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Thread: Temptation of Billy Cooper - Short Story

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    Registered User DRayVan's Avatar
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    Temptation of Billy Cooper - Short Story

    Beneath his dirty hair and beard, grubby trousers and shirt, and tattered duster and hat, one would hardly recognize Billy Cooper, the strapping, handsome, hard-working cowboy of twenty-six from Kansas. He desperately needed a bath, a shave, and a new set of clothes, but that wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

    The past few years had turned a backside to the cattle business in western Kansas, in particular, the ranches nearby Sharon Springs. Billy had been out of work for several months and barely scraping by. So he pulled up stakes and headed west to Colorado, hoping for cattle work, and hoping 1899 would be a better year – it had to be, or he was done for. But venturing into the unknown was daunting, and his prospects were as uncertain as the erratic fall weather. Yet, he never wavered.

    A week on the trail had been uneventful and monotonous. Blue skies and a warm November sun greeted Billy each day as he crossed the never-ending, grass-covered plains as far as the eye could see. But his luck was about to change.

    Monstrous grey clouds rolled in with a chilly, northwest breeze and blocked much of the afternoon sun’s warmth. Billy was weary and saddle-sore, in a word, just plain miserable and in no mood for whatever Mother Nature was conjuring up.

    Adding insult to injury, his belly growled for food, but Billy had little left to eat in his saddlebags and still had a long journey ahead of him. He pulled up and stood in the stirrups for a quick look-see, hoping for a landmark to judge his progress. But the countryside was no different than the last two-hundred miles.

    Billy sank into his saddle and rubbed his legs. “Ya need a rest, big fella?” he asked, leaning forward.

    His horse whinnied and nodded.

    Billy found a rain-cut gully with running water and guided his horse down its banks. When they reached the stream, his horse immediately gulped mouthfuls of the cold liquid before Billy even had a chance to dismount.

    “If’n ya was thirsty, why didn’t ya say so,” said Billy, laughing while he dismounted. He knelt and drank alongside his horse. After drinking his fill, Billy stretched his arms and back and rubbed his saddle-sore *** and legs.

    His horse wandered over to a clump of grass and began nibbling.

    “I envy ya, big fella. Ya got food everywhere ya look.”

    His horse paid him no mind and kept on eating.

    Billy rummaged through his saddlebags for something to eat. He found the last package of food he’d stashed – two hardtack biscuits and a shank of beef jerky tightly wrapped in newsprint. He hung the jerky in the corner of his mouth like a five-cent cigar and sucked on its savory juices. Billy put one biscuit aside, took the other one, and sat on a clump of grass to eat and to read the front page of the Sharon Springs Gazette.

    “Hey, big fella.” His horse looked up. “Says here, Mr. Ernest T. James of Colorado Springs owns the Bucking-R Ranch, the biggest spread west of the Mississip’.”

    His horse snorted and went back to eating.

    Billy read further. “A thousand on the hoof! Don’t ya reckon they’s need extra hands?”

    His horse was drinking and didn’t bother to look toward the sound of Billy’s voice.

    Billy flipped the paper over, and a sketch caught his eye. “Don’t this beat all. ‘Latest in women’s fashions’ ‘tis what it says. A cammy soul. Fer a woman’s upperparts. Dang... Didn’t know’d they’d expose a woman’s underthings wheres everyone’d see ‘em. What’s this world comin’ ta?”

    His horse ignored him and went back to eating.

    When he’d finished eating and reading all of the Gazette that interested him, he rewrapped his last biscuit and tucked it in his saddlebag. “Time ta move on, big fella,” said Billy as he mounted up.

    His horse nodded, and they continued their trek westward.

    They hadn’t traveled two hours before the wind changed directions and came from straight out of the north, bringing more and darker clouds, this time, they completely obscured the sun. Billy gripped his duster tighter around his neck. Before long, an Arctic blast from the gathering, November storm blew with a vengeance. It quickly dropped the temperature below freezing and whipped a snow squall into gigantic swirls around the weary travelers.

    Billy leaned forward. “Gotta find shelter, big fella before our balls freeze off.”

    He found the closest ravine with water and guided his horse down. He unsaddled, and his horse wandered to a nearby clump of grass for its evening meal. Billy checked his saddlebags for food, and as expected, he found only one biscuit of hardtack left. He was hungry, but he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, so he reluctantly put it back.

    Billy wrapped his blanket around himself and huddled against the embankment and his saddle, trying to get comfortable. Eventually, he fell asleep.

    ###

    After a cold, miserable, and restless night, the near-cloudless sky and calm winds were a welcomed change. The sun’s warmth had driven the temperatures above freezing, and it was melting the dusting of snow that accumulated during the night.

    Billy stood, stretched the kinks out of his back, and yawned.

    His horse was already having breakfast at a nearby patch of grass. “Ain’t ya got nothin’ better ta do than eat?” asked Billy with a chuckle as he rolled up his blanket. He saddled his horse and patted its neck. “Maybe today’s the day.”

    His horse whinnied and nodded.

    “Excited as I is, ain’t ya?” asked Billy, taking the reins and mounting up.

    His horse snorted and trotted before Billy urged him.

