It was sunset in Las Vegas, the time of day when everyone either went home to their husbands and wives, or meandered on down to one of the saloons on the main road, their boots kicking up dust behind them. One particular saloon was the most popular by far, and it wasn't only known for its drinks... it was known for its women.

Right now at the Wild Stallion, things were just getting busy. The bartender had his hands full trying to serve all the gentlemen at the bar, and Ms. Catherine had her hands full trying to get her girls ready fast enough to take in all the business this evening was promising.

"Get down there, get down there!" she fussed over a little blonde, sending her on her way with a playful pat to the ass. "Gretchen, go on!" she scolded a redhead, who rolled her eyes but finished buttoning her blouse and hurried down the stairs.

"Almost ready," another blonde called, pulling on a pair of stockings, then starting on her very complicated boots.

"Sara, can you help her please?" Catherine asked, her eyes turning to Sara, her most frustrating employee. The woman was currently dressed in pants and a men's button-down shirt, which she had been asked repeatedly not to wear during business hours. That was the least of Catherine's problems with her tonight, though. She was drinking whiskey straight from the bottle and puffing on a perfectly rolled cigarette, her black cowboy hat sitting askew atop her head. "Sara?" she repeated when she was ignored in favor of another swig of whiskey.

The blonde knew that there was about to be an argument between her boss and Sara, so she quickly intervened, shuffling over in front of Sara and dragging a chair to sit between her and Ms. Catherine. "C'mon sugar... lace up this one boot for me, would'ya please?"

Sara gave a slow stretch of her arms above her head, nearly spilling her whiskey as she let out a lazy yawn. However, she finally set the bottle down and looked at Sofia. "Sure thing," she said in her charming drawl, popping the tobacco stick into her mouth and getting a look of pure concentration as she worked on one of the blonde's boots.

Catherine sighed and let her off the hook for the moment. She really was going to have to do something about that. She was the boss, after all. For now, though, she busied herself helping a few more girls and getting them downstairs before the clientele got antsy.

Sara finished up Sofia's boot and leaned back in her chair, puffing out a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling before giving the blonde a smirk. "What do I get for that?" she asked, raising one dark eyebrow expectantly.

Sofia gave her a coy smile and tied off the laces, tucking them into the top of the boots and standing up. "Well now what would'ya like?" She saw Sara's eyes on Ms. Catherine, and smacked her in the arm with the back of her hand. "Stop that, sugar... what would'ya like that I can give you?"

Sara's lips drew into a devilish grin, and she shook her head, picking up her whiskey and taking a long swallow, then offering it to Sofia, who took it and mimicked the action. "How 'bout a little kiss, right here?" she suggested, tapping one index finger against her cheek and turning slightly to offer it up.

"Well now I think I can handle that," Sofia laughed, handing back the bottle and placing a sweet little kiss on Sara's cheek, leaving an imprint of her colored lipstick as she turned to head downstairs.

Catherine watched the exchange, and once Sara was the last girl in the room with her, she sighed, walking carefully over to the woman and standing above her, hands on her hips. "If you don't change your clothes and get your ass down there, I--"

Sara was on her feet in an instant, whiskey bottle forgotten, cigarette dropped to the floor and crushed beneath the heel of one boot. "You'll what?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Have you ever had any complaints about my services, Ms. Catherine?"

"Just get your ass moving," Catherine concluded, hitching her thumb over one shoulder and stepping around Sara to rifle through her wardrobe. She knew she wouldn't get the woman into a skirt, but that shirt had to go. She pulled out a very feminine corset, one she'd had made for Sara herself, and held it out toward a very amused brunette. "Put this on."

"I am not wearing that. Like I said, have you ever had any complaints about my services?" Sara repeated, firmly pushing Catherine's hand away.

"I've had complaints about that shirt," Catherine said wryly, continuing to hold out the corset.

"From yourself!" Sara said incredulously, pushing her hand away again. "I'm not wearing that."

