The Five Dollar Mail (Book 1: The Green & Book 2: Lynch's Boys)

33: Fishing

Book cover art by Angela Taratuta, graphics by me. Featured chapter artwork is Luis by the incredible Laura Hollingsworth, the writer/illustrator of The Siver Eye webcomic at http://www.thesilvereye.com/.

"Ah, there you, Luis. Fiona said I might find you down here."

The sweet-faced teenager turned from his fishing pole to watch Lily pick her way down the riverbank. He smiled, clearly pleased to see her. He was standing on the water's edge, his boots carelessly tossed aside and his feet bare. Water dripped from the hem of his jeans, and the cork floating at the end of the line on his cane pole bobbed lazily in the current.

"How'sit going today, Miz Lily?" He nodded and greeted her around the smoldering stub of the quirley tucked between his lips.

"It's been an interesting morning," she sighed. And not in a good way. "You like to fish, eh?"

"Yes'm." He returned his gaze to the floating cork. "Been fishin' since...well, I can't remember when. Ain' never had no money, so it was either get good at it or go hungry, you know?" He shrugged and exhaled twin streams of blue smoke through his nostrils. "Now I just do it 'cause I like it. It's quiet and pretty out here."

Lily studied the narrow, almost fragile line of his slender back. He had the lanky, widening shoulders of most boys his age, but he was undersize and small-boned, and would probably never fill out completely. He'd been too malnourished for too long. Fiona said he was half starved when he came to hire on at the station, and the staggering amount of food he routinely wolfed down never seemed to put any extra weight on him.

"Jesse and me used to like to fish," she mused sadly. We're no stranger to hard times, but at least we had each other. The idea of Luis having to scrape by all alone, with no family, bothered her. "Same reason, really. Having any luck?"

"Si." He nodded. "Some."

"Well," she said, getting to it. "I came down here to give you a little warning. Sheriff Holt came out here this morning about the Yarls and the privy accident."

Luis snapped his head around, his attention suddenly all hers. His dark eyes narrowed, brows furrowing.

She met his gaze. "You know he wants to say Mr. Storm had something to do with it."

Luis said nothing, intently watching her face. He jerked his line out of the water, swung the hook towards his outstretched hand, and grasped the line, holding it still. "Miz Lily, you know Storm ain't had nothing to do with that."

"I know that," she said, watching him take a long drag on his smoke. "And you know that."

"Yeah." He blew the smoke behind him, avoiding Lily with it. "But...you know how it is."

"That's right," she said gently. "I do. And probably the Yarls are telling themselves that as well. So I'm out here to tell you to be especially careful." Fiona had called Luis' hiring 'the straw that broke the camel's back' as far as the Yarls were concerned. If the Yarls ever got their hands on the diminutive youth...Lily shivered, putting the image out of her head. She couldn't bear it. "You're out here all alone, with these awful men out looking for trouble."

Fear was creeping into Luis' eyes. He dropped his gaze. "Miz Lily...they ain't gonna lock Storm up...are they?"

Lily sighed. What a mess this has turned into. "I don't know, honey." She watched Luis' hand shake slightly as he drew in another drag on his quirly. "I hope not. I can't imagine Mr. Lynch letting that happen. I mean, the idea is just crazy."

Luis nodded, seemingly unconvinced. He was rattled, and not doing a very good job of hiding it. "I....I got the next run, I don' wanna come back and find out anything bad happened while I was gone. I mean, Levi Yarl dies, they might decide to...to..."

Luis looked absolutely miserable. Lily reached out a hand and rubbed his arm comfortingly. He looked up at her, his eyes huge.

"Hang him," Luis whispered.

"Luis, honey." Lily shushed him. "Nobody's getting hanged. Don't talk like that." Lily knew as she said it she was as good as lying to the boy. She certainly hoped it would never get that far, but if she had to be honest with herself, she knew damn well that Sheriff Holt could string up a half breed accused of murder without even a trial and nobody in the town would even pause while eating their Sunday dinner fried chicken over it. Especially since there was "Indian trouble" already going on. Storm was in a desperately vulnerable position right now whether he realized it or not. "We'll get it sorted out...you going to be alright?"

Luis nodded again, removing the stub of his smoke from his mouth and rubbing his lips with the back of his hand.

Lily gave his arm a squeeze, then let go. "Alright then. I'm going on back. You bring your catch on up to the kitchen and I'll help you clean them when you're ready. And you be careful out here."

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