    They rode up and out of the ravine toward Cheyenne Mountain, looming large in the distance. Billy was still several hours from Colorado Springs when he passed several small grazing-herds of cattle. The Bucking-R brand meant he must be on the ranch.

    Billy stopped and to get his bearings. “We’s almost there, big fella.” He sighted on the highest peak and headed for it. Then for the first time, doubt reared its ugly head. “Don’t know’d what we’s gonna do if’n they’s doesn’t need another cowhand. We’s at the end of our rope, partner.” He patted his horse’s neck. “Don’t wanna part with ya, but might havta if there ain’t no work.”

    His horse shook his head as if it understood.

    The sun was at its peak when Billy rode into a ravine and stopped for a drink and the last nibble of food he had. While his horse ate grass nearby and washed it down, Billy crawled up and stood on the ravine’s edge for a look-see.

    He glanced back at his horse, chomping on grass. “Might havta give that there grass a try soon,” Billy said with a chuckle.

    While looking around, he caught sight of three men chasing a rider -- a young woman, he reckoned by her silhouette and long flowing hair. She was ahead of her pursuers but was zigging and zagging the terrain and losing ground.

    “Ya think she needs help, big fella?”

    His horse turned toward Billy’s voice but then went back to eating.

    Billy figured it wouldn’t be long before they overtook her, and woman or not, he didn’t like the odds of three against one, mainly if the one was a woman. He got his rifle, peeked over the ridge, and watched for a while longer. At present, they were beyond his accuracy range.

    The woman turned and rode closer to Billy’s location. The men followed, hot on her heels, gaining with each passing minute.

    “Yeah. Reckon she do.” Once in range, Billy aimed above the men’s heads and fired.

    When the sound of the muzzle blast reached them, the men pulled up. Without giving them a chance to reconnoiter, Billy fired again. Dirt flew when the slug hit in front of their horses. The men grabbed their rifles and dropped flat to the ground.

    Meanwhile, the rider, dark-haired, shapely woman, made a beeline for Billy at full gallop. When her horse reached the ravine, it leaped, hit the ground, stumbled, and threw the woman into the water.

    “You’re a godsend, mister,” the soaking-wet, twenty-year-old woman said, staggering out of the water. “Much obliged. In no time, they’d got me for sure.”

    Billy gave her a quick look. “Yer welcome, ma’am... err... miss... Uh... Ya’ll have to excuse me whiles I deal with them.” Billy peeked over the ridge again.

    The men were spreading out.

    One man was moving left, one was moving right, while the third stayed put. Billy took aim on the man to his left and waited until he got a clear bead... And fired. He cocked his rifle, aimed, and fired again.

    ###

    The men grabbed their rifles and dropped to the ground when they heard the rifle blasts and saw a bullet strike the dirt in front of them. They raised up on their elbows and watched the woman flee toward a ravine and disappear over its edge.

    Virgil Winslow, a short, twenty-nine-year-old man with dark, oily hair and a scruffy beard, crawled to the left, hugging the ground as closely as he could. He pointed his rifle toward the location where the woman had dropped below ground level. But so far, there was no activity.

    His brother, Theo Winslow, a lanky, thirty-one-year-old man with blonde hair and a bushy mustache, scrambled to the right and tried to discover who shot at them. Although there wasn’t any movement, he kept his weapon trained to the general location where the woman disappeared.

    The leader, Jake Meadows, a tall, broad-shouldered forty-five-year-old man with graying temples, stayed where he dropped to the ground. Once the brothers were in position, he checked with them. “See anything, Virgil?”

    “Nuthin’ yet.”

    “See a shooter, Theo?”

    “Ain’t seen so much as a jackrabbit.”

    “Keep watchin’. He’s got the woman, so he’s there. Somewheres.”

    “Might be more than one over yonder,” said Theo.

    “Doubt it,” said Jake. “Only one shot at a time. More woulda fired together.”

    “Yer smart...”

    Before Theo finished, a muzzle flash and blast came from the ravine, and a bullet hit the ground near Virgil. He recoiled backward.

    “Hey! Ya see that flash?” yelled Virgil, pointing toward Billy’s location. He aimed and returned fire. “That’s where he be!”

    Theo and Jake shot at the flash, as well.

    A second bulled followed a flash and blast, grazing Virgil’s leg, catching him by surprise. “Theo! Jake, I’m hit!” He rolled over, grabbed his leg, and shimmied for more cover.

    “How bad it be, Virgil?” Theo yelled back.

    “Flesh wound. I’ll be all right.” Virgil took his kerchief and tied it around his leg. He returned fire again, but his bullet fell short.

    Another flash and blast came from the ravine’s edge.

    “Eeeeowooo,” bellowed Theo.

    “How bad he git ya?” yelled Virgil.

    “Winged my shoulder. ‘Twill be all right.”

    “We’s ain’t makin’ no headway,” bellowed Virgil.

    “This plan of yers is goin’ ta Hell inna handbasket, Jake,” said Theo.

    “Shut yer trap, Theo. If I want yer opinion, I’ll ask fer it. Besides, I got more brains than the two of ya put together, so stop thinkin’ on yer own. Only leads to trouble. Both of ya come on back whiles I rethink this.”

