{"id":3683,"date":"2004-12-29T13:24:56","date_gmt":"2004-12-29T18:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3683"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:09:12","slug":"a-different-time-a-different-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3683","title":{"rendered":"A Different Time, A Different Place (by GinnyF)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>My version of “Juliet Bulette”<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span> MA (8,900 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Different Time, A Different Place<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright’s\u00a0 eyes popped open as the stagecoach bounced over an exceptionally rough spot in the road.\u00a0 He rubbed the back of his head as he peered\u00a0 at the familiar scenery lurching past the window.\u00a0 “Ow! \u00a0I’m gonna’ have a knot for sure. What’s Charlie’s hurry?\u00a0 He never gets the five o’clock stage into Virginia City by five o’clock any other time.\u00a0\u00a0 I’d like to get home all in one piece.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“One more knot on your head won’t hurt you a bit.”\u00a0 His brother, Adam, grinned at him from the opposite seat..\u00a0 “I was just about to wake you up, anyway. You were snoring like a buzz saw.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Hey! I don’t snore!\u00a0 You’re mixing me up with another brother of yours.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Then you were doing a mighty good imitation of that brother.” Adam laughed. “We’re almost home, anyway.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I can’t wait to see Pa’s face when he reads that contract.\u00a0 That’s the best price we’ve ever got for cattle, isn’t it?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yeah, I believe it is. \u201c\u00a0 Adam smiled. \u00a0\u201cWell, if I’m supposed to be teaching you about negotiating cattle prices, I might as well \u00a0make it a good lesson.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Watching you dicker with those cattle buyers was better entertainment than that opera you dragged me to.\u00a0 But, at least, this German opera was better than those Italian ones.\u00a0 Those women wearin’ the horned hats and carryin’ swords were pretty lusty.”\u00a0 Joe giggled at the memory of one\u00a0 particularly loud and busty singer.\u00a0 “Why can’t they sing in English?\u00a0 People might enjoy them better if they could understand what everybody’s singin'”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam rolled his eyes and settled back into the seat corner, arms folded across his chest, and sighed dramatically.\u00a0 “On second thought, go back to sleep.\u00a0 Why do I even try to expose you to culture?\u00a0 It’s a lost cause.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

“Doggone five o\u2019clock\u00a0 \u00a0stage is always late.\u00a0 I don’t know why the stage line just doesn’t post it as the six o\u2019clock stage.”\u00a0 Hoss Cartwright grumbled to himself and looked down C Street for the tenth time in the half-hour he had been waiting .\u00a0 The street was teeming with buggies, buckboards, freight wagons, horses, and pedestrians, but no stagecoach .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jake Canfield, the stage station manager, stuck his head out of the open office door and glared at Hoss.\u00a0 “Charlie will get the stage here same as he always does.\u00a0 Pacing and wearing a path in the boardwalk in front of my office ain\u2019t \u00a0going to get it here any sooner.\u00a0 Why don’t you just light yourself on that bench there, or go wait over at the Silver Dollar?\u00a0 Your pacing and muttering is driving me crazy!\u00a0 Who are you waiting for, anyway?\u00a0 The Queen of England?\u00a0 Or you expecting a letter telling you that you inherited a million dollars?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Just my brothers.”\u00a0 Hoss shrugged and smiled sheepishly.\u00a0 “Adam sent us a telegram from San Francisco with some good news in it.\u00a0 I’m kinda anxious to hear the details.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“They’ll get here soon enough.\u00a0 Pacing and wearing a path in the boardwalk ain’t going to make that stage get here any sooner.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss laughed and pointed down the street.\u00a0 “Oh yeah, Jake?\u00a0 Well, here it comes now!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sure enough, the coach lumbered into view as\u00a0 the driver expertly guided the team through the crowded Virginia City street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss\u00a0 jovially slapped each brother\u2019s back as he stepped from the stage. ” ‘Bout time you fellows got back\u00a0 There’s a passel of chores waitin’ for you at home.”\u00a0\u00a0 He grabbed \u00a0two of the four carpet bags handed down to him by the driver.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam\u00a0 patted the bag he was holding, “Considering what I have in here, I don’t think Pa would consider it amiss if we had a little celebration before we head for home. Here, Joe, make yourself useful.”\u00a0 He thrust his bag into his brother’s hand.\u00a0 “Take our bags into the stage office and tell Jake we need to leave them there for awhile.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Here, little brother, don’t forget these two.”\u00a0 Hoss \u00a0patted Joe’s shoulder after he slipped the other two bags under Joe’s arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two older brothers exchanged a grin as they watched the younger one maneuver through the stage office door, loaded down with carpet bags.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Say, Adam, how much a head are we gettin’ for the cattle, anyway?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Let’s just say that it’s the best we’ve ever done.\u00a0 You \u00a0can see the contract when Pa does.\u00a0 What do you think Hoss?\u00a0 Little brother ready to see the inside of Julia’s Palace?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Julia’s Palace?\u00a0 Adam, I thought you said a little celebration?”\u00a0 Hoss draped his arm across his older brother’s shoulder.\u00a0 “And maybe the question is, Is Julia’s Palace ready for our little brother?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There were many saloons and gambling parlors \u00a0located on Virginia City’s main thoroughfare.\u00a0 However, it was because of the other reputed business conducted in the upstairs rooms of Julia’s Palace, that some of the newly rich, newly respectable, and newly hypocritical, citizens of the community wanted to relegate the notorious establishment to the red light district of D Street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Hoss,\u00a0 you should see these Viking gals in that opera older brother dragged me to.\u00a0 Anyone of them would be a match for you.\u00a0 Maybe you should wait outside the stage door and take your pick.\u00a0 But, be sure to be extra polite, those gals carry swords.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I don’t know, little brother.\u00a0 Old Adam probably already has dibs on those gals, since he likes that opera stuff so well.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Catching up, after being apart for the better part of a month, the brothers laughed and bantered with each other as they made their way to the other end of C Street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They stopped abruptly at the sound of a shot, then joined the throng \u00a0of men rushing towards Julia’s Palace. \u00a0In front of the saloon, a man lay on the boardwalk, bleeding from a shoulder wound, his gun still in his hand.\u00a0 A handsome, swarthy man stood above him, smirking as he holstered his pistol.\u00a0 “I warned you to stay away from Julia Bulette.”\u00a0 He glanced contemptuously at the crowd, then turned and strode arrogantly into the building.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The crowd broke up and the spectators drifted away, leaving the wounded man where he lay.