{"id":13157,"date":"2004-05-13T17:20:21","date_gmt":"2004-05-13T21:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13157"},"modified":"2026-02-16T14:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T19:22:29","slug":"griff-and-the-irish-dancer-by-randys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13157","title":{"rendered":"Griff and the Irish Dancer (by RandyS)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0 A little look at Griff King many years away from prison.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Rating: T\u00a0 (4,990 words)<\/p>\n

Griff and the Irish Dancer<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had no right to be disappointed in Griff\u00a0 I reckon.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like he did anythin\u2019 I wouldn\u2019t a done if that little Irish dancer had been lookin\u2019 at me that way.\u00a0\u00a0 Trouble was, I guess I\u2019d kinda held him up as a man who\u2019d found a woman he could be happy with, be faithful to.\u00a0 Sounds kinda silly, I know.\u00a0 A foolish romantic notion for an old guy like me.\u00a0 I lost my wife and every women I\u2019ve ever had a real feelin\u2019 for \u2018cause\u00a0 I just never could resist temptation if it was wearin\u2019 a skirt and spoke to me with sweet words.\u00a0 Hell, if she was pretty or I was drunk enough to think she was pretty, she could talk to me mean but I\u2019d pursue her anyway, whether with fancy words or money would depend on her station in life.<\/p>\n

But Griff, he was different.\u00a0 Leastways, so I\u2019d always thought.\u00a0 I\u2019ve known him for three years or so.\u00a0 Not real good, not like you\u2019d know a man you bunked with and worked with every day, but good enough to get the measure of him.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m a partner in a livery in Carson City but always cash poor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the last three years, the Cartwrights have hired me on whenever they had a big bunch a horses to be delivered to the army or somethin\u2019 like that.\u00a0 Two or three times a year, for a week or two at a time.\u00a0 Griff, he\u2019d been working for the Ponderosa five or six years by the time I met him – ever since he got sprung from state prison.\u00a0 Guess he\u2019d been workin\u2019 toward settin\u2019 up his own horse raisin\u2019 operation right from the beginning.\u00a0\u00a0 By the time I met him, he had his own little place but still worked half time for the Cartwrights.\u00a0 Guess he was cash poor too.<\/p>\n

Griff had a good reputation as a trainer.\u00a0\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t any kinda bronc buster or nothin\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t hold a candle to Joe Cartwright or Candy when it came to ridin\u2019 a buckin\u2019 horse to a standstill.\u00a0 He mostly broke horses the gentle way.\u00a0 But I reckon that way has its place too.<\/p>\n

My first job with the Cartwrights, three years ago, wasn\u2019t Griff\u2019s first, but it was the first since he took himself a wife.\u00a0\u00a0 Candy couldn\u2019t get enough of teasin\u2019 him about him pinin\u2019 away to be with her.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t see what the big deal was.\u00a0 They\u2019d been married four months by that time.\u00a0\u00a0 Even Candy said it was about time they separated for a week or so or she\u2019d never learn to appreciate him when he was there.\u00a0 Course I noticed Candy also kept askin\u2019 things that gave Griff a chance to talk about her, \u2018bout their plans for expanding their horse raisin\u2019 operation, about their progress in improving\u00a0 their little ranch house.\u00a0 Griff\u2019s wife \u2013 he referred to her as Lizzy but I noticed the others called her Elsbeth, like Lizzy was\u00a0 just his private name \u2013 she was good with horses too.\u00a0 And he brightened up so much when he bragged on her that I guess I didn\u2019t mind listenin\u2019 too much.<\/p>\n

Funny thing was that after three years of these horse sellin\u2019 trips, Griff still got that same look on his face every time he talked about that gal.\u00a0\u00a0 Three whole years and he still talked like she was some kinda treasure he didn\u2019t quite deserve but was gonna guard with his life.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I was so surprised about that Irish dancer.<\/p>\n

Every trip took us through half a dozen towns and there weren\u2019t no harm in stoppin\u2019 in a saloon in most of \u2018em.\u00a0 We had to eat and we needed a drink or two to cut the trail dust.\u00a0 Griff, he weren\u2019t no bluenose.\u00a0 I noticed he didn\u2019t much go for the whiskey, but he didn\u2019t pass up a cool beer for some kinda sissy sarsaparilla or nuthin\u2019.<\/p>\n

