Don't Tamper with Horses

Part 12

...Continuing. Moss ducked his head beneath the doorway as Denny pulled him into the shack. It was a one-room shed, with warped wallboards and a dirt floor. One table leg didn't reach the floor and the two chairs were spindly affairs that didn't look like they would hold Moss's weight. The cabin was basic, but clean and welcoming. In the center of the table stood a tin tomato can full of wildflowers.

"Sis!" Denny called. "I brought a friend."

Denny's sister turned from the stove and Moss caught his breath. She was the serving girl from the saloon. She had wiped the paint off her face and looked years younger. He guessed she was about twenty.

Denny grinned up at him. "This is my sister June. June, this is Moss."

Moss swept his hat off his head, suddenly conscious of the trail dust that liberally coated his clothes and hair. "Edward Hayes, ma'am. Moss is just a nickname."

June smiled uncertainly and brushed back a strand of blond hair. "Well, you got a better welcome to Far Nuff than most. Thank you for standing up for us in the saloon."

Moss shrugged, his face growing as red as his hair. He felt that he should say something gracious and gallant, but he couldn't think. He shuffled his feet on the packed earth floor and turned his hat in his hands, then mumbled a 'you're welcome' in such a stuttered way that even he couldn't recognize it as such.

Denny stared up at him with adoration. "You should have seen him, sis! He was that cool, just standin' there staring down Glenn Riker, then bam Riker's gun was history!"

June's eyes lit with humor. "I did see it, Denny. I was there." Her face shifted to disapproval. "Just how did you see it?"

Moss grinned as Denny stammered, trying to change the subject. He decided to rescue the boy and distract June. "I'm sort of new to town, and I sure never ran into Deveney before. What can you tell me about him?"

"You picked a bad crew to cross, Edward," June said...to be continued.