least we were together. That was when the wagon train arrived with Annie on it. She was the prettiest little thing I ever laid eyes on and as soon as I saw her, I was as gone as a lovesick calf in the springtime. I knew I wanted her. I was real surprised when Matt hired her on as the cook and the rest, as they say, is history."
"What about Belle's ma?” Black asked.
"Now that's a real sad story. She was the daughter of the man who ran the trading post. Right after she was born, her ma ran off with a trapper and no one ever heard from her again. Old Andy raised that girl in the right way. When we arrived here, she was the prize of Larson's Gap. Her and Matt hit it off and before you know it, he was sayin’ ‘I do’ and acting like a real husband. They tried having kids right off the way me and Annie did, but Janie just wasn't meant to be a mother. She lost about three babies before they finally had Belle. After that, she lost two more and when Belle was three, she carried one until it was ready to be born. The birth went wrong, and both Janie and the boy died. It damn near killed Matt. That's when he sent Belle east to be with Janie's aunt. He said it was because he couldn't raise her right, but I knew better. It was because she looked too damn much like her ma. He never looked at another woman after Janie died. He did go to visit the whores once the Purple Moon opened up, but that was just to relieve the longings that come on a man."
Black was grateful to Roy for answering the questions that crowded his mind. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Belle was an outsider where Adamson and the other ranchers in the valley were concerned. Now he knew the reasoning behind it.
"Mama will have my scalp if we're late for supper. You'd better be prepared, those gals get all gussied up just to eat supper. Mama says it's because they don't like wearin’ those britches. If you ask me, I'd say it was because they want to look special for them men on the stage. On nights like tonight, they just want to be feeling like ladies. You can say what you want about them gals working that ranch, but they're all damn good at it. If I weren't so old and crippled up I'd give them a roll, but Mama would have a fit about it. Besides, Mama is damn good in bed herself. Anyone would think that she used to work above the Purple Moon rather than those youngsters."
Roy laughed heartily, bringing on Black's own deep chuckle. Annie was gray-haired, plump and the deep dimples in her cheeks gave her an almost angelic appearance. “Somehow I just can't picture Annie plying her trade for strangers, like...” He left the rest of the sentence unspoken. Even sixteen years after the death of his mother, he had problems talking about what she did with the men who came to the house after the lights were out at night.
"Like your ma,” Roy said, finishing Black's statement. “Don't look so shocked, son, I know all about you. I should, I've read enough of the letters Ed sends home to say nothing about the accounts about you in the newspaper. I just have one question. Why did you become a U.S. Marshal?"
Black ran his tongue over his lips as he contemplated his answer. He rarely had to account to anyone as to why he'd decided to work for the law. The reason was that he usually worked undercover, with his badge out of sight. People knew him as a gunslinger and as such, he was able to gain the confidence of the folks who were close enough to the ones he was investigating to build his case.
"At the time, your son made it sound damn appealing. It sounded like it was something I could to with my guns and not have to worry about some piss ass sheriff arresting me. It's turned out to be more work then I thought it would, but it's good work. At least when I go to bed at night I'm satisfied with what I'm doing. That's more than I can say for when I was hiring out my gun to whoever paid the most money."
"So do folks think you're here as a hired gun?"
"Doubt
"What about Belle's ma?” Black asked.
"Now that's a real sad story. She was the daughter of the man who ran the trading post. Right after she was born, her ma ran off with a trapper and no one ever heard from her again. Old Andy raised that girl in the right way. When we arrived here, she was the prize of Larson's Gap. Her and Matt hit it off and before you know it, he was sayin’ ‘I do’ and acting like a real husband. They tried having kids right off the way me and Annie did, but Janie just wasn't meant to be a mother. She lost about three babies before they finally had Belle. After that, she lost two more and when Belle was three, she carried one until it was ready to be born. The birth went wrong, and both Janie and the boy died. It damn near killed Matt. That's when he sent Belle east to be with Janie's aunt. He said it was because he couldn't raise her right, but I knew better. It was because she looked too damn much like her ma. He never looked at another woman after Janie died. He did go to visit the whores once the Purple Moon opened up, but that was just to relieve the longings that come on a man."
Black was grateful to Roy for answering the questions that crowded his mind. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Belle was an outsider where Adamson and the other ranchers in the valley were concerned. Now he knew the reasoning behind it.
"Mama will have my scalp if we're late for supper. You'd better be prepared, those gals get all gussied up just to eat supper. Mama says it's because they don't like wearin’ those britches. If you ask me, I'd say it was because they want to look special for them men on the stage. On nights like tonight, they just want to be feeling like ladies. You can say what you want about them gals working that ranch, but they're all damn good at it. If I weren't so old and crippled up I'd give them a roll, but Mama would have a fit about it. Besides, Mama is damn good in bed herself. Anyone would think that she used to work above the Purple Moon rather than those youngsters."
Roy laughed heartily, bringing on Black's own deep chuckle. Annie was gray-haired, plump and the deep dimples in her cheeks gave her an almost angelic appearance. “Somehow I just can't picture Annie plying her trade for strangers, like...” He left the rest of the sentence unspoken. Even sixteen years after the death of his mother, he had problems talking about what she did with the men who came to the house after the lights were out at night.
"Like your ma,” Roy said, finishing Black's statement. “Don't look so shocked, son, I know all about you. I should, I've read enough of the letters Ed sends home to say nothing about the accounts about you in the newspaper. I just have one question. Why did you become a U.S. Marshal?"
Black ran his tongue over his lips as he contemplated his answer. He rarely had to account to anyone as to why he'd decided to work for the law. The reason was that he usually worked undercover, with his badge out of sight. People knew him as a gunslinger and as such, he was able to gain the confidence of the folks who were close enough to the ones he was investigating to build his case.
"At the time, your son made it sound damn appealing. It sounded like it was something I could to with my guns and not have to worry about some piss ass sheriff arresting me. It's turned out to be more work then I thought it would, but it's good work. At least when I go to bed at night I'm satisfied with what I'm doing. That's more than I can say for when I was hiring out my gun to whoever paid the most money."
"So do folks think you're here as a hired gun?"
"Doubt
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