The workin\u2019 girls at them places, they liked Griff.\u00a0 Most always there was one flirtin\u2019 with him before our meal was finished.\u00a0 He\u2019s a nice lookin\u2019 young man and has a courteous way with women.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t treat a sportin\u2019 gal like she wasn\u2019t good enough for polite manners.\u00a0 Course it wasn\u2019t like they was gonna give him a tumble for free.\u00a0 But I guess they figured they had to make a buck with someone and Griff would be more pleasant than most.\u00a0 And he was younger than the rest of us \u2013 usually the only one with no gray in his hair.\u00a0 Them girls might figure he\u2019d be a vigorous boy, lookin\u2019 for a whole night, sparin\u2019 them from the rougher men that could get mean after a night of hard drinkin\u2019.<\/p>\n

But Griff, he never gave them any encouragement.\u00a0 Always polite like I said.\u00a0 But he never led them to think he was interested.\u00a0 If a girl got persistent, Griff would just lean back in his chair and drawl.\u00a0 \u201cMiss, I do believe you\u2019re one of the purtiest gals I\u2019ve ever laid eyes on.\u00a0 I just know that someday you\u2019ll find a man who\u2019ll be as true to you as I am to my sweet wife.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 If a gal was bone-headed enough to keep pushing after that, Griff would get a little less polite.\u00a0 But most of them backed off and damned if they mostly didn\u2019t fuss over him like he was their long lost brother even though they\u2019d given up getting anything from him.<\/p>\n

I figured after he\u2019d been married a year or two or three, he\u2019d be interested in a little variety.\u00a0 But this trip had been like all the others.\u00a0 Well, not quite like the others \u2018cause neither Candy nor Joe had come along.\u00a0 I thought maybe them bein\u2019 around on those other trips and bein\u2019 friends to his wife had curbed any natural urges Griff might\u2019ve had.\u00a0\u00a0 But we\u2019d been all the way to Fort Lawson in Arizona and were only one night away from Virginia City on the return trip.\u00a0 In all that time, Griff hadn\u2019t shown any more interest in the girls in the string of saloons we\u2019d stopped at than he been when Candy or Joe were around to keep an eye on him. Some of them girls were real pretty too.<\/p>\n

In some kinda way, I was proud of him.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m old enough to be his father and maybe it was a fatherly feelin\u2019.\u00a0 But if he really had been my son, he would\u2019ve had me as an example.\u00a0 He was a better man than I\u2019d ever been, a better husband at least.\u00a0 I\u2019d wanted to think it was cause he\u2019d found some kinda woman so special that no man would cheat on her.\u00a0 But my wife had been a special woman, a good woman, better than I deserved.\u00a0 And so was the gal I\u2019d started keepin\u2019 company with five years after my wife left me.\u00a0 It was me who wasn\u2019t good enough, too weak in spirit to be true to a good woman.\u00a0 And it was me who was alone now.\u00a0 And here was Griff, married three years \u2013 two years longer than I\u2019d managed to stay faithful\u00a0 \u2013 and he was still talking about his Lizzy with a glow on his face like some God-damn newlywed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never met his wife but I felt like I knew her.\u00a0 Griff carried\u00a0 pictures of her everywhere and showed them to anyone who showed the slightest interest and a few who didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

One was of the two of them together in a typical formal pose.\u00a0 She looked elegant, like royalty with her formal hairstyle and gown.\u00a0\u00a0 Standing next to Griff in the picture she looked tiny, a good foot shorter than his 6\u20192\u201d.\u00a0 The other picture was taken at the Ponderosa ranch house.\u00a0 I\u2019d only been there once but it was a grand place and there was no mistaking it in the background.\u00a0 The photographer must have been taking formal pictures at the house and caught her just as she came in from working one of the Cartwright\u2019s horses.\u00a0 He\u2019d had her stay astride the flashy dark horse, her face alight, her blonde hair loose and blowing in a breeze.\u00a0 That photo, more than the other, hinted at why she brought such a joy to Griff\u2019s life.\u00a0 Of course, Griff\u2019s talk did more than hint.\u00a0 If he was to be believed, she was beautiful, clever, a better horse trainer than him and most everything but a good cook.\u00a0 I\u2019d heard Candy tease him more than once about how they always managed to make their work with the horses at the Pondersosa last into the dinner hour.\u00a0 Griff didn\u2019t seem to care about that though.\u00a0 He said they were learnin\u2019 together.\u00a0 Besides, he\u2019d spent a year eatin\u2019 prison food and nothing tasted bad after that.<\/p>\n

