JULY 27, 1861

Jacy stopped at the saloon. Samantha had left town, and the only other good friend Jacy had in town was Desiree, well girl friend that is, and that was before she had left Dreamville last year. She wondered if they were still good friends.

Jacy wanted a lady to talk to about Cody, but she didn't want to talk to Melissa or Jewel about it. She peeked through the window. She couldn't think of a good idea for her to enter. She didn't enter places like saloons unless she was writing an article for the paper. She started to turn and leave. Wait! Didn't I hear that Richard and Ted were the new owners of the saloon? That would make a good excuse to enter. She could ask Richard how he liked being the new owner. She turned back around and took a deep breath before entering the saloon. It wasn't very crowded. That was good. That suited her just fine. She walked up to the bar, and Richard saw her.

"Good evening Miss Jacy. What brings you in here?" Richard inquired as he wiped off the bar in front of Jacy.

"I thought that if you weren't busy that I could ask you a couple of questions about the saloon." She smiled at Richard.

"Oh Miss Jacy, this is one of our busy nights." He replied as a group of men came walking into the saloon. "I wish you had come last night instead. We weren't very busy then, and I could have answered all your questions, but tonight isn't a very good night."

"That's alright. I understand. Maybe we can do it some other time." Jacy groaned as a man bumped into her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you. But I'm glad that if I had to bump into anybody that it was a very pretty girl." Brandon said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"I'm Brandon, I'm the clerk at the train station, and I also work at the Joker's Wild Ranch."

"So you're one of the men that my brother hired." Jacy stated.

"You bothering the ladies again." Aaron said as he joined Brandon. "Ma'am if he's bothering you, you just let me know, and I'll toss him out of here so fast his head will spin." Both Aaron and Brandon grinned.

"Oh no, he's not bothering me." Jacy didn't know that they were brothers and that Aaron was just kidding Brandon.

"This is my brother, Aaron. He works for your brother, too, and he's also the bouncer here." Brandon told Jacy. Jacy smiled as she realized that Aaron had just been kidding about throwing Brandon out.

"Your Jedidiah's sister?" Aaron inquired.

"Yes, that's me. I'm Jacy. I have two other sisters, Melissa and Jewel." Jacy informed them.

"Yes, we've met them. They've been at your brother's ranch. What brings you to the saloon?" Aaron wondered why a young lady would be visiting such a place.

"I came in to see if I could get an interview with Richard since he's the new owner of the saloon, but he said that we would have to do it another time cause tonight is too busy." Jacy answered. "But since I'm here, I might as well stay and listen to Desiree sing." Desiree had just come on the stage with her guitar, and she greeted the audience and then began to sing.

"I came here for the same thing. Would you like to sit at a table with me? We can keep each other company." Brandon requested.

When Jacy hesitated, Aaron said, "That would be a good idea, Jacy. Sometimes these men in here can get kind of rowdy. I would feel better if you stayed close to my brother this evening. He can make sure no one bothers you."

Jacy nodded. "Alright."

"Richard a beer, please, and anything the lady wants," Brandon implored.

"Oh, I already have a drink." Jacy picked her glass up. Brandon received his beer, and then they both sat down at an empty table to listen to Desiree.

Brandon stopped after having three beers. He didn't want to get drunk, not because Jacy was there, but because he just never liked getting drunk. He didn't like to dull his senses. He liked being alert to his surroundings in case he needed to use his wit to get out of a difficult situation.

Jacy had just her one glass of sarsaparilla, mainly because she really didn't much care for the taste and also because she rarely drank much, especially when not eating anything. The only reason she got sarsaparillas was because it was a drinking place after all, and she felt that she needed to contribute some money to the saloon in order for her to be there.

When Desiree was finished, she came over to Brandon and Jacy's table. She had seen Jacy in the audience, and since they hadn't talked much lately, she wanted to find out how she was doing. "Hi Jacy, I'm glad you're here. I've been wanting to see you, but I've been so busy with the hotel and singing here at the saloon that I just haven't had the time."

"That's alright. I've been extremely busy, too. But I have been wanting to see and speak with you, that's why I came here tonight."

"Oh, what did you want to talk about?" Desiree seemed genuinely concerned for Jacy because she didn't seem to be in a very cheerful mood.

