Aces are Wild

    "Montgomery Phillip Anderson! That had better be the last time your daddy has to go to town and bail you out of that jail! Do you understand me?"

    Montgomery, or Ace, as he preferred to be called, went cross-eyed a moment staring at his mother's dough covered finger hovering near his nose. He blinked several times, then offered a devilishly charming smile that he knew would have his mother's anger melting instantly. 

    "I'll try to be good, mama." 

    Carol's gaze went upward. Ace was lying and he knew that she knew he was lying. But he also knew that as her youngest and wildest son, his mama had a soft spot for him. "Go sit down and I'll get you some breakfast." 

    Ace laid a quick kiss to her cheek before happily settling down at the big kitchen table. His head was pounding and he still felt a bit dizzy. Damn, he had a lot to drink the night before. 

    Ace closed his eyes and began rubbing at his temples. Whatever relief that action had been giving him faded quickly when his mother snorted and tossed his plate down with a loud thud in front of him. "Maybe you'll remember this pain you're in the next time you're tempted to go into that saloon."

    Shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth, Ace grinned. "I don't reckon it'll make a difference." 

    A sharp smack to the back of his aching head followed his statement. "It had better," Carol scolded, taking a seat across from him. 

    Before Ace could reply, his younger, and only, sister came barreling into the kitchen and plopped herself down in a seat beside him. A loud sigh came from their mother's mouth. "Maggie, how many times must I tell you that it is unladylike to flop?"

    Smoothing out the legs of her trousers, Maggie's shoulders rose. "I don't have time to worry about bein' ladylike, mama. I gotta do my job and Ace's around here since he's always too busy with liquor, whores, and sleeping at the jail." 

    "Don't speak such foul language!"

    "I do my share around here!"

    Ace and Carol snapped in unison. 

    Maggie tipped her head as she looked at Carol. "Sorry mama." Then she fixed her gaze on Ace. "Luke says you're a waste of good air," she informed him, stealing a chunk of his eggs with her dirty fingers. 

    Ace growled and pulled his plate closer, guarding it from the little food snatcher in the family. "Luke wouldn't know how to have a good time if you shoved one up his...." 

    Ace felt his mother's foot connect sharply with his shin. "Don't you even finish that sentence, Montgomery!" 

    Ace offered a sheepish grin and attacked his eggs once again. Once he was finished with his meal, Ace offered his mama another apology and made his way out into the early morning sunshine. Squinting and pulling down his hat, he cursed the light as that pounding in his head picked up tempo. 

    "So what exactly did you do this time to end up in jail?" Maggie questioned, following on his heels. 

    "I was defending the honor of a lady and ended up bein' forced to knock a few of Billy Henkley's teeth down his lyin' throat." 

    Maggie's harsh laugh followed his excuse. "More like you got drunk off your ass in that saloon and ended up in  fight with Billy over some painted up whore." 

    "Maggie Anderson!" Ace exclaimed, his voice shaking with laughter. "Daddy would beat you with a horse whip if he heard you talk that way!" 

    "Daddy would never beat me." She flashed a glowing smile across her dirt-streaked face. "I'm his favorite." 

    Ace shrugged, determined to push his sister's buttons as payback over criticizing his work ethic and stealing his eggs. "Even so, you've been spendin' far too much time with cowhands and not near enough with ladies your age. You keep talkin' and actin' the way you do and you'll never find a husband." 

    Just as he knew it would, his statement struck a nerve. Maggie's face turned red and her brown eyes flashed. "Who says I want to get married?"

    "You're nineteen, little sister. You're damn near an old maid. You better get married soon so you can get to poppin' out some babes." 

    Maggie's head damn near blew off her shoulders. "Yeah, well, you're twenty-four years old so why ain't you married and givin' mama and daddy some grandyougins?"

    Ace shivered at the thought. "Because, little sister, I'm far too much man for one woman." 

    "Cut the shit, Ace," Luke, Aces oldest brother stated as he strode their way from the barn. "You're such a damn pain in the ass there's no woman alive who would put up with you for longer than a night and for less than several coins." 

    Ace feigned offense and laid his hand over his chest. "Such support my family gives me." Then he grinned. "Just cuz you're a settled down man stuck with one woman the rest of his life doesn't mean the rest of us are so brain addled." 

