Brendan shrugged, letting Greer's irritation roll off him like water droplets off a duck's back. The man was clearly in a permanent bad mood. Only he seemed to perk up a little when Billy mentioned going to visit the farm that "belonged" to the squatters Mr. Steelgrave was letting live on Evergreen.
Brendan was intrigued, his natural curiosity aroused by the idea of squatters. He squinted ahead to try to see the farm, then looked back at Billy. "Letting squatters live on your property don't seem like good business. But what do I know? Sure, let's ride over there."
He yawned and rolled his shoulders. In the heat, it was easy to get drowsy. But the prospect of meeting these squatters would be enough to keep him awake, he thought. That and the knowledge that he needed to keep his eyes open so he could start learning the terrain.
"How long've they been livin' here?" He asked, referring to the squatters.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Well you got me why Mr. Steelgrave don't do somethin' about it," Greer meant the squatting, "But he's the boss and he don't explain nothin' to people like us."
They were almost within sight of the farm now, Billy was feeling a might nervous but answered Brendan's question, "Not rightly sure. Seems they bought the place from a couple around close to a year ago. That's just what I heard in town once though. Maybe you can ask 'em when you meet 'em?"
The three riders pulled up on a low rise and sure enough, there was the farm. A smallish farmhouse, a barn, some fields, and the beginnings of a fence. A closer look and one could make out a chicken coop and an outhouse. There was a figure hanging up washing on a line at one side of the farmhouse. Billy knew who that was alright and smiled.
"Well, there it be. Not much really but home sweet home for those folks, right?" he remarked as he leaned on his saddle horn.
"See that gal there hanging out the wash? We met her before, right friendly too. In fact some might say a little too friendly if ya know what I mean? She practically threw herself at me one day in town. Who knows, a handsome buck like yerself, she'll probably take a quick fancy to you too. If you're in a mind for it, you might just get lucky."
Greer didn't get it at first but then it clicked and he shut up and let Billy set their new hand up. This could be real fun to watch - at a safe distance of course.
"Go on then, introduce yourself so that she knows yer part of the Evergreen crew and not one of those troublemakers from the Lost Lake spread. Oh and mention swimmin' too, that filly loves swimming. She's a regular fish in the water that one," Billy grinned.
Brendan perked up as Billy mentioned a gal. He squinted at the figure. She looked kind of skinny and short from this distance, but maybe she would look better closer up.
"Really? Looks like you did a good job of escaping her," he said lightly, leaning on his saddle horn. Not that Billy would have wanted to escape a girl that threw herself at him.
And the girl liked swimming? That was kinda odd, but to each his own. Or her own, in this case. Anyway, it would give him something to entice her with. An invitation to go swimming with a cowhand from Evergreen ranch? He was sure a girl as "friendly" as Billy made her out to be would accept.
"Swimming? Maybe I c'n get her to go swimming with me sometime. Sometime at night." He grinned and nudged his horse forward, glancing back at Billy and Greer. He did find it a bit strange that Billy wouldn't want to come along with him, but maybe he was just being nice to the new hand. It was downright neighborly of him.
He pushed his hat back on his head further as he rode down the rise, leaving Billy and Greer behind. As he approached the farmhouse, he watched the girl's shape become clearer. She wasn't getting any more curvaceous. Maybe it was the sun in his eyes?
Billy grinned, "Yessirree, swimmin' at night...yer a real devil, you are. Bet you a silver dollar you can't convince her though but give it a shot!"
He'd have made the wager higher given his confidence what Brendan was actually in for but it would look suspicious. Greer only cackled away, not so much from what either of the others said as in expectation of the coming spectacle. And - IF mind you - IF that Redmond gal shot the new cowpoke that would give Mr. Steelgrave the perfect excuse to burn this bunch out of their place.
Clara had just finished putting up Wyatt's long johns on the line and was now was ready to start on some of her clothing when she spotted movement up ahead. A focused look now showed there was a man on horseback coming straight for the farm. Like a man on a mission. A cowboy too. It wasn't Shade, she knew him too well besides he'd never visit anymore after casting her aside for that Jezebel school marm. No, she never saw this jasper before in her life. However, he was approaching from the direction of the Evergreen spread! That pretty much cinched it!
Ever since that day the two Evergreen hooligans had surprised her at the lake, she had vowed she would never be taken by surprise again. As the man closed the distance, she gave a grim almost triumphant smile then reached down into the wash basket. ' Pick on a young lady, will you?'
The clothes on the line partially broke up the man's line of sight and she kept her one hand, now gripping her little surprise for him, behind her back while she stepped past the clothes line and let him close to easy speaking distance.
"You realize you are trespassing on private property?" she called out a simple question as she looked up at the man.
