Chapter 8 Doc Holliday Saves The Day
Chapter eight
Doc Holliday Saves The Day
Roxy
I plastered a bright smile on my face as the front door to the saloon opened from the outside.
The breakfast crowd, if you could call it that, had left a few hours ago, and we hadn’t had a customer since.
I was ready to ham it up for a tip, but my smile slid when Angelica and her daughter walked in.
“Mom,” her daughter moaned, “why can’t Dad pick me up?”
“Your dad is leaving town, and after that stunt last night, you’re never staying home alone again,” Angelica sighed, her eyes sweeping the empty dining room before landing on Lulu and me. We were leaning against the back counter. “Did Francene leave?”
“Yeah, she said to call her if we got busy, and she’d come back, but…” Lulu raised her hands, spreading them out towards the dining room.
Angelica gracefully weaved between the tables, with the girl following in her footsteps.
The closer they came, the easier it was to see the familial resemblance.
She had her mother’s face, but it was her eyes that drew me in, dark, almost black.
“Bri, this is Roxy,” Angelica introduced us, and I gave the girl a quick wave.
“Roxy, this is my daughter, Bri. She’s fourteen going on thirty, so please encourage her to stay in school and leave the boys alone.
” She rolled her eyes, making sure Bri wasn’t watching.
I smiled, remembering when I’d been her age. I’d mostly raised myself, and it hadn’t been easy, but I’d survived.
“Nice to meet you,” she grumbled, waving back at me. “My mom said I had to help, but you don’t have any customers, so this sucks ass.”
“Your father may let you use that language, but I don’t. Knock it off.” Angelica shook her head, mouthing, Help me!
I held my chuckle in, but Lulu wasn’t as lucky. “What did you do to deserve such torment?”
“Do you want to tell them, or would you like me to?” Angelica shot Bri a look. Whatever the girl had done was bad enough to get the universal mom death stare. Even my mother had perfected one when she was sober enough to remember she had a daughter.
“I tried to go to a party.” Bri crinkled her nose while crossing her arms.
“Where was the party?” Angelica prompted, nudging Bri with her elbow.
I kept quiet, but it wasn’t hard to figure out that this party had involved a boy.
It wasn’t my place to say anything, but if I got the chance, I’d play big sister later if Bri wanted to talk.
She didn’t know me, and sometimes that made it easier to confide.
Bad boys weren’t worth it, and good ones never peer pressured you into what they wanted.
“Honey, where was it?” Lulu prompted when Bri buttoned up her lips.
“She was supposed to be staying with a friend, but Cactus and Huckleberry found her in Boot Hill Cemetery. They broke up the party and called me. Thank God the kids weren’t drinking, but there was alcohol.” Angelica shook her head, her eyes wide as she told this part of the story.
Lulu talked with her hands. “Honey, next time you’re going to sneak out, head to—“
“Lulu!” Angelica quickly shut her up, but I couldn’t help the laughter that exploded from my chest. “Bri can’t stay home alone, so you get an extra helper.”
“Is it always this slow?” I winked at Bri as I changed the subject.
“It’s summer,” she answered me, like it was obvious, and I should have known that. She walked towards the kitchen door, pushing it open. “I’m getting a snack. This totally blows.”
“You’re so lucky your dad wasn’t the one to find you, Bri. Scorpion wouldn’t have just broken up the party.” Angelica huffed at the swinging door, as if Bri could still hear her.
“No wonder her eyes looked familiar.” I had seen that shade before, except those eyes had been cold and unyielding.
“Yeah, he didn’t always have a stinger.” Her head swiveled towards the kitchen door, making sure it was still closed. “This summer hasn’t been too bad, but I never expected to walk into this.”
“What time is it?” Lulu asked, standing on her tiptoes, trying to see the old-fashioned clock above the bar.
“The city pays re-enactors to relive the fight at the O.K. Corral. They start the skirmish at the far end of the street, and if we get out there in time, we can join the show.” Lulu clapped, spinning on her toes.
“Come on, Roxy. Time to bag a cowboy. Do you want a Clanton or an Earp?”
“Is one better than the other?” I was confused, but I would follow her lead. I hoped I wouldn’t make too much of a fool of myself, but it wasn’t like we were making money today.
“I prefer the outlaws with the red sashes.” She winked, laughing as she pulled me towards the front door.
“Don’t get me fined,” Angelica called after us. “I’m serious.”