Anyway, when we spent our last night<\/span> out in Drover\u2019s Ford, I sure wasn\u2019t thinkin\u2019 it was here that Griff \u2018d meet a girl to make him forget his wife, even for a little while.\u00a0 But it looked like that\u2019s just what happened.<\/p>\n

It\u2019d been a long hard trip and the six of us were happy to sit back and put down a few while waiting for supper.\u00a0 We\u2019d thought about getting a bath but decided it wasn\u2019t worth the bother with only one more day\u2019s ride.\u00a0 We\u2019d bathed before celebrating at the fort six days back.\u00a0 No point in actin\u2019 like a bunch of dandies.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d almost put down two steaks each when the entertainment started.\u00a0 That was unexpected.\u00a0 We\u2019d picked the nicest saloon in town, but that wasn\u2019t sayin\u2019 much.\u00a0\u00a0 Mostly that just meant it was the cleanest place we could find.\u00a0 There were ten tables, mostly filled with locals eating between poker hands or for just drinking and socializing.\u00a0 There was only two girls workin\u2019 the place.\u00a0 At the supper hour, they were busy servin\u2019 food and clearin\u2019 tables.\u00a0 Neither had gotten ’round to plying their more lucrative trade.\u00a0 There was no stage, just a rickety piano in the corner opposite the bar.\u00a0 I noticed the others in the room seemed as surprised as we were when the barkeep called for quiet and announced\u00a0 they’d be entertained by a Miss Colleen O\u2019Shaunessy.<\/p>\n

A slim young man came out and seated himself at the piano.\u00a0 His attire was surprisingly formal given the atmosphere of the place \u2013 a suit, tie and even a hat.\u00a0 But the formality of his outfit didn\u2019t improve the condition of the piano.\u00a0 Now I don\u2019t have much of an ear for music, but to me the piano seemed more than a touch out of tune.<\/p>\n

But no one was thinking about the music when the girl came out on the floor dancing to the lively, if slightly off-key, tune.\u00a0 She had long black hair that she swung over her shoulder with an alluring sauciness.\u00a0 When she danced a tour around the tables, she came close enough for me to see the intense blue of her eyes.\u00a0 Black Irish.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019d always heard the Irish with that colorin\u2019 called.\u00a0 And she was the most dazzlin\u2019 example of it I\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0\u00a0 She had delicate features and her size gave her an elfin look.\u00a0\u00a0 She was light on her feet and danced in a way that had the eyes of every man in the place following every move. I would have spent all my pay just to spend the night with her.\u00a0 But her manner invited us to look, even to admire, but not to touch.<\/p>\n

Until she got to Griff.<\/p>\n

Griff had shown only a mild interest in the girl when she\u2019d come onto the floor.\u00a0 But as she moved around the room, his interest intensified.\u00a0 When she came close to our table, the look on his face would\u2019ve cheered me if I\u2019d been hoping for him to fall from grace and show himself no better\u2018en me.\u00a0 But to give myself credit, I wasn\u2019t hopin\u2019 for that.\u00a0 I was repelled by the excitement in his expression as he watched the dancer.\u00a0 So often I\u2019d seen the light in his eyes when he talked about his wife.\u00a0 This beat that a hundred times over.<\/p>\n

The girl\u2019s dance changed subtly after she looked into Griff\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 Maybe the others didn\u2019t notice but I thought she continued her dance with the sole purpose of drawing Griff to her.\u00a0 She made circles around the room seeming to dance for all the customers, but her eyes stayed on Griff.\u00a0 And his on her.<\/p>\n

When she passed by our table again she brushed the dark hair back off Griff\u2019s forehead in a quick gesture that probably went unnoticed by everyone but Griff \u2013 and me.\u00a0 I could see him tense with excitement.<\/p>\n

She made several more passes around the room.\u00a0 And each time she passed Griff, she reached out and touched him ever so slightly.\u00a0\u00a0 A finger run lightly down his cheek, a slight caress of the shoulder, a touch on the arm.\u00a0 The others started to notice but I only saw a little envy.\u00a0 There didn\u2019t seem to be any troublemakers in the crowd.<\/p>\n

When the dance was over, the girl retired into the office \u2013 at least the door next the piano had a little sign that said \u201coffice\u201d.\u00a0 Might have been nothing more than a glorified storage room.\u00a0\u00a0 The barkeep promised she\u2019d be dancing again in a half hour.\u00a0 Most of the men went back to their poker and socializing.<\/p>\n

