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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1866209" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Forty-five, “Ruby’s Decision”, January 7th, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>The group rides back to the El Parador. They bring the wagon and horse team around to the stables and also tie up their own horses. Adam again thanks the group and asks, "Do you think the innkeeper would mind if I leave my horse here for now? I need to go see the Sheriff and I have a hunch that this conversation may take a while."</p><p></p><p>Kate replies, "Considering what's in the back of that wagon, I'm sure it will be fine. We'll see you in a little while." Kate makes sure Meribel is comfortable and has food and water, then she dashes inside the El Parador and up to Manuel Gonzales' room. A few moments after she knocks the door opens. "There's something downstairs you need to see," she says, a wide grin on her face. Kate reaches out and takes the old gentleman’s hand. "Come on."</p><p></p><p>Nanuet says to Adam "Mind if I come with you? I would like to meet the sheriff and I am interested to hear how this meeting goes. If you give me a few moments I will get myself cleaned up and then we can head over there." Nanuet goes inside hoping that there is a free room now where he can put a few things away and wash up. He enters the El Parador and looks for Sonoma.</p><p></p><p>"If you don't think you need me I'll just stay here with the wagon" says Jake. After Katherine runs excitedly into the El Parador he says to Ruby, "We have some unusual stuff here. Since you have some knowledge about conjuring or whatever it is, are you able to know if any of this stuff is you know, enchanted?" He takes the knife that he found in Curly Bill's room out and gives to her. "We should take all the valuable or unusual items and get 'em together in somebody’s room and figure out what we got. If it would be more proper, feel free to use my room." He takes of the ragged hat and tosses it into a waste pile in the back. "I'm just looking forward to a little poker and relaxation without guns going off."</p><p></p><p>Ruby has the dagger in her hand and she is looking at it but she has a faraway look on her face. “Proper?” she says repeating what Jake said to her with a confused look on her face. Um, Ya" Says Jake, "Katherine might have chickens if a bunch of men are seen coming in and out of a woman's room." She looks up at him then she seems to snap out of it. “Um, no I don’t know if this stuff is magic or not but I might know someone who can. Actually Kate knows someone who can.” Ruby looks uncomfortable and she starts biting her lip and looking around. “Uh, let me help you get this stuff to your room.” She tries to quickly gather as much as she can and waits for Jake. </p><p></p><p>Waiting before he says any more they arrive at his room and he dumps an armload of stuff on his bed. "Girl are you alright? I'd buy you a drink but that last time someone did that in the afternoon.... well it required a visit to the church and all." He tries to make her smile, but he doesn't think it's working. Ruby does half heatedly smile at Jake. "Maybe another time then?" Then she goes right back to being quiet. He takes of his coat and puts it on the bed. "I'd be surprised if there isn't something going on with this." he finishes by pointing to the leather duster he has just laid neatly next to the pile. "If you two are up for it, I'll let you and Katherine figure all this out. Let's go back down stairs and wait for the others."</p><p></p><p>Manuel Gonzales is amazed beyond belief at the wagonload of books. Sanoma, Pedro and Dorita are excited about it. The handyman Grant Keebler helps maneuver the rig as close to the door as possible. They also round up the musician Estaban Fuente and bartender Estaban Fuente to help unload the books. Ricardo, the 5-year-old son of resident harlot Angelica Huesca even pitches in and helps carry books. They bring all of the books to Manuel's room, and the stacks of books take up every inch of available space. </p><p></p><p>Once all the heavy labor is done Jake and Katherine both assist Grant with getting the wagon squared away and unhitching the team. Ruby remains somewhat distant and Sanoma attempts to talk to her. Jake and Katherine come inside and decide not to disturb the two bards and sit at a different table. Kate says,"You wanted to see tailors this afternoon, didn't you? I'll go upstairs in a few minutes and make myself presentable, and we can go out and do that."</p><p></p><p>Dorita is bringing all four food and overhears that. She gives them a stern look, plants her hands on her hips and exclaims "You'll do nothing of the kind. You were out late last night and were up before the rooster. You take a look at your friend over there" and points to Ruby. "She's exhausted and you two don't look much better. This is Saturday night and you'll probably be working having to work at that saloon until at least one-in-the-morning! You need to eat this food and then head upstairs for a siesta!"