The wind smoked my breath as I hammered the fence post into the ground. The boss man didn't want a single doggie to make its way off his land, and it was my job this week to ensure that didn't happen.
But it was late in the day; the sun was heading down and would be over Sugarloaf Mountain within the hour. I just didn't feel like doing any more work. Heck, it had already been a 12-hour day. My arms were sore from hammering, my fingers ached from pinching the wire to the fence post, and my backside hurt from spending the better part of the week riding a stubborn horse down the far side of the property repairing the fence.
I heard a crack of thunder in the distance, and the dark black cloud was heading my way. Yes, it was time to head to the shelter.
That's about all it was, a shelter. A one-room respite, away from the fickle weather of the Southwest Texas Territory. Not much to it, a single bunk, a wash stand, a single window and a fireplace which served for warmth and cooking. A nearby stream provided fresh water and several horse blankets provided warmth.
It was a far cry from the outskirts of El Paso, where I spent the two days off I had each month in the arms of a pretty senorita. Yes, out here alone on the range one gets to thinking about the good parts of life. It gives us hope; all is not work.
"Giddy-up," I said as I spurred King toward the shelter, which was a mile and a half away over some desolate countryside. I thought of the remaining eight or nine miles of ground I had to cover before the end of the week. It was a must, cause the boss had me scheduled to help with the drive of several hundred head of cattle down to the railroad once I my work was complete. The sale of the livestock would keep the ranch running, so it was a must that we fulfill that end of the bargain he struck with the Chicago folk.
Such is the life of a cowboy.
When I arrived at the shelter, I started the fire, washed and fed my horse, clipped off my chaps and threw some kindling into the fireplace. Making sure the fire was burning bright, I hauled a few pails of water into the shelter to clean off some of the dirt, trail dust and mud from my body. I warmed some water to give myself a bit of a sponge bath before settling back onto the pillows on the sparse bunk. Although the night's chill was quickly arriving, I battled it with the fire and a swig of the tequila I had brought with my in my saddlebag. Yup, me and Mr. Tequila would be spending the night together.
"I'm an old cowhand, from the Rio Grande. But my legs ain't bowed, and my cheeks aren't tan..." I hummed the old cowboy song to myself as I sipped the tequila and rested my aching bones. My face was warm from the rays of the sun, and I wondered if I'd soon have the wrinkled face of a turtle. Some of my friends are 40, but they look 60.
Along the way I let my mind wander back in time, to El Paso. To great wine, fast women and fractured, out of key, songs. It's great to be on the range, but it's better to spend some of those hard-earned greenbacks on some of the finer things in life.
Like Marguerite, the little Mexican minx, or Annie, the shy but tantalizing girl from Missouri, or good old San Antonio Rosie, the sweetheart of a woman with the huge smile and breasts to match. Ah, the finer parts of life; they can be found just outside the city limits of El Paso, just shy of the Mexican border.
There is a saloon on the Cherry Patch Ranch; the liquor never stops, nor does the parade upstairs with one of the bargirls. The girls, who work for Miss Kitty, are available for everyone from the mayor to the sheriff to us lowly cowhands, as long as we can ante up the price of admission. That admission is sure to bring a smile to any man's face, for the girls who wear the flirty, flowing dresses downstairs are downright animals just one floor above.
I am not ashamed to say I have sampled every one of the women upstairs, sometimes several times. Variety is the spice of life, and as sure as Teddy Roosevelt is president I have the right to use my hard-earned pay for rest and relaxation with the girl of my wishes at the Cherry Patch. If that privilege isn't in the Declaration of Independence, it should be.
I took another swig from the bottle and fondly thought of my last trip to the Cherry Patch Ranch. After paying for a room to hang my spurs and belongings, I ambled over to the saloon in search of a beer, a smile and a woman, not necessarily in that order. There were many of each, and I merely knocked back a couple of beers and took a lay of the land until I noticed a familiar smell of perfume and then felt a finger on my shoulder.
"Why Miss Kitty, long time, no see. And that's a shame because you are a sight for sore eyes," I said with a smile, eying her bosom. "My oh my oh my!"
Miss Kitty shook her head. "I thought you would come up with something a little more original, Slick, but then, why break old habits?"
