“So, what’s on your mind?” Hank asked.
“It’s that damn saloon of Callie Mae’s.”
“Jesus, Morgan, not you too. I’ve heard nothing but complaints for the last three months.” Hank sighed as they crossed the street.
“I just don’t like it, Hank.”
“Yeah, you and most of the other red-blooded men in town, and I’m not even going to go into what the women are saying. I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve told everyone else: there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
“But it’s dangerous, and I…”
“Hell, don’t you think I know that? I’ve tried to talk to her and it goes in one ear and out the other. Now she’s gone and brought in some saloon girls. I don’t know what’s going to come of that.”
“Hank, they’re not saloon girls. They’re eighteen-year-old orphans fresh out of an orphanage in St. Louis.”
Hank stopped dead in the middle of the boardwalk and stared at him, his green eyes narrowed in disbelief. “She did what?” he bellowed.
“You heard me, pure as the driven snow, every one of them,” Morgan replied irritably as Hank stomped toward the café.
“Let me get a meal in my belly and then we’ll go have a word with Miss Callie Mae Walker. Not that there’s much I can do about it,” he said, opening the door. “Mornin’, Laurie, I’ll have the usual and bring an extra cup of coffee for Morgan here.”
Sitting down at a table, Morgan watched a pretty blonde woman scurry into the kitchen. A few minutes later she was back, setting down a huge plate of pan-fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and thick sliced ham in front of Hank.
“Thank you, honey. It sure looks good,” Hank said, smiling as she poured out two cups of coffee. Tucking into his meal, he moaned in satisfaction.
“Are you sure you don’t want something more?” she asked Morgan as she gripped the hot coffee pot with her apron.
“No, this is fine, thank you. It’s a real nice place you have here Mrs. Dixon. I was sorry to hear about Floyd.”
“Thank you, Morgan, and please, call me Laurie. I think we were on a first name basis before you went away,” she replied. Morgan could clearly see why Matthew was so taken with her. She couldn’t have been much over five feet tall but despite her sparkling blue eyes, there was an air of weariness about her that made Morgan want to get up and make her sit down.
“All right, Laurie, and if there’s anything you need help with while I’m in town, I’ll be glad to give you a hand.”
“You’ve been talking to Matthew, haven’t you?” she sighed.
“Well, we do talk. He is my brother,” Morgan grinned.
“I just don’t want him telling folks that I can’t get along on my own, me and the children, I mean,” she said, tilting her chin up. “He seems to think I need him coming around and pestering me.”
“Is he pestering you, Laurie? I can speak with him,” Morgan offered, watching her closely as a blush crept up her cheeks.
“No, not exactly. He makes himself useful, chopping wood and doing some of the heavier chores, and he’s good with the boys. I just don’t want the men in this town to go getting any ideas about me. I’m not looking for a man,” she insisted.
Hank smiled. “Laurie, you’re a mighty pretty woman,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee, “and you’re a good cook to boot. I don’t think the men in this town need any help from Matthew. I can name a few right off the top of my head that already have ideas about you and are just waiting for a suitable amount of time to pass before they say anything. When will your year of mourning be up anyway?”
“Another month or so, but if anyone comes around here with foolish notions in their head, there might be another grave in the cemetery,” she said with plenty of sass as she wiped her hand across her brow.
“I’ll pass that along,” Hank said, trying to hide his smile.
“Will there be anything else?”
“No, just put this on my tab and I’ll settle up at the end of the month.”
Morgan and Hank watched her walk away with a swish of her blue gingham skirts. A long shiny strand of golden hair hung down the middle of her back, having escaped her bun. In less than ten minutes, the plate in front of Hank was clean as a whistle.
“Matt’s sweet on her?” Hank asked thoughtfully after he wiped his mouth and patted his stomach.
“He sure is.”