\u00a0 Hoss bent over the man who was struggling to get to his feet.\u00a0 “Take it easy, fella’.\u00a0 We’ll get you to the doc.\u00a0 Joe, go find Roy Coffee and have him meet us at Doc Martin’s.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The man shook his head grimly as Hoss and Adam pulled him to his feet. “Don’t bother with the sheriff.\u00a0 I drew first.\u00a0 Molene goaded me into it, but I drew first.\u00a0 All I was doin’ was talkin’ to Miss Bulette.\u00a0 That Frenchman thinks he owns her.\u00a0 Don’t want even the payin’ customers talkin’ to her.\u00a0 I was warned about him, how jealous he is; but when I saw her, I just had to make her acquaintance.\u00a0 Damn, but she’s the prettiest woman I’ve seen in a month of Sundays.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Have it your way, but she was almost the last woman you ever saw.”\u00a0 Adam raised an eyebrow in Hoss’s direction and shrugged.\u00a0 They \u00a0positioned the wounded man between them and guided him towards the doctor’s office.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Behind them, Joe, left on his own at Julia’s Palace, grinned and sauntered in the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe barely noticed the elaborate crystal chandeliers, the plush maroon carpeting, the rows of gaming tables, or the paintings of scantily clad women on the walls.\u00a0 His eyes were drawn to the scene taking place at the long, highly polished bar.\u00a0 The shooter from the fight outside; whom the wounded man had called Molene, was standing at the end of the bar, arguing with a women.\u00a0 The woman slapped his face and Molene \u00a0retaliated, sending her reeling.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe launched himself at the man, knocking him off his feet.\u00a0 Molene\u00a0 bounced right back and proved to be as good with his fists as he was with his gun.\u00a0 It didn’t take long for Joe to be the one on the floor.\u00a0 Dazed, Joe watched him reach for his gun, when suddenly, Molene toppled over, out cold.\u00a0 Standing behind him, wooden mallet in hand, was the woman he had slapped.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She smiled at Joe and reached a hand down to help him to his feet. “I’m Julia Bulette.\u00a0 Welcome to Julia’s Palace, Mr\u2026..?”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He scrambled to his feet and found himself face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, despite the red mark on her cheek..\u00a0 Tall and willowy,\u00a0 her black hair, set off by a streak of white, was piled on her head..\u00a0 Her brown eyes sparkled, rivaling the diamonds in her hair and at her throat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Cartwright.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Oh.\u00a0 One of the Cartwrights from the Ponderosa?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yes ma’m.\u00a0 Nice place you have here. Sorry I messed it up.”\u00a0 Joe smiled sheepishly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No need to be sorry.\u00a0 You were defending my honor, after all.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’ve never been here before.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You must come back again, as my guest.\u00a0 I’d like to repay you.”\u00a0 Julia pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at the slight trickle of blood from Joe’s lip. Joe’s fingers lingered on hers as he took it from her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bartender appeared at Julia’s side, handing Joe his hat and jacket.\u00a0 Joe took them reluctantly, but realized that it was best that he leave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Supper here, tomorrow night?”\u00a0 Julia asked as he turned to go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yes, ma’m!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Partway down C Street, Joe stopped, looked back at Julia’s Palace, and fingered the lacy, white handkerchief he had slipped into his jacket pocket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Julia Bulette?”\u00a0 Adam stared unbelievingly at his father. “You’re going to let Joe have supper with Julia Bulette?\u00a0 At Julia’s Palace?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“It’s hardly a question of letting him.\u00a0 Joe’s eighteen years old; a grown man.”\u00a0 Ben shot back.\u00a0 He leaned back in the leather chair and smiled ruefully at his oldest son, who was perched on the corner of the desk.\u00a0 “I don’t like it anymore than you do.\u00a0 Especially, after you telling me what happened between Molene and that cowboy.\u00a0 I’ve heard a lot of stories about Molene’s jealousy.\u00a0 But if I try to forbid Joe from going, he’ll be at Julia’s come Hell or high water.\u00a0 I’m going to try a different tack.\u00a0 I’ve been invited to a meeting of Virginia City’s so-called leading citizens, tomorrow evening.\u00a0 I’m going to suggest he go along; that I’d like him to be there with me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“And you two can wipe those expressions of your faces!”\u00a0 Ben glanced sharply from Adam to Hoss, who was sitting \u00a0by the other corner of the desk.\u00a0 “I’m not being conniving.\u00a0 He should be attending his share of these functions.\u00a0 I really would like him to go along.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What if it doesn’t work?”\u00a0 Adam raised a skeptical eyebrow at his father.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben couldn’t help but smile; his eldest son knew him all to well.\u00a0 “You and Hoss will be keeping an eye on things.\u00a0 Discreetly, of course.\u00a0 Don’t let your brother know you’re there, unless it becomes absolutely necessary.\u00a0 Which I hope it doesn’t.\u00a0 He probably won’t be there very long; just long enough to eat supper.\u00a0 Despite what I said about\u00a0 Joe being a man, Julia Bulette will look at him as a boy who wouldn’t have money to throw away at her gaming tables and on the expensive liquors she stocks.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He’ll have his supper with Miss Bulette tomorrow evening, and that will be the end of it.”<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Father and son rode companionably side-by-side ; each thinking of the evening ahead.\u00a0 Ben tried to keep his mind occupied with the town meeting.\u00a0 Paul Martin had kept the reason for the gathering to himself; only telling him that it was a meeting of the leading citizens.\u00a0 However, Ben’s thoughts kept straying to where his son would be spending his evening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They were almost to town, when Joe broke the silence.\u00a0 “Miss Bulette’s from New Orleans.\u00a0 Do you think she might have known my mother?\u00a0 They’d have been about the same age.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben weighed his words thoughtfully, before answering.\u00a0 “Not\u00a0 likely, son.\u00a0 They might just as well have lived on opposite sides of the world.\u00a0 Being from New Orleans, and their age, would be the only things they would have had in common, apart from both being women.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yes, she is very beautiful.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Well, come on, Pa!\u00a0 You don’t want to be late for that important meeting!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben knew Joe’s hurry to get to town wasn’t on his account.\u00a0 But, he had to smile to himself at his son’s impatience and youthful exuberance as he urged Buck into a trot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Are you sure, you don’t want to come to the meeting?”\u00a0 Ben \u00a0urged one last time\u00a0 as the pair prepared to go their separate ways for the evening.\u00a0 “I don’t know what it’s about, so I can’t promise it will be as exciting as spending an evening at Julia’s Palace, but it might prove interesting.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No thanks, Pa.\u00a0 I’ve got a supper date to keep.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“All right, son, you keep your date.”