Gold Glamour's Ghost (Carter Quinn's Quirks and Curios Book 1) by Neil Adam Ray

Author:Neil Adam Ray [Ray, Neil Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2021-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Quinn had tried to lug his usual box of shit down from the camps, but with Ron busy setting up for Mimi’s show, he had only made it ten feet before switching it out for a more streamlined load. All he was aiming for was to make a few quick sales before the performance started.

It was hard to stand out without Ron there to act as signpost and battering ram. Whenever he did find a likely customer, most told him to fuck off before he could even get his coat open to show the charms he had pinned inside.

On his own, he was free to tell whatever egregious lie he liked without worrying about his well-meaning but imperceptive partner offering any helpful corrections. Yet, with so few bites the stories he had made up for each charm on his walk from the camps withered with disuse, floundering in the murky depths of his mind.

At the outer edge of the funnel into town, toward the station, he got blown off by a group of three chittering women who showed no interest in his fertility charms, which had been charms to facilitate muscle building for the scrawny lad he had pestered before them.

He was about to call it quits when he saw Wyatt sauntering over from the depot by the station, free of his pick and swinging his shoulders gratuitously in time with his jouncing stride. The cigar that poked out of the bramble of his beard was long and fresh, just starting to smolder.

“You’re looking chipper today,” Quinn said, shamelessly glum himself. “Saw you and Old Mac out there. I take it things went well.”

“You bet your ass they did! I got five ounces of gold coming my way, just for a little bit of exercise out in the open air. Easiest money I ever made!”

“If Lucas pays out,” Quinn mumbled.

“He’s already paid out pounds of the stuff. Why stop at me?”

Quinn offered no rebuttal. Maybe if he wasn’t by his lonesome, he might have tried to be more persuasive, but he didn’t know how loyal Wyatt was to Lucas. His bulging muscles were all warmed up after a day’s hard labor, and Quinn didn’t want to see how he would put them to use if he felt slighted.

“Didn’t see you out there,” Wyatt said as they walked into town together. “I know you aren’t used to working with your hands so much, but even a runt like yourself could rake it in.”

“Don’t think my frail constitution could stand up to much digging.”

“I suppose not,” Wyatt said after a quick assessment of Quinn’s body. “I take it Ron’s out there now. Jesus, big as he is, I bet he can do ten yards an hour all by himself.”

“Don’t worry,” Quinn said, “he’s leaving plenty of trench for you workhorses.”

An overburdened cart passing the opposite direction down the narrowing thoroughfare hit a rut and rocked onto two wheels. The stacks of long wooden boxes in the bed tipped precipitously, threatening to slide off and crush Quinn.

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