    Virgil and Theo crawled to Jake.

    “What we gonna do, Jake?” asked Theo.

    “Fer one... I’m gittin’ outta his line of fire.” Jake crawled to a nearby depression. He looked back. “Whatcha’ll waitin’ fer? Git yer sittin’-duck asses down here. Does I havta think fer all three of us?”

    Theo and Virgil scrambled just as more bullets hit the dirt nearby, and the sound of muzzle blasts reached them. They piled on top of Jake.

    “Git off me, ya oafs,” yelled Jake while rolling to one side.

    “Sorry, Jake,” said Theo. “When those slugs hit so close...”

    “Shut up. I’m tryin’ ta think here. As I sees it, we’s got two choices: gives up or keeps on.”

    “How much ransom she worth anyhows?” asked Theo while tending to his leg wound. “That’ll help us decide.”

    “Land of Goshen, Theo. Yer usin’ that head of yers fer somethin’ more than a place ta put yer hat.”

    “Ya ain’t told us how much,” said Virgil.

    “Well... I reckon,” said Jake, rubbing his chin. “I reckon she’s worth $500.”

    “Five hundred dollars!” said Theo. “Tarnation! Split three ways is... Is only $100 apiece. She otta be worth more.”

    “How’d ya figure $100, Theo?” asked Virgil.

    “Well... Three goes in ta five, one time. So $100 each.”

    “All right, but I want more fer my troubles, Jake. Ask fer twice as much,” said Virgil.

    “If’n we’s demand $1,000, then ya’ll git twice $100.”

    “That’s better,” said Virgil.

    “Ya sure ‘bout yer ‘rithmeticin’, Jake?” asked Theo.

    “I’ll do the thinkin’ fer us. Trust me...”

    “Whatever ya say,” said Theo.

    “Shimmy up and see what that hombre’s doin’,” said Jake.

    Theo and Virgil crawled up and peered over the ridge. But they didn’t see any activity.

    “Maybe, they’s rode on,” yelled Theo to Jake.

    “Too soon. Keep watchin’,” yelled Jake.

    ###

    When the three men dropped into a ravine where he couldn’t see them, Billy relaxed.

    “What you see, mister? They still coming?” asked the woman.

    Billy looked intently for any activity. “Can’t see ‘em. Winged two of them, though.” He turned his attention to the young woman crouched nearby, shivering, her lips turning blue.

    “Don’t ya have an overcoat, miss?”

    “N-No, I don’t.” She rubbed her arms across her chest.

    Billy took off his coat and handed it to her. “Here, take mine.”

    With shaky hands, she reached out and took it. “Thank you kindly.”

    “What happened to yers?”

    “Those men had me tied up in a cabin over yonder, but I got free. Had to skedaddle so fast, I left without my hat and my coat.”

    Billy bobbed his head above the ridge for another quick gander. “We can’t stay here.” He turned to the woman. “They’ll recover soon and be on us.”

    She pointed southwest. “Pa has a cabin over yonder, on the side of the mountain in that crop of trees.”

    “If we lead the horses down this wash and keep low, they won’t see us. Once we’s out of range, we can mount up, and ya can lead the way.”

    “Why you doing this?”

    “Reckon it’s the right thing ta do. Three agin’ one ain’t fair odds, especially if the one is a woman. Besides, always wanted ta rescue a damsel in distress.”

    They laughed.

    “Never been called a damsel before, but I thank you just the same.”

    ###

    Theo and Virgil kept watching for any activity.

    “What ya suppose they’s a-doin’ over there?” asked Theo.

    “How should I know? Ain’t got no crystal ball,” said Virgil.

    Far off, two figures on horseback emerged from the gully.

    “Dang it, Virgil, they’s gittin’ away!”

    “Jake,” yelled Virgil. “They’s hightailing it ta the foothills. What we’s gonna do?”

    “Follow them, that’s what! Git yer asses down here and mount up.”

    Virgil and Theo scrambled down the embankment and mounted their horses.

    “Which way?” asked Jake.

    “I seen them headin’ ta the trees over there,” said Theo, pointing southwest.

    “Git a move on!”

    ###

    Billy opened the cabin door for the woman and then followed, dropping his saddlebags and bedroll on the floor.

    The cabin had rough log walls with exposed chinking and rough-sawed plank flooring that was worn in spots. Its ceiling exposed the underside of the timbers. A massive, stone fireplace dominated one end of the room while bunk-beds lined the other end. Two windows faced east. Open cabinets and shelves served as a rudimentary kitchen complete with a small, round table and chairs.

    The woman knelt by the fireplace. “Can we have a fire?”

    “That bunch will see the smoke and come lookin’.”

    “Dang... I’m still chilled to the bone.”

    Billy shook his head. “Sorry, miss,” he said, handing her his blanket. “This’ll help a little.” He hunkered-down at a window, overlooking the trail. “Reckon they’ll be a-comin’ fer us once they tend their wounds.” He turned back to her. “What they chasing ya fer anyhows?”

    The woman ignored Billy’s question. “Will you escort me home?

