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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3064098" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 168, “Sunday Morning Service", Sunday, March 26th, 1882, 7:45 AM That morning, before Jake opens his eyes, he feels Ruby’s arms wrapped tightly around him, her fingers twirling lazily in his hair. He squints his eyes open and finds her staring up at him. “Good morning, baby,” she says softly, “Do you still love me today?”    "Of course." Jake rubs some sleep from his eyes. "It's early, why are you awake?"  Hearing Jake's affirmation puts a large yet sleepy smile on Ruby's face. "I woke up so I could do this..." She moves her face closer to Jake's and slowly kisses his still bourbon tasting lips. "Yummy," she says in a low, not yet woken up voice. She kisses him again. "Yesterday was the best day. I feel like I'm dreaming and I don't want to get out of bed for fear I might wake up."  "If you don't get out of bed you can't come back to bed." Even as Jake says this his face takes on a confused look. "I'm sure I meant something clever there. Are we going to go support our friend the Priestess again this week at church? I wonder what kind of trouble she is going to stir up today? They might not even notice us napping through the sermon." Ruby gently runs her fingers across the olive leaf pendant hanging from Jake's neck. "I suppose since we're up we should go. I have to thank the goddess Aphrodite after all. But we have some time, the sun isn't through the shades yet, so it is early."  Jake vaguely remembers talking about the olive leaf from last night. "What am I supposed to do with this again besides wear it? I still don't understand, doesn't your goddess want you to wear it?" Ruby caresses Jake's chest. "Just wear it, nothing more. It's not like she gave me personal instructions that said I had to wear it. It came from the ceremony. It was a gift from her and the other goddesses to us. And I want you to wear it so she can send us extra blessings from wherever she is, and protect you for me."  "Wear it I shall..." He says and thinks even though I suspect all gifts from gods.  "Good!" Ruby smiles and kisses Jake again but as she pulls herself away the smile falls from her face. She appears thoughtful before speaking, choosing her words carefully, "Last night, we were talking and it sort of came up, I just want to be clear… You don’t want babies, do you?” Jake's eyes get large and he says quickly, "No children. None. What a terrible thing that would be for all involved." Then he relaxes and laughs. "One of me is plenty. Many people feel that one of me is too much already. No thank you darling, no babies."  "I wasn't offering," Ruby says without a smile. Then a huge sigh of relief escapes her lips and her whole body relaxes. "That's good, I was a little nervous there for a minute, I thought you were trying to say babies were a blessing last night. I blame the alcohol." Finally she laughs too. "Yes, that would be a tragedy of epic proportions. As a matter of fact, I'd better find a druid or cleric and get that spell cast on me again, just in case. I'm not good at remembering that tea." She taps her lips, "Maybe you should come and get it cast on you too, just in case..." "Whatever it takes," Jakes says. "Within reason," he adds quickly.  Ruby laughs again, "Don't worry, I don't want to spoil our fun," she says mischievously. She suddenly sits up and straddles Jake. Leaning over him, her long hair hanging forward brushing his chest she says, "So, you didn't tell me what you thought of my story last night."    "You don't give my poor head any time to get going do you? It was a good and funny story. You also answered the questions I hadn't asked you yet about being married." He twirls his fingers around some long strands of hair and tugs gently. "Did you only get married that one time, Ruby girl, or are there more stories to be told?" "Oh," Ruby feigns hurt feelings, "I'll leave you alone then, give you time to wake up." She lets herself fall off his lap and onto the bed, facing away from him. "You let me know when you're awake," she says, her face over her shoulder, trying not to laugh.  "Are you going to make me pay for EVERY word that comes out of my mouth today too? Turn back over and answer the question since you reminded me."  Ruby laughs and rolls over but doesn't touch Jake. "Answer the question, very well. No, I didn't give your poor head any time to get going." Giggles burst from Ruby's mouth and she laughs hysterically for a moment. She notices Jake doesn't look happy. "Ok, ok..." She bites on her lip, "No, I only got married that one time. But it didn't mean anything, honest." Her lips part again into the smile she can't keep off her face. "Are you jealous?" "Jealous of a man who held a priest at gunpoint to say wedding vows? Not hardly. I just wanted to make sure no live husbands are going to show up and shoot at me. At the moment I have enough folks who want to put holes in me. I'm not saying I would never be jealous...." Jake's eyes get a hint of mischief in them. "Seems to me I supplied two stories last night to everyone else’s one. I'm glad my girl doesn't get jealous otherwise I could have been in big trouble." "No, no husbands. I can't account for all the jealous lovers though or men who thought they were boyfriends." She turns her head and looks at