The young man at the piano continued to play, seemingly careful to tread lightly on the worst keys.\u00a0\u00a0 Griff started to get up and I just knew he was headed to that office.\u00a0 I grabbed his arm to stop him and then didn\u2019t know what to say.\u00a0 What right did a man like me have tellin\u2019 Griff he shouldn\u2019t be lookin\u2019 for trouble.\u00a0 But Griff just grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNow don\u2019t you worry old man, I\u2019m just going to get us another round.\u00a0 Those girls look busy.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to start anything with the local talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what he said.\u00a0 But there was trouble in his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 And it turned out he didn\u2019t need to go lookin\u2019 for it; it came for him.\u00a0 After letting the room settle for a few minutes, the girl came out and headed right for our table.\u00a0\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t an empty chair next to Griff so she sat<\/span> opposite him.\u00a0 She might as well have been sitting on his lap, his attention was so focused on her.\u00a0\u00a0 She started askin\u2019 questions of all of us \u2013 where we lived, where we were coming from, how the journey had gone \u2013 but her eyes were locked on Griff\u2019s and never strayed from them no matter who was answering her questions.\u00a0 After a while me and Ted and Pete and Jack and Bill all felt like we weren\u2019t really there.\u00a0 Griff finally went around the table, draggin\u2019 his chair with him and sittin\u2019 down close to the girl so they could talk without shouting across the table in the noisy room.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From what I could tell, they didn\u2019t seem to be saying much, not with words anyway.<\/p>\n

She danced twice more that evenin\u2019.\u00a0 By then most everyone in the room could see she was dancin\u2019 for Griff.\u00a0 The sparkle in his eyes said he knew it too.\u00a0 Finally, around 10 p.m she sat<\/span> down next to Griff again.\u00a0 She spoke to him quietly but I was sitting close enough to overhear some.\u00a0 She said something about hot water for a bath in her room.\u00a0 And she told him where her room was.\u00a0\u00a0 He was grinnin\u2019 at her like a fool.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally she got up and stood behind him.\u00a0\u00a0 She leaned over with her forearms resting on his shoulders and put her mouth close to his ear.\u00a0 Whatever she said put a troubled look on his face.\u00a0 He\u2019d finally remembered there was someone besides the two of them in the room.\u00a0 He looked around at all of us and then surprised the hell out of me by starting on his\u00a0 rejection speech, at least a variation on it, an ominous variation I thought.\u00a0 \u201cDarlin\u2019, you are for sure the most beautiful thing I ever saw in my whole life.\u00a0 But I got a wonderful wife at home who doesn\u2019t deserve to be shamed by me actin\u2019 like some kind of stud colt in front of a bunch of people who\u2019d be spreadin\u2019 the word soon as we got home. \u201c\u00a0 There was regret in his voice.\u00a0 Anybody\u2019d be a fool to miss that.\u00a0 But at least he\u2019d said it.<\/p>\n

The little Irish dancer sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 She started to leave seemed like, but after a couple of steps she came back.\u00a0 Griff was leaning forward in his chair, like maybe he\u2019d had somethin\u2019 to hide if he sat<\/span> back.\u00a0\u00a0 She came up to him and took his chin in her lovely slim hands.\u00a0 She held his face tenderly and then leaned down and kissed him.\u00a0 It was a long kiss, a kiss not befittin\u2019 a married man.\u00a0 Griff didn\u2019t touch her.\u00a0 Not to embrace her and not to push her away.\u00a0 He kept his hands on the arms of his chair, but his knuckles were white with the effort to keep them there.<\/p>\n

Finally, she stood straight and looked down on him.\u00a0 She smiled, shrugged as though in defeat and walked away.<\/p>\n

Griff didn\u2019t watch her go.\u00a0 He lifted his hands from the chair but only to fold his arms on the table and rest his head on them so no one could see his face.\u00a0\u00a0 When he finally lifted his head, he seemed to have gotten control of himself.\u00a0 He looked around at all of us.\u00a0 \u201cWhat say we get an early start in the morning?\u00a0 I\u2019m ready to get home.\u201d\u00a0 With that he got up and we all followed, Jack taking a last swig of his beer.<\/p>\n