    Billy nodded. “Reckon so. Where ya live?”

    “Outside Colorado Springs,” she replied, looking at the fireplace.

    Billy chuckled. “Ya run wild there?”

    The woman jerked her head toward Billy. “This ain’t no time for humor, mister. You willing to escort me home, or must I venture on my own?”

    “Didn’t mean ta offend,” said Billy, pressing against the cabin’s wall. “Just tryin’ ta help.”

    “Then help me get home,” the woman said, almost yelling.

    Billy took a quick glance out the window to check the trail and turned to the woman. “Ya gotta help me ta help ya, miss. I ain’t no mind reader.”

    The woman shook her head. “Yer... You’re like all the cowpoke I’ve ever met.”

    “Like what?” asked Billy with a puzzled expression on his face.

    The woman looked at the fireplace again. “Fast with a gun but slow on the draw.”

    Billy leaped to his feet in a flash. He raised his arm as if to backhand her.

    The woman stared at Billy. “Just as I figured: a woman-beater too.”

    Billy dropped his hands to his side and clenched his fists. “I ain’t never laid a hand on a woman yet, but yer pushin’ me ta the brink!”

    “You will someday. Your kind always does.”

    Billy flung his hat across the room. His face turned beet-red. “See here, Miss Hoity-Toity! Does ya want my help or not? Ya kin takes yer chance with them fer all I cares. Makes no difference ta me. I kin ride outta here and never look back. That what ya want?”

    “No, mister. Had to be sure you weren’t after me too.”

    “Sure? After ya? What ya talkin’ ‘bout?” asked Billy, all befuddled.

    “Out of the frypan and into the fire, as they say.”

    Billy calmed down and retrieved his hat. “If’n I looks confused, I is.”

    “Your horse looks and smells better than you do, so I was being cautious. You’re not the storybook picture of a knight in shining armor.”

    Billy scratches his head. “If’n ya don’t mind me sayin’ so, yer playin’ yer cards too close ta yer chest. Ya got me all twisted ‘round the bend. Why for?”

    “I didn’t know you from the next cowpoke or know what your intentions might be.”

    Billy rechecked the trail. “I’s just a God-fearin’ cowboy, miss. That’s all I is, so yer safe with me.”

    The woman pondered for a few moments. “Ransom.”

    Bewildered, Billy said, “Ransom? Speak plainer, miss. My ears and brain are still abuzz. What ya mean, ransom?”

    “Those bastards figured to capture and hold me for ransom, for money. That plain enough for you?”

    “Who ya be that yer worth a ransom?”

    She looked up. “Carrie James.”

    Billy stood. A look of excitement was written on his face. “James? Is yer pa, Ernest James?”

    She nodded. “Yes. One and the same.”

    “Owner of the Bucking-R ranch?”

    She nodded again. “Yep. Why you asking?”

    Billy hunkered-down at the window again. “Was headin’ there lookin’ fer work.”

    “Don’t you worry, mister. My pa’ll have work for you if you get me home safely.”

    “I’d try my best even if ya ‘tweren’t a James, just plain Carrie.”

    Carrie stood, dropping the blanket on the floor. She went to the window and started to take off the coat.

    “Ya dry yet?”

    “Almost,” said Carrie, shaking her head.

    “Keep it for now... Any food in this here cabin?”

    “Sometimes.” Carrie rummaged through cabinets and shelves. “We’re plumb out of luck.”

    “Ain’t got none, neither. Fastin’ never hurt nobody.”

    “Will help me keep my girly figure.” Carrie stood, pressed on her belly, and chuckled nervously.

    “Ya look mighty fine from where I’ma lookin’.”

    “Where you hail from, mister?” asked Carrie, sitting near the fireplace.

    “Sharon Springs, Kansas.”

    “What brings you out our way?”

    “Work. Hard times in Kansas fer cowboys. Hopin’ Colorada’s better.”

    “Cattle...”

    Billy glanced at the trail and crouched lower at the window. “Hold that thought, miss. They’s a-comin’.”

    Carrie scooted to the window. “What we gonna do?”

    “I’ll need my coat.”

    “What you planning?”

    “Pick off one or two of them before they’s organize an assault.”

    Carrie handed the coat to Billy. “Be careful… Uh... I never got your name, mister.”

    Billy put on his coat. “Billy. Billy Cooper.”

    She touched his arm. “Take care, Billy Cooper.”

    He smiled. “I will.” He turned to leave.

    Carrie lifted her hand in a semi-wave. “Do return, Billy Cooper. Please be careful.”

    Using trees and boulders for cover, Billy crept down the trail until he was overlooking the men. From his vantage point, he could get a clear shot at each of them.



    ###

    Jake, Virgil, and Theo were huddled in a small clearing.

    “How we’s gonna rush the cabin?” asked Virgil.

    “Shut yer trap whiles I is a-thinkin’,” said Jake.

    “Without a plan, we’s gonna get real hurt this time. That cowboy knows we’s after that woman, and he’s gonna protect her, whatever it takes,” said Virgil.

    “Damn, Virgil. Ya actually put two thoughts together,” said Jake. “And they’s good ones too.”

