The Starshine Kid: Arroyo Grande
Final
Chapter – Part 20 of 20
A New Beginning
The Starshine Kid, Antonio from
Antonio, and Clifford Connors rode into Iron Creek without fanfare. Connors was
secured in the jail, temporarily manned by a Deputy Sheriff on loan until the
town of Iron Creek could secure a new, more permanent, lawman to take the reins
of justice firm in hand and maintain the peace.
As Adam King and Anton exited the
jail, Della ran to greet them. She could not stop hugging either one long
enough to speak, tears flowed down her rosy cheeks.
Eventually she spoke, “I was so
worried about you two, just worried sick, I might say.”
The two men looked at each other and
smiled.
“Oh, I know… it’s so silly of me,
you bein’ lawmen and all, but—”
“No need to get all frazzled,
Della,” Anton attempted to comfort his sister, “after all, we’re here now and
as safe and sound as a bank vault guarded by a military battalion.”
“And to comfort you more my sweet
Della,” the Starshine Kid spoke affirmatively, “I’ve been doin’ a lot of
thinkin’ whilst I was out on the trail this time and—”
A shot rang out in the near distance
as two men stumbled their way out of the Imperial Saloon, guns in hand.
“You callin’ me a cheat and a liar,
you double-tongued spittoon lizard?” one large man with a full beard and black
hair inquired of the other man.
The second man was thin and frail
looking and sported quite a cough. The two had managed to get into an argument
over the finer details of the poker game both participated in.
Marshal King hailed the two,
“Gentlemen, I’m a US Marshal and we don’t want any trouble stirrin’ up in this
fine town. Do you think it might be possible to settle your disputes in another
way than spittin’ lead at each other?”
The thin man replied in
bewilderment, “I thought me there weren’t no lawman in this town, not none
permanent, anyways.”
“I guess we figured wrong,” the
large, bearded man stated rather humbly for someone holding a pistol. “We ain’t
lookin’ for no lawman troubles, Marshal.” He looked at his opponent and
continued, “Are we now?”
“No, no… no trouble,” the thin man
confirmed. The two holstered their guns and returned to continue their somewhat
friendly game of poker inside the saloon.
“Never a dull moment in Iron Creek,”
Anton commented.
The three laughed before making the
quick decision to join the festivities, whatever those festivities might be,
inside the Imperial Saloon.
The sawdust covered floor, large
mirrored wall, and the billowy smoke filled air gave the establishment the
ambiance it deserved. Though the town was relatively peaceful most days, at
least on those rare occasions experienced most everywhere time and chance meet
up, action of one sort or another could spark up faster than a mountain brush
fire from a lightning strike. That ensured the town a status that guaranteed it
to be free from boredom, at least on occasion.
Anton decided to leave his sister
and Marshal King alone and joined the poker game.
Adam and Della spent the next few
hours catching up on their lives. They watched as patrons came and patrons
left, and watched the poker players get into a routine fight now and then, but
they watched each other most of all.
“What are your plans, Adam?” Della
inquired as she took a sip of tea, “Future plans, that is? I’m a might bit
curious, as you might have guessed.”
The Starshine Kid removed his hat,
gazed into the large mirrored wall to check how he looked, then got down on one
knee right there in front of God and a bar full of thirsty patrons.
“Well, Della,” Adam swallowed long
and hard, “I been meanin’ to ask you somethin’.”
“Oh, Adam, yes… yes… yes!”
“You ain’t heard the question yet,”
the surprised lawman groaned. “Maybe it be that I just dropped somethin’ here
on the floor and was fixin’ to fetch it.”
“You better quit funnin’ with me,
Adam Henry King. Life is just speedin’ by right now.”
The saloon became as silent as a man
hung at the end of a noose, but quickly erupted into cheers as the Marshal
spurted out his fateful question regarding the blessedness of matrimony and
sharing a future with the woman he loved. With the sound of another ‘Yes!’ from
Della and ‘Drinks are on me!’ from the Starshine Kid, the festivities
continued.
“Congratulations,” a well-dressed
man approached the table where Adam and Della sat.
“Thank you, sir,” Della replied,
quickly followed by a similar comment from Marshal King.
“The name’s Shane, Shane Kirk. I’m
the Mayor here in Iron Creek among other things.”
“Well, Mayor, is there anything we
can do for you or help you with?” Adam inquired.
The Mayor took a chair from a nearby
table and sat down facing the two, “There’s no pressure and I have no
expectations, but…” the Mayor looked almost apologetic as he continued his
conversation, “we are in need of a local lawman for the town here. I am well
aware that you are a US Marshal, Mr. King, but my curiosity just got the best
of me tonight.”
“How’s that, Mayor?” asked Adam.
“With you two getting married and
all, well… I thought you may want to transition into a more local type of law
keeping, the kind that gets a man home at night for a fresh cooked meal and
into a warm bed; a life that has few days and nights away from home, if you
understand the point at which I am trying to arrive.”
Della’s eyes perked up and shone
like stars. She attempted to conceal her excitement from Adam, but the
experienced lawman could read her emotions easier than following sign across a
freshly snow-graced mountain clearing.
Wanting to create a little fun, Adam
replied, “I’m not too sure if the future Mrs. King would approve of—”
Interrupting faster than her brother
Anton could draw his pistols, Della said, “I wouldn’t mind one bit, Adam. Not
one bit!”
Adam laughed and told the Mayor he
would be mighty proud to accept the job. “County Sheriff, Town Marshal, Provincial
Constable… whatever title you wish for the job, Mayor, suits me just fine.”
“Thank you, Mr. King, thank you very
much. The town housing board has a mighty fine home available for the person
taking the job. It was actually the former mansion of a man who made his
fortune in gold. He donated it to Iron Creek wishing for the residence to be
used to house the town’s lawman. I’ll get it spruced up forthright.”
“I’m—” Adam almost spoke out of
habit as a single man, “a… that is, we, we are mighty obliged to you, sir, Mayor
Kirk, that is.”
“Call me Shane, please, except at
formal functions, of course.”
“Of course,” Della confirmed, “of
course.”
“I’ll have another sarsaparilla,”
the Starshine Kid hailed the bartender, “and more tea for the pretty lady.”
“Did I hear correctly?” the familiar
voice of Anton questioned from behind the newly engaged pair. “Settlin’ down here
in Iron Creek?”
“Yep, you heard right.”
“Well, let me know if you be needin’
a deputy or somethin’” Anton hinted, “I kinda like this place.
The three enjoyed the rest of their
evening, planning and dreaming of their futures together this side of the
Arroyo Grande.
The End
I hope you have enjoyed this
series.
________________________________
The Starshine Kid: Arroyo Grande
By Royce A Ratterman
© All Rights Reserved
Cover Art & Illustrations by Erlend Evensen
The characters, locales, enterprises, entities, and events
herein are entirely fictional and intended for educational and entertainment
purposes. Content portrayals do not reflect any actual events, locales,
entities, or any individuals living or deceased.
Dedicated to all of those who lost their lives establishing peace,
safety, and harmony in the days of the Old West
No comments:
Post a Comment