Tim cleared his throat, “It’s not just the boots, you’ve got on the dark chaps and the vest you always wear when you have an important meeting with the Mayor.”

“I see,” Bette chuckled, “Good work Deputy, it’s nice to know someone pays attention to what goes on around here.”

The Sheriff could see Shane smirking. “Shane why don’t you tell me how our guests are doing.”

Shane tipped her head back and replied, “They’ve sobered up and are ready to be released.”

“Not so fast, tell me who is here again.” The Sheriff knew well who was in the pokey but she wanted to wipe the smirk off of Shane’s lips.

Shane slowly rattled off the names “uh O’Reilly, Blackstone, Smith, Ferguson, Rogers and Keaton.”

“Tim have Rogers, Smith and Ferguson scrub clean all the cells before you release them and Shane I want you to supervise O’Reilly and Keaton while they dig a new hole for the outhouse, fill the old one and move the outhouse. I’m taking Blackstone with me to the saloon there’s a lot of broken furniture in need of repair.” Bette took the keys to the cells and went off to retrieve Blackstone.

“Shane what did those boys do to the Sheriff?” “Keaton went to throw a punch and O’Reilly ducked and he hit the Sheriff square in the jaw, I reckon it hurt to chew this morning. Now if only I knew what I did to get stuck watching those fools, Porter knows I have a sensitive nose, dammit.”

With Blackstone in tow, Bette walked over to the saloon, the scene before her eyes in the filtered daylight had greatly improved from the night before but there was still work to done. Marina was sweeping up broken glass, Kit and Light Foot were mending broken chairs and Kit was at the piano rehearsing the burlesque dancers on the stage. “Wait here,” she instructed Blackstone as she walked over to Kit.

Kit’s surprise came out her tone “Baby Sis, what brings you here in the middle of the day?” Bette leaned down and whispered in her ear and Kit nodded yes twice. Bette walked over to Ivan and informed him that Blackstone who was quite a good carpenter when he was sober would be helping out with the furniture repair until every last table and chair was mended and he was not free to leave the building until Ivan was satisfied. Bette also exchanged greetings with Light Foot who was a trusted member of the Porter inner circle. In addition to working at and living above the saloon, he was a valued member of Bette’s team when it came time to track down those dangerous men who were wanted dead or alive. Bette was on her way towards the swinging doors when she detoured and walked over to Marina. The two women were not exactly friends as they seldom saw eye to eye, but they were in each other’s lives due to their mutual friendships.