    “Why thanks ya, Jake.”

    “All right. Here’s the plan…”

    Jake never finished. A rifle-slug punctured his right eye and exploded out the back of his skull with the sound of muzzle blast reaching them. Theo and Virgil hit the ground and crawled behind a nearby tree. They drew their weapons.

    “Where’d the Hell that come from?” asked Theo.

    “Can’t tell... Those boulders, maybe. Ya see anything?”

    Billy tried to sight on them again but couldn’t get a clear bead. He changed positions.

    “There... By that tree. See ‘im?” yelled Virgil, shooting several rounds at Billy.

    Bullets hit trees and rocks. Billy ducked for cover, took aim, and fired again but missed.

    Theo and Virgil zeroed in on his muzzle flash and returned fire.

    A bullet ricocheted off a nearby boulder and went between Billy’s coat lapels, embedding in his right shoulder.

    Billy recoiled and fell back against a tree.

    “We get ’im?” asked Theo.

    “Maybe.”

    “He stopped shootin’,” said Theo.

    “We’s wait. Ain’t takin’ no chances with that there cowboy,” said Virgil.

    “Now what we gonna do without Jake?”

    “We’s got brains, too,” said Virgil.

    “What ya suggestin’?”

    “We’s can take the woman for ransom,” said Virgil. “Two against one... a wounded one if we’s lucky. The woman’ll be easy pickin’s. We’s can ransom her and split the $1,000 two ways. How much that be apiece?”

    “Lemme see. Two goes into ten five times. It be $500!”

    “I like yer ‘rithmeticin’ better than Jake’s,” said Virgil.

    Meanwhile, Billy was in pain and losing blood. He brought his rifle to his shoulder, but the pain was too much for him to shoot.

    “Glad Jake’s dead,” said Theo.

    “Theo!”

    “Well, I is. Jake were always on me about something anyways. Without ‘im, we’s our own bosses. Why not we’s demand $2,000 ransom?”

    “Then we’s could ta take a trip onna steamboat down the Mississip’ ta New Orleans. And live like kings. Whiskey. Women. All we’s want,” said Virgil.

    “How we’s gonna get her?

    Switching to his left shoulder, Billy sighted on Theo and pulled the trigger. The slug hit the tree a foot above Theo’s head.

    Virgil and Theo crouched and fired at Billy’s location until their weapons were empty. They reloaded.

    “What we’s gonna do now?” asked Theo. “He could hold us off ferever.”

    “Ya circle right, whiles I goes left. On my signal, let ‘im have it from both sides.”

    “Don’t need Jake, does we?” asked Theo.

    “Hurry, befer he figures what we’s doin’.”

    Virgil and Theo moved from tree to boulder to tree until they were in a position opposite Billy’s last location.

    Meanwhile, Billy had moved to higher ground and was still overlooking them.

    Virgil signaled, and they both fired until their weapons were empty. Bullets struck trees, rocks, and ground. While they reloaded, Billy shot again, grazing Theo in his neck.

    Theo fell backward, clutching his throat, and dropping his gun.

    “Theo,” yelled Virgil, rushing in the open toward him.

    “Get down, Virgil,” yelled Theo. “I’s just winged.”

    Billy had already cocked his rifle and aimed it.

    Virgil stood in plain sight, waving his weapon. “Ya bastard! I’ll get ya fer this.”

    Billy squeezed the trigger.

    Virgil spun around when the bullet entered and exploded his heart. He grasped at his chest as if he could stop the bleeding, but he slumped to the ground, dead.

    Theo scurried on the ground, holding his neck with one hand, and searching for his weapon with the other. He found it and fired wildly at Billy.

    Billy changed his location, aimed, and shot at Theo. The bullet hit the dirt near Theo’s hand. Theo rolled behind a nearby tree, still clutching his neck. He located Billy and got off another round. It zipped by Billy’s ear and hit the tree behind him.

    Billy aimed and squeezed the trigger. Missed.

    Theo got off a couple of shots. They ricocheted off a nearby rock.

    Billy propped his rifle on a log and tried to steady his aim.

    A rifle blast echoed through the trees.

    Theo’s gun rotated clockwise on his trigger finger and dropped to the ground. A look of surprise swept across Theo’s face, and then he fell forward into the dirt and breathed his last.

    Billy’s heart hammered, his hands shook, and he was weak from head to toe. He’d just killed three men, and he felt sick. He leaned forward and retched.

    After Billy regained his composure, he checked their saddlebags for food. He found nothing edible, but he discovered a bottle of whiskey. After setting their horses loose, Billy went to a nearby stream, rinsed out his mouth, and then took a long, cold drink. He filled a canteen and climbed back to the cabin.

    ###

    Meanwhile, Carrie was pacing and wringing her hands. She’d heard the rifle shots but didn’t know if they were all Billy’s or not. Carrie hoped they were, but he’d been gone a long time. When she heard boot-steps approaching, Carrie looked for a weapon and spied a branding iron in the corner. She waited near the door and held it high over her head.

    Billy opened the door and stepped inside. Carrie swung the iron toward his head, but at the last moment, she recognized him and dropped the iron.