\u00a0 Ben clapped his son lightly on the shoulder.\u00a0 He watched Joe saunter down C Street in the direction of Julia’s Palace, then reluctantly turned in the opposite direction, and tried, unsuccessfully, to focus his thoughts on the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe \u00a0arrived for his date to find out that Julia had been invited to the mysterious town meeting at Doctor Martin’s.\u00a0 As he waited for her return, he nursed a beer and reveled in the exciting atmosphere of the establishment.\u00a0 Men of every walk of life crowded the\u00a0 mahogany and marble bar. Glossily polished boots rested side by side on the gleaming brass bar rail with the dusty boots of cowhands and the grime-encrusted boots of miners.\u00a0 Poker games were in progress at many tables.\u00a0 At a few other tables,\u00a0 women in colorful, low-cut dresses were dealing blackjack.\u00a0 Faro tables,\u00a0 dice tables, and a roulette wheel were doing a booming business.\u00a0 Joe watched, fascinated, as men fed coins into a row of\u00a0 slot machines.\u00a0 This new-fangled invention to part a man with his money was newly arrived in Virginia City.\u00a0 Joe had watched quite a few of his coins disappear into the maw of the one Cosmo had installed in the Silver Dollar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every man’s eyes were drawn to the door as it burst open and Julia flew in, her eyes flaming in anger.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0She pushed through the crowd at the bar and grabbed a bottle of her best brandy.\u00a0 “Gentleman!\u00a0 There’s a rumor going around Virginia City that \u00a0we have a very wicked town !\u00a0 While the bluenoses up on the hill sit around and cry about it, there’s something that we here on C Street can do about it!\u00a0 The first thing they will need is money.\u00a0 What will you bid for this bottle of fine, old Virginia City brandy?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A miner opened the bidding at one-hundred-dollars.\u00a0 Joe watched in amusement as Julia pushed the bidding up to two-hundred, then bought it herself for five-hundred, and donated it back to be auctioned again.\u00a0 Caught up in the action, Joe soon found himself the owner of a five-hundred-dollar bottle of brandy, which he also donated back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Embarrassed, Joe fingered the twenty-five dollars he had pulled out of his pocket, as Julia deposited five-hundred-dollars cash in a large glass vase.\u00a0 “I – I don’t carry that kind of money around, can I give you a note for it?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia reached into her handbag and deposited five-hundred more into the vase.\u00a0 “No, you saved my honor, now I’ll save yours.\u00a0 Now, we’re even.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“So, your daddy forgot to give you your allowance?”\u00a0 John Molene stood at Joe’s elbow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe turned to look Molene insouciantly in the eye.\u00a0 “Look, Molene, just because you shot up a few miners and cowboys, you think it makes you the most feared man in town.\u00a0 I’m not shakin’ even a little bit, so don’t get in my way.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You don’t think I can make you shake like the others?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I think you only stay alive cause no grave will have you.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“John, you better go.”\u00a0 Julia broke in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Are you coming outside, my friend ?”\u00a0 Molene gestured towards the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia took Joe’s arm and pulled him to the steps.\u00a0 “He’s coming with me.\u00a0 We have a supper engagement.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Some other time”, Joe answered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“That is a promise, M’siur”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia and Joe ascended the stairs to Julia’s rooms, Molene’s eyes boring into their backs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While the plush saloon and gambling rooms \u00a0had a touch of gaudiness,\u00a0 the furnishings of Julia’s private quarters showed a quiet elegance.\u00a0 Two delicate cream brocade arm chairs flanked a lace covered mahogany table, \u00a0a matching settee graced the corner of the room, colorful bouquets of fresh flowers\u00a0 scented the air, and a painting, that Joe assumed to be a younger Julia Bulette, hung over a white marble fireplace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia pulled the lilac-colored damask drapes closed over the wide window.\u00a0 She settled on the settee and with a smile, indicated to Joe to sit next to her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Why did you ask me up here?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“John Molene might have killed you.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Is that the only reason?”\u00a0 Joe asked softly, looking into her dark brown eyes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia locked her gaze onto his.\u00a0 “No, it wasn’t.”\u00a0 She leaned forward and her lips brushed Joe’s.\u00a0 Their kiss became more intense as Joe\u00a0 drew her closer, his hands cupped gently around her velvet-clad breasts.\u00a0 As if by their own accord, her fingers tangled in his hair and her mouth pressed tighter against his. His hands slid over the smooth fabric of her dress, then fumbled with the tiny buttons on the bodice . Freeing her milky white breasts from their confines, he\u00a0 touched them with his lips, then tentatively with his tongue.\u00a0 Julia moaned softly and tugged at his curls; but then, \u00a0abruptly pushed him away and stood, back to him, her hand over her mouth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alarmed, Joe went to her and turned her to him.\u00a0 “Is anything wrong?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Oh, no.\u00a0 Quite the contrary.”\u00a0 Julia had a catch in her voice, and her face was flushed.\u00a0 She had hastily buttoned her dress.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans.\u00a0 My mother was part French, like you, and came from New Orleans.\u00a0 And like you, she was a very beautiful woman.”\u00a0 Joe tried to draw Julia to again, but she gently rebuffed his attempt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Keeping hold of her hand, he touched it to his lips.\u00a0 “All right.\u00a0 Tell me about New Orleans.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’m afraid it wouldn’t be as your mother saw it.\u00a0 A mountain doesn’t look the same from different sides.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

” I don’t understand.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You will.\u00a0 Goodbye, Joe.”\u00a0\u00a0 Julia handed him his jacket and hat.\u00a0 “Go home, where you belong.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To her amusement, Joe stole a quick kiss on his way out the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’ll be back.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia slowly closed the door, then leaned back against it; her heart thudding in her chest and her head swirling in confusion.\u00a0 “What just happened? \u00a0I’m old enough to be his mother!\u00a0 Mon Dieu!!\u00a0 If John even suspects how I feel, he’ll kill Joe!\u00a0\u00a0 I’ve got to put a stop to this, right away.\u00a0 I’ll leave instructions that Joe Cartwright is told to leave if he comes in.\u00a0 This is insane.”<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the top of the stairs, Joe spotted John Molene waiting at the bottom, his jacket pulled back so he could draw his pistol.\u00a0 “Now for that promise, uh.?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Take it easy, Molene.”\u00a0 A deep, quiet, voice interrupted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was joined by another.\u00a0 “I’d do what he said, if I was you.”\u00a0 Hoss Cartwright relieved the Frenchman of his pistol, while Adam covered him.