</p><p></p><p>Ruby then has a short conversation with Sonoma before she excuses herself. As she walks past Jake and Katherine she gives them each a long look. "Well, um, I'm going to take a nap I think." She looks around the room for a moment. "Where is Nanuet?" Upon hearing he went to the Sheriff's office, "Oh I missed him. Darn it." She gives Katherine and Jake long hugs from behind and small kisses on their cheeks. "I'm really glad everyone is alright from this morning. Ok take care." And she walks away.</p><p></p><p>Jake orders a whiskey to go with lunch, and Dorita makes a face, but Jake isn't even polite when he insists. He sits back down with Katherine. "She may be a better shot than I am, but she's a lousy liar." He puts his feet up on the table and takes a sip. "I don't know if she is really going to do it though." Katherine gives him the do what look. He replies, "She just said goodbye."</p><p></p><p>"I hope not," Kate said sadly. "She's the first friend I made here, the only woman. You boys are just fine," she said, giving Jake a little smile, "but girls need another girl now and then. I don't know if I should go talk to her, it might be exactly the wrong thing to do." Kate pushed her plate away. "I'm not hungry."</p><p></p><p>Kate stayed downstairs with Jake for a few more minutes, then excused herself. She went outside and went for a short walk, circling the block that the El Parador was on. It had been an emotionally exhausting day, but Kate pushed her mind forward. Ruby seemed like the kind of girl who was used to taking care of herself. The way she talked and behaved toward people was outwardly inviting, but in the end she seemed to leave distance between herself and others. Any distance between herself, Jake, Nanuet, and Ruby had been rapidly collapsing. For Kate it was welcome, she'd been lonely for too long. For Ruby though? Perhaps it was best to leave her alone for now. If she was feeling trapped, talking to her would only make it worse. </p><p></p><p>Jake continues to eat his meal in an unhurried way. He does not reply to Katherine, and eventually she leaves the table. He does not engage any of the others at the El Parador and finishes his meal quietly. He leaves some money on the table and goes outside, stops and looks in the direction of his horse for a moment. He shakes his head and says out loud to no one, "I think I'll go buy a hat." and walks towards the shops in search of a replacement for his destroy black flat brimmed one.”</p><p></p><p>Adam Cartwright and Nanuet arrive at the Deputy Sheriff’s office. They enter the building and two men are inside. One introduces himself as Deputy Sheriff Colin Hunter and the other as Deputy Sheriff Billy Breckenridge. Nanuet has heard of Breckenridge before. In late October he was in Tombstone and was shot and nearly killed by the late Doc Holliday. The man seems to have recovered. </p><p></p><p>While Adam describes everything that has taken place Nanuet looks at the various Wanted Posters on the walls. He does not recognize any of the pictures as any of the men back in the cave. There is a $ 500 reward poster for Deadeye Douglas, who has a long beard and mustache and round-shaped face so doesn’t really look that much like Jake. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet then asks the Deputies specifically about the McLaury brothers. Breckenridge says,“McLaurys were regular Tombstone residents. There were rumors that they were involved with rustling but nothing was ever proven. I’d say that this does warrant an inspection tour of their ranch though... Sheriff Behan will want to know about this too. Today’s stage hasn’t left yet so I’d better go catch it.” He grabs up some stuff and hurries out the door. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet then asks if there is a bounty on Curly Bill Brochius. Hunter says, “Turns out there is. Didn’t know that until recently. We got this bounty hunter in from Texas who came to hunt down Arcade’s Gang for the reward that Hubbard posted. He also asked about Curly Bill Brochius, seems that there’s a price on his head back in Texas. You’d have to bring the body back there to collect though.”</p><p></p><p>"Thank your for your quick reaction Sheriff Hunter. We weren't sure if you would be too busy to send someone out right away." Hunter replies, "Not too busy, but I still won't go. Sheriff Behan made a promise to the Apache that he and his deputies would stay out of the hills. I'm not crazy enough to break a promise made to Geronimo and spark another Indian war." </p><p></p><p>Nanuet then says “I have another question. What would happen to any money or belongings that were found at the scene of the gunfight? If there were items of value there, who has rightful claim over them?” Hunter says, "Well, unless one of the victims makes charges against you I'd say you could keep them. But if I were you I wouldn't want to be too showy with anything that could easily be identified as something of theirs. Rumor is that there were over 100 rustlers working as part of the Cowboy Gang, so the ones you killed are bound to have friends." </p><p></p><p>Nanuet’s last question is "Any idea how much the bounty is for Curly Bill? Is it worth the trip to Texas to claim it?" </p><p>Hunter says, "I have no idea, that bounty hunter didn't say. He said he's staying at the Longbranch Saloon, so you might want to ask him about it. His name's Irby Cole. I think he used to be a lawman over in Texas."