    In truth, Ace was very fond of his sister-in-law Patricia. She was sweet, cultured, and the perfect lady in every way—definitely not Ace's type. Of course, she had to be completely daft to saddle herself with the likes of Luke. 

    Luke was all business, all the time. All he ever thought about was the ranch and what he could do to help it thrive and grow. Luke never bothered with anything other than work. Ace, on the other hand, figured the ranch ran just fine without him being there every damn hour. He chose to focus most of his energy on raising as much hell as he could before he got too damn old to raise anymore. 

    "I'll leave you gentleman to fight over the skill of your peckers while I go get some real work done," Maggie grumbled. She strode off toward one of the barns with Luke and Ace staring at her back in disbelief. 

    Finally, Luke grunted and motioned toward the hills in the distance. "Well, since you've finally decided to leave your first and second homes at the saloon and the jail and grace your third home with your presence, why don't you help me out a bit." 

    Ace made a grand gesture of putting his arm around his older brother's shoulders. "And just what might you need my help with? Makin' homemade whiskey? Bluffin' through a poker game? Wooin' a pretty lady?"

    Luke simply shrugged off Ace's arm and ground his teeth a bit. "The only woman I woo is the one at home." 

    Ace feigned a yawn. "To each their own." 

    "Are you ready to help out or not?" Luke demanded, his patience clearly reaching its end.

    Ace nodded. "What is it you need help with?"

    "Come out to the pasture with me and help check on the herd. There's been some talk in town about cattle going missing."

    Ace stiffened. "Rustlers?" If there was one thing he wouldn't stand for it was someone stealing Anderson cattle. 

    "Don't know. I sure hope not cuz if I catch them, they'll end up shot." Ace simply nodded in agreement. Luke gestured toward the barn. "You coming?"

    "Sure. Let's go." 

    The two brothers went to the nearest barn, saddled up two mares and rode off toward the field the cattle were supposed to be grazing in. The ride was silent. Ace and Luke had never been much for conversing with each other. It wasn't that that they hated one another, they simply had nothing in common. 

    Ace's headache was nearly gone by the time they reached the herd. It was coming back in full force by the time they finished counting them all to ensure none were missing. 

    "Looks like they're all there," Ace grunted, once again rubbing at his temples. 

    "That's good. I didn't tell pa about the possibility of missing cattle. I didn't want to worry him over something that was nothing. Whatever got those cattle, whether it was rustlers, coyotes, or mountain lions, hasn't got any of these." 

    "They must be terrified of us Anderson's," Ace replied as the two turned their horses back toward home.         

    They rode in silence awhile before Luke cleared his throat. "Patricia's sister is coming to visit in a couple of weeks." 

    Ace frowned. Why the hell would his brother tell him that? Why would he think Ace would care that Patricia's sister was coming to visit? He glanced at his brother and saw that his jaw was set unusually tight and his squinted eyes were fixed hard on his surroundings. What the hell was on his mind?

    Luke didn't wait for Ace to reply before continuing. "Mama and Pa are hoping that she'll be right for Gregory. Seems they've got this match all arranged with her parents." 

    Ace thought of his other brother who was born between him and Luke. Gregory was a lot like Luke and their pa. All work and no play. "Poor girl," he mumbled. 

    Luke brought his horse around Ace's forcing him to pull his to a  stop. Ace was about to voice his displeasure but stopped when he saw how stone-faced Luke was glaring at him. "You better leave her alone, Ace. She is meant for Gregory." 

     "Yeah, you already told me that. Now get out of my way." 

     "Dammit, Ace, I'm serious." Luke's voice grew louder. "She's meant to marry Gregory. Not only that but she's Patricia's sister and I know how you are." 

     Ace was pissed but he was also curious. "And how am I?" he asked, his voice low and even. 

     Luke rolled his eyes skyward. "Just don't be trying to get this woman into your bed for a quick romp. She ain't that type of woman." 

     Ace wanted to get mad and argue with his brother but he knew that wouldn't do any good. Luke was just as stubborn as he was fun-blind. Instead he flashed a grin. "What the hell, Luke? What kind of man do you think I am? I avoid those marryin' types of women." He winked. "I'm allergic to that type." 

     Luke studied him a moment before shaking his head and moving his horse out of the way. "I just wanted to make sure you understood." 

     Ace saluted his brother. "Understood, sir." Then he let out a loud yell, urging his horse into a run and leaving Luke shaking his head in a cloud of dust.