Cat was torn between wanting to slap her and wanting to laugh, and the laughter won out. She'd have to come up with some incentive for Sara to wear the corset. She knew the brunette would look amazing in it, but she hadn't even tried the damn thing on. "If you wear this tonight," she started, wracking her brain for a good enough prize, and one that wouldn't leave her broke... She could take less of a cut, but Sara didn't care all that much about money to begin with. She could buy her something nice, but she knew Sara didn't want anything that could be bought. She knew what Sara wanted, and while she somewhat wanted it herself, it just wouldn't work out. However, one little kiss wouldn't hurt. She grinned and started again, "if you wear this tonight, I'll kiss you. I'll come to your room when your last client leaves."

Sara thought she must be hearing things, and her throat suddenly went dry as a bone, nothing to do with the Vegas heat. She didn't want to wear the corset, but shit did she want to get a kiss from Ms. Catherine. She actually couldn't believe it was being offered.

Not wanting to show just how much she'd be willing to do for a kiss from her boss, she forced a smirk onto her face and pretended to consider her options, even putting a finger to her lips in over-obvious thought. "Hmm... and where will I get this kiss?" she asked, lifting up an eyebrow, her fingers reaching out to stroke the silk bodice of the corset. It was so... girly. Not Sara's style at all.

Catherine wasn't fooled for a minute, but she played along, dropping her voice low as she leaned in closer. "On the mouth..."

"Open or closed?"

"Don't push your luck," Catherine purred, forcing the corset into Sara's hands and slowly backing off, throwing her a wink as she turned and finally headed downstairs herself.

"I can't put this damn thing on myself!" Sara called after her, staring at the garment she now held. There were laces and hooks everywhere that she couldn't even begin to sort out. Where was Wendy when you needed her?

Cat stopped halfway down the stairs and laughed. "I'll send Wendy up to help you; you're not getting my hands on you, Sara," she called back.

"Fucker," Sara cursed under her breath, though in all honesty she hadn't even been trying to work that. She still didn't like being denied anything, though, even if it was something she hadn't known she wanted. She growled and dropped the corset on the closest table, then started taking off her shirt while she waited for Wendy.

Wendy came bouncing up the stairs a few minutes later, a john on her arm who apparently wanted to watch her dress Sara before they went to go at it.

Sara didn't like that at all, and she gave him a mighty glare, pointedly turning her back to him so he couldn't see her breasts.

Wendy rolled her eyes and moved behind Sara, unlacing the corset and getting it hooked up properly. "Ever worn one of these before, baby?" she asked, turning up the sex appeal in her voice for the benefit of her john.

"No," Sara said tightly, not thrilled with the lavender silk. At least it had straps, though. Most of the ones Wendy wore were strapless.

"Tell me if it gets too tight," Wendy announced, then started tugging on the laces, far from gently. Sara was being a pain in the ass, as usual. She snickered at the sharp intake of breath and hissed curses, and gave Sara a little bit of a break, not pulling too tight before she tied it off. "Done."

"Great, thanks," Sara mumbled, feeling like an idiot in the girly thing. She was not going to take her hat off, though. Or her leather pants. Nuh uh, they stayed put.

"I want her to join us," the john spoke up.

"No," Sara said quickly. "I'm not available." She didn't like this guy... he was creepier than most of the johns that came through the Stallion.

"You look available," the guy insisted, reaching into his pocket for a wad of cash.

"What's wrong with you?" Wendy whispered. Sara usually had no problem teaming up.

"I don't like him," Sara whispered back.

"Liking your john isn't a criteria for this job," Wendy pouted. "I'll do your chores for a week..."

Sara hated making her bed, and she haaaaated doing her wash. Especially the sheets after a long night. "All right, all right," she muttered. "Deal." She still glared at the guy on their way to Wendy's room, though.

--

Sara sat and watched while Wendy undressed the guy, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Then she watched as he undressed Wendy, which was more interesting, but she'd seen Wendy naked plenty of times before, and while the saucy woman had a great body, she couldn't enjoy it with the asshole in the picture. She was on her guard, big time.

"Come on over here," he said, waving Sara over.

As much as she wanted to say no, she had promised Wendy, and she got up, making her way to sit on the very edge of the bed.

