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Miss Sweet is the owner of a cozy saloon and a broken heart. Below is her story.Miss Sweet's Saloon Part XVII - The Obtuse Stranger
At the sound of Miss Sweet's sputtering, the cowboy raised his head from the dog at his feet and focused a pair of piercing baby blues right on her... heaving bosom. She felt for sure those eyes would burn right through her once he recognized the past in front of him, but as his gaze finally slid up to her her face the cold indifference shattered her heart in an instant.
He didn't know.
How could he not know, his darling Sweet Pea standing right in front of him?
Sure, she didn't look quite the same as that naive tomboy of her youth. Her chest had finally grown to match her wide shoulders, her hair had gone wild and long, and there were more shadows in her eyes. But that's what grownin' up will do to a person.
But for all her mental justification, she couldn't stop the splintering in her chest as one more sliver of her heart died.
Frost iced over her eyes, 'cause she damn sure weren't crying, as the obtuse cowboy settled into the bar and ordered a drink.
With a sharp nod of her head, she left him to his oblivious musings and returned to her bubbling still. And to think about that choice she made so long ago...
Just then, Jake appeared at the backdoor muttering something about a local head case over at the porch. But her rock of a cowboy stopped short at the ice in her desolate gaze.
Wary of her infamously sharp defensive tongue, he approached silently. She tracked him with quickly melting eyes. By the time he had his arms around her, she was stiff as a board and dripping tears.
Her uncharacteristic display of womanly emotion was so alarming that Cowboy Jake resorted to the only way he knew to guarantee a smile from his pretty miss.
Claiming that silent trembling mouth, he devoured her lips and the salty tears coating them. Forcing her to come back to the good in her life and forget whatever pain had glazed her eyes.
His grip was tight all around, 'cause he knew she would fight initially. She just wasn't the type of woman to appreciate man handling. But she quickly quieted and returned his rough affections as her tears trickled to nothing.
A cough in the door way interrupted them and Jake turned his head to see the man of his nightmares... her first love.
"Excuse me, Sir." The obtuse cowboy in the door way began, "But I don't think the lady appreciates your attentions."
Jake released Miss Sweet and shoved her behind his back, entirely certain she would NOT stay there for long.
His drawled reply was heavy with long unrequited anger. "Well, Cowboy, I do believe those sound like fightin' words..."
Did you miss the beginning of this wandering wild west story?
Part I • Part II • Part III • Part IV • Part V • Part VI.1 • Part VI.2 • Part VII • Part VIII • Part IX • Part X • Part XI • Part XII • Part XIII • Part XIV • Part XV • Part XVI
3 comments:
*The local headcase holds back a smile as shuffles in from the unattended back door. Disarming Jake's suspicion with a wave of the hand, he sidles over to a table by the window, where he pulls up a chair, back to the wall. A passive witness in a dramatic scene, he lights a cigarette and leans back to savor the impending fight. And ogle Miss Sweet's heaving bosom*
Hey, Miss Sweet! When does the fight start? Only I've been sitting here a week and I ain't had a drink yet.
Miss Sweet?
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Thanks so much for delving into my head. It's scary in here sometimes, so it is nice to have company! Don't step on the zephyr...