She smiled. “Mr. Payne, you don’t have a tab.”
“Well, maybe I should.” He grinned and flipped her a dime. Next, he took a piece of toast from the rack and slathered it with jam. “You looked troubled, Owen. What’s going on?”
“It’s a lot of things. I didn’t sleep well last night. There was a fire at the hotel, and I helped with that all day and into the evening. Then, when I tried to sleep . . . well, there was a lot on my mind.”
“Such as?”
Owen wasn’t eager to discuss his concerns about the fire, so he focused on Gary. “I need to find another place for Gary Ragsdale.”
“I wondered how long you were going to keep covering for him.”
Owen swallowed some coffee along with the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He had never meant to let things go on as long as they had. “He’s a good kid. He wants to learn, but he’s never in his life had to be responsible. It’s hard to turn someone into a man overnight. His father and mother never prepared him for life. Not this kind of life, anyhow.”
Payne nodded. “I think you’ve gone above and beyond. There are other things we can try him at. He won’t just be fired.”
“I know. I think he’s worried about that happening, though. I think he feels that since I’m interested in his sister, I’ll go on overlooking his shortcomings. Then there’s the influence of the boomers. Those three he hangs around with haven’t helped him at all. They got him interested in playing poker and blackjack in the backroom games. Apparently he’s good enough that he’s won quite a bit of money.”
“That’s just their way of getting him good and hooked. They’ll convince him he’s some sort of card sharp, and he’ll end up losing all of his wages. And if he does happen to be good at playing, they’ll do what they can to recruit him to take advantage of others. I heard there’s even a bible of sorts that they pass around to those who work for them. It’s a book of tricks you can play in order to win big.”
Owen shook his head. “So much corruption in the world.”
“To be sure.” Payne got to his feet. “I tell you what. I’ll come by and relieve you of the need to fire Gary from your area. One of our parts runners left for California. Gary could take his place, and the work isn’t that hard—just finding the right part and takin’ it to the right person.” He smiled. “I’ll come for him as soon as I can this morning. That way it won’t have to come from you.”
“He’ll still blame me, I’m sure.”
“I can’t do anything about that.” Mr. Payne picked up his filled thermos. “A man’s gonna think what he wants. We’ll know the truth.”
But that was just it. The truth was that Owen didn’t want to work with Gary any longer. He was dangerous and seemed unable to learn. Owen wanted him out of his area before someone got hurt . . . or killed. Gary would know that the minute he looked into Owen’s eyes.
Owen sighed and pushed back from the table. Hopefully he could figure out some way to explain it to the boy.
14
Gary had barely started work when Mr. Payne showed up. He called them all together, then made an announcement. “I’m moving Gary to parts. One of our best men has headed off to California, and we need a replacement. I believe Gary would be perfect for the job, and there will be a small increase in pay.”
The news came as a surprise, but Gary tried to show little reaction. He knew things had been difficult with Owen. He wasn’t able to work as fast as the others, and he was still making a lot of mistakes despite having worked in the department for over two months.
“Gary, I’ll show you where you’ll be working and what you’ll be expected to do,” Mr. Payne declared. He looked at Owen. “Sorry to rob you of a man, but for now I think this is best.”
“And you get a pay raise,” Herc said to Gary. “You get all the breaks. You won’t work nearly as hard in parts.”
Gary couldn’t tell if Owen was in on this or not. He had a frown on his face as if this were news to him and he wasn’t sure how to make do without his man, but on the other hand, Gary knew changes had already been suggested.
Gary followed the shop supervisor out of the building, crossing his arms against his chest as he often did when things grew tense.
“I know you’ve been trying your best, Gary,” Mr. Payne said, “and I want you to know that’s the only reason I’m keeping you around. I don’t think you’re lazy, just misplaced.”
Gary looked at the older man. “I really like working for the Santa Fe, but I don’t seem to have any talent for working with my hands.”
“You’ve never had to. Most of these boys have worked with their hands all their lives, either on farms or ranches or construction. You can’t be blamed for not having been brought up that way, but you have to understand that we don’t have all the time in the world for you to learn. The train boilers are too critical to have someone there who doesn’t know what he’s doing. Two and a half months is long enough to learn the job. We like you well enough to move you to another department, so don’t get angry because you’re not with Owen and the others.”
“I’m not angry. Just, well . . .” Gary shook his head. “I guess I just wonder if I’ll ever be good at anything.”
Payne stopped and looked him in the eye. “You’re the only one who has any say over that, son. If you want to be like those boomers, never having any purpose but to get what you want and move on, then that’s all you’ll ever be. I suggest you figure out what you really want in life. Maybe working for the Santa Fe isn’t where you belong.”
“That’s the trouble. I don’t seem to belong anywhere.”
Owen looked for Gary after the whistle blew at the end of the day, but the boy was nowhere to be found. Owen hoped the change to parts had been a good one for him. The mood of the boomers had been far more negative after Gary left, but Owen couldn’t help that. The other men who worked for Owen were glad for the change, even though they liked Gary. They were tired of having to redo the boy’s work and told Owen they hoped Gary fit in with the parts department. Owen hoped that as well. Above all, he hoped that Gary knew Owen didn’t wish him any harm or ill will, and that was partially why he planned to go to the hotel after getting cleaned up. He wanted very much to see how Gary’s day had gone and to let him know that he was still there for him if he needed anything.
He also wanted to see Susanna and learn how she was doing in the aftermath of the fire. He knew she’d been very upset, even suspicious. She’d mentioned at one point that she wasn’t convinced it had been an accident. Neither was he.
Owen made his way to the Grand Hotel about half an hour after the evening train arrived in San Marcial. He hoped that was enough time for any passengers who wanted to check in to the Grand to do so, and that Susanna would now be free for the evening.
She looked up from the check-in desk the minute he walked through the door. For a moment she did nothing but watch him, but finally she straightened from where she had been making notes in the registry book and smiled. “Good evening, Owen. To what do I owe this visit?”