\u00a0 “We figured you boys might have somethin’ to settle.\u00a0 Why don’t you do it like gentlemen.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Hoss will hold your coat.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss took Molene’s coat and gunbelt, while Adam got Joe’s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Molene threw the first punch, sending Joe hurtling over the banister.\u00a0 Prone on the floor, Joe flung Molene flying over his head.\u00a0 The battle moved into the saloon, Joe getting the worst of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam, leaned\u00a0 on the bar and looked at his \u00a0brother in a heap at his feet, then to Hoss.\u00a0 “I’ve told him a thousand times, keep those elbows in.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss looked up from taking the bullets from Molene’s pistol.\u00a0 “Joe’s got to learn to fight a lot dirtier then that”.\u00a0 The older brothers turned, apparently unconcerned, to the bar.\u00a0 ” A couple of beer’s, Tom.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Molene pulled Joe to his feet, then with a final punch, sent him crashing into the wall.\u00a0 Joe slid down the wall, out cold.\u00a0 His brothers strolled over \u00a0and Adam slung him over his shoulder like a sack of grain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Ya, know,” Hoss said with a touch of admiration.\u00a0 “That kid’s got a lot of grit.\u00a0 One of these days he’s gonna whup that Frenchman.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yep.\u00a0 But this wasn’t the day.”\u00a0 Adam walked out the door, Joe still slung over his shoulder, tipping his hat wryly to a wary Molene.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Jumping Jehosaphat, Joseph!\u00a0 Five-hundred-dollars for a bottle of brandy!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe cringed deeper into the leather chair and clutched the cold compress he was holding to his bruised, swollen face. “I’ll work it off, Pa.\u00a0 I’m sorry.\u00a0 I got caught up in the excitement..”\u00a0 Joe suddenly found the floor engrossing.\u00a0 “And I admit it,\u00a0 I wanted to impress Julia.\u00a0 Show her that I’m not just a kid.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben’s voice softened at the sight of the pathetic look on his son’s battered face.\u00a0 “It’s not the money.”\u00a0 He slowly shook his head.\u00a0 \u00a0“I’m planning on making a\u00a0 substantial donation.\u00a0 The town needs its own police force to back up the sheriff. ”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He took the washcloth from Joe and rewet it in the basin of cold water.\u00a0 He gently returned it to his son’s battered face.\u00a0 “In Julia Bulette’s eyes, you are just a kid.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe started to protest, but his father firmly pushed him back into the chair.\u00a0 “Now just sit and listen.\u00a0 \u00a0She’s twenty-some years older than you, and seen so much more of life.”\u00a0 He laid his hand on Joe’s knee.\u00a0 “You know I don’t judge how people live their lives.\u00a0 Lord knows I’m not a saint, and I’ve never pretended to be.\u00a0 Not to you and your brothers, nor to anyone.\u00a0 You’re not a na\u00efve child.\u00a0 You\u00a0 know there’s more to Julia’s Palace than the saloon and gaming tables.\u00a0 I had my reservations about this supper date, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good for me to try talk you out of it, or to flat out forbid it.\u00a0 I told myself that you would have supper with Julia, and that would be that. \u00a0\u00a0Then here come your brothers tonight,\u00a0 hauling you home in this condition.\u00a0 I’m not asking, I’m telling you to stay clear of Julia’s Palace, Julia, and John Molene, especially, Molene.\u00a0 I don’t want to hear a word about it from you.\u00a0 That’s it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“It’s late.\u00a0 We should get to bed.\u00a0 Come on, son.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe knew better than to argue with his father, right then.\u00a0 Besides, his face hurt too much to say anything.\u00a0 He obediently followed up the stairs.\u00a0 His dreams, that night, were of warm New Orleans nights and a dark-haired woman.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe leaned, elbow on the bar, chin in his hand, watching Julia descend the steps to the saloon.\u00a0 It had only been two days, but it seemed like years, since he saw her last.\u00a0 She greeted customers and her girls as she made her way to the bar.\u00a0 She stopped beside Joe, took his arm, and drew him away from the bar to a private corner by the staircase.\u00a0 “I almost gave instructions to Tom that you weren’t to be allowed in here.”\u00a0 She began without preamble.\u00a0 “I’m glad I didn’t.”\u00a0 She laid a finger against his lips to silence the words that she knew were coming.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “They can spare me down here for awhile.\u00a0 John left for San Francisco this morning, by the way.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I told you and Molene, both.\u00a0 I’m not afraid of him”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You’re being foolish, Joe. But, we’ll talk about John later.”\u00a0 Julia glanced back over her shoulder as they ascended the stairs, hand-and-hand.\u00a0 “Tom, please send up a bottle of my special stock of champagne and one of those tins of caviar that were just delivered from San Francisco. Just leave it outside the door.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia’s room was dimly lit by the lamp she had left burning low, the drapes closed against the encroaching night.\u00a0 Julia hadn’t said a word since they entered the room, and following suit, spell-bound, Joe allowed her to lead him into the sleeping alcove at the far end of the room.\u00a0 Julia\u00a0 pushed him onto \u00a0the large, canopied bed.\u00a0 She knelt, and slowly pulled his boots and socks off.\u00a0 “Julia\u2026”, he began.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Shhh, don’t talk.” Julia sat on Joe’s lap and covered his mouth with hers.\u00a0 Joe\u00a0 gently laid her on the purple satin coverlet and slipped off her kid leather slippers.\u00a0 The tinkling notes of “Aura Lee” \u00a0drifted up through the floor as fingers found buttons and their hearts thumped franticly in their chests.\u00a0 He plucked the hairpins from her hair and stroked the silky waves that cascaded over her soft white shoulders and breasts.\u00a0 She twined her fingers in his chestnut curls\u00a0 while she pulled him to her.\u00a0 The piano continued, unheard, over the \u00a0soft moans and utterances from the mismatched lovers.<\/p>\n

“Why were you going to keep me away from here?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia looked into the young face on the pillow beside her, and stroked his cheek.\u00a0 The scant\u00a0 whiskers reminding her just how young he was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“For your own good.\u00a0 John has picked a gunfight with every man who’s shown even casual interest in me.\u00a0 He’s killed several.\u00a0 He’ll kill you.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe took her hand and lightly kissed it.\u00a0 “You worry too much. I’m good with a gun.\u00a0 My brothers taught me well.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You thought you were better with your fists than you turned out to be.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe laughed and pulled her to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I have to get downstairs to my customers, and you have to get home.”\u00a0 She slipped from his arms and pointed to his clothes on the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Will you let me see you again?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I don’t know.\u00a0 I just don’t know.\u00a0 I shouldn’t.\u00a0 For your sake.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Julia, I love you!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Oh, cheri, you only think you love me.\u00a0 You haven’t met anyone like me before, and you’re intrigued.