The saloon had rooms out behind the bar.\u00a0 We\u2019d had to double up because there were only five rooms and two had already been rented out — probably to the dancer and the piano player.\u00a0 I was sharing a room with Ted.\u00a0 Griff was at the other end of the building with Bill.\u00a0 Ted was snoring in minutes but I couldn\u2019t imagine Griff would sleep well.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d only been watching the little goings on between them and I sure couldn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n

In between Ted\u2019s snoring, I heard voices next door.\u00a0 I listened for a minute and recognized the lilting speech of the Irish dancer.\u00a0 She was sayin\u2019 good night to her piano player.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t heard him speak before, but he sounded now like a kid of no more than 16.\u00a0 I heard the door open.\u00a0 The piano player spoke from the doorway.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, it didn\u2019t work out.\u00a0 You sure had that boy goin\u2019 though.\u201d<\/p>\n

I heard the girl laugh in response.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be here.\u00a0 He\u2019ll wait for the others to fall asleep.\u00a0 Then he\u2019ll come.\u00a0 I even brought another bucket of hot water in case the tub started to cool off.\u00a0 He\u2019ll come.\u201d\u00a0 I heard the door close.<\/p>\n

I knew I couldn\u2019t sleep.\u00a0 I should have.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t none of my business what Griff did.\u00a0 Maybe I just had to see if once out of sight of the little dancer, his feelin\u2019s for his wife would be strong enough to keep him on the right path.<\/p>\n

Five minutes later I knew they weren\u2019t.\u00a0 There was a knock on the dancer\u2019s door and I heard Griff\u2019s voice soft but distinct.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried to sleep but it was almost as if I could feel the excitement of the two people next door.\u00a0 My cot was next to the shared wall.\u00a0 Ted had stopped snoring after he turned over and sank into a deep sleep.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t hear everything they said and did next door \u2013 I wasn\u2019t shameless enough to put my ear to the wall \u2013 but in the quiet dark, I heard enough to poison my gut with an envy I\u2019d never felt for another man.\u00a0 I\u2019d envied Griff before in a quiet way when he\u2019d talked about his Lizzy.\u00a0 But this was different.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t admire what he was doing but it’s what I would\u2019ve done, what I wished I could still do \u2013 attract a woman that beautiful and give in to the temptation.<\/p>\n

At first it was quiet next door as though they were kissing.\u00a0 I could picture Griff bent down to embrace the dainty little dancer, maybe picking her up as his mouth pressed against hers.\u00a0 I heard water being added to the bath.\u00a0 Then I heard the bed creak.\u00a0 \u201cHere let me help you with those.\u201d\u00a0 There came the sound of boots dropping to the floor.\u00a0 The bed creaked again as though Griff had stood up in his stocking feet.\u00a0\u00a0 I could imagine those lovely quick fingers unbuttoning Griff\u2019s shirt, her hand stroking his bare chest and then going to his belt.\u00a0 Would he get shy or would he let her undress him?\u00a0 Did he have any experience with women before his wife.\u00a0 He\u2019d never mentioned anyone else but I couldn\u2019t imagine he\u2019d been without his share.<\/p>\n

Somehow he got his clothes off\u00a0 \u2018cause I heard him get into the bath.\u00a0 There was a little splashing and she giggled.\u00a0\u00a0 He said something about the scent of roses \u2013 probably some fancy soap.\u00a0 I heard the sounds of the bath for what seemed like a long time.\u00a0 I could picture her scrubbing his back, washing his hair.\u00a0 I wondered if she\u2019d taken off her own clothes or maybe let him do it.\u00a0 Was the tub big enough for the two of them?\u00a0\u00a0 I thought of going down to Griff\u2019s room at the far end of the building.\u00a0 I could sleep there, Griff wouldn\u2019t be needing the cot.\u00a0 But I couldn\u2019t bring myself to leave.<\/p>\n

It seemed like an hour before the sounds of bathing ended.\u00a0 There was laughing as she dried him off.\u00a0 Or maybe they were both wet and dried each other off.\u00a0 Soon enough the cot creaked again.\u00a0 I heard her say, \u201cCome here\u201d and then sounds that indicated he had.\u00a0 I was ashamed to be listening but it was like a drug.\u00a0 And it was like reliving the days when I could make love to a woman all night because that\u2019s what Griff did.\u00a0 I heard creaking and sounds of passion and occasionally laughing.\u00a0 There were times of silence as though their passion was spent and they rested.\u00a0 But never for long.\u00a0 Finally sleep overtook me.\u00a0 When I woke up, they were talking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could go to Virginia City next.\u00a0 I was going to go east, but I could go there instead.\u00a0 Then we could be together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now reality would rear its ugly head.\u00a0 Griff would finally see what he\u2019d risked for one exciting night.\u00a0 I could almost hear him fumbling for the right words \u2013 the words that would send her east as she\u2019d planned without turning her into a woman scorned who might come to Virginia City and blow up\u00a0 his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoney, you know I\u2019m married.\u201d<\/p>\n

