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Wizards, Whiskey and Wonderful Things - Concluded
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2507453" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 51, “An Unexpected Reaction”, Wednesday, March 15th , 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>Ruby lights the candles with some difficulty, her hand being slightly unsteady, and her vision a bit blurry. The puppies lie on a pillow in the corner and fall right asleep. Ruby gazes at herself in the mirror for a long while, gently caressing her earrings every now and then. She decides to get undressed and as she starts to she feels the box. Ruby knows she should leave it in her pocket, not tempt fate, but she can not resist the temptation and she pulls it out. She stares at the black box in her hand before flipping the lid with her thumb. The diamond glitters in the candlelight. It is by far the largest jewel that Ruby has ever had in her possession. It sparkles and calls to her, tempts her to feel the weight of it. She slowly slides the ring out of the box and slips it onto her finger. </p><p></p><p>Downstairs, Luc watches the lively saloon. He watches as the others drink and dance. "and I got yelled at for sipping one beer for six hours?" Luc thinks to himself as he takes a drag off of his cigar. He picks up his mug next to him and takes a drink.</p><p></p><p>At the table, Chester reflected back upon his conversation from earlier that evening. He had just Clairesse Townsend where she wanted to dine. She replied, "I was thinking the Alhambra. I've never been there before and I'd like to try it. Do you have anyone in mind as far as chaperones. I don't really know too many people in town." He laughed. "I'd suggest Ruby and Jake, but I don't think having the bosses around would be too good. Whoever your parents decide is fine by me. I'll take you home after your finished here. OK?" She replied, "Oh, my parents are no longer living. My only living family is my cousin. She works at the Gay Lady Variety Hall." That had made him feel awkward.</p><p></p><p>Chester escorted Clairesse to her home, a room at the Promise City Hotel, after she finishes her last set. She does not allow her to escort her further than the first floor "As it would not be proper." He stated, "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." He whistled as he returned to the Lucky Lady and saw his friends gathered around a table. Jake was dealing cards, teaching Minerva how to play poker. "Deal me in on the next hand. It's not often I get a chance to play with the famous Jake Cook," Chet commented. "Glad to have you Chester, although infamous might be more accurate." Jake gives him a smile and says, "You and your money are always welcome at my table during regular hours too." "I'll have to take you up on that offer. I'm sure my money will make itself at home at your table. A shave tail like me would make your other players happy." </p><p></p><p>Minerva has had quite a bit to drink and has shed her ladylike veneer. She can be heard laughing loudly and using some rather unladylike language as she continues to play cards with Jake and Chester. With a loud guffaw she slams her cards down on the table revealing a Royal Flush. "By the gods, I could really get to like this game! Luck and skill that's what's gotten us to this fine city." She giggles, "Isn't that right Luna?" </p><p></p><p>She leans across the table, "So Chester, wanna see Luna's new trick? Gimme a coin." Chester pulls a coin out of his pocket and hands it to Minerva. She holds it in her closed palm and concentrates momentarily. When she opens her palm a soft light is emanating from the coin. Both Jake and Chester look at her with raised eyebrows. "Naw," she waves her hand away, "That's not the trick. Watch this." She tosses Chester's hat across the room and throws the glowing coin into the hat. </p><p></p><p>She whistles once and Luna immediately spreads her wings and glides over to the hat. She picks it up in her talons and flies back depositing the hat on the table. "Good girl Luna!" she says kissing the bird on the cheek. "Pretty good huh!" Minerva beams and hands Chester his hat. Chester claps. "Very nice, Miss Florencia. Must have been hard to teach Luna that trick." Nanuet comments, “Very good Miss Minerva! I did not know you had the talents to train animals as well as do the work of the Gods. And let’s not forget pull amazingly good poker hands! Multi-talented indeed!”</p><p></p><p>"I am a quick learner," she laughs and teases him, "As are you, Senor Nanuet! You appeared quite graceful on the dance floor! She turns to Chester. "You know, Senor Chester, " she pouts, "If we are going to be friends you must stop calling me Miss Florencia." Nuzzling Luna she continues, "She is a very smart bird. Aren't you Luna? I'm not sure if it's a useful trick or not but Luna loves to learn and I derive great joy out of teaching her." </p><p></p><p>With a heavy sigh she pushes back from the table and stumbles on the chair. In an attempt to regain her composure she grips the back of the chair and attempts to stand tall. Regally she announces to the room in general, "Much to my regret the hour grows late and if I am to meet with the Committee tomorrow I must be heading home." She mutters something about looking good for the firing squad and clumsily gathers up her belongings. After struggling with her gloves and shawl and dropping them several times she stuffs everything in the flute case. With an exaggerated wave to everyone in the room she calls out, "Muchas Gracias mi Amigos, for such a lovely evening," and unsteadily heads towards the door. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet watched Minerva, a little unsteady on her feet , and get ready to leave. She called her owl and turned to head out when he stopped her. "Please, Miss Minerva, if you could stand my company I would like to escort you back to your bed. Uh, umm, I mean escort you so you can go to bed. I mean walk you back to the boarding house!" he says exasperated. Nanuet's face turns a deep shade of crimson after his innocent slip up. </p><p></p><p>"I think that perhaps, Senor Nanuet, that I could use your assistance at least as far at the steps of the boarding house." She giggles and accepts his arm. The two lean against each other, both somewhat intoxicated and make their way out of the Lucky Lady. Nanuet escorts Minerva back to her boarding house, changing the subject to animal training to avoid further embarrassment. </p><p></p><p>When they arrive he says good night and adds, "I think you add some spice to this town Miss Minerva, I am glad you came." "Gracias Senor, let us hope that they don't run me out on the next train." She reaches up and kisses him gently on the cheek. "You are a fine man, Senor Nanuet. I am glad to have made your acquaintance also. Buenas Noches mi amigo." And Minerva turns and stumbles into the house.