"Get in the bed, honey," the guy urged, and his hands were pawing all over Wendy as he spoke to Sara.

"Don't call me honey," she couldn't help saying as she crawled closer, laying down next to Wendy.

The guy actually laughed, which made Sara's skin crawl. "Go on, touch her," he grinned.

Sara didn't want Wendy to think she was opposed to that action, because she wasn't. It was the instruction she was opposed to. But she kissed her friend's cheek anyway, letting one hand come up to feather her fingers in circles over the toned skin of her belly.

Before she knew it, Sara's wrist had been grabbed and shoved forcefully between Wendy's legs. "I said touch her," the john snarled, clearly not pleased with Sara's lack of obedience.

"Hey, watch it," Sara snapped, her eyes going wide as she jerked her hand away from his. "I was touching her. You didn't say where."

"You little smart-assed whore," the guy hissed, spit flying everywhere. He sat up and tried to force Sara down, and that was it.

Losing her carefully kept control, she took a swing at him, connecting solidly with his jaw and sending him flying backwards to the floor. "Wendy get up, get behind me," she ordered, and Wendy, rather thinking she should have listened to Sara in the first place, scrambled out of bed and moved behind her friend.

The guy got up and grabbed for his pants, pulling out a pistol, but before he had a chance to even aim it at them, Sara had picked up a chair and thrown it, and the john was down for the count. She strode over and snatched the pistol, tucking it into the waistband of her pants before turning back to Wendy. "Get dressed, you're taking the rest of the night off."

"I'm fine, Sara," Wendy said, though she did grab her clothes and get dressed.

By the time Wendy was dressed, the guy was slowly coming to, and Sara pulled the pistol out again, aiming it between his eyes. "Just because we're whores, that doesn't give you the right to force *any*thing," she growled. "Get up, get your damn clothes on, leave Wendy her money and get out, or I swear I have no problem shooting your sorry ass dead."

He had a feeling she was serious, and did as he was told, holding his bloody nose as he limped out the door and down the stairs, continuing right out of the saloon.

Sara tucked the gun away again and picked up Wendy's chair, righting it and setting it back where it came from, in front of her vanity. She went to Wendy and looked her over protectively. "You sure you're okay?" she asked, her brows creased with worry.

"I'm fine, swear," Wendy promised. "Shoulda listened when you said you had the creeps. Thanks for being a tough dyke and saving me," she added with a wink. "And for making him leave the money... I owe ya one."

"Just so you know, I would've touched you just fine, on my own time," Sara wanted to clarify.

"I know, I know," Wendy grinned. "Just not on somebody else's orders. It's fiiiiiiine, Sara."

Before either of them could say anything else, a very pissed off Madam appeared in the doorway. "Sara, did you just assault a client?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"You're damn right I did. He--"

"I don't want to hear it! Do you have any idea how bad for business that was? Two of his friends left with him, without paying. That makes me look very, very bad. Not only are you not getting that kiss, but you have a date with the strap in the morning. Now get to your room and I don't want to see you until then!"

And with that, she turned and left, without allowing any explanations or apologies.

"I'll fix it," Wendy said quietly. It was the least she could do after Sara had basically rescued her from a potentially abusive john.

"Don't bother, she won't listen," Sara said bitterly, fighting the sting of tears as she retreated to her room and closed the door. She wished there were locks sometimes, now being a very big one of those times, but safety dictated no locks. So she pushed her own chair under the door handle to at least warn people off.

She was not looking forward to tomorrow morning, that was for sure. She'd seen some of the other girls punished, but she'd never even come close to having to receive punishment herself. But that wasn't what upset her the most. She was upset with herself for being hurt, hurt that Ms. Catherine didn't even let her explain.

A few tears escaped and she swiped at them angrily, reaching behind herself to untie the corset laces. She couldn't get the damn thing off, so she took her knife from her vanity and slid it through the strings, careful not to cut her back as she sliced through the ties. Finally it was off of her and she threw it against the window, then slammed the blade of her knife into the wall, letting it stick there as she stripped off her pants and climbed into bed, feeling very sorry for herself.