</p><p></p><p>Five miles northeast of Promise City….It was early afternoon by the time the prospector’s wagon was filled. The rocks were then covered over by a tarp. The men’s paranoia had increased throughout the day and they were all now fearful that somebody would attempt to steal their claim. To this end they had now considered that it might be better to hold off on reaching Promise City until dusk, to keep their ore unseen until after the wagonload had been actually delivered to the stamping mill and smelter. Their biggest fear was that they would be riding into town just as the lawyer Fisk was walking by. So once the wagon was all set they decided to take a break and rest for a few hours before setting off to town, timing their arrival for just after dark.</p><p></p><p>Back at the El Parador, Ruby had made up her mind on the ride back to town. She wasn’t going to let the fact that she had known these people a week change her. She was taking the money and leaving. Sure, she was set up nice with her job at the Lone Star, and it was a change to have someone watching out for her besides herself. But it really was just too much money to ignore. Besides, why should Tom and Maggie trust her to bring in money for them? And now the Whipples wanted her to live with them, like they were her parents or something. To keep an eye on her and keep her close, watch every move she made. She definitely wasn’t going for that. </p><p></p><p>And what did Katherine, Jake and Nanuet know about her anyway? If they knew the truth they wouldn’t be friends with her so she might as well leave before they figure things out. Ruby had excused herself downstairs. She had said goodbye in her own way and her feelings about that surprised even her. </p><p></p><p>She looks around at her disordered room, stuff thrown everywhere. Easier to clean up she thinks. She changes her clothes leaving the borrowed, bloodied ones crumpled up on the floor. She starts stuffing her belongings haphazardly into a bag, jamming it in. When she is done she takes one final look around and sighs. It was nice while it lasted. </p><p></p><p>She walks out of her room and makes sure no one is around. She leaves Kate, Jake and Nanuet each a $100 bill under their door with a kiss mark on it that says Love, Ruby. She also leaves one for the Cantina in an envelope behind the bar. Then she gets on her horse and rides out of town.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 1866209, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Forty-five, “Ruby’s Decision”, January 7th, 1882:[/B] The group rides back to the El Parador. They bring the wagon and horse team around to the stables and also tie up their own horses. Adam again thanks the group and asks, "Do you think the innkeeper would mind if I leave my horse here for now? I need to go see the Sheriff and I have a hunch that this conversation may take a while." Kate replies, "Considering what's in the back of that wagon, I'm sure it will be fine. We'll see you in a little while." Kate makes sure Meribel is comfortable and has food and water, then she dashes inside the El Parador and up to Manuel Gonzales' room. A few moments after she knocks the door opens. "There's something downstairs you need to see," she says, a wide grin on her face. Kate reaches out and takes the old gentleman’s hand. "Come on." Nanuet says to Adam "Mind if I come with you? I would like to meet the sheriff and I am interested to hear how this meeting goes. If you give me a few moments I will get myself cleaned up and then we can head over there." Nanuet goes inside hoping that there is a free room now where he can put a few things away and wash up. He enters the El Parador and looks for Sonoma. "If you don't think you need me I'll just stay here with the wagon" says Jake. After Katherine runs excitedly into the El Parador he says to Ruby, "We have some unusual stuff here. Since you have some knowledge about conjuring or whatever it is, are you able to know if any of this stuff is you know, enchanted?" He takes the knife that he found in Curly Bill's room out and gives to her. "We should take all the valuable or unusual items and get 'em together in somebody’s room and figure out what we got. If it would be more proper, feel free to use my room." He takes of the ragged hat and tosses it into a waste pile in the back. "I'm just looking forward to a little poker and relaxation without guns going off." Ruby has the dagger in her hand and she is looking at it but she has a faraway look on her face. “Proper?” she says repeating what Jake said to her with a confused look on her face. Um, Ya" Says Jake, "Katherine might have chickens if a bunch of men are seen coming in and out of a woman's room." She