The girl didn't look all that friendly as Brendan rode up. She sure wasn't flinging herself at him like Billy said she had done. Maybe she thought he was Greer from far off. The thought made him chuckle to himself as he neared the girl hanging out the washing.
But her next words stopped his laughter in his throat. He was trespassing? That was an odd thing for a squatter to say. And the fact that such a little bitty gal could speak so confidently to him was an odd thing, too. Because she was little bitty. Why, her hair was still in braids instead of up on top of her head!
"Eh...I think you're confused, missy." Confused or ornery? Brendan scratched his chin and leaned over in the saddle. "But I'll overlook that. I just come to inter-duce myself. I'm a new hand over at the Evergreen spread. Brendan Conolly's my name."
"Eh...I think you're confused, missy."
Gosh! He was either awfully stupid or just brand new to his job. Or.... and this was also very possible, it was all an act to get her to relax her guard. Fat chance of that happening!
"I assure you I know exactly what I am saying," she declared fervently, still sizing him up as they spoke. He had a gun but she was confident she could...already did have the jump on him should he try pulling it.
"But I'll overlook that. I just come to inter-duce myself. I'm a new hand over at the Evergreen spread. Brendan Conolly's my name."
So now he came right out with it. He was one of those Evergreen thugs! Just as she suspected.
"Well, I am Clara Redmond, daughter of Aurelian Redmond, owner of this farm. And if you know what is good for you, you will heed me and get off OUR property before I make you regret it!" she tried to sound as fierce as she could make it. Somehow though her fearsome act was not always taken that serious by the men she tried it on, much to her dismay.
"Owner?" Brendan burst out laughing, throwing his head back and letting a flash of sunlight stab his eyes. This gal was too funny. First of all, she thought her father owned this farm. Second, the way she talked made her seem like she was older than she really was. This gal was too big for her britches. Not that that was hard to do, seeing how skinny she was.
And she wasn't scary at all. There were some women who could put a scare on a man with their eyes, but Clara was not one of them. Not yet, anyway.
"Listen, Clara," he said, still chuckling, "I think you've been out in the sun too long. Let me hold that there laundry basket for you while you hang the rest a' those clothes out."
Still not able to wipe his grin off his face, he swung his leg over his horse's back and started to dismount. Girls liked it when men helped them out with chores, and Clara needed his help badly. This sun was addling her brains.
He laughed at her?! The nerve of this jasper, so he thought it was funny, her warning? It was because she was a young lady, he was giving her no credence because of that, Clara was certain and it only made her all the more angry.
"Listen, Clara," the man declared, still chuckling, "I think you've been out in the sun too long. Let me hold that there laundry basket for you while you hang the rest a' those clothes out."
"Miss Redmond to you!" she snapped back then went wide eyed to see him actually dismounting? Had she not given him very fair warning to cease his trespassing and get out of here?
Time to put the fear of God in this one, she reckoned then made her move. Suddenly the gun concealed behind her dress was brought out into full sight as she swung the heavy horse pistol up and steadied it with her other hand, assuming a firing position. The Dragoon Colt was leveled right at him.
To show she meant business, if the idiot still didn't get it, she cocked the piece back with one thumb, it was now quite ready to fire and she had her finger on the trigger.
"You come any closer and I will shoot you!"
Brendan had tossed his reins over his horse's head and had been about to offer Clara an invitation to go swimming sometime when she...pointed a gun at him? And cocked it?!
"You come any closer and I will shoot you!"
It was almost laughable, those words coming from a girl, but Brendan was looking down the barrel of the Colt and he wasn't laughing anymore. Well, something about what he'd just done had pissed her off. Since she corrected him on how he had addressed her, he assumed that was it.
"Miss Redmond, then," he said, eying the gun and keeping his hands level with his horse's back, palms outstretched. "But there ain't no call to go gettin' so hel...uh...heckfire touchy 'bout that. I might'a been too forward. But I didn't think you'd mind, seein' as how Billy said..."
He trailed off, suddenly realizing that everything Billy had told him about Clara didn't match up with the girl who was holding a gun on him.
Once he saw her gun pointed right at him, he stopped alright. Maybe at last he realized that she was certainly not bluffing. He would find out for certain if he tried anything alright!
"Miss Redmond, then," he said, eying the gun and keeping his hands level with his horse's back, palms outstretched. "But there ain't no call to go gettin' so hel...uh...heckfire touchy 'bout that. I might'a been too forward. But I didn't think you'd mind, seein' as how Billy said..."
"Billy? Billy said what? That low down skunk behind this? Should have known. He must be too afraid to come down and face me himself so he sends you to do his dirty work?" Clara was getting madder by the minute.
"I could shoot you down right now, right this second. I would have it within my rights as you are trespassing on our property," she seethed.