Chapter 39
I guess disposing of George Howard could be considered the climax to my life as Ty Ringo McGuinn. After all, I had righted time by turning aside the Salt War, while still dispatching George and Charles Howard on the road to hell. Yet, if those were my only purposes for being here, why wasn't I dead too? The only thing I could figure out was that Ty Ringo was alive when he shouldn't be because Chet Benton was dead when he wasn't supposed to be. Cosmic tit-for-tat, I reckoned.
Nope, my story wasn't quite completed because I had to set in motion the chain of events that resulted in Tyler Lopez McGuinn being born in the future. Not only born, but born into a McGuinn family with some serious money. I realized that I had straightened out the kink in time at the peril of possibly eliminating myself in the future because, as Ty Ringo, I was a variable that wasn't here before and I was seriously involved with my direct ancestors.
My personal life before the matter of the Howards was resolved was better than anything I could have wished for; after the Howards were dealt with, it was better than I could have dreamed.
When the Howards were alive and the Salt Wars were looming, the compulsion to fix the situation was always with me, regardless of what I was doing. Once George and Charles Howard met their fate, it was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. It took a few days after the showdown with Georgie Boy for that to register with me, because I was discombobulated from the lightning bolt.
Like I said before, the absence of the grinding sense of responsibility hit me at Juanita's wedding. Belle said it was as if someone turned a switch and I was a new man. Without the distraction of healing the rift in time, I was able to focus more on what I wanted for the future, not just my Ty Ringo McGuinn future, but my Ty Lopez McGuinn future as well.
After the great time we had at Juanita's wedding the week before, the ladies in my life thought it would be a good thing to have another party at the piano bar on the following Sunday. So after a nice dinner at Hector's hacienda we adjourned to Belle's place. This time I was included in the festivities from the get-go. Mina, Belle, Feleena, Connie and I put the bar to use that evening. Molly and Naomi had to get back to the boarding house to fix supper. The two women were best friends now, and Naomi had moved herself and her business into Molly's.
Naomi and Molly's friendship was good for both of them. They were good company for each other, and they made great business partners. It was Naomi who suggested that Molly's rooming house would be the perfect place for the women working at the Gentlemen's Club to live. Molly agreed and suddenly, for the first time ever, she had all of her rooms rented. Molly raved about what great tenants the women were, and how nice it was to have them around. Best of all, Molly and Naomi helped each other with their respective businesses. They were already talking about hiring another woman to help them out.
I also think that the pair had a personal relationship going on too. I mean think about it, here was Molly who loved to receive oral sex and there was Naomi who loved to give it. You didn't have to be Dick Tracy to figure that one out. I was happy for them and so was Belle.
We had a nice time up in the piano bar. I couldn't share any of the champagne because of my still iffy equilibrium, but it was fun being with the ladies anyway. Since none of the women were big drinkers, it didn't take a lot of bubbly to make them giggly and loveable. I sat with them, laughing and joking for about thirty minutes, as they polished off the first bottle and started a second.
It took me all of five minutes to figure out that the other three were angling to get me and Mina together that day, and to tell the truth, the new me was all for it. Mina wasn't a beautiful woman in the traditional sense. Her features were strong, with her firm jaw and long straight nose. In addition, she was taller than most men and very slender. Yet, she was one of the most intelligent women I'd ever met, she had character and she was honest and straight forward. Those things probably scared the crap out of most Victorian men, but they made her as attractive to me as Feleena was.
Belle poured everyone another glass of the sparkling wine and then stood up. She nudged me with her hip as she walked by me, headed towards the piano.
"Who wants to dance?" she asked.
Belle sat down at the piano and started playing a slow waltz. I asked Mina to dance, she accepted and we started swaying to the music. This evening Mina didn't hesitate putting her arms around my neck and snuggling up close. Mina was long legged, so her crotch was even with mine. When she pressed against me, the old Johnson sprang to attention like a soldier at reveille. Mina pulled back from me, but her look was inquisitive instead of offended.
"I did that to you?" she asked incredulously.
I nodded.
"You're the only one who could have," I stated, belaboring the obvious.
She wouldn't leave it alone.
"How can that be? I'm homely and gangly and all these other women are beautiful. I could see you being that way if we were castaways on a deserted island, but here you have much better and very willing choices."
I laughed, slid my hand down on her butt and pulled her tighter against my erection.
"You are much more attractive than you paint yourself Mina, and I'm crazy about you, just the way you are."
She sighed and laid her head back on my shoulder.
"It scares me the feeling I get around you. Right now you could take me right here on the floor and I wouldn't resist a second," she whispered in my ear.