looks up at him then she seems to snap out of it. “Um, no I don’t know if this stuff is magic or not but I might know someone who can. Actually Kate knows someone who can.” Ruby looks uncomfortable and she starts biting her lip and looking around. “Uh, let me help you get this stuff to your room.” She tries to quickly gather as much as she can and waits for Jake. Waiting before he says any more they arrive at his room and he dumps an armload of stuff on his bed. "Girl are you alright? I'd buy you a drink but that last time someone did that in the afternoon.... well it required a visit to the church and all." He tries to make her smile, but he doesn't think it's working. Ruby does half heatedly smile at Jake. "Maybe another time then?" Then she goes right back to being quiet. He takes of his coat and puts it on the bed. "I'd be surprised if there isn't something going on with this." he finishes by pointing to the leather duster he has just laid neatly next to the pile. "If you two are up for it, I'll let you and Katherine figure all this out. Let's go back down stairs and wait for the others." Manuel Gonzales is amazed beyond belief at the wagonload of books. Sanoma, Pedro and Dorita are excited about it. The handyman Grant Keebler helps maneuver the rig as close to the door as possible. They also round up the musician Estaban Fuente and bartender Estaban Fuente to help unload the books. Ricardo, the 5-year-old son of resident harlot Angelica Huesca even pitches in and helps carry books. They bring all of the books to Manuel's room, and the stacks of books take up every inch of available space. Once all the heavy labor is done Jake and Katherine both assist Grant with getting the wagon squared away and unhitching the team. Ruby remains somewhat distant and Sanoma attempts to talk to her. Jake and Katherine come inside and decide not to disturb the two bards and sit at a different table. Kate says,"You wanted to see tailors this afternoon, didn't you? I'll go upstairs in a few minutes and make myself presentable, and we can go out and do that." Dorita is bringing all four food and overhears that. She gives them a stern look, plants her hands on her hips and exclaims "You'll do nothing of the kind. You were out late last night and were up before the rooster. You take a look at your friend over there" and points to Ruby. "She's exhausted and you two don't look much better. This is Saturday night and you'll probably be working having to work at that saloon until at least one-in-the-morning! You need to eat this food and then head upstairs for a siesta!" Ruby then has a short conversation with Sonoma before she excuses herself. As she walks past Jake and Katherine she gives them each a long look. "Well, um, I'm going to take a nap I think." She looks around the room for a moment. "Where is Nanuet?" Upon hearing he went to the Sheriff's office, "Oh I missed him. Darn it." She gives Katherine and Jake long hugs from behind and small kisses on their cheeks. "I'm really glad everyone is alright from this morning. Ok take care." And she walks away. Jake orders a whiskey to go with lunch, and Dorita makes a face, but Jake isn't even polite when he insists. He sits back down with Katherine. "She may be a better shot than I am, but she's a lousy liar." He puts his feet up on the table and takes a sip. "I don't know if she is really going to do it though." Katherine gives him the do what look. He replies, "She just said goodbye." "I hope not," Kate said sadly. "She's the first friend I made here, the only woman. You boys are just fine," she said, giving Jake a little smile, "but girls need another girl now and then. I don't know if I should go talk to her, it might be exactly the wrong thing to do." Kate pushed her plate away. "I'm not hungry." Kate stayed downstairs with Jake for a few more minutes, then excused herself. She went outside and went for a short walk, circling the block that the El Parador was on. It had been an emotionally exhausting day, but Kate pushed her mind forward. Ruby seemed like the kind of girl who was used to taking care of herself. The way she talked and behaved toward people was outwardly inviting, but in the end she seemed to leave distance between herself and others. Any distance between herself, Jake, Nanuet, and Ruby had been rapidly collapsing. For Kate it was welcome, she'd been lonely for too long. For Ruby though? Perhaps it was best to leave her alone for now. If she was feeling trapped, talking to her would only make it worse. Jake continues to eat his meal in an unhurried way. He does not reply to Katherine, and eventually she leaves the table. He does not engage any of the others at the El Parador and finishes his meal quietly. He leaves some money on the table and goes outside, stops and looks in the direction of his horse for a moment. He shakes his head and says out loud to no one, "I think I'll go buy a hat." and walks towards the shops in search of a replacement for his destroy black flat brimmed one.” Adam Cartwright and Nanuet arrive at the Deputy Sheriff’s office. They enter the building and two men