</p><p></p><p>Back upstairs, Ruby extends her arm out far, then holds it close to her face. Ruby is entranced by the ring and everything a ring like that stands for. In her current state it held her as almost if she was under the effect of a spell. She confuses herself with crazy arguments but every thought she has ends with a glance at the ring. She hears footsteps approaching and the door opening and it is as if the spell had been broken. She blinks, drops the box to the floor and quickly flips the ring, stone side in.</p><p></p><p>Jake enters the room to see Ruby exaggeratedly pull off her shoes and throw them. She stands near the bed, untying the bed curtains from the posts. She lets her long hair down and shakes it loose. “You got a letter, I put it on the desk. Didn’t have a chance to tell you about it earlier…” Jake heads over to the smaller part of their room to read the letter from Abby. He can hear the sound of her dress being dropped to the floor, followed by the distinct sound of the hooks on Ruby’s corset being opened as he reads the letter from Abby, which is immediately followed by more rustling of fabric and some giggling. </p><p></p><p>When he gets back to the larger part of the room, Ruby is sitting on her feet on the far side of the bed, in only her underclothes, which are hanging off her. “So,” she says, “What exactly does this Mattie know how to take care of?” Jake sits on the edge of the bed and Ruby starts crawling towards him with a mischievous grin. “Something I should know about?” Jake laughs. "Mattie and I were, uh, friendly back when I was in Chicago. She could be, how can I put this, very enthusiastic in the right mood. She was pretty enough I suppose, not a beauty. When she wasn't working we had some fun and kept each other from being lonely." He gives her a half smile and a shrug. </p><p></p><p>“Like we do…” Ruby answers, “Have some fun and keep each other from being lonely, that is.” She rolls over on her back and puts her head in Jake’s lap. “Why did you leave then?” "Like we do?" Jake says almost to himself. "Nothing like we do. I don't think she would have brought me to harm, but I didn't trust Mattie. First and foremost Mattie took care of Mattie. We had a relationship of convenience. Sure we may have been partial to each other, but Mattie came around when it was convenient to Mattie." Jake strokes Ruby's hair. "I didn't leave Mattie, I left Chicago. I did and learned everything I needed at the time. I left because there was nothing to keep me." </p><p></p><p>Ruby turns on her side, keeping her head in Jake’s lap and faces him. Her undershirt is open at the bottom revealing the curve between her waist and hip and her skirt is bunched up so her legs are free. “But you have something to keep you here and that is why you stay…” she says quietly. </p><p></p><p>She starts fiddling with the buttons on his shirt while speaking, opening them one at a time. “So, while you were playing cards Mr. Eastman came by. He got down on his knees in front of me and asked me to marry him on the porch. I told him I couldn’t marry him, gave him the best reason I had. He won’t take no for an answer.” Ruby slips her hand inside Jake’s shirt and runs her finger gently up and down his chest. “He wanted to know where you were but I wouldn’t tell him, didn’t want to interrupt your poker game. He thinks we’re having dinner tomorrow, well, tonight. He gave me this,” Ruby holds up her hand and shows Jake the sparkling diamond. “Just trying it on for fun I guess.” </p><p></p><p>Jake eyes the ring like vermin with a poisonous bite. "He wanted to know where I was? Was he thinking of calling me out?" He snorts and shakes his head. "It's big," he says pointing at the ring but doesn't touch it. "Fun, huh." The word hangs in the air. "What is it that makes it hard to send him away? Is it the money? Is it something else? You know I won't let him cause you any trouble if you ask me." </p><p></p><p>“I don’t know what he was thinking but I didn’t think you would want to get involved, especially inside the Lucky Lady and most especially while you were playing cards. Why would he call you out?” Ruby sits up and leans on her arms but keeps close to Jake. “Yes, it’s big,” Ruby says pulling it slowly off her finger and looking at it. “I tried to give it back to him but he insisted I take it.” Ruby is quiet for a long moment. </p><p></p><p>“I told you, I didn’t want to be mean to him because of my parents. Maybe it’s foolish of me to be afraid of them but I still am.” Ruby is quiet again and she starts twisting her hair around her finger. “Send him away? I thought I was doing that. I told him I wouldn’t marry him, I said I didn’t love him. He had some choice things to say about you and I told him he was wrong. What else should I do? Shoot him?” </p><p></p><p>"Eastman must be a persuasive man." Jake says with a raised eyebrow. "Look, I was just joking about him calling me out. I just don't know why he'd want to speak to me. Seems to me no matter how you treat Mr. Eastman your parents are going to find out you are here." Jake lies back across the bed. "Nobody is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. You have friends here that will stand by you. I don't care if it is Eastman or your parents, I won't let anyone push you into something you don't want. All you have to do is ask me, and you have whatever help you need." He strokes her arm and says, "You didn't think I wanted to be involved? How much more involved could I be?" </p><p></p><p>“I don’t know Jake, how much more involved could you be?” Ruby repeats back the question to Jake. She lies down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. She reaches out and opens Jake’s hand, palm up. She drops the ring into his hand and closes his fingers around it. “I’m