The women who work for Miss Kitty had a way with men, twisting them around their fingers as they greased them up for the kill upstairs. Miss Kitty had been running the bordello at the Cherry Patch Ranch for more years than anyone could remember, and was always quick with a quip...unless you were the type that couldn't control your liquor or manners with her girls, at which time the affable woman turned into a ferocious tiger. She saw no reason not to plug your leg with a bullet if you did not treat her girls right. And if you complained to the sheriff, you just might get the other leg plugged as well.
Miss Kitty received a well-earned respect from the men who visited her parlor. She might be the provider of all things good, but she was also the woman in charge, no questions asked.
"Miss Kitty, like it or not you look great," I continued, giving her a dignified up and down, once over inspection. Then I gazed around the room. "Business looks great around these parts."
"Business has been good," she admitted, taking the perfect opening to one of her patented lines. "I know the girls have been busy. You know the old saying, it's a business doing pleasure with you!"
"I'll bet! I guess Rosie is busy because I haven't seen her tonight."
"Rosie, well bless her heart, she's busy but not like you're a'thinkin," said Miss Kitty, shaking her head from side to side. "She up and got married to Preacher Roe just a month ago. Here tell she's got a bun in the oven already!"
My heart sank as I thought of the loss of Rose from the flowers in this establishment. She was a blazing 20-year-old redhead with the tightest coochie I had ever sampled.
Miss Kitty noted my disappointment. "Say, Slick, she's answering to a higher authority," she said, raising her eyes toward the ceiling. "One day you should settle down. But I do have a surprise for you."
The woman walked away, then, turned toward me, and gave a come here gesture with her dainty finger. Not one to disappoint a lady, I took my beer and ambled after her. We took the 24 steps up to her fragrant, spacious office on the second floor, where she primly sat behind her desk. She looked tiny behind it; the desk was a present from the retired sheriff, who held Miss Kitty in a special place in his heart.
"So, Slick, what's your pleasure?" she asked with a knowing smile while opening a bottle of whiskey.
"Well, ma'am, I wanted a little company tonight, but I sure was looking forward to seeing Rosie," I disappointedly said, taking a glass of the firewater and offering a silent toast.
"Well, I don't think the reverend would appreciate her, um, working here, even with you, but I just might have something to pick you up."
I looked at her and smiled. "You aren't thinking of treating me to a little of your pleasures, are you ma'am?"
"Not on your life, Slick, but if you have ten bucks we might just have something you are guaranteed to like."
Miss Kitty never let me down. It was if she could read my mind. For as long as I had known her, from the days years ago when she was a working girl and not a madam, she knew how and when and why I liked what I liked. She knowingly looked at me, saw the shock in my eyes over the twice normal fee, and casually stated, "Your call, but if you don't like it I will gratefully give you back the house's cut for old times sake."
My date for the evening would have to be very special for Miss Kitty to make this kind of an offer. "I'm game," I said, knowing if Miss Kitty was vouching for the uniqueness one of her girls then she would have to be a first class filly.
Miss Kitty reached over and rang a bell, then sat back and smiled her all-knowing grin at me. Soon there was a light knock at the door. When it opened, I couldn't believe my eyes. She was a princess, a beauty like no other. She stood before us and I truly lost my breath.
"Yes Miss Kitty, can I help you?" said the quiet but sultry voice. A girl stood before us, curls on her hair, a fine specimen of femininity.
"Hello Julie dear. I'd like you to meet Slick O'Neill; he's been coming around these parts for too many years, but for some reason I've taken a liking to him and let him come back," said Miss Kitty, pointing at me. "I know you have an appointment now, but I would like you to see to it that Slick has a wonderful night."
The woman was a feast for sore, range-tired eyes. A petite blonde with excellent proportions in a frilly full-length red dress. She had an ample bosom, a charming smile, and when she said "Of course, ma'am", I thought I would melt. "It's a date!" She nodded, then left the room, but not before my eyes focused on her backside that gently rounded out the dress.
"She is beautiful," I noted.
"Well, Slick, about nine o'clock or so she's yours for the night. You can stay in her room. She has some excellent books there, so maybe you can read or something." I was thinking about the "or something", because this girl had a special air about her, and it wasn't her scent. That date, through, was an hour and a half away, and I wondered what I would do until my dream girl re-materialized. As if reading my mind, Miss Kitty asked if my day had been a long one.