She interrupted, \u201cI knew that last night<\/span>.\u00a0 So did you.\u00a0 I thought we\u2019d started something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griff sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt was special,\u201d he assured her.\u00a0 \u201cBut it was wrong.\u00a0 I\u2019m married.\u00a0 I love my wife.\u00a0 I\u2019ve wronged her badly and I can\u2019t let things get worse.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what came over me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want me to come to Virginia City?\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to see me again?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sounded unhappy, but to me she also sounded resigned.\u00a0 That was a good sign.\u00a0 Griff\u00a0 could feel sorry for hurting her, but he wouldn\u2019t have to bear the consequences of her showing up in his home.\u00a0 And I didn\u2019t think he should feel too sorry.\u00a0 She\u2019d seduced him.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t a man in that saloon that night who didn\u2019t see it.\u00a0 He was weak but he hadn\u2019t gone looking for trouble.<\/p>\n

I got dressed and went out to the livery to see to the horses.\u00a0 I figured the best thing I could do for Griff was to get him away from that woman.\u00a0 He was probably too tired to respond to her now, but passion like they\u2019d shown had a way of renewing itself.<\/p>\n

Griff showed up last, but he showed up alone.\u00a0\u00a0 And things must\u2019ve gone well \u2018cause he was grinning.\u00a0 He stopped grinning when he saw the look in my eye.\u00a0 My disappointment in him must\u2019ve showed.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/center>It was almost dark by the time we rode into Virginia City.\u00a0 I was going to stay over at the hotel and ride back to Carson City in the morning.\u00a0 The others were goin\u2019 to eat dinner before making the trip back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Everyone but Griff decided they could do with a bath.\u00a0 The public bathhouse would be better than fighting over bath water in the bunkhouse.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d avoided Griff on the way back.\u00a0 Not fair I know, but I couldn\u2019t stand that gloatin\u2019 on his face.\u00a0 Guilt I would have understood.\u00a0 But he looked like a man who\u2019d gotten away with something.\u00a0 He looked like I\u2019d looked until the day my wife up and left, telling me she\u2019d known all along but just hoped in vain that I\u2019d change.\u00a0 Everythin\u2019 Griff had said about his wife suggested she\u2019d be just as smart.\u00a0 I supposed I should warn him, but hell, I wouldn\u2019t have listened at his age.\u00a0 I just hated to see him end up alone like I had.<\/p>\n

We were all unsaddling at the livery when a tall blonde woman came up to Griff and gave him a welcoming hug.\u00a0 She was much too tall to be his wife.\u00a0 Did he have another woman right here in town?\u00a0\u00a0 He brought her over and introduced her to me.\u00a0 Apparently the others already knew her.\u00a0 \u201cHey old man.\u00a0 Want you to meet Sonia, we call her Sunny.\u00a0 She\u2019s Lizzy\u2019s best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman had the face of a Viking princess.\u00a0 And it was familiar.\u00a0\u00a0 When she said hello, her voice sounded a little familiar too.\u00a0 But I would have remembered a woman that striking.\u00a0 I was trying to figure out why she looked familiar when another woman burst into the stable and threw herself into Griff\u2019s arms.\u00a0 It was a minute or two before I could see her face \u2013 she was kissing Griff with a vigor that hid her features.\u00a0 But she was the right size to be the girl in the picture \u2013 this had to be Griff\u2019s wife.\u00a0 And I didn\u2019t want to meet her.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t ready to look her in the eye.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d already finished unsaddling my horse, so I handled the lead rope to Ted and asked him to see to him.\u00a0 Mine was the only horse that would be spending the night.\u00a0 I walked away before Griff would have a chance to introduce us.\u00a0 I headed for the hotel.\u00a0 I might as well make sure I had a room for the night.<\/p>\n