asking you for your help, Mr. Cook, I want you to help me.” She runs her hand across his chest, up his neck and to his face, ending with her fingers on his lips. “I need you to help me,” she whispers. </p><p></p><p>"Done." Jake puts the ring on the nightstand. "Your knight is ready to save you, my princess. Enough of Mr. George Eastman for tonight, he's already taken too much of your precious time. I'll deal with him tomorrow. You were supposed to have worry free fun." Jake waves his hands around in poor imitation of Senor Gonzalez casting a spell. "There, that bad man's evil influence is now dissolved. Feel better?" He rolls over on his side with his head resting on his hand. “My knight has already saved me,” Ruby smiles. “Yes, I feel better. But I’ll feel much better tomorrow. Nice spell, Mr. Cook. Maybe I’ll try one of my own.” Ruby sits up next to Jake and closes her eyes. </p><p></p><p>She starts an incantation, quietly singing words that Jake does not know. She sings them over and over, and Jake notices a very faint breeze start, softly blowing the curtains on the bed. Ruby’s hair moves in the gentle wind and Jake can feel it caress his face as it moves around him. A scent comes to him on the movement, like vanilla and lotus blossom, swirling in and out of his nostrils. Ruby is still singing with her eyes closed and she is concentrating hard. Finally she opens her eyes and moves slowly down towards Jake and kisses him. </p><p></p><p>When their lips touch it’s like electricity and Jake gets a tingling sensation as he feels something he’s never experienced before. Suddenly he is flooded with emotion, overcome with feelings not his own. He feels intense love and friendship, trust, contentment but also some confusion, even a bit scared. Ruby pulls back from Jake only a bit. “Did anything happen?” Jake's eyes are a wide open and he does not answer immediately. "What in Hades was that?" “I don’t know,” Ruby smiles hesitantly, “If it worked…I wanted you to know how I feel, to feel what I feel. What was it like?” </p><p></p><p>"That isn't going to happen every time you kiss me now is it?" Jake looks a bit unsettled. "It was unnerving, I'm just not used to this magic stuff. It was only a moment but what ever I was feeling was gone and was replaced by what you were feeling? I was just not prepared for that, uh, um..." She notices he is shaking ever so slightly. Ruby backs away from Jake. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again." She starts biting her lip. "Maybe we’d better just go to bed, I’ve really messed this night up.” He sits upright and a mild shudder takes him. He rubs his arms a few times like it's cold but the room is comfortably cool. Finally he goes across the room for a drink which he quickly consumes. Ruby sighs and crawls under the covers. She pulls the covers way up and buries her face in the pillow and thinks, “That didn't go as planned... then again it never does...”</p><p></p><p>Jake and Ruby had retired upstairs, and Miss Florencia had gone back to her boarding house. Nanuet was certainly too drunk to walk them home, and Chester was likely not much better. She and Ginnie would be fine to get home on their own, just this once. Back in their room Kate hummed softly as she got ready for bed, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.</p><p></p><p>Kate woke early in the morning, refreshed despite how late she had gone to bed. Ginnie was still in her cot but it was hard to tell if she was awake or not. Kate decided to let her sleep. If she wanted to visit families with her later she could, but she had been up late the night before, and Kate would only be downstairs if Ginnie needed her. She dressed in her prim blue, the closest she had to what she imagined a schoolteacher would wear. She pinned her hair up simply, then went downstairs into the Cantina.</p><p></p><p>The Cantina was quiet, but had more people in it than Katherine had expected this time of morning. Of course, most people had regular jobs to get to, so breakfast would be early. Someday soon she might be one of these early risers, on her way to her own school. Dorita walked briskly over. How early she must get up every day. "Just tea for now Dorita," Kate said quietly. "Mr. Booth will be in for breakfast this morning, I'll eat when he gets here. He hasn't already been, has he?"</p><p></p><p>Dorita says that he has not, and that she's never seen him up any earlier than 10:30 in the morning. Kate sits and waits. She is surprised to see Juan Gomez come downstairs with a pair of suitcases and pay what he tells Pedro is his final bill. Juan then departs out the front door. </p><p></p><p>Luckily the alcohol helped Ruby sleep that night. The next morning she woke as the puppies began crying. She quickly gets out of bed and dresses. She grabs the ring off the table and put it in the box, to keep in her pocket for safekeeping. If she hadn't been in a rush she would have actually taken the time to put it in the safe. She heads downstairs to take the fur balls out of the room before Jake could wake up. She lets them out and refills their food and water. She grabs some muffin to eat for breakfast and downs it with some leftover whiskey. She cleans up from the night before and by then Niles Hoover arrives to start the day. She excuses herself and sits out on the porch, drinks her whiskey and watches the world wander by.</p><p></p><p>Chester strolls out of the El Parador with a smile on his face. He strikes a match off his boot and lights a cigarette. Ruby sits on the porch, lost in her thoughts. With a raised eyebrow, Chester notes the glass of whiskey in her hand. She doesn't need a lecture from me about drinking in the morning. "Good morning Ruby. I had a lot of fun last night. We haven't had a party like that since January. Seems like that new preacher woman will be an interesting addition to Promise City."</p><p></p><p>Jake wanders down stairs after getting ready for the morning. He notices Chester go out front and speak to Ruby. Jake decides the kitchen is a better first destination. "Buenas Diaz, Maria." Jake greets her cheerfully. "Just getting some coffee." He picks at some leftovers from last night and then tries to pick at some of whatever it is she is making. "Aye, no!" Maria says slapping his hand. "No done yet, no touch." Jake laughs, "Dorita taught you too well." He wanders out into the main room, and then meanders out to the porch not sure if he is grateful that Chester is there or not.