\u00a0 I should put an end to this right now, but\u00a0 I don’t know if I’m unselfish enough to send you away.”\u00a0 Julia turned her back so Joe wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The grandfather clock \u00a0by the front door announced two o’clock as Joe stealthy entered the house.\u00a0 The only light in the darkened house seemed to be the \u00a0glow of the banked fire.\u00a0 As he rounded the corner from the entrance way, he stopped in his tracks and turned toward his father’s office.\u00a0 The lamp on the desk was still burning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Joe?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe winced at the sound of his father’s voice.\u00a0 He knew why his father was waiting up for him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Sit down, son.”\u00a0 Ben indicated one of the two chairs in front of his desk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe dropped into the chair, where he slouched sulkily, nervously twirling his hat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You were at Julia’s tonight.”\u00a0 It was not a question.\u00a0 It was a statement that Joe knew he couldn’t deny.\u00a0 “Yes, sir.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“After I specifically told you to stay away.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe straightened up in the chair.\u00a0 “After you forbid me like I was a child!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Joseph, don’t use that tone of voice with me.!”\u00a0 The lamplight reflected in his father’s eyes seemed to amplify the heat of his statement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe dropped his eyes to his lap and forced himself to control himself.\u00a0 “I’m not a child, Pa.\u00a0 You wouldn’t do that with Adam or Hoss.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Adam is a lot older than you, remember.\u00a0 That makes a difference.\u00a0 Also, he knows a lot more of the world than you do.\u00a0 And, there would be no reason to forbid Hoss.\u00a0 He’d have more sense.”\u00a0 Despite himself, Ben found his voice rising with each word.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe leaned forward in the chair, \u00a0his hands gripping the edge of the desk.\u00a0 “More sense than what?\u00a0 Say it, Pa!\u00a0 More sense than to get mixed up with someone like Julia Bulette?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That Adam’s too worldly wise to let himself be trapped by someone like Julia Bulette?\u00a0 That only your dumb, impressionable little boy can’t see what a bad woman Julia Bulette is? \u00a0\u00a0Tell me what kind of a woman you think she is?\u00a0 You told me the other evening that you don’t judge people.\u00a0 Well, \u00a0that’s what you’re doing now!\u00a0 You, of all people!\u00a0 I remember listening to you and Adam talking, when I was a little kid, about how people held it against my mother because she was different than other women here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That her manner was gracious and gentle, that she was city bred, that when she talked to people they stared or shied away because they thought her French Creole accent was strange. People who didn’t know anything about New Orleans whispered that because she was French Creole she had to be a wh\u2026.!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before Ben realized what he was doing, he was on his feet, the palm of his hand connecting with his son’s cheek\u00a0 “Don’t you dare compare your mother to Julia Bulette!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe sprung from his chair and stood glaring wide-eyed at his father.\u00a0 Without saying a word, he strode to the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben could only stare at his stinging hand as he heard the door slam angrily behind his youngest son.\u00a0 “What have I done?”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Pa?\u00a0 What’s going on?\u00a0 Is everything all right?”\u00a0 Adam asked, struggling into his robe as he descended the stairs.\u00a0 Hoss followed, his night shirt billowing around his bare feet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben shook his head as if to clear it, then sank slowly into the chair behind his desk.\u00a0 “Your brother just came home from town.\u00a0 He was with Julia Bulette all evening and most of the night; and no, everything is not all right. I did something tonight I have never done in all my years as a father.\u00a0 I raised my hand in anger to one of my sons.”\u00a0 He went on to tell Adam and Hoss of his argument with Joe, and its outcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Do you want us to go look for him?” Hoss asked, his hand clasping is father’s shoulder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No, I think it’s best that we leave him alone to think things through and cool off.\u00a0 I have some thinking to do, myself.\u00a0 You too go back up to bed.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam glanced at Ben, then nodded to his brother.\u00a0 Silently the pair retreated up the stairs.\u00a0 Hoss hesitated at his bedroom door, then followed his brother into his room across the hall, visibly upset.\u00a0 ” We’ve all had our share of tannin’s, but Pa’s never slapped any of us, like that. He must really be mad at Joe.\u00a0 \u00a0Pa should know that Joe wouldn’t say anything disrespectful about his ma.\u00a0 Not on purpose, anyway.\u00a0 He’s all the time sayin’ things he don’t mean.\u00a0 Then bein’ sorry, later.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I don’t think Pa did it out of anger, and if he did, it was anger born of fear.”\u00a0 Adam settled onto the side of his bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Fear?”\u00a0 Hoss was puzzled.\u00a0 “Fear of what?\u00a0 That Joe’s gonna’ run off with that woman or somethin’?\u00a0 Come on, Adam!\u00a0 Joe’s not gonna’ do that.\u00a0 He\u2019s just sowin’ some wild oats with her.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I know that, Hoss, and Pa does to.\u00a0 He’s known Julia a long time.\u00a0 Ever since she came to Virginia City.\u00a0 Deep down, he knows she’s not going to let the kid get serious about her.\u00a0 No, Pa’s afraid of Molene, and his insane jealousy over Julia.\u00a0 He beat the crap out of Joe the other night.\u00a0 What if his next challenge to Joe is with pistols?\u00a0 Joe’s quick, but he wouldn’t have a chance against Molene, and the fool boy is cocky enough to think he could win.\u00a0 Pa’s afraid of loosing Joe, all right.\u00a0 Permanently.”<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Hoss looked up from the fence he was mending in the south pasture and watched the horse and rider approach.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe \u00a0hitched\u00a0 Cochise to the back of the wagon\u00a0 parked near where Hoss was working.\u00a0 “Hey, brother.\u00a0 Need a hand ?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yeah, I do.\u00a0 I seem to remember that both of us were supposed to be workin’ on fence mendin’, today.”\u00a0 Hoss voice took a softer turn.\u00a0 “And speakin’ about fence mendin’,\u00a0 are you goin’ to go home and talk to Pa?\u00a0 He feels awful bad about what happened last night.\u00a0 Believe me, Joe, that smack hurt him more than it did you\u00a0”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Are we gonna’ work on this fence, or ain’t we?”\u00a0 Joe turned to the fence with the wire cutters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For over an hour, the brothers worked in an uncomfortable silence.\u00a0 Hoss decided to try another tack with his sullen brother.\u00a0 After taking a swig from the canteen, he handed it to Joe.\u00a0 “Where did you spend the night, last night?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe immediately sprang to the defensive.\u00a0 “Not where my family assumes I spent the night!\u00a0 I slept at the south line shack!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You can pull in your horns, little brother!\u00a0 I just asked, is all!\u00a0 We’re worried about you.”
