“
Cass snorted with laughter.
“She’s a real beast with a bellyful of bedsprings. Wouldn’t wanna be the one to break her in,” he said in his thick Irish brogue. “Reminds me of that hot-blooded redhead in Omaha.” He nudged Sully with a salacious wink. “What was her name again?”
Sully chuckled. “Molly.”
“Oh yeah, Molly.” A broad grin of reminiscence showed on Cass’s face. “Was a real beauty, that one, wasn’t she? We should name this filly after her.”
“We should,” Sully agreed, scratching the adolescent red fuzz on his chin.
“Was she your horse, Cass?” Willie asked, giving the young Irishman a curious stare.
“Hmm?” Not paying the boy much attention, Cass took a long drag on his cigarette. His slanted green eyes followed the mare’s nervous movements attentively.
“Well, Molly?” Willie blinked with impatience. “Was she?”
Cass gave him a baffled look, as if he didn’t understand the question. Then, a wide grin blazed across his angular face while smoke came drifting out of his mouth.
“Yeah, she was,” he nodded, smirking, and exchanged a brief, meaningful look with Sully. “Had fire and was classy, too, like this one.”
Sully hooted with laughter, and Cass joined in.
“What happened to her?” Something was funny, but Willie didn’t grasp what it was.
Cass took another puff, then smirked again. “Well, I kinda had to get rid of her, kid. A filly like that can take ya to an early grave, y’know. She wears ya out so utterly you’re barely able to walk afterwards.
”
”