</p><p></p><p>"Morning Chet, if there can be anything good about mornings," Ruby smiles. The puppies scamper around her feet and then run over to Chester when he walks out. They sniff his feet then head back to Ruby. "I'm glad you had fun last night. You're a good dancer. We should do it more often" Ruby flips her hair then pulls her knees up to her chest on the bench. "Yes, Minerva seems like a very nice lady." She sees Jake walk out onto the porch and glances back down the street to the morning traffic.</p><p></p><p>Jake takes another sip of his coffee. He nods to Chester, "Morning soldier, morning Ruby." He stands there quietly holding his cup, a thin wisp of steam curling around in front of his face. The gambler glances up and down the street quickly before returning his gaze to the others. Mischief finally decides to get up and sniff around Jake before going back to Ruby. "I wonder if there will be a hearing today for Mr. Lucky?"</p><p></p><p>Ruby comments, "Good morning Jake, although Chester and I were just discussing if there really is such a thing." Lucky jumps up onto the bench and nudges Ruby with her nose. Ruby puts her arm around the mutt and scratches her head. She takes a drink of her whiskey while continuing to look down the street. "Marshall Rodriquez mentioned that the Judge was in town and would probably take care of the situation. I doubt Mr. Lucky has money to pay for a sentence, if he gets one, so I suppose you had better decide if you want to take his table or not, or if the Lucky Lady is willing to bail him out." Ruby finally looks to Jake and she smiles softly at him while continuing to pet the pup.</p><p></p><p>"Good morning, Jake. I was just on my way over to the El Parador for breakfast. I'll see you both later." Jake waves as Chester heads off to find breakfast. "Yes, I'm sure cheerful Chester was complaining about morning." He takes another sip of coffee before turning to face Ruby. "I suppose I have had more of my share of days when the morning seemed like the enemy and the light burned my eyes." He chuckles. "Mostly I'm pretty happy with mornings, but I have the luxury of the enjoying the brightness of your smile." </p><p></p><p>After some more coffee Jake adds, "Tony Lucky is a fool. We'll see what happens and decide at the time. I'm sure we could figure out how to get along without him. We might even be better off, that could have been the Lucky Lady Bauer was shooting up." Jake just shakes his head. "I suppose that is true. I would have been really angry if that happened here. I have no love for the man, I don't like the way he looks at me, so I don't really care what happens." Ruby goes back to petting Lucky while Mischief continues to prance around her feet.</p><p></p><p>Jake sits on the bench next to Ruby, both his hands around the mug. "I... So Last night... Um, I was.... Err, I didn't... Oh Hades!" Jake finally says in exasperation. "So, how did you sleep?" He offers lamely. Ruby continues to pet Lucky, who picks her head up and looks at Jake when he sits next to her. </p><p></p><p>She answers coolly, "Well, I might have slept better if the last thing I saw wasn't the look of sheer panic on my lover's face at something I had just done. Unnerved over something that makes me who I am and something that I have already had enough rejection in my life over. So opposed to the warm, content, snuggly 'we just made love' sleep I was planning on, I had the 'I hope he doesn't hate me and want to leave me in the morning' sleep. So how did you sleep?" There is some bite in Ruby's voice and she looks at him with a raised eyebrow, but Jake can tell by her eyes that she is more afraid than anything else.</p><p></p><p>"Bout as well." He has another gulp of coffee. He leans back against the building. "Hate you? Not hardly. Leaving? No way." He takes in a long slow breath, and let's it out the same. "Was I frightened last night?" He laughs bravely and says in a very low voice. "A bit." </p><p></p><p>He rolls the mug back and forth in his hands and glances about to see that no one is near by. "Three months ago I barely knew some of that stuff was possible. Something about it makes me, um, let's just say nervous. So I was getting used to you being able to make some stuff happen. Last night I thought you were just setting the mood, you know like with the candles." He stops and drinks some more. "So there is this exotic smell in the air, and a little breeze. Then I'm ready for that warm romantic kiss. Instead, I... well instead I was just surprised. When I asked you about it, you made it sound like you might not be sure what was happening. I suppose I was liquored up too." He looks down at the porch. "Big brave Jake panicked."</p><p></p><p>Ruby visibly relaxes. “I apologize, Jake, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She looks down again at Lucky, who is now making her way closer to Jake. She sighs, “I have this thing, this feeling inside of me. It’s not like Kate and studying out of a book. I can try to manipulate it anyway I want to, doesn’t mean it’s going to work. Even sometimes when I get mad or really happy, things just happen and I can’t control them, although since Mr. Gonzales’s been teaching me that doesn’t happen too much anymore.” </p><p></p><p>“I was just thinking that maybe if you could feel what I felt, maybe you would understand…well… forget it.” Lucky nudges Jake’s arm with her nose and Ruby smiles at her before looking back at Jake. “She likes you. I haven’t seen her do that to anyone else, she’s shyer than her brother.” Mischief is hopping back and forth on the porch, chasing an unseen enemy. “Anyway, sorry that I surprised you like that and I won’t do it again.” Ruby pulled at her hair in thought. “Oh but you liked the smell? My two favorite scents, vanilla and a flower someone gave me once. They only open at night, the flower that is. It was rare, and very beautiful.”