Joe couldn’t quite decide if he found Chad amusing or irritating, probably a little of both.   They were passing through all kinds of interesting towns with interesting saloons likely to contain interesting women, but Chad was in such a damn hurry, he wouldn’t stop in any of them.  It was usually Chad trying to convince him that the Captain would never notice if they got back a day or two later than was really justified by the assignment.  But on this trip he’d only pause long enough to rest the horses.  Wouldn’t even let Joe  stop for a beer along the way.  Joe guessed he could have just taken it at his own pace and let Chad go on ahead, but then how would he explain to the Captain how Chad, the well-known slacker, had gotten back before him?   So he grumbled, but he went along with him.

        Couldn’t really fault Chad’s reasons.  When RJ had left Laredo, she’d promised to be back for Chad’s birthday.  So he was bound and determined to beat her there.

        They made Chad’s birthday deadline with a time to spare.  It was early evening  before the big day when they reported to the Captain.  Chad was bouncing around with so much excess energy it was like he’d just finished a full night’s sleep, a good meal and a hot bath instead of having been without any of those things for most of a week.  The Captain took the wind out of his sails soon enough.

        “This came for you yesterday Cooper” the Captain said as he handed him an envelope containing a telegram and a hundred dollars.

        Normally the money would have excited Chad enough that it wouldn’t have mattered what the telegram said.  Not this time.  After reading the telegram, Chad crumpled it and the five twenties and threw them in a corner.  The energy just drained out of him as he left the office for the barracks.

        Joe picked up the telegram and the money.  He had no compunction about reading the telegram.  Chad would have done the same had it been his.  He was glad he had because he saw more in it than Chad.  It was from RJ.

        “Dear Chad:  Can’t make it for your birthday.  Wiring $100 so you can try your luck against the new dealer at the Laredo saloon.”

        The telegram had been sent from Laramie.

        What struck Joe was how, if RJ was  in Laramie, she knew there was a new dealer in the saloon.  There hadn’t been anyone new when he and Chad had ridden out, much less when RJ left months ago.  Must be a friend of hers.  And that could be interesting.  So he headed across the street to the saloon for supper.

        It was early for the gambling crowd so he ate his meal and watched the regulars trickle in.  He was working on his second beer when the two Randall boys arrived.  They usually frequented a more classy establishment as befitted the sons of the wealthiest rancher in the area, but they took a table and seemed settled in to stay.  When two young cavalry officers joined them at the same table, Joe knew something was up.   There was a growing crowd around that table.  Soon he saw why.  A blonde woman joined them, a spectacular blonde woman.  She was wearing a dress that was too classy for a dancehall girl, at least those to be found in these parts.  But it was too risque for a respectable woman, again he added, at least for these parts.  She looked to be mid- twenties Joe thought, but it was hard to tell because she had on face paint like the saloon girls wore only not so obvious or garish.

        She had a dog with her, some kind of big terrier with a fancy collar.  The four men at the table fussed over it as though they were all especially fond of dogs.  The dog was pretty clever.  It would fetch anything she pointed at.  It had a little basket it carried so it could even carry a full glass.  But even so, it seemed a little odd to see the men fawning over it to such an extent.

        As he sat back to watch how things developed, Erik came in and joined the group at the table.  Erik’s arrival seemed to signal the game to start.  Joe had been watching the game for a quarter hour when Sloane and Reese brought their beers over to his table.

        “Why is that game drawing such a crowd?’  he asked Sloane.

        “It’s not the game, it’s the woman and the side bets,”  he answered.

        “Side bets?”  Joe was curious.

        “Chloe, that’s the blonde, has been dealing at that table for the past three nights.  This is her fourth.  All the men playing there are more interested in her than in the game.  Which is good for her, because she seems to be winning, although not so much as to wipe out the big players completely.  She usually stops for supper around 10 pm and then the game goes on until 2 am.  They’ve all tried to get her to have supper with them privately but so far she’s just had supper at a big table and invited them all to join her.  Well, invited may not be the right word.  More like allowed.”