I was half-way to the hotel when I heard light steps behind me.\u00a0 I turned to see the woman I\u2019d figured was Griff\u2019s wife.\u00a0\u00a0 She was breathing a little hard as she caught up with me.\u00a0 She reached out to touch my arm as though to tell me to stay put.\u00a0 \u201cNathan, Griff\u2019s told me so much about you.\u00a0 I wanted to meet you.\u00a0 Griff and I are headed home now; I brought him some supper from the Ponderosa.\u00a0 I\u2019d like you to come to supper at our place sometime.\u00a0 I know Candy\u2019s probably warned you about my cooking but Griff and I together can cook up something respectable.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she stopped to take a breath, I tried to come up with some kind of noncommittal answer.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to hurt this woman, but I couldn\u2019t bear the thought of looking at her across her own table.\u00a0 Not with what I knew.<\/p>\n

She must have seen something in my face.\u00a0 \u201cAre you mad at Griff?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourse not.\u00a0 Why\u2019d I be mad at him?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked me in the eye and moved a little so I could see her face more clearly in the light from the hotel porch.\u00a0 And then she said with just the slightest Irish lilt in her voice, \u201cI think you don\u2019t approve of Griff cheating on his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

My first thought was Griff must\u2019ve already confessed to her.\u00a0 But there\u2019d been no time fer that.\u00a0 Then I took a closer look at her face.\u00a0 Suddenly I realized why the tall woman had looked familiar.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t recognized her \u2018cause the last time I saw her she\u2019d been playin\u2019 the piano in a saloon in Drover\u2019s Ford, dressed in a man\u2019s suit with a hat covering her hair.\u00a0 And this girl, whose elfin features were now emphasized by a sly grin, had been dancing in a black wig and a little make-up.\u00a0 When she saw I understood, she burst into laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, she grinned again.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s the fun.\u00a0 Pretending it\u2019s real.\u00a0 We\u2019ll never talk about it, even to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took my arm and started up the hotel steps.\u00a0 She looked up at me, \u201cBut I couldn\u2019t bear for you to be disappointed in Griff.\u00a0 He thinks a lot of you and I didn\u2019t want something silly like this to come between you or to stop you from coming to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we walked up to the hotel registration desk, the envy hit me again.\u00a0 For three years I\u2019d envied Griff his ability to keep a loving wife.\u00a0 And last night<\/span> I\u2019d envied him his night of passion with a woman of a quality I could never hope to attract again.\u00a0 But my jealousy had been tempered by the surety that he\u2019d traded one thing for another.\u00a0 But he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 Griff had everything I\u2019d ever wanted and he\u2019d found it in one woman.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never felt so alone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 A little look at Griff King many years away from prison.<\/p>\n

Rating: T\u00a0 (4,990 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9999,"featured_media":25038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,698],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-post-timeline","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-698-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":573,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Griff.jpg?fit=399%2C292&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13160,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13160","url_meta":{"origin":13157,"position":0},"title":"The Pleasure of Their Company (by Karen & Randy)","author":"Karen","date":"April 13, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0\u00a0 This is a later seasons Bonanza\/Lancer cross-over.\u00a0 Main characters are Joe, Candy, Griff, Jamie and Scott Lancer with brief appearances by Ben, Murdoch and Johnny.\u00a0 Caution:\u00a0 mostly PG for sexually suggestive situations, but it does cross-over into R in several places toward the middle where the suggestions are carried\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crossover"","block_context":{"text":"Crossover","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=24"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza7.jpg?fit=720%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza7.jpg?fit=720%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza7.jpg?fit=720%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza7.jpg?fit=720%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13161,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13161","url_meta":{"origin":13157,"position":1},"title":"The Pleasure of Their Company (by RandyS & KarenF)","author":"RandyS","date":"April 13, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0\u00a0 This is a later seasons Bonanza\/Lancer cross-over.\u00a0 Main characters are Joe, Candy, Griff, Jamie and Scott Lancer with brief appearances by Ben, Murdoch and Johnny.\u00a0 Rating:\u00a0 mostly PG for sexually suggestive situations, but it does cross-over into R in several places toward the middle where the suggestions are carried\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crossover"","block_context":{"text":"Crossover","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=24"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Bucket-Dog4.png?fit=682%2C446&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Bucket-Dog4.png?fit=682%2C446&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Bucket-Dog4.png?fit=682%2C446&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41099,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=41099","url_meta":{"origin":13157,"position":2},"title":"For the Love of a Son – by AMG","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"March 19, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Despite various trials, past and recent, the Cartwright family gathers back together, growing in number. 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