</p><p></p><p>"I did ask you to help me understand...." He rubs his eyes with one hand and sighs. "I was thinking in more conventional terms." He reaches out for her hand but hesitates just a second before touching it. Some tension seems to drain out of his shoulders after he does. "We don't have to share my little panic attack, do we? It would probably be best if we just kept it to ourselves." "I won't tell anyone. You're still big brave Jake to me." Ruby picks up Lucky and puts the fur ball on her lap. She moves closer to Jake and with a smile on her face looks him right in the eyes, "So, you're not afraid of me are you?" Smiling he says, "Not anymore than I was when I saw you shoot those rustlers in the caves."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2507453, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 51, “An Unexpected Reaction”, Wednesday, March 15th , 1882:[/B] Ruby lights the candles with some difficulty, her hand being slightly unsteady, and her vision a bit blurry. The puppies lie on a pillow in the corner and fall right asleep. Ruby gazes at herself in the mirror for a long while, gently caressing her earrings every now and then. She decides to get undressed and as she starts to she feels the box. Ruby knows she should leave it in her pocket, not tempt fate, but she can not resist the temptation and she pulls it out. She stares at the black box in her hand before flipping the lid with her thumb. The diamond glitters in the candlelight. It is by far the largest jewel that Ruby has ever had in her possession. It sparkles and calls to her, tempts her to feel the weight of it. She slowly slides the ring out of the box and slips it onto her finger. Downstairs, Luc watches the lively saloon. He watches as the others drink and dance. "and I got yelled at for sipping one beer for six hours?" Luc thinks to himself as he takes a drag off of his cigar. He picks up his mug next to him and takes a drink. At the table, Chester reflected back upon his conversation from earlier that evening. He had just Clairesse Townsend where she wanted to dine. She replied, "I was thinking the Alhambra. I've never been there before and I'd like to try it. Do you have anyone in mind as far as chaperones. I don't really know too many people in town." He laughed. "I'd suggest Ruby and Jake, but I don't think having the bosses around would be too good. Whoever your parents decide is fine by me. I'll take you home after your finished here. OK?" She replied, "Oh, my parents are no longer living. My only living family is my cousin. She works at the Gay Lady Variety Hall." That had made him feel awkward. Chester escorted Clairesse to her home, a room at the Promise City Hotel, after she finishes her last set. She does not allow her to escort her further than the first floor "As it would not be proper." He stated, "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." He whistled as he returned to the Lucky Lady and saw his friends gathered around a table. Jake was dealing cards, teaching Minerva how to play poker. "Deal me in on the next hand. It's not often I get a chance to play with the famous Jake Cook," Chet commented. "Glad to have you Chester, although infamous might be more accurate." Jake gives him a smile and says, "You and your money are always welcome at my table during regular hours too." "I'll have to take you up on that offer. I'm sure my money will make itself at home at your table. A shave tail like me would make your other players happy." Minerva has had quite a bit to drink and has shed her ladylike veneer. She can be heard laughing loudly and using some rather unladylike language as she continues to play cards with Jake and Chester. With a loud guffaw she slams her cards down on the table revealing a Royal Flush. "By the gods, I could really get to like this game! Luck and skill that's what's gotten us to this fine city." She giggles, "Isn't that right Luna?" She leans across the table, "So Chester, wanna see Luna's new trick? Gimme a coin." Chester pulls a coin out of his pocket and hands it to Minerva. She holds it in her closed palm and concentrates momentarily. When she opens her palm a soft light is emanating from the coin. Both Jake and Chester look at her with raised eyebrows. "Naw," she waves her hand away, "That's not the trick. Watch this." She tosses Chester's hat across the room and throws the glowing coin into the hat. She whistles once and Luna immediately spreads her wings and glides over to the hat. She picks it up in her talons and flies back depositing the hat on the table. "Good girl Luna!" she says kissing the bird on the cheek. "Pretty good huh!" Minerva beams and hands Chester his hat. Chester claps. "Very nice, Miss Florencia. Must have been hard to teach Luna that trick." Nanuet comments, “Very good Miss Minerva! I did not know you had the talents to train animals as well as do the work of the Gods. And let’s not forget pull amazingly good poker hands! Multi-talented indeed!” "I am a quick learner," she laughs and teases him, "As are you, Senor Nanuet! You appeared quite graceful on the dance floor! She turns to Chester. "You know, Senor Chester, " she pouts, "If we are going to be friends you must stop calling me Miss Florencia." Nuzzling Luna she continues, "She is a very smart bird. Aren't you Luna? I'm not sure if it's a useful trick or not but Luna loves to learn and I derive great joy out of teaching her." With a heavy sigh she pushes back from the table and stumbles on the chair. In an attempt to regain her composure she grips the back of the chair and attempts to stand tall. Regally she announces to the room in general, "Much to my regret the hour grows late and if I am to meet with the Committee tomorrow I must be heading home." She mutters something about looking good for the firing squad and clumsily gathers up her belongings. After struggling with her gloves and shawl and dropping them several times she stuffs everything in the flute case. With an exaggerated wave to everyone in the room she calls out, "Muchas Gracias mi Amigos, for such a lovely evening," and unsteadily heads towards the door. Nanuet watched Minerva, a little unsteady on her feet , and get ready to leave. She called her owl and turned to head out when he stopped her. "Please, Miss Minerva, if you could stand my company I would like to escort you back to your bed. Uh, umm, I mean escort you so you can go to bed. I mean walk you back to the boarding house!" he says exasperated. Nanuet's face turns a deep shade of crimson after his innocent slip up. "I think that perhaps, Senor Nanuet, that I could use your assistance at least as far at the steps of the boarding house." She giggles and accepts his arm. The two lean