    “Billy. Billy Cooper! I’m so relieved to see you. I was worried, sick.” In her exuberance, Carrie gave him a quick hug. “Did you get hurt?”

    Billy groaned and winced.

    “You are hurt,” said Carrie.

    “A bit.”

    Carrie helped Billy with his coat. “Where? Bullet?”

    “Yeah. Nailed me in the shoulder.”

    “Lemme see.”

    Carrie peeled back Billy’s shirt. “Gotcha good. What we gonna do?”

    “Can ya dig it out?”

    “Reckon, I have to...”

    Billy held up the whiskey bottle. “Lucky, fer this.”

    “You’ll need it.”

    Billy gulped a mouthful of the two-bit whiskey and sputtered and coughed.

    “Lie down near a window.”

    He went and laid by the window. “Enough light here?”

    “It’ll have to do,” said Carrie. She turned away, removed her camisole, and tore it into strips. When she knelt by Billy, her shirt’s buttons strained to hold her bosom in, exposing her deep cleavage.

    Billy’s eyes widened, but he quickly squinted when a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. He reached for the bottle and threw back a mouthful.

    “Bleeding’s stopping. Better wait until you’re drunk before I go digging.”

    “Good plan, miss,” said Billy, clutching the bottle under his arm.

    ###

    Billy lightly dozed off, but Carrie awoke him in an hour or so.

    “Got a knife?” she asked.

    “Sure. Sabbledags,” said Billy, beginning to slur his words.

    Carrie took Billy’s knife and poured some whiskey over its tip.

    “Washe not... Washt not...”

    “Hush up, Billy. You’re drunk.”

    “No’s I’s ain’t!”

    “Have another swig before I start.”

    “Donsh mind if Ish do... Misshy.”

    Billy sipped a little more, and Carrie set the bottle aside.

    “Ready?”

    “Digsh away,” said Billy.

    Carrie wiped her brow and began digging for the bullet.

    Billy squirmed, but Carrie kept digging deeper. Soon the bullet was loosened enough that it could be pried out.

    “Done,” said Carrie, pouring whiskey in the open wound. “Easier than I thought it'd be.”

    “Yeeeeowooooo,” said Billy. “Lemme up!”

    “No. Lie still, so I can bandage you.”

    “Hurshts!”

    Carrie held Billy down until the stinging pain subsided, and he stopped fighting her. “Be still for a little while, Billy Cooper.”

    Billy acquiesced and was quiet.

    Carrie stuffed his wound with camisole strips and applied pressure until the bleeding completely stopped. Then she bandaged him with more camisole strips.

    “How does it feel?”

    Billy didn’t respond. He was fast asleep.

    ###

    Four hours later, Billy awoke and leaned against the cabin wall near the window. He gingerly shook his head and rubbed his shoulder. Carrie knelt next to him.

    “How is it?”

    “Head’s worst. Still befuddled. Still drunk, I reckon.”

    Carrie held his hand. “What about those men?”

    “Dead.”

    Carrie’s eyes widened. “All three?”

    Billy nodded. “Worm-food.”

    “Tell me about it.”

    Billy retracted his hand and glanced at the window.

    “Just the same, I’d rather not.”

    “First killings?”

    Billy shooked his head. “Naw. But first up close and personal -- three agin’ me.”

    “Up close?”

    “Yep. Was on posse once. Lots of shootin’ afar off. I had clear beads on two robbers, but someone else claimed the kills and their rewards.”

    “What you do?”

    “Nuthin’. Let it pass.”

    “You should’ve protested.”

    Billy ignored Carrie’s suggestion. “Then I were in a gunfight and kilt a man over a poker game.”

    “Caught him cheating?

    Billy starts to shake his head but holds it with both hands. “No. I cheated him and were caught. He called me out, but I outdrew him. Haven’t played cards since.”

    “You’ve had a tough life for someone so young.”

    Billy tried to get to his feet but teetered. Carrie put her arm around his waist to steady him.

    “What ya doing?”

    “Do you mind?”

    Billy felt light-headed and tongue-loose from the whiskey. “Not at all, missy. Not at all.”

    “My name’s Carrie, not missy.”

    He smiled and then grinned from ear to ear. “All right... If’n ya say so... Carrie... But as much as I’ma enjoying this, what’s yer plan to get home?”

    “Ride out at daybreak.”

    Carrie stood on tippy-toes and kissed him on his grubby cheek.

    “What’s that kiss fer?”

    “For saving my life, that’s what for, Billy Cooper.”

    “Oh... Uh... Ya can build a fire now... If’n ya want too.”

    ###

    Billy and Carrie reclined in front of the roaring fire. Billy’s head had settled down from the whiskey, and he enjoyed having a beautiful woman so close to him. He was surprised when she asked for the whiskey bottle.

    “Mind if I have a swig?”

    “I-I... Didn’t figure ya fer...”

    “For what?” asked Carrie, cutting Billy off.

    “I don’t mean nothin’, but yar so refined and so...”

    “Still like a sip of whiskey now and then.”

    “I’ll be...”

    “How’s about that bottle?”

    “Go easy.”

    Carrie tipped the bottle back and swallowed a mouthful without so much as a flinch.

