Free Hotspur by Rita Mae Brown Page B

Roger slapped at him over the counter.
    â€œWell, do you guys want to know who rolled down the road or not?”
    â€œShoot,” Xavier said.
    â€œAlice Ramy.”
    â€œWhat did she want?” Ralph couldn’t stand it any longer; he grabbed a tin of Skoal menthol chew, pulled the string around it, and with delight placed a pinch between his lip and his gum. He closed his teeth in contentment.
    â€œOh, the usual. Got up in Janie’s face and said we couldn’t hunt there and she’d loose the hounds of hell on us”—Shaker enjoyed his little reference to hounds— “and that Peter’s harrier better stay out of her chicken coop, wait, make that her golden chicken coop.”
    â€œAnd Sister smiled through it all,” Ralph said.
    â€œAnd that’s why Crawford Howard can’t ever be a joint-master. His ego would be in the way. He’d fire back at the old battle-ax or buy up all the land around her and choke her out. Son of a bitch.” Xavier knew a good deal about Crawford’s local business dealings since he insured many of them. He hated Crawford, but business was business.
    â€œTrue.” Roger clasped his hands. “But you guys need a joint-master so Sister can train him to her ways. She can’t live forever.”
    â€œShe might come close,” Shaker said with a laugh. “She was throwing around oak boards today like a thirty-year-old. Tough as nails, the old girl is.”
    â€œDon’t make ’em like that anymore.” Xavier admired Sister. After all, he’d hunted in the field with her when he was a boy. She’d been in her forties then.
    â€œI kind of felt sorry for Alice,” Shaker continued. “Guess Ben Sidell got her knickers in a knot. She felt he accused her of covering up for Guy, and you know, the whole ugly mess is flaring up all over again. Sister was real good about it. Said she’d call on her. I couldn’t take it that far, but I do feel kind of bad for Alice.”
    â€œAlice doesn’t make it any easier, and I should know,” Ralph said, and shook his head. He was Alice’s nephew; his mother was Alice’s sister. “Everything has to be her way. If you take a can of beer out of her refrigerator, she opens the door behind you to make sure you didn’t disturb the other cans lined up inside. You can’t smoke a whole cigarette but what she whisks the ashtray and dumps the ashes. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she’ll run you crazy. And now she’s out of control. At least when Paul was alive he’d make fun of her and snap her out of it.”
    â€œWomen dry up,” Xavier simply stated.
    â€œAnd men get sentimental,” Roger, a sharp observer of folks, said. He reached for a brew. “Anyone? On me?”
    â€œThanks.” Xavier accepted a cold can of Bud while Roger reached for an import, Sol.
    â€œPeople dry up if they aren’t tended to. I’m kind of worried about myself,” Shaker joked.
    â€œI don’t want to hear, ‘There are no women out there.’ ” Xavier punched him. “Clean up, get out, and start looking.”
    â€œDid Ben call on you?” Ralph asked Roger.
    â€œSure.”
    â€œMe too.” Xavier sighed.
    â€œHasn’t gotten to me yet,” Shaker added. “I was hired on as a whipper-in that year. What a year.”
    â€œGive Ben credit. He’s going over the file and questioning every name he finds in there. I talked to him.” Roger liked the aftertaste the crisp Sol beer left in his mouth. He liked Mexican beers. “Guy stopped by here that last night. Bought something. I don’t remember what. Dad was behind the counter. I was helping to unload the Coca-Cola truck.”
    â€œYou had muscles then,” Xavier teased him.
    â€œStill do. They’re protected by this layer of fat.”
    â€œYou’ll never have that problem,” Xavier, also a bit heftier