        “The hands from the Randall spread made a bet with some of the soldiers on the second night about whose man could get her off for supper alone.  Then they added another side bet on the third night as to whether one would spend the night in her room.  When Erik came in yesterday, he joined the game and some of the Rangers started betting.  So far no one’s even gotten as far as supper.”

    Then Reese interrupted.  “Hey Joe, where’s Chad?  He should get in on this.  It’s not right the Rangers only have one man in the running.  Looks bad for us.”

        Joe started to tell them that Chad was both bone-tired and broken-hearted when he remembered the telegram.  He decided to take a closer look at the game and the woman.  He could actually see more of the woman’s bosom than her face.  Her blonde hair kept falling over her cheekbones.  She probably wore it that way because it was so alluring when she  tossed her head to get it out of the way.  She had some piled on top as well.  Joe knew nothing about hair styles but that one looked vaguely stylish.  She wore little spectacles that would have looked schoolmarmish on a lesser woman.  Her eyes seemed to be the same color blue as her dress but he couldn’t be sure.  He walked around the table a few times.  Something was nagging at him.

    Then he caught her eye and she winked at him.  And it was all clear.

        He headed back to the barracks.  Chad seemed to be deep asleep, his head resting on a folded blanket with the pillow over his head.  Joe decided not to wake him immediately.  Instead he brought up hot water for a couple of baths.  He could use one himself he decided.  Then he fished through Chad’s footlocker and pulled out some clean clothes.  Only then did he wake him up.

        That was a real battle.  Chad saw no need to wake up much less leave the barracks.  He was tired and saw nothing to justify rousing himself.  But Joe insisted.  The honor of the Rangers was at stake.  Chad couldn’t let Erik take on the officers or the Randall brothers all by himself.  But he clinched it when he reminded Chad that RJ has specifically mentioned the dealer in her telegram.  “Come on Chad boy.  Aren’t you even curious?  Could be a friend of hers.”

        And Chad had to admit he was curious.  So he bathed, shaved and put on the clothes Joe had laid out for him.  That in itself had him interested.  It wasn’t like Joe to act like some kind of roughhewn valet.

        He was only in the saloon for a few minutes when he knew why RJ’s telegram had suggested he come.  And the energy returned to his body.  There would be a nice betting pool to be won here.

        When he approached the table there were no empty seats.  But there were only six serious players – the Randall’s, the officers, Erik and the lady herself.    As he stood there, the lady looked up at him.  “Are you a serious player or just a watcher?”  He pulled out the hundred RJ had sent.  He’d given Joe his own money to get in on the side bet action, betting on himself of course.  They’d just gotten their pay and hadn’t had time to spend it.   The lady waved her hand dismissively at one of the cowhands who was sitting in with only a couple of chips left and Chad had a seat.  Before he sat down, the lady held out her hand to him.

        “Chloe Wingate” she said in an accent that suggested Georgia or possibly South Carolina.  Although she was wearing gloves of some translulscent gossamer material, as Chad introduced himself he kissed her hand with a delicacy even Erik couldn’t have faulted.  She counted out some chips and put them directly in his hand rather than sliding them across the table.  But then she was back to business.

        But business included flirting with every man at the table, at least all the serious players.  She ignored the men who drifted in to lose ten or fifteen dollars to be replaced by another small-timer.  She flirted with real players equally, and now she included Chad in that favored little group.  He felt at first that the words she spoke to him had special meaning, that she was singling him out.  Then he realized, each one of the men at the table probably felt exactly the same way.  She was good.

        Turned out It was a good thing he’d saved out some of his money for the side bets, because it didn’t look like he would make a killing at this table.  Sometimes his admittedly reckless manner of play left him a big winner, if he had the will power to hang onto it.  More often the rise and fall of his luck ended with a big fall.

