“No, ma’am, I am not.”
“Well, how come you don’t know this girl’s name then?”
“Because I haven’t met her yet.”
The girl scrunched up her face. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, I’ve decided to settle down. I just don’t yet know who I’ll settle down with.”
“That don’t make no sense.”
“On the contrary, darling, it makes all the sense in the world. I’ve had my share of fun. Now, I reckon it’s time to get myself cleaned up so I’ll be ready when I do meet her.”
The girl laughed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, mister, but you’re peculiar.”
Conn tipped his hat. “Thank you, ma’am.”
She laughed. “Thank you? It wasn’t meant as a compliment. I’m just saying is all. You’re cleaning yourself up before you even meet a lady to clean up for?”
“The world’s full of good women. I want to be ready when I meet the right one.”
She shook her head and stared at her reflection across the bar. “Maybe that’s not so crazy, though. In fact, maybe it’s even the most romantic thing I ever heard. Do you think I could be a good woman?”
“I don’t know. Could you?”
She frowned at her reflection, then shrugged and smiled again. “I don’t know, either. But I guess maybe I wish I could be. I guess maybe I wish some nice, handsome fella like you would come riding in here and pull me out of this place and take me to a better life.”
“Well, ma’am, I hope you get what you want.”
Her bottom lip curled a little. “But you ain’t gonna, are you? You ain’t gonna take me with you?”
“No, ma’am. I got plans on down the trail.”
She nodded. “That woman, you mean?”
“Not really. She’s the icing on the cake. I got a lot of work to do first.”
“What kind of work?”
“Homesteading.”
“Homesteading? Well, you sure fooled me, mister. You don’t look like no sodbuster.”
Conn uttered a deep laugh.
“What’s so funny?” the girl asked.
“Well, I’m on my way to visit my brother. He’s a homesteader, and he says there’s real nice ground next to his. He says he’ll help me stake the claim and prove it up.”
“I still don’t see why you laughed.”
“Because you said I don’t look like a sodbuster. But that’s just what my brother is, and we’re identical twins.”
“Oh,” she said, and then chuckled. “That is sort of funny. You sure you don’t want to spend some time together? You’re awful handsome, and I like you. I like the way you laugh. You come up to the room, I won’t charge you a dime.”
He shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, ma’am, but I say what I mean and mean what I say.”
3