I laughed again and kissed her fine brown hair.
"I think I'd prefer our first time to be in a bed, but we need to make that happen soon."
She gave me a sucking kiss on my neck that sent shivers up my spine.
"Very soon," she murmured in agreement.
After dancing with Mina, I took a turn with Connie. Connie drinking tickled the hell out of me, because she was a little minx when she had a few.
She pulled my head down for a kiss, then whispered in my ear.
"I'm going to seduce Feleena tonight," she said matter-of-factly.
"Really?" I whispered back.
"Positively," she said with confidence, "and you are going to seduce Mina. Belle agrees that's the way it should be, because for some reason, she and Feleena have decided they are sisters, but not lovers."
That was all news to me, but it made a strange kind of sense I guess.
"Good luck with that," I whispered in her ear as I waltzed her back to the table.
I danced with Feleena next. Feleena was feeling good from the champagne, and teased me about Mina.
"You have la muchacha flaca y alta (the tall and skinny girl) very aroused, My Love. Yet she is worried, because she doesn't think she is pretty or experienced enough to make you happy. I think you will show her different tonight, eh?"
I smiled and nodded, keeping to myself that Mina wasn't the only one who might learn something tonight. When the tune ended, I walked Feleena back to the table. Belle started playing a beautiful piece of dreamy romantic music, and I reached for Mina's hand. She smiled sweetly at me, her eyes bright with excitement as she stood up. I wasn't surprised as Mina molded her body against mine as soon as I took her in my arms. When I kissed her, she eagerly accepted my tongue in her mouth, and pushed her hips against my erection. When she moaned into my mouth, I couldn't take it any longer. I broke the kiss and stepped back.
"Mina and I are going for a walk," I said to the other women.
Belle nodded and kept playing. Connie gave me a wave and Feleena shot me a wink as they slow danced next to us.
I took Mina's hand and led her straight to my apartment. She kept her pace down to the slower gait that I still had to use, but I could tell she'd have run if she could have. Mina surprised me somewhat by not being all that body shy when I undressed her. Her body was actually better than I imagined, she was small in the bust and hips, but she had incredibly long and well shaped legs. Her breasts were the size of small orange halves, but she had very prominent and sensitive nipples. She also had a nice little ass; it was small, but it stuck out enticingly. I hurriedly undressed and joined her on the bed. Mina made my day by exclaiming how big my unit was. It was no such thing, but if she wanted to think it was, I wasn't going to burst her bubble over it.
I spent a lot of time on foreplay, trying to insure that Mina had the best experience possible. I knew she was going to have a good night, when she had a small orgasm from me chewing on her nipples. She had a much bigger climax when I did a little noshing at the fur-burger diner. However, she saved her biggest climaxes for when I put on a condom and drilled her to the mattress. Mina wasn't a screamer like Connie, but she was vocal during sex, so I had plenty of feedback about what she liked. When I draped those long slender legs over my shoulders and went into overdrive, Mina chanted yes, yes, yes until she had a huge climax.
Mina and I were cuddled up on the bed kissing as we waited for Ty Junior to recuperate, when Connie came in the apartment hand in hand with Feleena. Feleena was slightly glassy eyed and flushed, as Connie pushed her into the big bed. I glanced at Mina, worried that she'd bolt out of the room, and was relieved, as her expression was one of curiosity instead of revulsion.
I have to admit that I became an avid observer as well, when Connie captured both of Feleena's wrists in one of her hands and held them to the mattress above Feleena's head. Feleena was panting both from struggling and excitement, I suspect. Feleena was receiving her first clue as to how strong our little Comanche was.
Connie leaned in to kiss her, but Feleena turned her face away. Connie giggled at that, and turned Feleena's face back towards her.
"Playing shy, are we? You weren't turning your head upstairs," Connie said.
Then Connie proceeded to kiss the dickens out of Feleena, and Feleena started kissing her right back. It was fun to watch Connie strip Feleena using only one hand. Not only was Connie strong, but she was as agile as a monkey. In a moment, Feleena was naked and moaning as Connie started fingering her while she latched her lips on a nipple. The action on the other side of the bed had my flagging member headed in the other direction. I had to smile when I saw that the show was exciting Mina, too.
"Gosh, that's so arousing," she murmured.
Not one to let a good thing go to waste, I started mimicking Connie. Anything she did to Feleena, I did to Mina.
Things ramped up another notch when Belle came in, stripped in about two seconds and joined me with Mina.