Her hat tumbled off as she laid down, and she hid her head under her pillow, imagining she could feel Ms. Catherine on top of her as she fantasized herself to sleep.

--

Wendy didn't get angry very often, but she was a little angry with their boss. It was uncalled for, the way she'd treated Sara without even asking what had actually happened. So she went downstairs and without waiting for Ms. Catherine to even turn around and see her, she started talking. "It was self-defense. And... Wendy-defense," she said, her face screwing up at her own wording. "He was trying to hold her down, Ms. Catherine, so she hit him. Then he pulled a gun, and he was going to shoot her, or me, or both of us, so she protected us. I think it would be worse for business to let him go around shooting your whores, wouldn't it?"

Catherine froze, drink halfway to her lips, and turned around to face Wendy. She felt like a raving lunatic, now, for having just burst into the room yelling at Sara. How do you recover from something like that? And why the hell had she just assumed the worst from the woman? She was frustrating as all hell, yes, but she had never deliberately done anything to hurt Catherine or her business.

"Please don't punish her," Wendy continued. "She doesn't deserve it. And I don't know what kiss you were talking about, but whatever it was, don't take it away from her for protecting us, please? She did what she had to do, she wasn't trying to make you look bad. Not at all."

Fuck. Just... fuck. Catherine set her drink down, and without saying anything to reassure Wendy, she went up the stairs to Sara's room and knocked.

Sara didn't want to see anyone. "Go away!" she called.

Catherine opened the door, which was difficult with a chair in the way, but after several hard pushes it gave way and she closed it behind her. "I'm here to apologize, and to give you that kiss," she said quietly, deciding to just bite the bullet and swallow her pride.

"I don't want it," Sara lied, facing away from the door and refusing to turn over. Part of her hoped Catherine would just go away, and part hoped her boss would see right through her.

"I'm embarrassed at my own behavior," Catherine continued, walking over to sit on the bed behind Sara. "I must have been looking for a reason not to kiss you... that's the only thing that makes any sense. Otherwise I would have known you'd never do something like that unless you had a good reason."

"You shouldn't have offered if you were going to need to find excuses not to kiss me," Sara said with a frown. "Just go away. I put that chair there for a reason."

"And I shoved it out of the way for a reason. I think I almost broke my arm..."

"Good..."

"How did I know that would make you happy?"

"I'm not happy," Sara said, rolling over to look at her. "I won't be until I get that kiss. Open-mouthed."

"I never said open-mouthed," Catherine beamed, a wave of relief crashing over her that Sara seemed willing to forgive her.

"I think I deserve open-mouthed after your embarrassing behavior," Sara insisted. "Hell I think I deserve a feel-up for that."

"Oh you do, do you?" Catherine teased, snaking her hand under Sara's blanket, her eyes going wide when she felt bare skin under her fingertips.

Sara's breath hitched no matter how hard she tried to play it cool. Catherine was touching her bare stomach, first with her fingertips and then with her whole hand, and she was moving it upwards, and oh fuck, she was gonna-- no, she wasn't.

Catherine pulled her hand away just before reaching Sara's breasts, and with a playful smirk she leaned down and kissed her.

Sara's lips tasted a lot sweeter than Cat would have thought, given the amount of tobacco she smoked and whiskey she drank. She intended to pull away without deepening the kiss, but the little tart had to go and close her eyes and let out the softest whimper she had ever heard... damnit. She slowly opened her mouth and eased her tongue out to dance across Sara's lips, which parted instantly. The inside of her mouth tasted even better, and Ms. Catherine swiped her tongue over Sara's once before slowly pulling back.

Sara's breathing was ragged, her heart pounding in her chest, a flood of liquid heat pooling between her legs from the first second she felt Catherine's lips on hers. She hadn't really expected to feel her boss's tongue slip into her mouth, but it was the most delicious sensation she'd ever experienced. When Catherine pulled away, she couldn't help wrapping her arms around her neck and trying to pull her back down...