    “A sip... Now and then, ya said. But ya guzzled that like a...”

    “Like what, Billy Cooper? You passing judgment on me for one drink?”

    “Never, but...”

    “Drop it,” said Carrie, putting the bottle to her lips for another. “Warms my innards, right down to my toes.”

    “Go easy, Carrie, ya ain’t et nothing. It’s gonna hit ya hard.”

    “Don’t tell me...” said Carrie, chugging another. “I-I kin hold my whiskey.”

    “Ya had enough!” said Billy, taking the bottle from her.

    Carrie tried to get the bottle from Billy but soon gave up and rolled on her side, back to him. Before long, she dozed off.

    ###

    Billy was putting another log on the fire when Carrie woke up.

    “Washa ya doin’?” she asked.

    “Fixin’ the fire. Might be cold tonight.”

    “Need another drink ta warm my innards.”

    “Ya had enough, Carrie. Go back ta sleep.”

    “You sachys, I’s doesn’t. Gemme here, Billy Boy. Billy Boy. That’s yer new name. Billy Boy. Billy Boy.” said Carrie, laughing.

    “Yer drunk as a skunk.”

    “No’s, I ain’t,” said Carrie, shoving on Billy’s injury.

    Billy winced and grabbed her flailing arms. “Hold still!”

    “Let go of me!”

    “Not ‘til ya calm down,” said Billy, pinning both arms to the floor. He was inches above her while she squirmed beneath him.

    With all her strength, Carrie struggled to free herself. But Billy held on tight.

    “Bully! Billy bully. Bully Billy,” said Carrie, wriggling writhing in his grip.

    “Ain’t gonna let go ‘til ya stop.”

    In the struggle, her shirt’s buttons gave way, and she fully exposed herself. Billy’s eyes popped. He’d never seen a woman’s bosom laid bare before. He reckoned she was about the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen in his live-long days.

    “Bul... Ly Bil... Ly.” Carrie’s exertions faded, and she was falling asleep.

    Billy loosened his grip and gazed upon her heaving bosom for several minutes. Lustful thoughts crept into his mind. He leaned over to kiss her exposed bosom but hesitated an inch above her erect nipple. He repositioned to cup her soft mounds in his quaking hands, but he retracted at the last moment. His right-hand could feel the warmth radiating off her exposed thigh, but he didn’t touch her.

    Since he hadn’t been with a woman in quite a while, Billy couldn’t shake his lustful thoughts. The temptation to act on his licentious desires started to get the best of him.

    Billy bolted to the door, stopped, and turned. In the fire’s glow, Carrie’s breasts seemed to be beckoning him. He returned and knelt beside her for another, closer look. He scrutinized her from every angle and wrestled with the growing urge to touch her, to ravish her.

    When he couldn’t resist the temptation any longer, Billy fled outside and stumbled, bashing his injured shoulder against the cabin. He slowly slid to the ground. The pain in his shoulder was so intense, he saw stars revolve before his eyes, but it refocused his thoughts.

    Billy slowly got to his feet, went inside, and covered Carrie with his blanket.

    ###

    When morning broke, Billy was already awake and tending the fire. Carrie leaned up on her elbows and groaned. Through squinted eyes, she tried to see, but the sunlight beaming through the windows was too intense.

    “Ooooh, my head feels like it’s been stomped on.”

    Billy cocked his head and smiled.

    “Too much whiskey.”

    Carrie felt the blanket covering her. “You put this on me?”

    “Reckoned ya’d get cold.”

    “Obliged.”

    “Welcome.”

    “Didn’t you get cold?”

    “Kept the fire goin’.”

    Carrie laid flat, and the rough blanket rubbed her tender skin. She lifted it up and noticed her shirt was unbuttoned, and she was utterly exposed.. “See here, Billy. What happened last night?”

    Billy stood and looked at Carrie. “Nothing. Ya was trashin’ ‘bout, and yer shirt come undone, so’s I covered ya,” said Billy, gesturing with his arms.

    Carrie pulled the blanket tightly to her neck. “Likely story.”

    “That’s the God’s honest truth, miss.”

    “If I was dead drunk, how can I be sure you didn’t take advantage? That I wasn’t violated?”

    “Never laid a hand on ya, cross my heart,” said Billy, making a “cross” over his heart.

    “Can I trust you, Billy Cooper?”

    Billy nodded. “Yes, ya can, Miss Carrie.”

    “My pa and brothers will have to sort this out.”

    “What’d happen if I did?”

    Carrie turned away and buttoned her shirt. “I’d tell my pa you sullied me. Then my brothers and a couple of wranglers’d take you to parts of the ranch were nobody’d ever find you. My good name’s worth more than some out-of-work cowpoke.”

    Billy kept a dead-pan look on his face.

    “A while back, a cowpoke tried something. My brothers found out. Nobody’s found him yet.” She turned her head toward Billy. “But don’t be concerned, Billy. Pa will give you good work. You know, I could’ve taken a liking to you, but you are nothing more than a hired hand, and I am the ranch owner's daughter. That’s the way it is and will always be... Now saddle my horse and escort me home.”