"Well, can we go somewhere and talk just the two of us?" Just as Jacy asked, Walter showed up and spoke.

"Hi all, Desiree are you ready for that ride I promised you?" Walter stood by Desiree.

"Ummm . . ."

Before Desiree could respond, Jacy interrupted, "That's alright, Desiree, you go on. We can talk later."

"Are you sure?" Desiree didn't want to desert her friend. She didn't have very many close friends, just Marta, Ted, Walter, and Jacy had been a very good friend before she had left town a year ago. She wanted her and Jacy to still be good friends.

"I'm sure."

"Well, maybe we could get together tomorrow and talk." Desiree watched as Jacy nodded her head.

"That would be great. Do you want to have lunch together?" Jacy knew it was getting late and that she should be getting home anyway.

Desiree looked at Walter. He nodded. Letting her know that it would be all right. That he would cover for her at the hotel. Desiree nodded. "That would be fine. I'll see you around noon."

Jacy nodded, "Noon it is."

Desiree and Walter left the saloon.

"Well, now that you have that all worked out, how about I see you home?" Brandon stood up and came around to Jacy's side of the table.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that." Jacy stood up and picked up her glass. She was going to take it back to the bar.

Brandon swooped his hand down and grabbed his beer mug to take to the bar, too. "Oh but if I don't, my brother wouldn't like it. He wouldn't let me live it down, me letting a pretty girl like you ride home by yourself especially when a lot of drunks just left here. I should see you safely home. Besides I don't think your brother would like it either if he heard that I let you ride home alone as late as it is, and didn't you see all those fellas leaving here. Some of them were very drunk. I wouldn't feel right, you going home by yourself. No, no siree, I wouldn't feel right at all."

Well, Jacy couldn't think of a real good excuse for him not to see her home, so she finally nodded. They both put their glass and mug on the bar, and Jacy started opening her purse to pay for it. "Don't worry about it Jacy, I've got it." Brandon paid Richard for the beers and Jacy’s drink. "Are you ready to leave now?" Jacy nodded.

Brandon and Jacy mounted their horses, and Brandon saw Jacy safely home. Then Brandon went and fell into his bunk bed underneath Aaron's. He kicked off his boots, sat up and took off his shirt. He pulled off his pants and then crawled under the covers.

"What did you think of Jacy?" Aaron peered over his bed and looked down at Brandon.

"She's nice." He looked up at Aaron.

"That's all you're going to say."

"Yep!"

Aaron frowned and turned back over and lay down. "Well, I'm done reading. Could you turn off the light for me?"

Brandon got up and walked over to the lantern. Brandon threw his dime novel and it landed on the desk. "I don't know why you read those things. They're mostly not true." He turned out the light and returned to bed.

"It's a little light reading, and they're interesting."

"Goodnight Aaron."

"Goodnight brother,"

The next day Jacy and Desiree met at the hotel to have lunch as specified the night before. After Caly took their order, Desiree asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I'm not really sure." Jacy was having a hard time telling Desiree what was on her mind. She didn't know how to begin.

"Well, you know you can tell me anything. We're friends. I'll help you anyway I can." Desiree knew that there was something troubling her friend. She hoped she could help.

"Well, it's just lately that Cody has been acting differently."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that we were getting along well, but he had Kid ask me to the wedding tomorrow."

"Well maybe it's because he can't walk that he did that. He didn't want you staying home because of him."

"I don't know. I just think he's been . . . well, it's like he's not in love with me any more."

"I doubt that. Maybe he's just more preoccupied with himself because of the accident." Desiree was trying to make Jacy feel better, and Jacy knew that.

"I just don't know how to act when I'm around him." Jacy was frustrated.

"Well, why don't you give it some time? I'm sure that's all Cody needs. Soon he will be back to his old self. You wait and see." Desiree hoped she was right.

Jacy nodded as Caly sat their food down in front of them. After lunch Jacy walked over to the hotel with Desiree. "We'll have to do this again soon." Desiree said as they reached their destination.

"Yes, you know you're always welcome out at the house, so when you get some time, come for a visit." Jacy requested.

"I'll do that." Desiree replied, and then she turned and went into the hotel. Jacy went over to the PEG. She hoped what Desiree had said was true that Cody just needed some more time to adjust to his new situation.