A Tale Told by Sprite

Word Count 965

Written for the Lancer Writer ‘55^th Anniversary Episode Tag Celebration’

Episode Tag: Zee

A WHN story

Johnny had nearly finished his beer when Scott came in from outside, his face was flushed, and it wasn’t from the warm summer day. Johnny hid his smirk by taking a sip and gestured toward a beer on the table across from him.

“Where’s ‘the old man’?” Scott asked as he pulled the mug closer.

Johnny looked over his shoulder and leaned in. “It’s a miner’s shift change.”

Scott looked perplexed and frowned.

Johnny’s voice was lowered and pointed to the mug. “You add a shot of whiskey to the mug before you pour in the beer.”

Scott examined the drink with a good long stare before taking a long gulp. “That might be a new favorite.”

“Old man’s over talking to the judge and he’s not a happy man. Seems he didn’t like when he heard the town Justice of the Peace was busy trying to break Zee out of jail with you right there inside.”

Scott nodded. “I wasn’t too happy either.”

Johnny shifted in his chair, stretching his legs out under the table. He nodded to a barmaid, and she came over with a smile, running her hand across his shoulder.

“Another ‘Shift Change’ for us both. Got any food back there?”

“Ham hocks or enchiladas.”

Johnny waited for Scott to say, “Enchiladas,” and Johnny held up two fingers.

“Only thing they had in the jail was stew or beans,” Scott grumbled.

They sipped quietly until the plate arrived and Scott checked the cleanliness of the fork while Johnny rolled a few tortillas and set them next to the bowl of salsa.

“Ok, let’s hear it. What happened after we left town?”

Scott sighed and took a bigger gulp of his beer.

“That woman was going to drive me to drink, I swear.” Scott took a forkful of the enchilada as a stall and then began to tell his tale.

He told of his frustration with her trying to escape and Johnny tried not to notice Scott was grudgingly admiring her determination. He was very unhappy with her accusing him of improprieties. Scott was downright furious with the townsfolk and he wasn’t planning to set foot in Spanish Wells again any time soon. And leaning forward he used low tones to discuss Mangrum’s twisted logic of everything being legal just because he hadn’t broken any laws in this particular town, versus all the things he’d done over half the state.

Johnny had finished his food and was tearing apart a tortilla into little bits while he listened. Scott was eating a bite after each statement and chewing away his annoyance.

Finally, Scott slowed. “I don’t know how Gabe does it. This town is full of loons.”

Johnny chuckled.  “And one pretty little raven-haired cowbird.”

Scott flushed and picked up his beer.

“Might make it worth it to come back here again?” Johnny nudged again.

Scott ran a finger over the foam on his lip. “Perhaps.”

“Your turn, little brother, spill. What have you been up to while I was netting cowbirds?”

Johnny chuckled. “The old man has a curious habit of saying ‘can you do your brother’s chores’ as if single person can do two people work.” Johnny gave a snort. “It either takes two people or takes twice as long.”

“So nothing happened at the ranch?” Scott inquired before he dipped a tortilla in salsa.

“Nothing you’d notice. Sunny Bridget had her foal. Little filly we named Sunshine. We moved the herd to the south pasture. I say we, but it was Diego and a crew, because I was doing your chores of getting the crew started on rebuilding the line shack at Rocky Meadow that Pardee took down.”

Johnny was just about to grumble about a two-day stint at the tree falling project when he tapped the table twice and tipped his head toward the saloon doors and gave a huff. Just enough notice for Scott to know this topic was closed until they were alone again.

“Scott, glad I found you.” Murdoch boomed from the doorway. The Judge was right behind him. “Have you boys eaten already?”

“Just a little something to keep us going. I think they near starved Scott to death.” Johnny said with a smile in his voice.

“Good,” Murdoch continued as if barely hearing. “We are heading to the Empress for supper with the Judge. He wants to talk to you about JP Trask and his behavior. Not exactly what we want from a Justice of the Peace.”

“Neither dispensing justice nor peace.” Scott grumbled.

“Now Murdoch, don’t prejudice the witness. Come along gentlemen. The owner of the Empress keeps a very fine Burgandy for me.”

Johnny grimaced but kept his mouth shut. He might not like burgundy, but the food at the Empress was always without compare.  “We know Zee doesn’t have a sister, but maybe she has a friend. That girl is one of a kind.”

Scott smiled, perhaps a little wistfully. “No friends that I know of, but brother, she is unique.”

Maybe he’d make it back to Spanish Wells sooner than their usual quarterly visit. He couldn’t wait to see how much Zee took to the teaching by the Window Hargis. That girl was one of a kind indeed.

End
November 2023

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