Jake. "Make no mistake, I am jealous, very very jealous. I'm jealous of Rachael and especially that you said you felt something for her and you thought about staying. If you stayed there then we might never have met. Although I may have passed through Missouri once..." She reaches her hand out and caresses Jake's cheek. "But you can tell me how much more you like me than her or any of them and I'll believe you." "There is nobody else that compares to you, girl. You are stuck with me now." He hold her hand to his cheek a moment before kissing her fingers. "No, I knew being with her wasn't the right place for me. When you are broke, lonely and lost you consider all kinds of things. The only ones I left behind that I really missed were Red and Virginia. He's managed to find me. Which reminds me, I need to get that letter back from Katherine. Someday I'll locate her too."  "Baby, you aren't broke, lonely or lost anymore. And the right place for you is here, with me." Ruby smiles, the special smile she has just for Jake. "I like being stuck with you." She leans forward and kisses him. "I'd rather kiss you but I'd bet you really want something to drink right now." She climbs out of bed and laughs at herself, still wearing her corset and underskirt. "We were pretty drunk last night, we didn't even get our clothes off!" She pours Jake a generous glass from their personal stash of bourbon.   The letter said your sister was headed to California, no? Why don’t we try to find her there?” She sits back on the bed with the glass and takes a drink before handing it to Jake.  "The secret to not having a hangover is not being sober." He takes a sip and then another. "Ah. We are assuming that woman was Virginia. We don't know, California is a very big place and I just shouldn't be distracted by that now." Ruby shrugs, "That's up to you." She looks at the glass of bourbon in Jake's hand. "I don't really get bad hangovers. Now champagne..." Ruby shudders, "That was bad." She stands and starts pulling off her clothes. "Besides, I would rather get my clothes off than be drunk. If I had to make a choice that is." She walks to her vanity and gets a brush. She stands in front of her long mirror and starts brushing her hair. "What do you think darling?"  Jake gets up and starts to clean up enroute to getting dressed, taking sips of bourbon along the way. "About me watching you inadequately dressed in front of the mirror brushing your hair, or about whether I'd rather be drunk or take your clothes off? Just fine thank you and I could skip a drink or two." Jake splashes water on his face. Ruby continues to stare at herself in the mirror as she brushes the tangles out. "Rather be drunk or take my clothes off I meant." She stops brushing her hair and turns sideways. Looking critically in the mirror she mutters to herself, "Maybe I should lay off the muffins..." She furrows her brows then shakes her head and smiles, "Nah." She walks over to Jake and squeezes between him and the dresser. "Give me a hug. Please."  He shakes his face and wet edges of his hair on her and embraces her before she can complain. Ruby lets out a playful scream as she tries to escape but Jake has already grabbed her. She wraps her arms around his neck tightly and squeezes before kissing him again. Without letting go she asks, "What do we have to do today? I was thinking of seeing Mr. Gonzales after Minerva's sermon. After we eat. And plus I think I need some more shooting practice. If we are going up against Ringo, every shot is going to count." "I agree. I've seen this trick of getting off two shots quick. Watch." He releases her and quickly straps on his Colt. He points the barrel up, pulls the hammer back half way and rotates the cylinder slowly. The bullets drop out one after another on the bed until there are five together. He spins the cylinder and releases the hammer. With a twirl of the pistol he deposits it in the holster with a satisfying thunk. "Watch closely." He faces the mirror and in a flash the Colt Peacemaker comes out of its leather home. On the way, Jake's thumb pulls back the hammer and as the barrel comes level there is a click sound followed by his left hand slapping back the hammer followed by and immediate second click. The gun spins twice on his finger and lands back by his side. He performs it several more times. "I need to practice this with live rounds. I saw Red do this, I also saw some others do this before. I'm ready for this." "Remind me not to piss you off," she says with a serious look on her face, before breaking into a smile. "That's very impressive and it does look like you're ready for it. I'll make sure to stand behind you if we get in a battle."   "While you are seeing Gonzalez I'll visit with Conrad Booth. If Nanuet hasn't told Chester and our friends at the Gun Shop about what he heard I'll do that. I think I need a haircut and look-listen in at Johnson’s."   "Find out what's wrong with Conrad. I'm sure Kate would like to know." Ruby steps towards Jake again and runs her finger through his hair. "Don't get it too short, I like doing this." She twirls his hair around her fingers. "Maybe I'll ask for a shave and a trim instead." He finishes cleaning up and getting ready to go out, sporting both revolvers as he has been of late.  