        He started playing more conservatively when he got down to $35.  Joe slipped him another twenty to make sure he stayed in the game, but his bigger game was to figure what ploy to use to get her to a private supper with him.  Joe had signaled him that the odds favored one of the Randall boys so he’d collect five to one.   Those odds were rather an insult, especially as Erik was lumped in with him.  You’d think some of those yokels would have more faith in the Rangers.  But maybe there were just more of the Randall’s cowhands in town than Rangers or soldiers.

        His opening came around 9:30.  He was left in a hand with her alone.  As she was about to meet his $50, he suggested that she bet her dog instead.  He thought it would seem a compliment to the dog to put such a high value on it.  He apparently thought wrong.

        She appeared to be gravely insulted.  The idea that he would think she was such a cold and heartless person that she take this sweet and devoted little dog and put him up as a poker bet to possibly be lost to a total stranger was highly offensive.  She directed no more sweet words at him for the next thirty minutes.  At 10 pm she simply said, “If you would excuse me gentlemen, it’s time for me to have dinner.  The others were apparently going to follow the established routine of setting up dinner at one of the other tables.

        Chad swooped in as one of the Randall boys, he could never tell them apart, pulled out her chair.

        “Miss Wingate, please allow me to apologize and explain my earlier behavior.”

        She made a gesture to the other waiting men, indicating she would be just a minute.   She looked at him expectantly, but not warmly.  She called the dog to her and made a show of fussing over it as it stood with its front paws in her lap

        “I had no intention of insulting you or implying you're a cold-hearted person.  I'm sure when you knew why I wanted your clever dog there, you would be sympathetic.  I saw how agile he was fetching things.  I have a little friend who’s in a wheelchair.  A dog like yours would be a godsend to her.  Not only could it fetch things for her, but having a dog like that would make other children more likely to talk to her.  You know how kids are about other kids who are different.”

        Chloe looked at him with interest tinged with skepticism.  But her look invited him to go on.  The other men were waiting impatiently at the supper table.  They hesitated to interrupt, but they wouldn’t  hesitate for long if they sensed he was getting an advantage.

        He hurriedly added,  “I realize now that you would never want to sell this dog.  You’re too attached to him.  But perhaps you could tell me how to find a puppy I could train for the little girl and give me some tips on how to train it.”

        “Do you really expect me to believe that a Ranger who spends most of his time riding all over Texas shooting bandits and capturing stage robbers is going to have the time to train a dog for a crippled little girl.  Really Mr. Cooper.  I would be very surprised if this girl even exists.  Are you looking for some kind of admiration from me?”

        “It wouldn’t be just me.  My friend Joe over there.  He would help with the training.  You ask him about her.  Then ask me the same questions.  Her birthday is tomorrow.  Her name is Melinda.”  Chad loved it when his “lies” were based in truth.  Made consistent stories so much easier.

        Chloe gestured for Joe to come over.  She asked him, “Chad tells me you have a little friend.  A little boy in a wheelchair whose thirteenth birthday is next week.  Is that true?”

        Joe was taken aback and not just a little confused.  He looked at Chad.  Chad just said.  “Only the truth Joe.”

        “I don’t know what Chad’s been saying Ma’am but our friend’s name is Melinda and she’ll be eleven tomorrow.  That’s also Chad’s birthday.  The past three years we’ve tried to be here for it, but she understands when we’re a few days late.  This year we’re on time.”

        Chloe looked back at Chad.  “You surprise me Mr. Cooper.  But perhaps I’ll call your bluff.  I’m sure a little girl’s birthday party is early enough in the day that it wouldn’t interfere with tomorrow’s game.  If I brought her a nice present suitable for a young girl, perhaps I might attend this social function with you?  I could talk to her and her parents about dogs.  I might get a better idea of what to look for.  If indeed a dog would be a help to her I might be willing to give you a little instruction.”

        Chad jumped on his chance.  “Perhaps we could discuss more details over dinner?  There’s a little table over there that would give us some privacy.  Joe can bring something over to us.”

        “Better yet, you said your friend Joe would be helping to train a dog.  He should join us.”  She looked at Joe expectantly.

