot of his
whiskey.
“That boy o’ yours needs you, Jake. And what about
Cally and the girls? Cody says she’s prayin’ for you to come home.”
“Still jealous of me, ain’t you?” Jake asked
with a sinister smile. For Stone, this meeting wasn’t going as well as he’d
hoped. “So have you seen her yet?” Jake was ready to turn the tables and
make Stone feel miserable.
Stone was quiet. He didn’t feel like letting Jake
torture him, but it was obvious he didn’t have much choice in the matter.
“You know she never did get married. She pined away
for you all those years. But maybe she’ll wed that fella she’s been courtin’.
Looks like you got back just in time for the weddin’.” Jake enjoyed a laugh
at Stone’s expense and slapped him heartily across the back.
“I’m glad for her, but it ain’t none of my
business,” Stone said dryly.
“Why don’t you just keep your nose out of my
business then and go crawl back into the cell you came out of,” snarled Jake.
“Your boy needs you, Jake. He’s skippin’ school,
bein’ a bully when he’s there and runnin’ with a bad crowd.” Stone
stared at the bar while Jake nursed another shot.
“Kinda sounds like someone I use to know. Besides,
it’s Cally’s job to keep him in line. I got work to do.” He slid off of
his seat and almost into Stone’s lap; Stone caught him and helped him back
onto the stool.
“You always start your day off with some whiskey?”
“I think you better keep your distance from me and
my boy,” Jake warned as he retched away from Stone’s helping hand. “Why
don’t you go and settle someplace else. This town don’t want you here.”
“Every man’s capable of change, Jake. Just look at
you.”
Jake stared at his old friend with intense anger, and
looked as if he might lunge at him. (But they both knew he was almost too drunk
to stand.) Unmoved, Stone replaced his hat, returned an emotionless glance and
left the saloon.
©2003 StoriesByEmail.com
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