against each other, both somewhat intoxicated and make their way out of the Lucky Lady. Nanuet escorts Minerva back to her boarding house, changing the subject to animal training to avoid further embarrassment. When they arrive he says good night and adds, "I think you add some spice to this town Miss Minerva, I am glad you came." "Gracias Senor, let us hope that they don't run me out on the next train." She reaches up and kisses him gently on the cheek. "You are a fine man, Senor Nanuet. I am glad to have made your acquaintance also. Buenas Noches mi amigo." And Minerva turns and stumbles into the house. Back upstairs, Ruby extends her arm out far, then holds it close to her face. Ruby is entranced by the ring and everything a ring like that stands for. In her current state it held her as almost if she was under the effect of a spell. She confuses herself with crazy arguments but every thought she has ends with a glance at the ring. She hears footsteps approaching and the door opening and it is as if the spell had been broken. She blinks, drops the box to the floor and quickly flips the ring, stone side in. Jake enters the room to see Ruby exaggeratedly pull off her shoes and throw them. She stands near the bed, untying the bed curtains from the posts. She lets her long hair down and shakes it loose. “You got a letter, I put it on the desk. Didn’t have a chance to tell you about it earlier…” Jake heads over to the smaller part of their room to read the letter from Abby. He can hear the sound of her dress being dropped to the floor, followed by the distinct sound of the hooks on Ruby’s corset being opened as he reads the letter from Abby, which is immediately followed by more rustling of fabric and some giggling. When he gets back to the larger part of the room, Ruby is sitting on her feet on the far side of the bed, in only her underclothes, which are hanging off her. “So,” she says, “What exactly does this Mattie know how to take care of?” Jake sits on the edge of the bed and Ruby starts crawling towards him with a mischievous grin. “Something I should know about?” Jake laughs. "Mattie and I were, uh, friendly back when I was in Chicago. She could be, how can I put this, very enthusiastic in the right mood. She was pretty enough I suppose, not a beauty. When she wasn't working we had some fun and kept each other from being lonely." He gives her a half smile and a shrug. “Like we do…” Ruby answers, “Have some fun and keep each other from being lonely, that is.” She rolls over on her back and puts her head in Jake’s lap. “Why did you leave then?” "Like we do?" Jake says almost to himself. "Nothing like we do. I don't think she would have brought me to harm, but I didn't trust Mattie. First and foremost Mattie took care of Mattie. We had a relationship of convenience. Sure we may have been partial to each other, but Mattie came around when it was convenient to Mattie." Jake strokes Ruby's hair. "I didn't leave Mattie, I left Chicago. I did and learned everything I needed at the time. I left because there was nothing to keep me." Ruby turns on her side, keeping her head in Jake’s lap and faces him. Her undershirt is open at the bottom revealing the curve between her waist and hip and her skirt is bunched up so her legs are free. “But you have something to keep you here and that is why you stay…” she says quietly. She starts fiddling with the buttons on his shirt while speaking, opening them one at a time. “So, while you were playing cards Mr. Eastman came by. He got down on his knees in front of me and asked me to marry him on the porch. I told him I couldn’t marry him, gave him the best reason I had. He won’t take no for an answer.” Ruby slips her hand inside Jake’s shirt and runs her finger gently up and down his chest. “He wanted to know where you were but I wouldn’t tell him, didn’t want to interrupt your poker game. He thinks we’re having dinner tomorrow, well, tonight. He gave me this,” Ruby holds up her hand and shows Jake the sparkling diamond. “Just trying it on for fun I guess.” Jake eyes the ring like vermin with a poisonous bite. "He wanted to know where I was? Was he thinking of calling me out?" He snorts and shakes his head. "It's big," he says pointing at the ring but doesn't touch it. "Fun, huh." The word hangs in the air. "What is it that makes it hard to send him away? Is it the money? Is it something else? You know I won't let him cause you any trouble if you ask me." “I don’t know what he was thinking but I didn’t think you would want to get involved, especially inside the Lucky Lady and most especially while you were playing cards. Why would he call you out?” Ruby sits up and leans on her arms but keeps close to Jake. “Yes, it’s big,” Ruby says pulling it slowly off her finger and looking at it. “I tried to give it back to him but he insisted I take it.” Ruby is quiet for a long moment. “I told you, I didn’t want to be mean to him because of my parents. Maybe it’s foolish of me to be afraid of them but I still am.” Ruby is quiet again and she starts twisting her hair around her finger. “Send him away? I thought I was doing that. I told him I wouldn’t marry him, I said I didn’t love him. He had some choice things to say about you and I told him he was wrong. What else should I do? Shoot him?” "Eastman must be a persuasive man." Jake says with a raised eyebrow. "Look, I was just joking about him calling me out. I just don't know why he'd want to speak to me. Seems to me no matter how you treat Mr. Eastman your parents are going to find out you are here." Jake lies back across the bed. "Nobody is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. You have friends here that will stand by you. I don't care if it is Eastman or your parents, I won't let anyone push you into something you don't want. All you have to do is ask me, and you have whatever help you need." He strokes her arm and says, "You didn't think I wanted to be involved? How much more involved could I be?" “I don’t know Jake, how much more involved could you be?” Ruby repeats back the question to Jake. She lies down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. She reaches out and opens Jake’s hand, palm up. She drops the ring into his hand and closes his fingers around it. “I’m asking you for your help, Mr. Cook, I want you to help me.” She runs her hand across his chest, up his neck and to