        “Love to” Joe responded immediately.  Chad stepped on his toe as unobtrusively as he could until Joe added.  “But I promised the Captain I would report back about this time.”  As Chad looked ready to step on his toe again, he hastily said,  “I’d be happy to get your supper first though.”

        And so Chad won the first bet.

        At supper she ran through Havoc’s repertoire and gave Chad a rundown on the steps she’d gone through for each one.  He made arrangements to pick her up at noon the next day.  Chad was to inquire about any litters of puppies that might be available in the immediate area.

        Out of the corner of his eye Chad saw money exchanging hands at the bar.  Joe was back, and a lot of the money was going into his hands.  Of course, he’d be putting it all back.  He and Joe had bet everything on this first challenge.  They figured to reinvest it by letting it ride on the second one.

        The second bet wasn’t going to be won right away though.  By 1:30 a.m. Chad was really dragging.  He was not only betting reckless, he was betting stupid.  He could barely keep his eyes open.  Too many days out on the trail with not enough sleep had dulled his wits.  He was out of the game before she called it quits.  And being out of the game meant being out of her circle.  Joe had nothing for him as the money had already been re-bet.  He knew he could get some loans from the Rangers who had money bet on him for tomorrow’s game, but not in time to keep him in tonight.  So one of the itinerants took his place at the table and he was left watching.  And when she did call it quits he was only one of six walking her to the hotel.  And she barely paid him any mind.

        But by noon the next day he was back in good form.  He had his wits about him and was ready to be irresistibly charming.

        She had told him that she had a buggy and horse at the livery and “suggested” he should bring it around.  So by 11:30 a.m. he was hitching up a hot blooded little black bay mare to a fancy buggy.  Ten minutes before noon he was at the hotel lobby.  And ten minutes before two he was still there despite having sent a note up to her room when he first arrived.

        She came down at two o’clock with no apologies.  She merely said, “you’re very punctual Mr. Cooper” as though that was not quite a fault, but certainly nothing to be applauded.

        It was an hour out to the Barnes farm.   Havoc alternately ran alongside the carriage and rode inside at Chloe’s feet. By the time they got there Chad could tell she was quite taken with him.  She laughed when he was amusing, which was frequently.  And she was properly sympathetic when he talked about the accident which had put Melinda in the wheelchair four years ago.  She talked about the games she had been in as she traveled from Denver to a big game in New Orleans.  He was able to give her all kinds of advice about how to make her way in that city, although his information was almost five years old by now.

        Joe was already there when they arrived.   And Chloe was quite charming to him as well.  Too much so for Chad’s liking.   But maybe that was just as well.  Melinda seemed at first to be a little jealous of this beautiful woman on Chad’s arm.  So Chad devoted his attention to her while Joe entertained Chloe.

        Of course, once Chloe started showing off Havoc’s tricks, she completely won over the little girl.  And the girl won over the dog.  Chloe gave her some tidbits as treats and had her run Havoc through his tricks again.  The dog seemed to sense that when he fetched things for Melinda, he was really doing her a service, not just performing.  Before long, Melinda had a whole lap full of mostly useless items she’d had the dog fetch for her.   Chloe even showed her how to get the dog to fetch people by name.  By the time that was finished Chad, Joe and Melinda’s father Hank went outside and the dog could go to the right one and bring him inside.

        None of their gifts could achieve the admiration Melinda showered on the dog, but Chloe’s gift came close.  Chad thought she liked all her presents.  It had been important for them to make her happy.  She was such a plucky little thing.  Joe gave her a sheepskin coat and matching gloves made by the same leatherworker who had made the coat RJ had given Joe for his own birthday a few years earlier.  Chad gave her a French jewelry box he had ordered from New Orleans.  But Chloe gave her a beautiful gold locket.  She was thrilled when Chad fastened it around her neck.  All through dinner she kept fingering it and looking at it.