Ruby goes about getting dressed. She pulls out her cream gown with the pale peach flowers on it, a dress she hasn't worn in a long time. She hums to herself as she dresses, seemingly unaffected by the amount of liquor consumed the night before or the early hour. Suddenly she speaks up, "By the way, the answer to your question is, I always want you to follow me."  Jake looks up from gathering his duster with a confused look on his face. "Oh." He laughs hard for almost a minute before he says, "I'll remember that. Ready for Church?" Ruby takes one final glance in the mirror, pushing her hair behind her ears. “Yes, baby, I’m ready.” She takes his arm and they head downstairs. They both squint as the bright sun hits them. “Oh, maybe we should have had some coffee before we attempted to come out,” she laughs. They take a seat in the back and both of them laugh as they watch the other slouch down in their seats, waiting for the show to begin.  During the service Nanuet had sat among his friends trying to blend in as much as possible. Some thoughts about his own beliefs and the religion of his people crossed his mind. He fought back the debate that is going on in his head about his own religion and that of Minerva and the others. He forced himself to put those thoughts to the side, but knows that it will be something to discuss going forward.  The sermon ended with Minerva wagging her finger at the congregation and the people reacting. Once the sermon is over Nanuet gets up from his chair, he does not depart but again he tries to be inconspicuous and stands off to the side.After the sermon is over, Ruby turns to Jake, "Well, I'm glad that we choose to overindulge in bourbon rather than the drink of the gods, eh? Just what we need, gods being mad at us too."   Minerva comes over and thanks them for coming.  Ruby replies, "You're quite welcome. We wouldn't want to have a party without you, now would we?"Minerva mentions checking on Sherman .  Jake says, "We want to know where he went off to or who he went to see without him knowing we are trying to use him to track down more Cowboy gang members. I don't know how you do it. It must have been important for him to miss the Merchants Association meeting. Unless he figures that the law have already made the connection to him and he ran." Jake strokes his beard.   Nanuet then mentions visiting Kajika to which Jake looks quickly back forth between Nanuet and Minerva. "What's wrong?""I've had another warning" she blurts out and quickly tells them of her dream. "I don't understand what is happening here. So many dreams by so many people. The gods do not usually pay such close attention to the goings on of such a little town as Promise City. What is their interest here? It appears that the gods are taking sides and we are stuck in the middle. Should we heed the warning and stay put? Or is it more important that we seek Kajika? the choice is Nanuet's to make. If he goes I am going with him."A concerned look crosses Ruby face and her smile fades. "You think our dreams mean something more than what they appear to mean? You think the gods are trying to use us for something?" She tries very hard not to nervously glance at Jake.Jake asks, "What about Sonoma and Flint? I wonder if it is safe for them out at the Ranch? Neither of those two would abandon the ranch willingly but they might listen to Gonzalez. Nanuet you should..." Jake stops himself, "Uh, maybe not. Ruby why don't you share some of that with Gonzalez and see what he thinks. It may be that the Apache are watching out for them."  She says, "Alright I will. But breakfast first, I'm hungry and need some coffee."Jake chuckles a bit, "I hope you weren't asking me for advice on heeding the gods warnings, Senorita. Nanuet, will you have a chance to speak to Chester before you leave? He should know about what you heard. Then we can decide whether to tell the gun shop or not."   Minerva doesn't answer Ruby but instead turns to Jake, the fear now mixed with anger, "I see nothing to laugh at Senor Jake, You KNOW how the gods can be!"  She huffs off in search of Chester so that she can have him present when she speaks with Senora Fly.""Damn it, Jake, what the hell just happened?" Ruby gets her anxiety under control. "Ok, why don't we go eat? She's obviously pissy about something. And to think we dragged our butts out of bed to be here!"  Jake replies, "I seem to have a special talent for making women stomp off." He slides his arm through Ruby's at the elbow. "Coffee and breakfast sound good. Nanuet, are you going with that other wildcat or having breakfast with us?"Nanuet says, "Hey Minerva, where are you going? Wait just a second!" Nanuet turns to Jake "I guess I should have time to talk with Chester, not sure where he is or what his work schedule is like but I will try and find him. Looks like I'm not going anywhere soon." he then turns and jogs after Minerva.Minerva turns when she hears Nanuet and swallows the lump in her throat but her fists are clenched and her eyes are still flashing. "I am sorry, Nanuet but that man can be such a jack ass at times! Doesn't he understand how serious this is? He of all people should know how the gods can manipulate... and to MAKE FUN of my fear like that? Well I won't stand for it, this is not a joking matter! Lives are at stake. The lives of people that he claims to care about!.. and he thinks it's FUNNY!?! she hisses, her voice rises close to hysterics.</blockquote>

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