\n“Yeah, well, none of you need to worry, I can take care of myself!”\u00a0 Joe clenched his hands into fists at his side. ” Damn it!\u00a0 When’s it gonna stop?\u00a0 Gotta protect the little boy till he grows up and can make his own decisions!\u00a0 Well, I got news for you, and for Adam, and for Pa, too.\u00a0 I’m not a little boy, anymore! \u00a0I don’t need protected! \u00a0I’m capable of making my own decisions, and deciding if I’m gonna see Julia!\u00a0 And my family is just gonna have to accept that! ”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss took a step toward his brother, who had raised his fists to a fighting stance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Dadburn, it!”\u00a0 You don’t want to do this to yourself, little brother.\u00a0 You better cool off before you bite off more than you can chew, with me.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe dropped his fists.\u00a0 “Doesn’t look like you need any help with this fence, after all.”\u00a0 He glared angrily at Hoss as he swung onto his pinto.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss sighed and slowly shook his head\u00a0 and watched as Joe galloped out of sight.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

“It’s been a long time since you’ve been here.\u00a0 I thought you forgot where Julia’s Palace was.”\u00a0 Julia Bulette slipped up to stand beside Ben at the bar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben gazed at her appraisingly.\u00a0 “Julia, you’re just as lovely as ever.” \u00a0He swallowed the last drops of brandy, and set the glass on the bar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Why don’t we go up to my rooms? We can talk there without being interrupted.”\u00a0 She smiled and offered Ben her arm.\u00a0 “You know, you never have been up there.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Neither spoke as they ascended the stairs.\u00a0 The rustle of Julia’s satin gown seemed to dominate Ben’s hearing, covering the tinkling of the piano that stood at the foot of the stairs.\u00a0 The scent of her perfume hung \u00a0in the air.\u00a0 Ben unconsciously compared its musky heaviness \u00a0to the subtle hint of roses that had been part of Marie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia ushered him into her parlor and gestured to the settee in the corner of the room.\u00a0 She went to a mahogany sideboard and poured brandy into two crystal snifters., then settled next to Ben on the settee.\u00a0 She handed him one of the brandies.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you’ll enjoy this.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“This is excellent.”, Ben acknowledged.\u00a0 He sipped it distractedly, his thoughts on the reason for his visit.\u00a0\u00a0 “I assume you know why I’m here?\u00a0 He’s just a boy, Julia.\u00a0 You can have your pick of just about any man in the territory.\u00a0 Why Joe?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“He’s quite a handsome boy.\u00a0 Gentle and sweet.”\u00a0 Julia met Ben’s eyes over the rim of her snifter.\u00a0 “After that first evening, I was going to tell him not to come back, that I wouldn’t see him if he did.\u00a0 I admitted that to him.\u00a0 I even thought of telling Tom to physically throw him out, if need be.\u00a0 I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia rose and went to the window, her back to Ben.\u00a0 “I know it sounds ludicrous, but I’m coming to care deeply for him.”\u00a0 She turned to again look Ben in the eyes.\u00a0 ” I’ll let him down as gently as possible.\u00a0 I don’t want to hurt him anymore than I have to. You can believe that or not.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sat his barely touched brandy down and stood.\u00a0 ” I believe you.\u00a0 You hurting Joe isn’t my main concern.\u00a0 A young man can bounce back from a broken heart.\u00a0 He can’t bounce back from a bullet through it.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

” John’s in San Francisco.\u00a0 He’ll be there awhile, yet.\u00a0 Joe will be here this evening.\u00a0 I’ll make sure that it’s for the last time.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben gently took Julia’s hand and lifted it to his lips.\u00a0 “Thank you”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After she closed the door behind Ben, Julia refilled her snifter with brandy and curled in the corner of the love seat.\u00a0 Soon, she was lost in thoughts of another time and another dark-haired young man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rising sun shown eerily through the fog that morning in <\/em>New Orleans<\/em>.\u00a0 Mist rose in swirls towards the Spanish moss-draped trees \u00a0as the two young men counted off paces.\u00a0 At the tenth, they turned face to face, their pistols pointed.\u00a0 Two shots rang out simultaneously, and two men crumpled to the damp ground.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0<\/em>“Non!\u00a0 Alexander!\u00a0 Nooon!”\u00a0 burst as a shriek from her as she watched from her hiding place.\u00a0 She ran \u00a0screaming towards her lover only to be barred from him by the towering figure of his brother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0“Get away from him,*putain!”\u00a0 Phillip deLoren \u00a0tossed her aside like a piece of trash kicked from the gutter.\u00a0 She could only huddle miserable and alone while she heard the doctor pronounce her beautiful Alexander dead.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>That evening, two men in the employ of the wealthy deLoren \u00a0family forcibly escorted her aboard a riverboat bound for <\/em>St. Louis<\/em>, and her future.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Well, Cooch, looks like we’re going to get to town earlier than Julia is expecting me.”\u00a0 Joe patted the pinto’s neck as they cantered towards Virginia City.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’m sure glad I didn’t run into Pa or Adam when I <\/em>was at the house cleaning up. \u00a0One argument today was enough.”<\/em>\u00a0 Joe sighed and shook his head. “Darn it.\u00a0 I didn’t want to argue with Hoss today, or with Pa the other night.\u00a0 Why can’t I see Julia without my whole family jumping all over me?\u00a0 I know she’s a lot older than me, and I know what her reputation is.\u00a0 And I know she doesn’t feel the same way about me, that I do about her.\u00a0 But, she must feel something.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0What happens when we’re together has to be real.\u00a0 It’s not like I want to marry her; I just want to spend time with her.”<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe tied his pinto to the hitching rail and entered Julia’s Palace, smiling in anticipation of the evening to come.\u00a0 “Hey, Tom.\u00a0 Give\u00a0 me a beer”, he greeted the bartender.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You’re here early tonight.”\u00a0 Joe missed the uneasy look Tom gave him as he drew the beer and set it in front of him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe took the first sip of his beer when the sound of a familiar laugh caught his attention.\u00a0 Joe turned to the gaming room where the laughter was coming from and stopped, his glass halfway to his lips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A tall, rugged-looking man with iron grey hair was sitting at a poker table, counting a stack of bills, Julia Bulette on his lap.\u00a0 “Here’s to my good luck charm!” the man whooped, and kissed her lustily while stuffing a handful of bills down her bodice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe stalked into the room and grabbed Julia by the arm.\u00a0 “What’s going on?”,\u00a0 His jaw was clinched in anger.\u00a0 He pulled her from the man’s lap.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Hey!\u00a0 Just a minute sonny-boy!\u00a0 What do you think you’re doing, manhandling the lady like that?”\u00a0 The grey-haired man jumped to his feet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“It’s all right, Clayton.”\u00a0 Julia touched his arm, familiarly, and pushed him back into the chair.\u00a0 “I’ll be back later.\u00a0 I want to have a word with young Mr. Cartwright.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia dragged a seething Joe into her office behind the bar.\u00a0 She lit into him before he could say a word.\u00a0 “Who do you think you are, grabbing me like that?\u00a0 Acting like you own me!\u00a0 I’ve had enough of that with John!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her harsh tone took some of the wind out of Joe’s sails.\u00a0 “I don’t think I own you!\u00a0 I’m sorry.”\u00a0 He removed his hat and ran his fingers nervously through his hair. \u00a0Hurt and angry as he was, he pushed on,\u00a0 his voice raised. “But the way you were acting with that fellow got to me.\u00a0 Hanging around his neck and letting him paw you and kiss you, and stuff money down the front of your dress like some kind of whore!”\u00a0 Joe threw his hat to the floor.\u00a0 Then he stopped, his face white, at the realization of what he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia’s eyes blazed fire as she slapped his face.\u00a0 “That makes me a whore if I let any man but you touch me?\u00a0 Well, then, I’m a whore! Une putain!\u00a0 You knew what I am the first time you came in here.\u00a0 You seem to like my talents, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 So do a lot of men.\u00a0 They’re not for your exclusive use!\u00a0 Now, I think you better go.\u00a0 Don’t come back here.