        But the highpoint of the day took place when the party was over and they were getting ready to go back to Laredo.  Havoc seemed reluctant to leave.  Maybe that’s because Melinda had been sneaking him food under the table during dinner or maybe he liked the way she scratched his ears.  In any event, he sat there by her chair when Chad started to help Chloe into the buggy.  Chloe looked back at the girl and the dog.  She started to call the dog, then she stopped.  She looked at Chad then at Joe.  Then she took Hank aside and had a whispered conversation with him.

        She then knelt beside the little girl.  “Melinda honey.  For the next few months I’m going to be going some places that wouldn’t be any fun for Havoc.  Do you think you could keep him for me?”

        Melinda lit up.  She looked at her father, who nodded.  “I’ll take such good care of him, I promise.  I’ll throw sticks for him every day so he gets his exercise.  And I won’t let him forget anything.”

        “I know you will or I wouldn’t leave him with you.  He may decide he wants to stay here forever.  If he does, are you ready to keep him?”

In response, she threw her arms around Chloe’s neck.

        As he helped her into the buggy, Chad told her with genuine admiration, “That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do.  I know how much that dog must mean to you.”

        She smiled and shrugged.  “It’s just a dog.”

        It was past nine when they got back to the hotel, almost time for the dinner break at the Laredo saloon.  Chad wondered if the game was actually going on or if all the men were merely waiting for Chloe to arrive.

        He offered to escort her over to the saloon, but she declined.  “I can’t go over there looking like this.”

        Chad looked her over.  She looked absolutely incredible.  Out of respect for the family she had been visiting, she was wearing a very respectable blue and white print dress that completely covered her legs.   No visible bosom, no flashy jewelry, no silk, no fancy shoes.  Chad could understand why she couldn’t possibly make an appearance at a poker game thus attired.  So Chad escorted her to her room.

        And she invited him in.

        She dressed behind a screen in her room.  A few times she started give an order obviously intended for the dog or at least Chad so assumed.  “Shoes” or “comb”.  Single syllables.   And after her sacrifice, Chad could only do her bidding.

        By the time she had finished dressing and doing up her hair, it was past ten.  Would everyone be waiting dinner or had they given up?   Most likely Joe had gone to tell them about the delay.  He might just let it slip that Chad had made it inside her hotel room.

        When there was a knock at her door, she asked him to answer it.  When it turned out to be one of the Randalls with one of the officers, Chad figured they were checking to see if he was actually in the room.  Of course, to win the bet he would have to stay most of the night.  That could be a little tougher.  Chad saw the two men looking over his shoulder to see that she was actually in the room with him.  Chloe just called out, “Chad, tell them I’ll be down shortly.”

        But after they left and Chad closed the door, she looked to be in no hurry.  “Chad, I really miss my little dog.  I guess that sounds silly to you.”

        Chad took the opportunity to put his arm around her.  “No not at all.  But that was a wonderful thing you did for that little girl.  That dog will be more than a friend to her.  And Havoc will be happy.  I’ll check on him regular. I promise.”

        She turned and put her head against his shoulder.  Her voice caught as though she was trying not to cry.   That gave him the chance to put both arms around her.

        A minute later they were kissing.

        But when he tried to go further, she stopped him.

        “I didn’t mean to lead you on Mr. Cooper.  I won’t try to tell you I have no experience with men, but I’m afraid you just aren’t like the men I’m attracted to.”

        That was not what Chad wanted to hear.  “And what kind of man would that be?”

        “Not one who can’t hold his own in a poker game for a whole night.”

        “You’d reject a man because he has a bad night at cards?”

        “Not just a bad night.  You’re impetuous.  You can’t bide your time. You have no self-restraint.  I like men who play intelligently, not cautiously, but not with reckless abandon.”

        “And who at that table plays that way?”

        “Oh there’s no one here in Laredo who plays a really intelligent game.  Your friend Mr. Hunter  may be the closest, but he’s not clever enough.”

