Doc was sitting there waiting for Molly to answer him. I pulled out her chair for her to sit down, while she pulled off her coat. She winked at me then took a sip of the coffee I had poured for her. I could see that Doc was getting agitated waiting for Molly to answer.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Doc, did you ask something?” she said with a slight giggle.
“Young lady, you know good and well I asked you something! Now, if I may ask, and if it is any of my business, why did you go see Lester Morris?”
It was then I decided to pipe in, “Molly, as ornery as Doc is, I’d just not tell him. For that I received a scowl.
“I was waiting until I could tell you and Edith at the same time. “I’m giving thirty percent of the diner to Emelda. I’m just going to work the books and do the ordering.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so instead of playing around? What does she think about it?”
Molly glanced over at me. “I haven’t told her yet. I thought that we could all get together after the supper rush and I’d have her sign the papers. Morris said he could be here then, and I want Charlie and Marta here after all she is part owner. I’ve already shared it with her.”
“Yes,” Doc nodded for her to continue. “She didn’t know what to say. She said it was too much, that I didn’t have to do it. I told her if I had to do it, I probably wouldn’t,” then she laughed, handing me her cup to refill.
Doc scratched at his ear, then on the side of his cheek. “Let me get this straight. You’re semi-retiring,” he said, pointing at Molly. He then squinted his eyes to look at me, “And you’re retiring. Have I got this right?”
That brought a loud guffaw from Molly. She started to reply when Doc held up his hand stopping her. “What I want to know is, who will make the pies? And you, you have no right to quit the calling that the good Lord has placed upon you. So what if you’re a little heavier because of the lead you’re carrying in you,” he snickered, “they might even start to bounce off.”
“What’s that I hear about retiring?”
Rev. Chapman had walked up on us and none of us saw him approach. “Sit yourself down, let these two tell you some of the foolishness that they’ve been thinking up,” quipped Doc.
Molly proceeded to tell him the plans for the diner. He nodded his head several times and once in a while smiled. “That sounds wonderful, Molly, but I do have to ask, who will make the chocolate pies that I so favor?”
That brought another laugh, but then the preacher grew solemn and stared at me. “However, Miles, I trust that you have done some serious praying about your decision. I believe the calling of an officer-of-the-law is almost as important as that of a minister. You have better be sure you’ve heard from the Lord before doing so,” he admonished, almost making me feel guilty.
I explained the situation to Parson Chapman. He nodded, listening quietly and seriously. “I can understand some of that reasoning, but hasn’t the Lord always pulled you through?”
“There’s one more thing I think you should consider,” he began when three men walked through the door. I was no longer listening to the preacher, but my instincts honed in on those three. Two stood close to the door, while the third walked toward the table where we were sitting. I loosened the thong from the hammer of my pistol and pulled it from the holster keeping it under the table. Something wasn’t right…