his face, ending with her fingers on his lips. “I need you to help me,” she whispers. "Done." Jake puts the ring on the nightstand. "Your knight is ready to save you, my princess. Enough of Mr. George Eastman for tonight, he's already taken too much of your precious time. I'll deal with him tomorrow. You were supposed to have worry free fun." Jake waves his hands around in poor imitation of Senor Gonzalez casting a spell. "There, that bad man's evil influence is now dissolved. Feel better?" He rolls over on his side with his head resting on his hand. “My knight has already saved me,” Ruby smiles. “Yes, I feel better. But I’ll feel much better tomorrow. Nice spell, Mr. Cook. Maybe I’ll try one of my own.” Ruby sits up next to Jake and closes her eyes. She starts an incantation, quietly singing words that Jake does not know. She sings them over and over, and Jake notices a very faint breeze start, softly blowing the curtains on the bed. Ruby’s hair moves in the gentle wind and Jake can feel it caress his face as it moves around him. A scent comes to him on the movement, like vanilla and lotus blossom, swirling in and out of his nostrils. Ruby is still singing with her eyes closed and she is concentrating hard. Finally she opens her eyes and moves slowly down towards Jake and kisses him. When their lips touch it’s like electricity and Jake gets a tingling sensation as he feels something he’s never experienced before. Suddenly he is flooded with emotion, overcome with feelings not his own. He feels intense love and friendship, trust, contentment but also some confusion, even a bit scared. Ruby pulls back from Jake only a bit. “Did anything happen?” Jake's eyes are a wide open and he does not answer immediately. "What in Hades was that?" “I don’t know,” Ruby smiles hesitantly, “If it worked…I wanted you to know how I feel, to feel what I feel. What was it like?” "That isn't going to happen every time you kiss me now is it?" Jake looks a bit unsettled. "It was unnerving, I'm just not used to this magic stuff. It was only a moment but what ever I was feeling was gone and was replaced by what you were feeling? I was just not prepared for that, uh, um..." She notices he is shaking ever so slightly. Ruby backs away from Jake. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again." She starts biting her lip. "Maybe we’d better just go to bed, I’ve really messed this night up.” He sits upright and a mild shudder takes him. He rubs his arms a few times like it's cold but the room is comfortably cool. Finally he goes across the room for a drink which he quickly consumes. Ruby sighs and crawls under the covers. She pulls the covers way up and buries her face in the pillow and thinks, “That didn't go as planned... then again it never does...” Jake and Ruby had retired upstairs, and Miss Florencia had gone back to her boarding house. Nanuet was certainly too drunk to walk them home, and Chester was likely not much better. She and Ginnie would be fine to get home on their own, just this once. Back in their room Kate hummed softly as she got ready for bed, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Kate woke early in the morning, refreshed despite how late she had gone to bed. Ginnie was still in her cot but it was hard to tell if she was awake or not. Kate decided to let her sleep. If she wanted to visit families with her later she could, but she had been up late the night before, and Kate would only be downstairs if Ginnie needed her. She dressed in her prim blue, the closest she had to what she imagined a schoolteacher would wear. She pinned her hair up simply, then went downstairs into the Cantina. The Cantina was quiet, but had more people in it than Katherine had expected this time of morning. Of course, most people had regular jobs to get to, so breakfast would be early. Someday soon she might be one of these early risers, on her way to her own school. Dorita walked briskly over. How early she must get up every day. "Just tea for now Dorita," Kate said quietly. "Mr. Booth will be in for breakfast this morning, I'll eat when he gets here. He hasn't already been, has he?" Dorita says that he has not, and that she's never seen him up any earlier than 10:30 in the morning. Kate sits and waits. She is surprised to see Juan Gomez come downstairs with a pair of suitcases and pay what he tells Pedro is his final bill. Juan then departs out the front door. Luckily the alcohol helped Ruby sleep that night. The next morning she woke as the puppies began crying. She quickly gets out of bed and dresses. She grabs the ring off the table and put it in the box, to keep in her pocket for safekeeping. If she hadn't been in a rush she would have actually taken the time to put it in the safe. She heads downstairs to take the fur balls out of the room before Jake could wake up. She lets them out and refills their food and water. She grabs some muffin to eat for breakfast and downs it with some leftover whiskey. She cleans up from the night before and by then Niles Hoover arrives to start the day. She excuses herself and sits out on the porch, drinks her whiskey and watches the world wander by. Chester strolls out of the El Parador with a smile on his face. He strikes a match off his boot and lights a cigarette. Ruby sits on the porch, lost in her thoughts. With a raised eyebrow, Chester notes the glass of whiskey in her hand. She doesn't need a lecture from me about drinking in the morning. "Good morning Ruby. I had a lot of fun last night. We haven't had a party like that since January. Seems like that new preacher woman will be an interesting addition to Promise City." Jake wanders down stairs after getting ready for the morning. He notices Chester go out front and speak to Ruby. Jake decides the kitchen is a better first destination. "Buenas Diaz, Maria." Jake greets her cheerfully. "Just getting some coffee." He picks at some leftovers from last night and then tries to pick at some of whatever it is she is making. "Aye, no!" Maria says slapping his hand. "No done yet, no touch." Jake laughs, "Dorita taught you too well." He wanders out into the main room, and then meanders out to the porch not sure if he is grateful that Chester is there or not. "Morning Chet, if there can be anything good about mornings," Ruby smiles. The puppies scamper around her feet and then run over to Chester when he walks