are inside. One introduces himself as Deputy Sheriff Colin Hunter and the other as Deputy Sheriff Billy Breckenridge. Nanuet has heard of Breckenridge before. In late October he was in Tombstone and was shot and nearly killed by the late Doc Holliday. The man seems to have recovered. While Adam describes everything that has taken place Nanuet looks at the various Wanted Posters on the walls. He does not recognize any of the pictures as any of the men back in the cave. There is a $ 500 reward poster for Deadeye Douglas, who has a long beard and mustache and round-shaped face so doesn’t really look that much like Jake. Nanuet then asks the Deputies specifically about the McLaury brothers. Breckenridge says,“McLaurys were regular Tombstone residents. There were rumors that they were involved with rustling but nothing was ever proven. I’d say that this does warrant an inspection tour of their ranch though... Sheriff Behan will want to know about this too. Today’s stage hasn’t left yet so I’d better go catch it.” He grabs up some stuff and hurries out the door. Nanuet then asks if there is a bounty on Curly Bill Brochius. Hunter says, “Turns out there is. Didn’t know that until recently. We got this bounty hunter in from Texas who came to hunt down Arcade’s Gang for the reward that Hubbard posted. He also asked about Curly Bill Brochius, seems that there’s a price on his head back in Texas. You’d have to bring the body back there to collect though.” "Thank your for your quick reaction Sheriff Hunter. We weren't sure if you would be too busy to send someone out right away." Hunter replies, "Not too busy, but I still won't go. Sheriff Behan made a promise to the Apache that he and his deputies would stay out of the hills. I'm not crazy enough to break a promise made to Geronimo and spark another Indian war." Nanuet then says “I have another question. What would happen to any money or belongings that were found at the scene of the gunfight? If there were items of value there, who has rightful claim over them?” Hunter says, "Well, unless one of the victims makes charges against you I'd say you could keep them. But if I were you I wouldn't want to be too showy with anything that could easily be identified as something of theirs. Rumor is that there were over 100 rustlers working as part of the Cowboy Gang, so the ones you killed are bound to have friends." Nanuet’s last question is "Any idea how much the bounty is for Curly Bill? Is it worth the trip to Texas to claim it?" Hunter says, "I have no idea, that bounty hunter didn't say. He said he's staying at the Longbranch Saloon, so you might want to ask him about it. His name's Irby Cole. I think he used to be a lawman over in Texas." Five miles northeast of Promise City….It was early afternoon by the time the prospector’s wagon was filled. The rocks were then covered over by a tarp. The men’s paranoia had increased throughout the day and they were all now fearful that somebody would attempt to steal their claim. To this end they had now considered that it might be better to hold off on reaching Promise City until dusk, to keep their ore unseen until after the wagonload had been actually delivered to the stamping mill and smelter. Their biggest fear was that they would be riding into town just as the lawyer Fisk was walking by. So once the wagon was all set they decided to take a break and rest for a few hours before setting off to town, timing their arrival for just after dark. Back at the El Parador, Ruby had made up her mind on the ride back to town. She wasn’t going to let the fact that she had known these people a week change her. She was taking the money and leaving. Sure, she was set up nice with her job at the Lone Star, and it was a change to have someone watching out for her besides herself. But it really was just too much money to ignore. Besides, why should Tom and Maggie trust her to bring in money for them? And now the Whipples wanted her to live with them, like they were her parents or something. To keep an eye on her and keep her close, watch every move she made. She definitely wasn’t going for that. And what did Katherine, Jake and Nanuet know about her anyway? If they knew the truth they wouldn’t be friends with her so she might as well leave before they figure things out. Ruby had excused herself downstairs. She had said goodbye in her own way and her feelings about that surprised even her. She looks around at her disordered room, stuff thrown everywhere. Easier to clean up she thinks. She changes her clothes leaving the borrowed, bloodied ones crumpled up on the floor. She starts stuffing her belongings haphazardly into a bag, jamming it in. When she is done she takes one final look around and sighs. It was nice while it lasted. She walks out of her room and makes sure no one is around. She leaves Kate, Jake and Nanuet each a $100 bill under their door with a kiss mark on it that says Love, Ruby. She also leaves one for the Cantina in an envelope behind the bar. Then she gets on her horse and rides out of town. [/QUOTE]
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