        Chad was glad to hear that.  Of course, if Erik spent the night with her, Chad would still win his bet since it was Rangers against officers against Randalls.  Didn’t matter which one on the “team.”  But Chad would rather lose the bet than have Erik be the one to win it for them.  And the bet would only be a few hundred at best so the pleasure he would  take in winning it was now the biggest part of the prize.  Since he’d managed that supper coup he was looking at even odds on the Rangers.  Good for the pride, bad for the betting.

        Chad kissed her neck as he offered, “Perhaps you spend too much time playing cards.  You don’t know what it’s like to be with a real man.”

        “And that would be you?”

        “Of course.”

        “And what makes you a real man?”

        “I have a man’s job.  I play cards for fun.  I don’t sit around making a living at it.”

        She smiled, “I’d say that was just as well.  At least the Rangers put a roof over your head.  Poker wouldn’t.  But don’t those soldiers do a man’s job?  And your friend Mr. Hunter?”

        “But I do it so much better.”   He kissed her again and she didn’t resist.  But again, she let him go no further.

        “Mr. Cooper, I’m not a reckless woman.  Making love to a man like you, a man with no self-restraint would be a reckless thing.  A rash pleasure that could leave me with regrets later."

        “Regrets?”

        “There are certain physical consequences to the act of love Mr. Cooper.”

        He suddenly realized what she was getting at.

        “I have that kind of restraint.  Even a man reckless at cards may not want the consequences of being reckless with a woman.”   With that he kissed her again and this time when he put his hand over her breast through her dress she didn’t push him away.

        And a few minutes after that he was removing the clothes she had just so carefully put on.

        But that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.  Her clothes were expensive and had dozens of tiny buttons and hooks.  Despite how much bosom and leg she showed, or perhaps because of it, she was wearing a multitude of undergarments.  But if Ranger training had taught him anything, it was perseverance against tough odds.

        When all her clothes had been draped on the screen -- she wasn’t the type to throw things in a heap on the floor -- she put on a silk robe.  Then she looked at him standing there in all his clothes.  “You don’t expect me to undress you, do you?”

        So with having to undo only a few buttons, no hooks and only one undergarment, Chad was quickly undressed.  And out of respect for her, he laid his clothes across a chair.

        She looked him over for a minute, then ran her hands across his chest and then down his shoulders and back.  He felt as though he was being inspected but it was not unpleasant.  Apparently he passed the inspection because she took his hand and led him to the bed.

        She lay down and pulled him beside her.  She was breathtaking to look at.  Her golden hair was spread out around her face on the pillow.  Her silk robe wasn’t tied and fell open to reveal one of her delicate breasts.  He leaned over to kiss it.  She held his head there for a moment as though to signal him not to hurry, so he didn’t.

        Then she pulled him to her for a kiss.  And doing that right took a very long time.  And after it was done properly, he used his mouth to explore the rest of her body.  But when he got to that sweet spot between her legs, she stopped him.

        “That’s not something I like a man to do.”

        He was surprised.  Most women liked it very much.  “Maybe no one’s ever done it right.”

        But she was not to be persuaded and so he touched her with his fingers and she seemed to like that.   But when he could tell she was about to come under his touch, she stopped him again.  But this time it was just to invite him into her.  But as he guided himself between her legs, she reminded him in her soft Charleston voice, “You promised you could show restraint.  I’m trusting you.”

        And so he did not violate her trust.  But it wasn’t easy.  He was always too quick to come the first time.  His worst flaw as a lover.  Now he had to try to hold back to give her the pleasure she expected but be ready to pull out just before he came so he would not come inside her.

        He moved inside her, cautiously at first, and cautiously at last, but enthusiastically in between.  It was so sweet.  Just when he thought he could not hold back, she arched her back and softly but definitely said, “yes.”  He pulled out just in time.   Not an easy thing, but the intensity of the pleasure was still there.  And having to exercise control --  once in a while it could be a good thing.

        And the second time it was not quite so difficult.  Once that first rush was over, that madness of need, he was the master of his body again.

