Resolution

45.

The next time we took Mrs. Redmond out to the ranch, Redmond came out of the house with the children and Mrs. Redmond climbed down from the buggy and went and sat on the porch with them while we sat our horses up the slope a ways.

“You pay any of Wolfson’s whores, Everett?” Frank Rose said.

I nodded.

“They’re all Wolfson’s whores,” I said.

“He says we can use anyone we want, no charge,” Rose said. “And a whore wants to give it to me for nothing, I’ll take it, and so will Cato. But me and Cato, we figure it ain’t Wolfson’s to say, you know? I mean, he don’t quite own ’em. Unless we pay them when they fuck us, they’re getting nothing.”

Rose grinned.

“’Cept a’course the ride of a lifetime. How ’bout you, Virgil? You agree with that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Cole don’t need no whores,” Cato said.

All three of us looked at him. Cato was still looking downhill at the Redmond ranch. Rose looked at Virgil, then suddenly down the hill at Beth Redmond. Then back at Virgil.

“Mrs. Redmond,” he said.

Virgil said nothing. Neither did Cato.

Rose looked at me. I shrugged.

We all looked down the hill, and no one spoke for a time.

Then Rose said, “Any one of us can deal with Redmond. Ain’t this a waste of manpower or something?”

“Maybe he don’t know that,” Virgil said.

“You mean if only one of us comes with her,” Rose said, “he might be tempted to give it a try?”

“Maybe.”

“And you don’t want him to get hurt.”

“Nope.”

“’Cause of the wife.”

“Maybe.”

“Ain’t got much use for a man beats on women,” Rose said. “You, Cato?”

“No,” Cato said.

“Not much of a man,” Rose said.

“No,” Cato said.

“He’s the only one fighting Wolfson,” I said.

“And he ain’t winning,” Rose said.

“True,” I said.

“You’d think Wolfson would be happy,” Rose said.

“But he’s not.”

“Hell, no,” Rose said. “He talked to me and Cato about you and Virgil. He don’t seem happy with Virgil.”

“Talked to you ’bout backing him,” Virgil said. “If he fired us.”

“Said he couldn’t trust you to do what he told you,” Rose said.

Virgil smiled.

“Tole him he could trust you to do what you said you would,” Rose said.

“That’s true,” Virgil said. “You tell him you’d back him?”

“No,” Rose said. “Tole him we wouldn’t.”