    Billy nodded. “Yes, Miss Carrie.” He didn’t say much while he packed up his belongings and removed all evidence of his stay in the cabin. Once he saddled the horses, he turned to Carrie.

    “I wanna show ya where I kilt yer pursuers.”

    “What?”

    “I kilt fer ya. At least ya should see what I did fer ya.”

    “If you insist.”

    “Ya should see... And bring yer rifle.”

    “All right, Billy.”

    Billy offered his coat and led Carrie through the woods to the place overlooking the clearings where the bodies of Jake, Theo, and Virgil laid on the ground.

    “Is this where you fought them off?”

    “Yep.”

    “And you were wounded here?”

    “Yep.”

    “You were so brave, Billy.”

    “Could I trouble ya fer my coat, Miss Carrie?” asked Billy, reaching out his hand.

    “What?”

    “Give me my coat,” said Billy, gesturing with his hand.

    “All right, Billy. What’s this all about?” asked Carrie as she handed the coat to Billy.

    “This is how I reckon it. No sooner we’d get to the ranch, I’d get midnight visitors -- yer brothers most likely -- and end up in a ravine somewheres.”

    Carrie shook her head. “Never, Billy. I’d never do that to you. Stop this foolishness and take me back to the cabin. I’m chilled to the bone.”

    “Before long, ya’d start thinkin’ ‘bout wakin’ up with yer shirt all undone, and what I might’ve done ta ya whiles ya slept. Then ya’d let it slip ta yer pa or ta yer brothers...”

    Carrie interrupted Billy. “No, Billy, I wouldn’t. You have to stop this right now or forget about ever working for my pa.” Carrie turned to walk back up to the cabin.

    Billy continued. “But I picture somethin’ different.”

    Carrie stopped and faced Billy. “Something different?” she asked, rubbing her arms to keep warm. “What you talking about, Billy?”

    “Ya held off yer attackers but was gravely wounded.”

    Carrie stepped back, startled. “You wouldn’t! I won’t say anything. Honest, I won’t.”

    “Ya can’t be trusted, Miss Carrie. Me bein’ nothin’ ta ya but some out-of-work cowpoke whiles ya bein’ the boss’ daughter whose good name’s worth more than me or anybody. The chasm between us is wider than the Grand Canyon. Ya think I’m something ta be used and abused at yer whim. Well... That ain’t fer Billy Cooper. No, ma’am. Ain’t ‘bout ta end up inna unmarked grave.”

    “Stop this wild speculation! Let me go home, Billy Cooper, and you can ride off and forget we ever met.”

    Billy shook his head. “Wouldn’t work... Yer pa’d put a bounty on me, and one day somebody’d collect. I’d never know what day was my last. This is the only way.”

    Carrie reached for Billy. “You’re not a born killer, Billy. You don’t like killing. Your eyes give you away. So let me go, and we’ll forget...”

    “Ya’d not think twice ‘bout killin’ an animal that’s out ta kill ya, would ya?”

    Carrie retracted her hand and held it close to her chest. “Billy?”

    “Preservation. Plain and simple. ‘Tis ‘bout preservation. Kill or be kilt.”

    Billy leveled his rifle at Carrie.

    Carrie began to raise her rifle to fire. “No, Billy! Please don’t!”

    Billy squeezed the trigger.

    Carrie squeezes her trigger, as well, but the bullet goes wild.

    Billy’s bullet ripped, front to back, through Carrie’s neck, slicing open her windpipe, arteries, and veins. The impact spun Carrie against a tree, but her scream was muffled by blood already gurgling in her throat. She clutched at her neck with one hand and reached out to Billy with the other. Her lips tried to mouth words but soon stopped moving, her arms dropped to her side, and her eyes glassed-over.

    Billy took Carrie’s rifle and fired all the rounds toward the three men’s corpses. He placed the weapon in her lap and took one last look before climbing up to the cabin.

    ###

    Light snow was falling when Billy reached the cabin. He went inside for one last check and found the near-empty whiskey bottle under the table and put it in his saddlebag. Before mounting up, he let Carrie’s horse loose.

    “Dang, big fella. Ya sure left a pile from all that grass ya et.”

    His horse shook its head.

    “Ya can’t blame this on nobody but yerself,” Billy said, laughing out loud.

    His horse snorted and nodded.

    Billy mounted up and followed the trail down from the cabin. When he reached the open plain, he stopped, looked north toward the Bucking-R ranch, and then south to Pueblo, Colorado.

    “We’s dodged a close one here, big fella. She were goin’ to be trouble fer sure.”

    His horse pivoted its head around and looked at him.

    “Carrie’ll be a heroine fer fightin’ off her attackers,” Billy said. “‘Twas a shame she were kilt defendin’ herself, though.”

    He patted his horse’s neck. “Up fer a fifty-mile ride?”

    His horse nodded and snorted as if he understood.

    Billy chuckled. “Knew ya would be.” He dug his heels in his horse’s flanks, and they headed south and disappeared into the blizzard.

    ######

  2. #2
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    I didn´t read your story yet, but I´m glad you were able to post it.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  3. #3
    Registered User DRayVan's Avatar
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    Hope you liked it.

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