the explaination

no one spoke at supper that night. it was a good meal of braised steak and roasted green chilies with sour cream and beans. coalie  had finaly filled up and had been eating a little slower and enjoying the taste of the food. sissy had prepared the food, filled the plates and without a word retreated to her room and shut the door. when they had finished eating sam went to the sink and filled it with soapy water and began washing dishes while coalie put food away and wiped off the table. when done the two friends each took a cold beer to the porch and set and watched the sun sliding down the sky.
  as if by magic sissy appeared at their side with a glass of clear potent tequila. a glow on her face showed that she had ha a couple of shots already. sam looked up at her standing there and smilled." ready for a little company?"
    " I must leave here" she whispered
 " why do you think that?" sam asked
   " he blames me for the loss of the pack you have.  he will send more men for me and make a scandal of  our being together." she was almost in tears
  " we will take care of them , and see they leave you alone. you don't need to go anywhere". sam answered.
    coalie looked at both of them and smiled.  " what is this about? I thought that bag was from a smuggler?"
   sissy said  " I better explain to you what it is that man does. he is the jefe in altar. he sends the coyotes north, he trades in the contraband, he takes the money. if you loose a pack he makes you work to pay him back. the pack sam has is worth more than  the others. and he wants to send more north. but until that pack delivered he cant. do you understand?"
  sam and coalie nodded.  they had listened while sissy explained the situation. they both knew now that the pack was festering boil and if it wasn't lanced they might pay a dear price for its possetion.
   " come on coalie lets go get the pack, I want it off this place." sam stood
   " NO " sissy grabbed sams arm. " it wont help unless you give it to him.  and then he may try to silence you. he is a BAD man."
   sam stood there in the dusk not sure what to do. this was a dead end street. but he  couldn't let things continue.  there had to be a answer without endangering the ranch and his friends. 
    " from now on coalie we go heeled everywhere we go and sissy stay close to the house till I figure a solution." he smilled at sissy " and your going no where yet." he reached into his shirt pocket and brought out the bracelet. taking her hand he slide it  on her wrist.
  sissy became moist eyed and stared at the bracelet. standing on tip toe she kissed sam on the cheek then turned and went into the house, letting the screen door shut quietly.
   coalie stared into the deeping darknes  " yeah , just a cook!"


      the next morning sam pulled the back pack down from the rafters. when it hit the ground he picked it up and walked over to a table  in the barn and setting it there motioned coalie over. opening the pack he showed coalie the contents. his eyes flared wide.
" what the hell?" he asked
" I know, I been waiting for eppie.  and I cant figure why a dea agent is so hot about it. but this stuff cant be real. feel it". coalie reached in the bag and brought out a banded bundle of 50 doller bills.  he looked up at sam. a smile on his face.
  " looks real alright, but the paper feels funny huh? " coalie wasn't smilling anymore
   " yeah, but it would probably slip by most places. I figure theres like a half million in there." sam answered.
   " what now?" coalie asked
   " I don't know, we cant let this crap out on the street, we cant give it to rigsby and eppi is laid up.  if we take it to the county sherrif who knows where it goes, back to rigsby maybe because hes fed. its counterfit, maybe treasury department handles it. I just don't know" sam said.
  " one thing for sure we gotta get rid of it. keeping here is like cheese to a rat" coalie had become serious.
    " yeah a whole pack of rats!"  sam said
     later that day sam drove back into the yard and parked the truck under his favorite mesquite tree. coalie was sitting on the porch a cigarette in his lips and a cup of coffee in his lap.  sissy stepped out of the kitchen door and looked at sam with a question on her lips but didn't say it.
  " ok, I made the call. treasury will be here tomorrow. sissy this is for you." he handed her the envelope that the tohono officer had given him. inside was a identification card from the reservation. listing sissy as a tribal member.  
  " I guess ime a indio now " she giggled
    " yep a real wagon burner " sam laughed " but at least your legal now"
   coalie looked away and murmmered " yeah just a indian cook"