Longarm and the Colorado gundown

_{By the time he was done with that the desk clerk had a key in front of him. “It’s the best I have available. Sir. Honestly.”}

_{“Thank you.”}

_{“My second best room in the whole house.”}

_{“Thank you.”}

_{“On the top floor, it is. Number...um.. . oh, God, I can’t remember. Sweet Jesus, don’t shoot me, mister. It’s ... it’s ...”}

_{“Calm down, man. It’s written right here on the tag. And nobody’s going to shoot you. Now calm yourself down.” “Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir, thank you." The man looked actually relieved to hear that Longarm wasn’t planning to cut him down right then and there.}

_{Sometime, Longarm mused, he was gonna have to remember to get a look at himself in a mirror when}

_{that sort of mood came on him. Except the only way he could think to do that would be if he was playacting, and so it probably wouldn’t be the same. Sure made him wonder sometimes, though, what he looked like when he got really pissed off and folks started acting like this fella afterward.}

_{Longarm accepted the key and bent to pick up his things.}

_{“I... almost forgot, sir. There was a message. Although I did tell the lady I wouldn’t be seeing you. Which I didn’t know at the time ... you understand?”}

_{“What’s the message?”}

_{‘The, um, guest, the lady, in my best suite? Number thirty-one, sir, two doors away from you. She, uh, asked that you be informed of her arrival, sir. And invited to, um, call upon her. At your convenience. Sir.”}

_{Longarm frowned. He’d just left Aggie at her friend’s place, so it wasn’t her. The only other woman he could think of meeting in this town was Parson’s boss, Sally. And she sure as hell wouldn’t be setting up shop in a legitimate hotel like this one. “Does this lady have a name, mister?”}

_{The clerk looked like he was ready to faint. “Why, it is Miss Skelde, sir. She said you would be expecting her?”}

_{Longarm frowned again. Skelde? Who the hell was this woman named Skelde? It took him several moments before he made the connection. Leah. That white-hot filly whose company he’d enjoyed down in Glory. Skelde was her last name. Sure it was. He’d forgotten all about her. And about the fact that she’d mentioned something about maybe coming to Snowshoe eventually. Apparently “eventually” happened sooner rather than later around there.}

_{“Number thirty-one, you say?”}

_{“Yes, sir. And you are to call on her at your convenience, sir. She emphasized that point. At your convenience.”}