Serendipity's Choice

- Chapter 17 -

The first thing the next morning, Serri made her way to the steamship office. She put on her best smile and explained to the clerk that her devoted husband had a sudden change of plans, so could she refund his ticket for an upgrade to the upper deck, perchance?

Serri was surprised to see the clerk give her a knowing nod. He explained that he was more than happy to oblige her with an upgrade.

As she left the office, she scanned the area for Brett. All clear.

She grabbed Percy's reins and led him toward the line of people waiting to board. With an abundance of nervous energy, she scanned the crowd as the line slowly made its way onboard. When she finally handed her ticket to a crew member, she took one last glance over her shoulder to make sure she was still in the clear. No sign of Brett.

She knew it wasn't over yet. They still had to pull up the gangplank and get underway, but she was feeling good about her chances.

She found a comfortable stall for Percy in the livestock area. As she took off his saddle and bridle, she talked soothingly to him. She had no idea how he'd feel about a noisy, jostling steamship but she knew he trusted her and was smart enough not to panic.

Once she had Percy settled in, she made her way to the upper deck just as the captain blew the whistle and the huge paddle wheel started to turn. As she watched the crew prepare for departure, she scanned the shoreline. Nobody was running toward the ship. No curse words were being screamed. So far so good.

Once they got underway, Serri paced back and forth along the railing, watching the shoreline for a galloping horse with Brett in the saddle. None came. With a sigh of relief, she looked up to the sky and noticed the sun nearing the middle of it. She suddenly realized she was starving. She made her way to the upper deck to visit the dining room and then find her cabin.

As she looked around the crowded dining room, she was happy to see an empty table at the far end of the room. A few minutes after she sat down and marveled at the sweeping view of the river, a group of five men approached.

"Excuse us, ma'am," said a tall man wearing a black coat with narrow lapels. Serri immediately noticed the prominent holster that held a revolver against each of his hips. "This just so happens to be our table. Could you kindly move along, seeing as you're alone and all?"

"She's with me," came a gruff voice from behind the men.

As the group turned to look, a middle-aged, stocky woman with grey hair cascading wildly from under her worn cowboy hat, pushed her way through them.

"Hello, Miss Bertie," said the tall man, as he and the group quickly took their hats off and backed away. "We didn't realize this was your table. We'll find somewhere else to sit."

As she watched the intimidating men walk away with their tails between their legs, Serri couldn't help but wonder who this woman was.

The woman plopped down in the chair across from Serri and the two women stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"That was impressive," said Serri, finally breaking the silence.

"Thanks. Name's Bertie. Maybe you caught that already."

"Yes. Yes, I did. How did you do that? They seemed afraid of you."

"Ha. Yeah, everyone's afraid of me," Bertie laughed.

"Why?"

"First time anyone's asked me that to my face. Word usually travels fast 'round these parts," said Bertie, tipping her head as she contemplated Serri.

Serri could only shrug.

"I was married to Marshall Sanders for twenty odd years. He was a good man. When he was shot and killed by a low-life gang of thugs, I took it upon myself to track each and every one of them down and dispatch them. It took me three years, but I got 'er done. Now, low and behold, people are afraid of me."

Serri's eyes got wider as the story progressed.

"I see," she finally managed to whisper as she studied Bertie's face.

After another bout of silent eye contact, Serri said, "You hungry? I say we eat."

"Ha! I like you, missy."

"My name's Serri but you can call me anything you want," she said with a wink.