Cat almost allowed it, but at the last second she ducked out of Sara's grip and moved to the door, blowing her a kiss. "Good night," she whispered, slipping out the door.

Oh, but now sleep was the furthest thing from Sara's mind.

--

Mornings and afternoons were the times the Stallion's girls had to themselves, unless one of them was in trouble. But none were in trouble today, since Wendy had gotten Sara out of her date with Ms. Catherine's strap.

In celebration of the fact that she would be able to sit after all, Sara decided to go for a little ride. She brushed and saddled her favorite horse, a buckskin gelding called Romeo, aptly named for how many mares he'd impregnated before being gelded. "Hey baby," she cooed, after making sure no one else was around to overhear her. The tone of voice she used with Romeo wasn't one she'd use with a person nearby - she had a reputation to look after. "You ready to go?"

The horse nickered and pushed his nose into her hand, and she chuckled, stroking him a few times before hoisting herself up into the saddle. Just as they were heading out of town, Ms. Catherine stepped out of the saloon, and when she saw them, she walked over, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun with one hand.

"Where're ya off to?" she asked, squinting up at Sara, one eye closed a bit more than the other. Her free hand held a few dirty rags, she'd been off to wash them when she saw Sara.

Sara tried not to notice how golden Catherine's hair glinted in the sunlight, or how blue her eyes were when they twinkled like that. She also tried not to remember how good those soft, glossy pink lips felt on hers the night before. She had a feeling she wouldn't be getting a repeat performance any time soon. "None'a your business," she answered, when what she really wanted to do was invite Ms. Catherine along. A nice, private ride out of town... just the two of them and Romeo...

Catherine frowned, continuing to squint up at her sassy little employee. "Why do you give me such a hard time? And what makes you think it's okay to talk to your boss like that, young lady?" she scolded the frustrating brunette.

Sara grinned. "One, because you always give me such a hard time, and two, because I'm off the clock right now. You're only my boss at night, Ms. Catherine." She tipped her hat in salute and gave Romeo's flanks a light kick, and they were off, leaving an exasperated Madam behind them.

Catherine was tempted to saddle up and go after her, drag her off that horse and tan her hide, but she found herself chuckling instead, and with a skyward look and a shake of her head, she let it go and continued on to the wash basin.

Sofia found her voice when Ms. Catherine approached. "Sugar likes you a whole lot," she said, wringing out one of her tunics and draping it over the clothesline to dry.

Catherine chose to ignore the important part of Sofia's observation and instead focused on a triviality. "Why do you call her sugar? She's far from sweet, Sofia."

Sofia raised an eyebrow, picking up a pair of knickers and submerging them in the soapy water. "She's one of the sweetest things in the west when you aren't looking, Ms. Catherine," she informed her boss. "She acts that way around you because she's trying so hard to impress you. She's a doll baby to me and the rest of the girls."

Catherine sighed, giving Sofia a look that let her know she wasn't pleased with the topic of conversation. "She doesn't know what she wants. She's young and she ought to be with someone who can keep up with her."

Now that made Sofia smirk knowingly, and she pinned her boss with an accusatory stare. "We both know you can keep up just fine, Ms. Catherine," she said, deliberately and slowly, her meaning perfectly clear.

Despite herself, Catherine's jaw dropped and she felt a flush crawl up her cheeks as she turned away from that intense blue gaze. "That was once, and you know how drunk we were," she scolded little miss Sofia. "Not to mention it was a long time ago, and neither one of us thought we were in love. I don't suggest you bring it up again, if you know what's good for you," she warned.

Sofia knew that because of their strong bond, and the amount of time they'd known each other, she had a certain leeway with the boss that the other girls didn't have, but she knew when not to push it, and she nodded, looking back at her wash as she wrung out her knickers and hung them beside her tunic.

Catherine immediately felt bad, and reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Sofia's ear. "I'm sorry, Sofi," she said quietly. "I'm not saying that because I don't want to remember that night with you... I'm just being overly sensitive about Sara because I don't know what to do about her."

Sofia wanted to ask why Ms. Catherine wouldn't just give her a chance, take a risk, but she'd just been warned off the topic, so she smiled politely and took up her next garment to wash.