\u00a0 Tom will have orders from me to throw you out on your ear if you do.” \u00a0\u00a0She turned her back so Joe wouldn’t see the tears that started in her eyes.\u00a0 She stood there silently crying as the office door slammed shut behind Joe as he walked out of her life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia didn’t realize that another man had witnessed her performance with Clayton MacKenzie.\u00a0 John Molene wouldn’t just slam a door and walk away.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben looked up from his ledger as Adam perched on the corner of his desk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Did Joe say anything to you about why he stopped seeing Jula Bulette?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No, he didn’t.\u00a0 I have to say that I’m glad he did.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I think we all are. You went into town all dressed up the other day.\u00a0 Does that have anything to do with Julia?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 “Yes, I paid Julia a visit.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I thought maybe that’s where you were going.\u00a0 Let’s just hope that Joe doesn’t find out.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that.\u00a0 But I couldn’t take the chance of it going on much longer.\u00a0 \u00a0A young man being infatuated with an older woman is a common situation.”\u00a0 Ben looked meaningfully at his oldest son.\u00a0 “If\u00a0 it wasn’t for Molene, and Julia’s occupation, I would’ve\u00a0 been inclined to have let it play itself out. But under the circumstances\u2026.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Well, I got over Gwen.”\u00a0 Adam smiled crookedly at his father.\u00a0 He’ll get over it, soon.\u00a0 You know how he is.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I hope so, Adam.\u00a0 I hope so.”<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Is anyone going to answer the door?”\u00a0 Ben looked from his breakfast to his sons.\u00a0 All three seemed oblivious to the sound of someone knocking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam laid his fork down and looked pointedly at his youngest brother who had been distractedly stirring his cup of coffee for several minutes.\u00a0 Hoss, also, gave Joe a pointed look, then went back to his plate of ham and eggs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What are you looking at me for?\u00a0 Neither of you two have a broken leg!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben \u00a0locked his eyes onto Joe.\u00a0 “Joseph!\u00a0 That’s enough!\u00a0 Answer the door, please!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Yes, sir.”\u00a0 Joe immediately got to his feet and went to the door.\u00a0 He was surprised to find Tom, the bartender at Julia’s Palace, standing on their porch.\u00a0 And even more surprised by the disturbed look on Tom’s face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Joe.”\u00a0 Tom shuffled his feet nervously.\u00a0 “Uh, Julia sent me.\u00a0 Wait! Listen to me a minute!”\u00a0 Tom pushed against the door that Joe was closing in his face.\u00a0 “Julia’s been hurt.\u00a0 Bad.\u00a0 Somebody broke in her private rooms and was waiting for her when she went up after \u00a0closing this morning.\u00a0 Whoever it was, stabbed her.\u00a0\u00a0 Doc Martin’s there, and he says she’s not gonna last much longer.\u00a0 She’s asking to see you.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“See me?\u00a0 Why does she want to see me?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I don’t know.\u00a0\u00a0 Look, she could barely talk.\u00a0 I should get back.\u00a0 Should I tell her you’re on your way?”\u00a0 Tom untied his horse’s reins from the hitching rail as he spoke, anxious to be on his way.\u00a0 “The palace is locked up.\u00a0 Bang on the door, I’ll be listening for you.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Pa?”\u00a0 Joe turned to his father who was standing behind him in the doorway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I think you should go, son.\u00a0 Do you want me to come with you?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe nodded numbly, then turned back to Tom.\u00a0 “Tell her I’m coming.”<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Ben right behind him, Joe hesitantly approached the double doors to Julia’s Palace.\u00a0 The ornately carved doors customarily \u00a0stood open and inviting.\u00a0 Today, however, they were tightly locked\u00a0 with blinds pulled down over the etched glass panes.\u00a0 Joe turned to nod at his father and knocked on the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the first knock, the blind was pulled back and Tom peered out the window.\u00a0 He opened the door and silently ushered Joe and Ben into the barroom.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe looked around the unusually quiet room. \u00a0Normally, Julia\u2019s Palace would be filled with customers from\u00a0 opening time at noon, to closing time when the whistles at the mines heralded the start of a new day.\u00a0 Today, there were no men lining the bar, sitting at the gaming tables, or crowding around the roulette wheels and slot machines.\u00a0 There was no clink of glasses, rattle of dice, or men\u2019s voices placing bets.\u00a0\u00a0 Several of Julia\u2019s girls sat scattered around the room talking and quietly weeping.\u00a0 A golden-haired girl sat\u00a0 alone in a corner absently shuffling a deck of cards.\u00a0 \u00a0The piano player \u00a0listlessly plunked out a sad song of lost love..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tom moved to the steps and leaned heavily on the banister.\u00a0 \u201c Doc Martin left.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want her to have any visitors, but he said you could go up for awhile, since Julia was insisting.\u00a0 Sophie\u2019s with her.\u201d\u00a0 The bartender shook his head and struggled to hold back a tear.\u00a0 \u201cSophie\u2019s the only one of her girls that she\u2019s let herself get close to.\u00a0 She told me that Sophie reminded her of herself.\u00a0 Her and you are the only one\u2019s she wants.\u00a0 Go on up.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe hesitated with one foot on the bottom step.\u00a0 He gazed up into the shadowy hallway, then quickly took the stairs two at a time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe tapped softly on the locked door which was opened by Sophie, the winsome black-haired girl who Joe knew was Julia\u2019s particular favorite.\u00a0 She quickly wiped her eyes with her handkerchief and nodded in the direction of the sleeping alcove, then stepped into the hallway.\u00a0 She quietly shut the door behind her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia lay propped against a pile of pillows\u00a0 Her face was as white as the satin pillowcases underneath her tangled, dark hair.\u00a0 She struggled to keep her eyes open and focused on the young man who settled hesitantly in the bedside chair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou did come. I knew you would, mon cheri.\u201d\u00a0 Her words came out breathless, as she stretched her hand towards him<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe took it and gently pressed his lips to her fingers.\u00a0 \u201cShhh,\u00a0 Yes, I\u2019m here.\u00a0 Just lie quiet.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to talk.\u201d\u00a0 Joe silently stroked Julia\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her eyes closed, then fluttered open, and she mumbled softly in French.** Si seulement il pourrait avoir \u00e9t\u00e9 diff\u00e9rent.\u00a0 Un temps diff\u00e9rent, un endroit different\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The melancholy strains of the piano drifted up from downstairs as Juliet Bulette again walked under the Spanish moss draped trees with Alexander deLoren.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

“Well, the posse found Molene.\u00a0 Tom was right, suspecting it\u00a0was him.\u00a0 Molene had Julia’s\u00a0diamond necklace and\u00a0ruby bracelet on him.\u201d\u00a0 Adam wearily dropped his gun belt and hat on the credenza.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss followed his brother in the door.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben looked up from the book he was reading.\u00a0 \u201cBetter, I think.\u00a0 At least I got him to realize that it wouldn\u2019t have been a good idea for him to ride with the posse.\u00a0 For awhile, there, I was worried that he\u2019d take off on his own after Molene.\u00a0 He\u2019s upstairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to be left alone for awhile.\u201d\u00a0 Ben turned to Hoss who had turned towards the stairway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou two look all in.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get you some coffee and sandwiches.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss settled onto the settee beside Adam and looked at him uneasily.\u00a0 \u201cAre we gonna tell Pa what we heard in town?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam glanced at the stairs, then back to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u00a0 we\u2019d better do it now, while Joe\u2019s upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s gonna find out sooner or later, and he\u2019s gonna be fit to be tied.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t say that I blame him any.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care what she did for a livin\u2019, Adam. It just ain\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s just not right?