That evening, Mina became a full fledged and permanent member of our growing family. I wasn't that surprised at Mina's acceptance of everything involved, because Belle had already filled her in on our unique 'family'. Her conversion from missionary to red-hot lover wasn't that big a stretch, when you consider that the missionary deal was a trade off for her father allowing her to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. Her overbearing father had also arranged her marriage to Alphonse Proctor. Alphonse was enthusiastic, conscientious and as dumb as a box of rocks. Mina saw immediately the advantages of our plural relationship.
Anna Lopez gave my plans for the future a big boost the Tuesday after Mina joined our family, when she and I met with Father Estaban at the San Elizario Mission. We were meeting with the good padre to hash out a plan for William Braxton's bond money that went forfeit when Charles Howard rode into San Elizario with the company of Rangers. I'll have to say that it was one hell of a productive meeting, because in one sitting, we created the El Paso County Academy for Boys, and the Sister Inez Hernandez Girls' Academy. Anna laid out her vision for the schools and accepted my insistence that English be the first language of the schools. After another few minutes of batting about ideas, we ended up signing off on a mutually acceptable plan.
The only big surprise was Anna's insistence that I accept two thousand dollars of the money as payment for future legal services and future considerations. I tried hard to nix that idea, but both Anna and Father Estaban insisted on it.
"Your support of the schools will be worth twenty times what we are paying you, Charro," Anna argued. "With you behind the idea, both the Anglo and Mexican communities will support it, too."
Father Estaban agreed with Anna, so I reluctantly accepted the money. The two thousand dollars boosted my savings up to almost thirty-four hundred dollars, and cut by a third the time I reckoned I'd need to save enough for a ranch. What with the club exceeding all our expectations, I thought that having the six thousand dollars I needed was one profitable year away.
I sat down with Belle, Connie, Mina and Feleena after work that night and discussed the ranch idea with them. As we talked, it became disappointingly obvious to me that I had seriously underestimated how much it would cost for the house, land, livestock and equipment we all wanted. Belle said that we'd talk about it some more the next day, when she saw the dejected look on my face.
"Cheer up, Sweetheart, we'll think of something," she said.
Well think of something they did, because at lunch on Wednesday, the Rancho de Las Angeles (Ranch of the Angels or Angels' Ranch) partnership was established. The partners were Belle, Connie, Feleena, Mina, and me. Belle and the women had discussed the idea among themselves before springing it on me. Belle was elected as managing partner and Mina was appointed secretary/treasurer. I was the partnership's legal counsel and its agent for land purchases. By the time the women let me go to sleep that night, we had a signed partnership agreement with an additional line for Anna Lopez signature.
I was at the El Paso branch of the Texas State Bank the next morning at ten. My mission was to find what properties were for sale in the area. Once I had a listing of what was available, the five of us would visit them. I tried to ask Belle about what price range to look for, but she said bring them all and we'd worry about price later. I complied, even though I figured with all of us contributing, we'd still only have five or six grand.
The week after Juanita's wedding was the fourth week that the three businesses we operated out of the former hotel had been in business. All three businesses were running smoothly now, with a minimum of guidance from me. That turned out to be a good thing, because after the Howard affair, my law practice grew by about a thousand percent. I had a hard time believing the number of clients I had walking into my office. Luckily, I had a big chunk of time available in the afternoons now, because Ray Jarvis banned me from the ballroom between the hours of noon and five.
One result of the new clients was that I asked Mina to help me in preparing legal documents. Mina had some free time and she had beautiful cursive handwriting that was almost calligraphy. Mina quickly became fascinated by the law, and started borrowing my law books and asking me questions. Mina had received a very good education at Oberlin College, could speak Latin fluently and was about twice as smart as me. I figured in six months, she'd be explaining the law to me.
Ray was all over his new position as artistic director, and was either rehearsing or auditioning acts all afternoon, every afternoon. Ray promised he'd have a modest show ready for Friday night, but he wanted it to be a surprise to me. I worried some about him springing a show on the public without me reviewing it, but Mina and Belle were keeping an eye on things, so I let it slide.
One thing Ray did that he let me see, was how he had straightened out my chorus line. Ray found an older dancer down at Dos Amigos, who had trained as a ballerina, and hired her to coach my ladies and choreograph their performance. It was not going as fast as I'd have liked, but progress was being made.
At ten Friday night, Ray introduced the El Paso Variety Show. I was sitting at the table with most of my partners, as clueless as they were about what was going to happen. One of the improvements Ray had made was to install curtains for the stage. Ray acted as master of ceremonies by standing in front of the closed curtain and introducing each act.