The door closed behind us, and Lulu perched against one of the support beams for the boardwalk. I went to stand next to her, but she shooed me towards the other one. “If you don’t want to say anything, it’s okay. I can do this.”
People on the street stopped, and a pit in my stomach formed. I didn’t like not knowing what would happen, and according to Lulu, we were about to be the center of attention.
Two men stumbled down the street, pretending to be drunk as they raised empty bottles in the air. “I’m not drunk. Ole Wyatt can’t see straight. Maybe he’s drunk,” the younger of the two said. He took a step forward, pretending to trip over his feet, but righting himself at the last minute.
“He’s not taking my gun away from me. I don’t care what he says. No one appointed him God,” the older man chimed in, taking a fake swig from the bottle.
“Now boys, you know the Earps don’t mess around.” Lulu leaned against the pole, her hand behind her head, sticking her leg out in a pinup pose.
“You’re trouble, Lulu. I’ve got enough trouble floating around this town.”
She shifted, twirling a piece of her hair between her fingers and batting her eyelashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ike. You know, you could come have a drink with me at the Blue Angel.”
I had to hand it to Lulu. Every eye on the street was on her and not the men still stumbling around. I wish I was exaggerating, but I could feel their eyes on me as I leaned against the pole across from her.
“Nope, I’ve got stuff to do. I know your little game.” He stopped, right in front of her.
“Maybe next time.” She giggled.
The men continued down the street, hamming it up, but I noticed no one else joined in.
If these people actually came to the saloon, I wouldn’t lose any money for the day.
I had car repairs to think about, but I didn’t want to ask Aces how much.
I figured if I saved whatever I could, it would be alright, and I’d leave before the end of the month.
No matter what, I wasn’t staying. This place made small towns feel like metropolises.
“Those were the Clantons,” Lulu quickly described. “The next round of men will be the three Earps and Doc Holliday. They’re kind of interchangeable, but Doc has a cane.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “The show tells the story of how the law settled Tombstone. Are you all right?”
I nodded at her, taking in the crowds of people on the boardwalk. It wasn’t long before we heard more men coming down the street. I swore there was sweat dripping down my back underneath the corset, but these men wore black frock coats with black cowboy hats. They had to be dying.
“Did anyone see anything suspicious?” one man called out. “We got a report that some cowboys are drunk with guns.” He must have been one of the Earps, per Lulu.
Lulu kept quiet, so I did too. I knew little about the place, but I was glad she’d given me a crash course between the rounds of men. I didn’t feel so lost watching the show.
The Earps all looked the same with their puffed-out chests, but I recognized the actor playing Doc Holliday. He shuffled down the street with his cane, just as Lulu had said. His eyes shifted back and forth until they met mine.
“You’re new in town,” he drawled, pointing his cane at me as he neared. “See anything you should be reportin’, darlin’?” Why me? I couldn’t fuck this up. We needed customers.
“No, sir. I would tell you if I had. Lulu and I came out to get some air.” I matched his energy, internally shitting bricks. I was going to kill Lulu, but I must have been doing something right because I caught her wink out of the corner of my eye.
“You sure, girl?” He smirked at me.
“Roxy, sir.” I went for a wide-eyed, innocent look. More like the scared saloon girl. “I don’t want any trouble, Mr. Holliday.”
“I hear there’s some vermin hanging around town. You should get back to the Blue Angel.” He tipped his cowboy hat at me before walking away. He was only a few steps down the street when he called over his shoulder. “Better keep my seat warm at the bar, Roxy.”
We waited until the crowd moved with them before heading back inside.
“Damn, girl, you don’t know what you’ve just done.” Lulu held my hands, jumping up and down, but she let me go when I wasn’t jumping with her.
“What happened?” Angelica emerged from the kitchen.
“Doc Holliday told Roxy to keep his seat warm at the bar.”
They both squealed, and I had to stick my fingers in my ears.
Angelica instantly made plans. “I’m not calling Francene back.
You two can split the room, and the tips should make up for the slow morning.
I’ll bus and run food, and Bri can be the hostess.
No one will say anything about the wait if she’s at the front door.
” She clapped her hands, doing a spin move as her brown hair twirled out from behind her.
“What are you two on?” I was utterly confused.
“Doc Holliday is having lunch here.” Lulu grinned, eyes full of excitement. “Every tourist is going to fight for a table just to see him.”
A full restaurant meant tips. If the car was ready next week, I could leave sooner than I planned. This place was a time warp, and I wasn’t letting it trap me.