\u201d\u00a0 Ben set a tray of sandwiches and coffee on the sturdy plank table in front of his sons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss took a sandwich and looked to his older brother.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe good people of Virginia City don\u2019t want the likes of Julia Bulette buried in the town cemetery with the respectable citizens.\u00a0 Tom\u2019s the executor of her will.\u00a0 He was told this when he went to buy a cemetery plot.\u00a0 Julia left the town quite a bit of money in her will.\u00a0 Tom said she specifically bequeathed the fire department money and money to the Miners\u2019 Widows and Orphans Fund.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shook his head in disgust and absently picked up a coffee cup. \u201c And the righteous citizens of Virginia City are begrudging her six feet of rocky soil.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve seemed to have lost my appetite.\u00a0 Night, Pa.\u00a0 Hoss.\u00a0 See you in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Harvey.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 What brings you here?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to purchase a cemetery plot.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The caretaker of the Virginia City Cemetery looked up from his desk in surprise.\u00a0 Cemetery plot?\u00a0 Not for anyone in your family, I hope?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, no! We\u2019re all well.\u00a0 In any case, we, uh, have a family cemetery at the ranch.\u00a0 No, this is for a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMust have been a mighty close friend, if you\u2019re buying him a cemetery plot.?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind that Harvey.\u00a0 Just\u00a0 get to the paperwork.\u00a0 Put the plot in my name.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Harvey paused in confusion over the paperwork. \u201cI have to have the name of the deceased, regulations, you know, Mr. Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOf, course, Havery.\u201d\u00a0 Ben pulled out his wallet and handed some bills to the caretaker.\u00a0 \u201cThis will take care of the plot and a headstone?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, sir.\u00a0 Very adequately.\u00a0\u00a0 Here\u2019s your deed.\u00a0 Now, the name of the deceased, and the information for on the headstone?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJulia Bulette.\u00a0 A Mr. Tom Bellamy will be here later with the information for the headstone.\u00a0 Please have the grave ready for burial tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Harvey McDuff dropped his ink pen and stared at Ben in horror.\u00a0 \u201cJulia Bulette?\u201d\u00a0 Mr. Cartwright, she can\u2019t be buried in the town cemetery!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes smoldered as he pulled himself to his full height, and stared holes into the diminutive caretaker.\u00a0 \u201cMr. McDuff, I have in my hand a deed to a cemetery plot in the Virginia City Cemetery.\u00a0 Can I, or can I not have anyone I see fit buried in that plot?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYe..e.ss, of of cour..se, Mrrr.\u00a0 Caarrtwrright.\u201d\u00a0 Harvey McDuff stuttered, quaking under Ben\u2019s steely glower.\u00a0 \u201cBuuutt, the the town cccouncil\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben tipped his hat and strolled out the door.\u00a0 \u201cGood day, Harvey.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be around in a few days to make sure that everything is in order.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben next made his way to the St. Mary\u2019s in the Mountains Catholic Church, and knocked on the rectory door.\u00a0 He was ushered in by Father Patrick Monogue.\u00a0 \u201cAh, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 You\u2019re back.\u00a0 Come in, come in.\u00a0 I was just having a cup of tea.\u00a0 One of my parishioners brought me some delicious oatmeal cookies.\u00a0 Would you care to join me?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo thank you, Father.\u00a0 I must be getting back to Mr. Bellamy.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be anxious to hear how everything turned out.\u00a0 The cemetery caretaker, Harvey McDuff isn\u2019t very happy, but the arrangements are taken care of.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell Tom Bellamy that if anyone gives him, or you, any problems my sons and myself will be there at the burial.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll want to thank you in person for consenting to say a prayer at Miss Bulette\u2019s grave.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright, I\u2019d be a poor priest, and a poor Christian, if I refused.\u00a0 And a terrible ingrate.\u00a0 Miss Bulette didn\u2019t attend Mass, but every Christmas she had a generous contribution delivered to the church.\u00a0 It bought many a meal and many a warm coat for the destitute members of my parish.\u00a0 Not to mention\u00a0 the\u00a0 remembrance of the church in her will.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cUntil tomorrow, Father.\u201d\u00a0 The two men shook hands.\u00a0 Father Monogue watched Ben go down the hill, then smiling, returned to his tea and cookies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The end<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

12\/29\/04<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cwhore\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

** \u201cIf only it could have been different.\u00a0 A different time, a different place.”<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0 My version of “Juliet Bulette”<\/p>\n

Rated: MA (8,900 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":8766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,27],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-3683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-whi","tag-joe","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-27-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1471,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Julia-Bulette1.jpg?fit=432%2C441&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13064,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13064","url_meta":{"origin":3683,"position":0},"title":"One for the Ages (by Justafan)","author":"justafan","date":"June 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 A story of a friendship that ran deeper than blood.\u00a0 Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (537 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Alternate Universe"","block_context":{"text":"Alternate Universe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/pained-look.jpg?fit=300%2C266&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2836,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2836","url_meta":{"origin":3683,"position":1},"title":"Big Fish (by faust)","author":"faust","date":"April 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Adam is coming home, but not everyone seems eager to meet him. Joe rather goes fishing. 1,100 words, rated K","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/BigFish-Kopie.jpg?fit=400%2C319&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2882,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2882","url_meta":{"origin":3683,"position":2},"title":"The Race (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"October 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0Can Joe convince his brothers to take part of a new race Virginia City is hosting this month? Word Count: \u00a0513\u00a0 This is my answer to October's C&S and the Michael Landon Birthday Challenge. Rated: K","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/outhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/outhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/outhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13769,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13769","url_meta":{"origin":3683,"position":3},"title":"The Real Man Smiles in Trouble (by McFair_58)","author":"mcfair_58","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"SUMMARY:\u00a0 Joe is attacked. At first it seems the motive was robbery, but all too soon it becomes clear that something devastating has happened to the youngest Cartwright son. As the truth comes out, the Cartwright men face a challenge none of them could have conceived; one that calls upon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Real-Man-Two.jpg?fit=840%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Real-Man-Two.jpg?fit=840%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Real-Man-Two.jpg?fit=840%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Real-Man-Two.jpg?fit=840%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1317,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1317","url_meta":{"origin":3683,"position":4},"title":"A Real Brother (by KateP)","author":"KateP","date":"April 20, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0What makes a Real Brother? 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Both brothers try to resolve what being a brother means and in the end, come to realize how important they each are to the other. Rating: T (due to language)\u00a0 (9,470 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/black-bear.jpg?fit=460%2C259&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}