The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 6: The Rest of That Year

Chapter 6 - The Rest of That Year

In September, the Morro Saloon reopened as the McAllister Saloon, thanks to the new proprietor, Rufus McAllister, formerly the bartender, who took out a business loan offered by Mr. Wu.

During the autumn months, Cole and Zane traveled to the saloon each Saturday night. Jay and Kai accompanied them about once a month, to say howdy to their friends from other ranches and catch up on news, but mainly they stayed home with their new brides.

Cole resumed his weekly poker games with his friends from other ranches around the county, just like he had done before the saloon name change. He resumed bantering with Brooke and the other saloon girls, also like he had done before the saloon name change.

But now that Brooke was his girl, Saturday nights took on a new specialness. He now noticed a certain twinkle in the hazel eyes of the willowy brunette when she looked at him, and a certain softness in the touch of her hand on his shoulder when she came around to serve a drink, and it awed him to know that he was the beneficiary of her affection.

Cole's fellow poker players, knowing that Brooke was now his sweetheart, joked that Ninjago Town saloon girls weren't safe around those Garmadon Ranch boys, now that the affections of Nya, Sam, and Brooke had all been captivated by the suavity of the cowboys who worked for said ranch. The other cowboys expressed relief that there was only one remaining Garmadon Ranch hand, Zane, with whom they had to compete in order to court Jenny, Star, and the newest saloon girls who Rufus had hired to round out a full staff of six, now that the new Mrs. Walker and the new Mrs. Smith were not returning to employment.

Though Cole enjoyed the notoriety of being Brooke's man, he found that there was one disadvantage. It seemed that at least once every Saturday night, Cole would look over at Brooke and see that her outgoing personality was being misinterpreted by a new and slightly inebriated saloon patron as an invitation to get to know her further, even though Brooke would make it clear to him that she was taken. In those cases, Cole had to interrupt his poker game to set the man straight, occasionally with a fist behind the saloon.

The colorful leaves of the trees in the autumn eventually yielded to the wind of December, and Christmastime rolled around.

The glorious blue Christmas Day sky perfectly accented the bright expanse of fresh white snow on the ground from last night's gentle snowfall, as Cole and Brooke took an afternoon ride around Lake Ninjago on a cutter pulled by Rocky, Cole's smoky black gelding.

After attending the Christmas Day church service, Cole had suggested that they go for a ride on the cutter, then head to the Garmadon Ranch bunkhouse for some hot cocoa and open their Christmas gifts to each other before heading to the ranch's main house for a Christmas supper tonight.

Mr. Wu was hosting his annual holiday supper for his employees and close friends tonight, and Cole had invited Brooke to accompany him as his guest. Since her boss Rufus had closed the McAllister Saloon for the day, she was free to attend.

As the couple rode along, they could see that Lake Ninjago was starting to ice over, but because it was early winter, only the portion immediately adjacent to the shoreline was frozen. The geese who stayed around all winter happily continued to swim in the center, honking every so often.

The day was cold, but not too bad while the sun shone from the cloudless sky. Brooke, however, used the low temperature as an excuse to huddle as close as she could to the cowboy with the black kerchief for warmth. Cole did not mind her close proximity at all.

"Looks like no one else thought of going for a ride today," Brooke observed. "I don't see any other cutter tracks."

Smirking, Cole turned to look at her. "Then no one can see me do this," he said as he stole a quick kiss.

"Cole! You're such a slink!" Brooke laughingly protested.

"So you're calling me a sneaky fellow, just 'cause I stole one of these?" he said just before he stole another kiss.

"Cole!" She playfully punched him in his muscular arm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, smiling as he feigned pain. "It's Christmas Day! You're supposed to be nice to me."

"What's the matter? Can't take a slogging?" she teased.

"No, I'm sappy," he said with self-deprecating humor.

Then he steered the conversation in a different direction. "Let's stop at the pier and look out for a while before we head to the ranch," he suggested.

Brooke agreed, so in a few minutes they reached the pier of Lake Ninjago. Cole guided Rocky to a stop, then he exited the cutter and walked around to the other side to help Brooke step out.

They walked to the beginning of the pier, the part where the first few wooden planks still straddled the shore and a person could sit with their legs over the side and their feet could still touch ground before the beach sloped into the water. The lake curved around to the west at this point on the shoreline, so the couple were able to seat themselves on this south-facing spot of the pier and still look out over the water. In silence, they watched the geese alternately swim and fly in the peaceful setting.

Cole put his arm around his girl, partly to keep her warm, partly to warm himself. She nestled in his shoulder. The vapor of their breaths punctuated the clear air as they soaked in the rays of the winter sunshine.

After a few minutes, he broke the silence. "Brooke?"

"Yes?" she responded lazily, still lost in her thoughts as she continued to look out over the lake.

"I have something to tell you," he announced somewhat mischievously.

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "And what would that be?"

"Your family is waiting for us at the main house of Garmadon Ranch."

Brooke frowned. "Oh, Cole, this is such a nice Christmas afternoon. Don't spoil it with a joke about that."

"I'm not joking. They arrived yesterday and they'll be here for a week."

"Cole!" she hissed. She was starting to get upset with him for toying with her emotions. It bothered her that she would be spending yet another Christmas away from her family.

At least this year she was able to console herself with the knowledge that they were going to come in a few months for a visit. She just needed to send them a few more dollars from a few more paychecks. And Cole, true to his word, was putting aside funds of his own, keeping her apprised of the accumulating amount. He said he would turn the money over to her in the spring so that she could send it to her mama and daddy, so they in turn could buy the train tickets from Ogacich to Sasnak City, and the stagecoach tickets from Sasnak City to Ninjago Town.

Cole was her hero for being so generous, but she couldn't understand why right now he kept pulling a donkey tail.

"I'm serious about your family being at the ranch, Brooke," he continued to insist. "Cecelia and Felicity are staying with Jay and Nya. Edith and Gilda are staying with Kai and Sam. Little Holly is staying at the main house with your mama and daddy. And at the bunkhouse, Zane and I are hosting Tucker, Stewart, and Reed."

Brooke was speechless as she realized Cole was indeed serious.

Speechless that he had remembered the names of all eight of her brothers and sisters.

Speechless that he had found accommodations for such a large group.

Speechless that he could afford to do such an extremely thoughtful gesture months ahead of schedule.

Cole grinned at the shocked expression on her face.

"Cole!" Brooke exclaimed, tears of joy welling up in her hazel eyes. "Where did you get the money to do all this so soon?"

He chuckled. "Saved a lot. Gave harmonica lessons. Won a lot of poker games - you could say that the Double S Ranch boys paid for three or four of your siblings all by themselves!"

Brooke leaned in to hug him tightly. "Oh, Cole, thank you!" she sobbed into his neck, unable to hold back the tears.

"Oh, Brooke, don't cry," the cowboy urged her, inhaling her wonderful vanilla scent as he held her tight. "There's something else I need to tell you."