        They slept after the second time.  They were awakened by banging on the door.  “Chad, Chad, get out here.  The Captain wants you.”  It was Reese’s gravel voice.  Not the most pleasant way to wake, as by now half the people on this floor of the hotel must know.

        Chad pulled on his long johns and went to the door.  Reese was standing there, impatient and urgent as always.  But Chad figured this was just a ploy to get him to the door so whoever was holding the bets would know that he was still there.  He took a quick look down the corridor.  Sure enough, one of the Randall cowhands was at the end of the hallway.

        “OK Reese, I’ll be along.  He closed the door in Reese’s face, having no intention of “being along.”

        Reese persisted.   “Right now, Chad.”

        But Chad wasn’t going to fall for that.  They’d love to see him scurry out of here only to find it was just a little Ranger joke.  If the Captain really wanted him, he’d have sent Joe.   “Go away, Reese.  I’ll be along later.  The Captain can wait.”

        Chad crawled back into the bed.  And now she was awake and reaching out for him.  Reese’s visit hadn’t been wasted after all.

        But before things went where he was heading, there was another pounding on the door.

        “Go away Reese.”  Nothing was going to get him out of this bed now.

        But the pounding persisted.

        Exasperated, Chad got up.  He wrapped a quilt around himself  -- anything smaller wouldn’t have hidden the state she’d already worked him into.  He was tempted to grab his revolver.  But he supposed Reese would know he wouldn’t really shoot him.

        He opened the door.  “Reese, God damn it, get your flea ridden carcass and  . . . .”  And he looked up to see the Captain.

        “When I send for you, I expect . . . .”  The Captain stopped, looking over to the bed.  Chad followed his glance.  Chloe’s face was turned away but her golden hair was streaming across her pillow and her lavender robe was open to expose most of one lovely breast.

        The Captain looked back at Chad.  “Well at least you had the decency not to take her to RJ’s house.  I guess it’s a good thing she missed your birthday.”  Then remembering why he’d come.  “We’re riding out in fifteen minutes.  I expect you there dressed, horse saddled, ready for a week-long assignment.”

        “But Captain, we just got back . . . .”

        We’re meeting some men from Company A in Three Rivers.   Beau Moncrief and his gang are holed up in the mission there.  They have the priests and the children from the mission school hostage.  He’s got at least fifteen men and plenty of supplies and ammunition.   They’re holding off the local law so they wired for help.  They could start killing hostages.  And if they do make it out, we need to be close by to track them down.  Do you think that might just be important enough to warrant rousting you from her bed?

        Chad could tell it wasn’t just the fact that he’d ignored Reese that had the Captain riled.  It was seeing him with Chloe.  But there was no time for explanations now.

        “Be right there Captain.” And this time he meant it.

        Chad hurriedly got dressed, gave Chloe a quick kiss that turned into a not-so-quick kiss and said good-by.

        He managed to get himself ready and out with the others before the Captain was ready to leave.  While he was still in the barracks Joe handed him almost $300.  “Those ranch hands and soldiers just put too much money in the pot before they saw you in action Chad boy.”

        Outside, the men gathered  by the stable to wait for the Captain.  Chad saw Chloe outside the hotel and rode over to say good-by a second time.  A few of the men followed him over.  A couple of  ranch hands from the Randall spread were standing around nearby.  He jumped off his horse and reached for her.

        But instead of her lips on his, he got her hand across his cheek in a slap so hard it brought tears to his eyes.   He would have fallen on his ass if he hadn’t hit the hitching rail first.  As the men behind him laughed, he looked at her stunned.

        She almost spit out her words, “I hope you got enough money from your bet to make that worthwhile.”  Then she spun on her heels and walked into the hotel and out of his life.

####

        Chad rubbed his jaw.  “She could have been a little more subtle.”

        They rode in silence for a couple of minutes.  Then Joe said, “That was a great disguise she had.  For awhile there, I wasn’t sure you knew it was RJ.”

        Chad grinned.  “For awhile there, she wasn’t.”