out. They sniff his feet then head back to Ruby. "I'm glad you had fun last night. You're a good dancer. We should do it more often" Ruby flips her hair then pulls her knees up to her chest on the bench. "Yes, Minerva seems like a very nice lady." She sees Jake walk out onto the porch and glances back down the street to the morning traffic. Jake takes another sip of his coffee. He nods to Chester, "Morning soldier, morning Ruby." He stands there quietly holding his cup, a thin wisp of steam curling around in front of his face. The gambler glances up and down the street quickly before returning his gaze to the others. Mischief finally decides to get up and sniff around Jake before going back to Ruby. "I wonder if there will be a hearing today for Mr. Lucky?" Ruby comments, "Good morning Jake, although Chester and I were just discussing if there really is such a thing." Lucky jumps up onto the bench and nudges Ruby with her nose. Ruby puts her arm around the mutt and scratches her head. She takes a drink of her whiskey while continuing to look down the street. "Marshall Rodriquez mentioned that the Judge was in town and would probably take care of the situation. I doubt Mr. Lucky has money to pay for a sentence, if he gets one, so I suppose you had better decide if you want to take his table or not, or if the Lucky Lady is willing to bail him out." Ruby finally looks to Jake and she smiles softly at him while continuing to pet the pup. "Good morning, Jake. I was just on my way over to the El Parador for breakfast. I'll see you both later." Jake waves as Chester heads off to find breakfast. "Yes, I'm sure cheerful Chester was complaining about morning." He takes another sip of coffee before turning to face Ruby. "I suppose I have had more of my share of days when the morning seemed like the enemy and the light burned my eyes." He chuckles. "Mostly I'm pretty happy with mornings, but I have the luxury of the enjoying the brightness of your smile." After some more coffee Jake adds, "Tony Lucky is a fool. We'll see what happens and decide at the time. I'm sure we could figure out how to get along without him. We might even be better off, that could have been the Lucky Lady Bauer was shooting up." Jake just shakes his head. "I suppose that is true. I would have been really angry if that happened here. I have no love for the man, I don't like the way he looks at me, so I don't really care what happens." Ruby goes back to petting Lucky while Mischief continues to prance around her feet. Jake sits on the bench next to Ruby, both his hands around the mug. "I... So Last night... Um, I was.... Err, I didn't... Oh Hades!" Jake finally says in exasperation. "So, how did you sleep?" He offers lamely. Ruby continues to pet Lucky, who picks her head up and looks at Jake when he sits next to her. She answers coolly, "Well, I might have slept better if the last thing I saw wasn't the look of sheer panic on my lover's face at something I had just done. Unnerved over something that makes me who I am and something that I have already had enough rejection in my life over. So opposed to the warm, content, snuggly 'we just made love' sleep I was planning on, I had the 'I hope he doesn't hate me and want to leave me in the morning' sleep. So how did you sleep?" There is some bite in Ruby's voice and she looks at him with a raised eyebrow, but Jake can tell by her eyes that she is more afraid than anything else. "Bout as well." He has another gulp of coffee. He leans back against the building. "Hate you? Not hardly. Leaving? No way." He takes in a long slow breath, and let's it out the same. "Was I frightened last night?" He laughs bravely and says in a very low voice. "A bit." He rolls the mug back and forth in his hands and glances about to see that no one is near by. "Three months ago I barely knew some of that stuff was possible. Something about it makes me, um, let's just say nervous. So I was getting used to you being able to make some stuff happen. Last night I thought you were just setting the mood, you know like with the candles." He stops and drinks some more. "So there is this exotic smell in the air, and a little breeze. Then I'm ready for that warm romantic kiss. Instead, I... well instead I was just surprised. When I asked you about it, you made it sound like you might not be sure what was happening. I suppose I was liquored up too." He looks down at the porch. "Big brave Jake panicked." Ruby visibly relaxes. “I apologize, Jake, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She looks down again at Lucky, who is now making her way closer to Jake. She sighs, “I have this thing, this feeling inside of me. It’s not like Kate and studying out of a book. I can try to manipulate it anyway I want to, doesn’t mean it’s going to work. Even sometimes when I get mad or really happy, things just happen and I can’t control them, although since Mr. Gonzales’s been teaching me that doesn’t happen too much anymore.” “I was just thinking that maybe if you could feel what I felt, maybe you would understand…well… forget it.” Lucky nudges Jake’s arm with her nose and Ruby smiles at her before looking back at Jake. “She likes you. I haven’t seen her do that to anyone else, she’s shyer than her brother.” Mischief is hopping back and forth on the porch, chasing an unseen enemy. “Anyway, sorry that I surprised you like that and I won’t do it again.” Ruby pulled at her hair in thought. “Oh but you liked the smell? My two favorite scents, vanilla and a flower someone gave me once. They only open at night, the flower that is. It was rare, and very beautiful.” "I did ask you to help me understand...." He rubs his eyes with one hand and sighs. "I was thinking in more conventional terms." He reaches out for her hand but hesitates just a second before touching it. Some tension seems to drain out of his shoulders after he does. "We don't have to share my little panic attack, do we? It would probably be best if we just kept it to ourselves." "I won't tell anyone. You're still big brave Jake to me." Ruby picks up Lucky and puts the fur ball on her lap. She moves closer to Jake and with a smile on her face looks him right in the eyes, "So, you're not afraid of me are you?" Smiling he says, "Not anymore than I was when I saw you shoot those rustlers in the caves." [/QUOTE]
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