The first act was a woman who played the cello. She played one solo number, then a duet with Mina. She was good I guess, even if she did play that artsy classical stuff. After the cello lady came a cowboy fiddler that fired the place up with a spectacular version of 'Sally Goodin' (had a piece of pie had a bowl of puddin, gave em both away to see my Sally Goodin). I enjoyed the hell out of that old boy and made a note to see if he could play anything else. Next up was a stout, school marmish older woman who belted out some sort of opera number. I swear she hit a note once that set my teeth to hurting, and she held it for about ten minutes. I'm betting every coyote within fifty miles fell in love that night.
After Bromhilda finished her Aria, the hombres played a couple of songs. At the end of the second song, Belle introduced the next act.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pride that I introduce Mister Raymond Jarveaux and the El Paso Shakespearean Players in a one act play loosely based on the story of Hamlet, with an El Paso setting."
Well, I thought, this is going to be different. Old Ray was pulling out all the highbrow stops to bring us some culture.
The curtains whished open and the stage was set to resemble the interior of a saloon. There were three or four table spread around; three or four of the Gent's Club ladies were sitting at each table, laughing and chatting. Suddenly the women became silent as Ray Jarvis came strutting out onto the stage. Ray was wearing the gaudiest Charro Suit I'd ever seen. Every square inch of the trousers and jacket were covered in rhinestones and rickrack moons, stars, flowers and hearts. Around his waist he wore a gun belt with four holsters, on his head sat a colossal sombrero that was every bit as gaudy as his suit. He was also wearing a huge set of spurs with cowbells clanging on them as he walked. I started having bad vibes about the time I notice the guitar slung across his back.
Sure enough, all the women onstage squealed "TYLER" and two of them pretended to swoon to the floor. The crowded ballroom exploded with laughter as I slumped in my chair, trying to disappear. Jarvis waited for the laughter to die down, then curled his lip in a sneer and swiveled his hips.
"Thank-ah-you, thank you very much," mimicked the little shit.
After another big peel of laughter, he spun the guitar around to his front, whacked out a screechy, discordant note, the Hombres launched into "Ring of Fire," and Ray started singing in a very passable imitation of my voice.
"I fell in to a flaming ring of women,
And before I knew it, in damsels I was swimming."
Then Ray took a frightened look down at his crotch and continued.
"Then my pants caught on Fiiree...
They caught on fire."
Suddenly, four of the saloon girls jumped up and acted as if they were throwing the contents of their glasses onto his crotch as they sang, "His pants caught on fire... yes, they caught on fire."
"All the ladies, they think I am stunning,
When I snap my fingers, they all come a running,
Then my pants catch on Fiiree...
They catch on fire."
I'll spare you the other three or four verses he sang, but I'm here to tell you it was hysterically funny. I was laughing as hard as anyone. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself, how can you laugh at anyone else?
Needless to say, the variety show was a big hit and the talk of the town the next day. Saturday night, we had an almost entirely new crowd, and it was large enough that we had to move chairs and tables in from the dining room to seat everyone.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, I sat down with Mina, the cello player, the fiddler from the night before, the Happy Hombres and Ray Jarvis.
"Find some more musicians and make me an orchestra," I told them. "I want to have a concert in the park in a month or two, so get cracking."
Sunday, I rode Melosa to mass. I felt damned good to be able to sit in the saddle and know which end was up. After mass, we all joined Hector and Ramona for dinner. I was proud of my women as they pitched in and helped with the meal, and was happy as anything when Anna grabbed my hand and walked me down to the river.
We sat under that big cottonwood tree and once again I ended up with my head in Anna's lap as she played with my hair.
"So Charro, you are buying a rancho," she said out of the blue.
I told her I didn't know if we were buying, but we were going to start visiting places the next day. She nodded her head as if I was imparting news to her that she was already privy too.
"Belita and Feleena both told me that if you found such a place, you would like me to live there, too, but I must hear you say that with your own lips before I decide."
I sat straight up at that statement and pulled her into my arms.
"You know how much I love you, Anna, so nothing in the world would make me happier."
Anna smiled and teasingly asked, "But would I be one of your lovers Charro, or just some old woman who cleaned your house?"
I turned her face towards mine and kissed her with all the love and longing I felt for her. When I broke the kiss, I placed her hand on my crotch, my Johnson was so hard it was almost painful.
"Does that answer your question?" I asked.
Anna sighed contentedly, turned on those smoldering eyes and started unbuttoning my trousers.
"It's not fair to show a girl your wand, unless she can have the
magic it contains," she said in that drop-dead sexy Lopez voice.