"You're mad at me."

Sofia laughed, shaking her head. "No."

--

"Why don't she like me, Romeo?" Sara asked, chewing on a stick as she walked the horse to the edge of the lake and loosened the girth on his saddle, then let him drink.

The gelding turned his head to look at her, as if offering his sympathy and apologizing for not knowing the answer to her question, then dipped his muzzle into the water to drink.

Sara sat by his side in the grass and stared up at the sky, letting out a sigh. "And why can't I just forget about it and go after somebody else, huh? That's what I've always done before. Someone's not interested, ya move on, right? What's my problem, boy?"

Romeo finished having his fill of water, shaking his head with a sneeze and then carefully laying down in the grass, a few feet from Sara. She grinned at him and tossed her chew stick into the lake, then scooted over and leaned back, resting herself against his belly. The fur on his underside was soft, and she loved the way it felt against her cheek. "Naptime then?" she suggested, bringing her hat down to shield her eyes from the sunlight pouring between the trees. "Sounds good to me."

--

"Where's Sara?" Gretchen asked as she glanced around the dressing room and noticed the absence of everyone's favorite brunette.

Catherine's head snapped up, her eyes confirming that Sara was indeed not in the room. "She's not back yet?"

"Back from where?" Gretchen shrugged.

"She went for a ride a couple hours ago," Catherine explained. She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked around at the rest of her girls. "Does anyone know where Sara usually rides to?"

"She rides to the glen," Sofia spoke up. "Shall I go get her for you?"

"Nice try, but you've got work to do. I'll get her." She pointed at Sofia and made sure everyone was listening. "Sofia's in charge while I'm gone. Everybody does what she says, no exceptions." At the chorus of nods and yes Ma'ams she received, the boss was satisfied that they'd all be on their best behavior, and with a sour expression she headed down the stairs and out to the barn.

Since she was in a hurry, she didn't bother with a saddle - she was a skilled enough rider to go without one if she needed to. But she did give Paizy a carrot before they set off. It wasn't the horse's fault that Sara was driving her to absolute distraction and frazzling her nerves at all hours.

It didn't take long to reach the glen, and she watched as Sara heard them fifty yards off and started to wake up at their approach. By the time they were ten feet away, Cat was staring at a raised and cocked pistol. As the realiztion dawned in Sara's sleepy eyes, she put the gun away and Catherine slid down from Paizy's back, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you trying to make my life difficult?" she scolded, not bothering to hide the fact that she was seriously unhappy. "Get your horse on his feet and tighten the cinch before you get your ass in the saddle."

Sara blinked the last vestiges of fog out of her eyes and frowned, giving a light tug on Romeo's reins to get him standing. "I know how to ride, thanks," she snapped, pulling the cinch back into place and locking it down. "What are you doing here? You weren't invited." She put one foot in the stirrup and started to mount up when a hand curled tightly around the back of her collar and yanked her off the horse. Before she knew it she was shoved hard up against a tree and she heard the sound of Ms. Catherine's belt unbuckling and sliding from its loops. Oh no. Her fingers dug reflexively into the bark of the tree and she gasped, realizing her mistake in an instant as the belt connected with the seat of her pants. She was late. Her boss was only here because she'd missed call time. Shit, shit, shit. "Wait, wait!" she pleaded as she felt Ms. Catherine gear up again.

"I'm tired of your attitude, little girl," Catherine informed her, actually rather surprised that Sara wasn't physically fighting her off. She swiped the belt across that deliciously toned backside once again, the crack of leather on leather resounding through the glen and making the horses back up a few paces. "When it's time for the ladies of the Stallion to fall in line, you fall in line with them. No more men's shirts after sundown, no whiskey and cigarettes after sundown either." The belt landed again, and again, and she watched Sara curl protectively into the tree, her fingers white-knuckled against the bark. "The other girls are punished for acting up, and you will no longer be any different. This is a business, and your behavior as one of my girls reflects on how properly I manage you."

