Chapter 6

“Yes, sir. I want to thank you for the job.”

“Marshal Halligan spoke well of you and I needed a hand because one got thrown, broke a leg, and called it quits. Did Bunch fill you in on things?”

“No, sir. He just put me to work.”

“Okay. Meals are taken at the main house. I’ve got a Mexican cook who’ll fatten you up in no time. You’re off weekends unless told otherwise. Pay is forty dollars a month.”

“Sounds good.”

He nods. “Okay, then. Back to work.”

* * * *

By workday’s end, I’m beat. Even counting cattle is harder work than taking men to bed. I’m dirty andsweaty, which I like, as it comes from honest work. In the bunkhouse, I throw my hat on my cot, which makes me wonder what Jack is doing right then. It hits me that I know nothing of him beyond sex and his lawman duties. As this settles over me, Bunch grabs my shoulder.

“Meet the men,” he says, pointing to each as he gives a name. “Sisto, Lane, Roe, and Sims. Men, this is Dyer.”

“Howdy,” I say.