Sara wasn't even sure why she was so upset... probably the surprise of the punishment, the actual pain it was causing in her backside, and the fact that she had done something to make Ms. Catherine mad in the first place... but whatever it was, she was stunned into compliance and fighting off tears. She couldn't even wrap her mind around her vocal cords long enough to stammer an apology. Finally it stopped, and she heard her boss put her belt back on and buckle it up. She stood frozen in place, holding tightly to the tree, not daring to do anything more than breathe. The tang of salt in her mouth alerted her to the fact that a few tears had escaped, and she was grateful she wasn't facing Ms. Catherine. She hadn't meant to sleep so long. She hadn't meant to do anything wrong.

"I expect you to get back to the Stallion and work twice as hard tonight," Catherine instructed as she jumped back onto her horse. When Sara didn't move from the tree, she clarified, "now."

The last word spurred Sara into action. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she kept her back to Catherine as she moved to Romeo, checked the cinch again, and swung up into the saddle. The pain in her ass wasn't too bad, it just stung a bit - she'd be fine to ride back to the saloon. That wasn't the problem. The problem was her shaking body and the fact that she was aboslutely miserable right now. How was she supposed to entertain clients when all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep until she could sort out her feelings?

Watching Sara's dejected body language caused a pang of regret to hit Catherine's heart, but damnit she'd done the right thing. Why should Sara get away with things that none of the other girls would? Because you like her more than you want to admit, her mind supplied, in answer to the rhetorical question. It wasn't fair. She'd never felt bad for punishing any of the girls before. Maybe it was because deep down she knew that Sara wasn't trying to cause trouble... she was just a free spirit. Catherine in no way wanted to crush that or drive it out of her, but she did want Sara to behave appropriately during business hours. Most women in her position wouldn't put up with a girl like Sara in their saloons. But there was a soft spot in her for the girl, there was no denying that. And right now, her soft spot was aching. She had never known Sara to hide any part of herself, but as she looked on now, Sara was deliberately facing away from her, and the defeated slump of the brunette's shoulders was foreign and disquieting.

Catherine tried to imagine herself in Sara's position. She had to admit, she'd be embarrassed, and probably not want to look at her boss either. "Hey," she finally said when they emerged from the glen and were headed back to the saloon on the main dirt trail through the woods. "You know you get to start fresh after a punishment, right?" Oh, great. Now she was trying to placate the girl.

Sara, still not looking at Catherine, muttered back, "maybe you can." Did her boss not understand how humiliated she was? How bad she felt for upsetting the one person she most wanted to impress? How much she hated the fact that Catherine saw her as just one of the girls?

"You can, Sara," Catherine insisted, her voice probably softer than it had ever been with Sara. And then it cheered up, a smile flaring as she thought of something that would change Sara's mind. "Why don't you join me for poker night after hours?"

Sara's jaw dropped and she almost turned to face Catherine, stopping herself just in time. She didn't want her boss to see the telltale signs of her earlier tears. "Really?" she managed to ask in a somewhat casual tone. She had never been invited to poker night, not once, not ever. She never thought she would be, either. She had always wanted to go, wanted to spend that extra time with Ms. Catherine, see how she interacted when she wasn't worried about business. Once in awhile, Ms. Catherine joined up with the other Madams in town, and they played poker against all of their bartenders.

Catherine knew she had Sara hooked. Sara had wanted to come to poker night since the minute she found out it existed. "Yes, really."

"So... I get punished, and then I get one of the biggest rewards I can think of?" Sara asked, finally turning to look at Catherine, her brows furrowed in confusion.

They reached the barn and dismounted, and Catherine watched as Sara untacked Romeo and set him out to pasture. When the brunette returned, dusting her hands off on her pants, Cat smiled at her. "Let's just say I have a soft spot when it comes to you. Now go get dressed and get to work..."

Sara had gone from miserable to giddy in the span of three seconds, and she nearly skipped back to the saloon and up the stairs to get ready. She still couldn't believe she was going to poker night. With Ms. Catherine. It made her entire evening seem exciting now instead of unbearable. She'd work extra hard to please her clients tonight.