Lily's Cowboys

by S. E. Smith

  “Can I take a look around?” Lily asked curiously looking at the two story house. It wasn’t near as big as the home the men lived in now but it had a character all its own.

  “Yeah. We need to look around the barn to see what needs to be done.”

  “I want to look around the house. I’ll meet you guys in the barn in a few minutes.” Lily said already moving toward the house. The men just grinned at each other before nodding and turning to walk around the barn.

  Chapter 10

  Peter looked out the second story of the window of the old house with a curse. He had had to find another place to stay before the townspeople started talking. He had followed Lily and the Simmons’ woman home the day he had seen them in town. Scouting around, he felt like he had struck pay dirt when he had stumbled upon the old abandon house. He bought a small kerosene heater and some camping gear and moved in. He hid the stuff in the attic during the day when he was scouting out ways to get to Lily. So far he had been frustrated. She hardly ever left the ranch house and when she did she never went anywhere alone. Usually she was with the Simmons’ woman but any other time she had been with one of the men. He was growing more impatient. He had limited resources and couldn’t afford to stay much longer. He was going to have to make his move soon otherwise he took the chance of losing her again and he might never have another chance, at least not during his lifetime. He watched as the men disappeared into the barn while Lily walked toward the house. Now might be the perfect opportunity. He had his car hidden not too far from here. If he could disable her and steal her away there would be no way the men could chase him with a horse and sleigh. Pulling away from the window he quietly moved down the stairs and hid.

  Lily ran her hand over the railing as she walked up onto the covered porch. The house had to be a hundred years old but it was in wonderful repair. She smiled as she saw the men’s names carved into the wood near the steps. Someone had been naughty when they were bored, she thought in amusement. Walking to the front door she hadn’t expected it to be unlocked. Turning the knob she walked into what had to be the living room. It was a large room with a fireplace on one wall and lead to what looked like a dining area. She saw a set of stairs leading to the second floor and grinned as she thought about how often they probably got in trouble for sliding down the railing. She walked slowly up the stairs and looked in all the rooms. There were four bedrooms upstairs but only two small bathrooms. She laughed when she thought about the bathrooms each of the men had in their bedrooms at the main house. Both bathrooms here could fit in just one of those with room to spare. She walked down the stairs and moved into the kitchen. She closed her eyes as she imagined cooking dinner every night for her husbands and children.

  Lily jerked in surprise when she felt cold metal pressing into her side. “Not a sound. I would hate to have to kill those men out there. Do you understand?”

  Lily nodded stiffly.

  “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?” The voice asked in an excited whisper.

  All Lily could do was shake her head no. “What do you want?” Lily asked frightened.

  “I want what you have, Lily. I want immortality.” The voice whispered.

  Before Lily could reply she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head and everything went black.

  “I don’t think it will be too much to get it back in shape. That tree branch did a number but we have everything we need at the main house to fix it. I’ll talk to Ed about bringing a couple of guys over in the next couple of weeks to work on it.” Ethan said looking at the hole in the roof of the barn.

  Caleb looked around, “Yeah. Maybe we can extend the loft area. This would be a good place to store some of the extra hay during the winter months.”

  Allen looked uneasily over his shoulder again. “Where’s Lily? She should have been here by now.”

  Ethan laughed. “She is probably finding all the places we carved our initials into the wood before mom tore us a new one.”

  Caleb laughed adding, “Yeah. She gave the dads hell for months after they bought us those pocket knives.”

  Allen shivered again. “Yeah, well I don’t like her being out of my sight for so long. I’ll meet you guys up at the house.”

  “Okay, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Allen strode out of the barn and headed toward the house. He didn’t know why but he felt uneasy. “Lily!” He yelled as he took the steps up to the front door two at a time. “Lily, where are you?”

  Pushing the door open he stood a moment listening. The house was too quiet. Had she fallen? He should never have let her come up here alone. “Lily, answer me now.”

  Running up the stairs he searched the upstairs’ rooms. Finding nothing, he practically jumped down the stairs grabbing the door frame and swinging into the kitchen. Frowning he glanced frantically around, “Lily, dammit, answer me.” Still no response. He was beginning to sweat now as panic set in. As he turned he noticed something on the floor. Bending he picked up one of Lily’s gloves. As he straightened he noticed a red spot on the floor not far from it. Kneeling down, he took off his glove and using a finger touched the red stain. His finger came away smeared with blood.

  “Ethan! Caleb!” Allen roared running for the front door.

  Both men heard Allen’s roar of rage and came out of the barn running like the hounds of hell were on their heels. “What is it? Where’s Lily?” Ethan demanded.

  Allen held out his hands so his brothers could see her glove in one hand and blood on the other. Allen’s eyes had grown hard and cold. He was no longer their brother but a Special Forces’ officer set to kill. “Spread out. Look for tracks. If Lily is unconscious whoever has her will be moving slow through the snow.”

  The men spread out taking each side of the house looking at the snow for tell-tale tracks. If they found none they knew she would still be in the house. They met at the back door staring at the tracks. Suddenly the silence was shattered by the sound of a car trying to start. Allen took off running full blast.

  He yelled over his shoulder, “Ethan, get the sleigh.”

  Caleb ran following Allen through the woods while Ethan went back for the sleigh. Allen paused as he heard the sound of an engine revving up. He knew there was only one road out. Swerving he ran for a small hill just in time to see a car fish tailing as the wheels hit an icy spot. Pulling the knife he kept strapped to his waist free he half ran, half slid down the hill dodging trees trying to get to the car before the tires had a good chance to grip. He was coming up on the passenger side of it. Through the window he could see Lily’s pale face, her eyes closed. Rage like he had never felt before, even during his captivity, ran through his body. His eyes narrowed in on the driver. Suddenly, he yelled out for Caleb to take cover. The driver had lowered the passenger window and opened fire with a handgun. Allen cursed under his breath as he dove for cover under a fallen log. Bark flew up around his head, small bits of it biting into the skin of his cheek. By the time he was able to look up again the car had straightened out and was moving down the road.

  Caleb ran up next to him, “You okay?”

  “Shit. Let’s move. If we can get through the woods over the next rise the road curves back around and we can catch him. He has Lily. She wasn’t moving. If that son of a bitch has hurt her I’m gonna kill him.” Allen snarled as he pushed up and over the log. Crossing the road, both men headed up the next rise. The road curve around on itself about a quarter mile down before it crossed the river. If they could get there first they might be able to stop the car somehow and get Lily out. He didn’t know how but he wasn’t giving up. Clawing at the slick ground for traction the men scrambled on all fours at times to reach the top. From the rise they could see the car’s tail lights as the man who grabbed Lily hit the breaks to make a sharp turn.

  “Let’s go.” Allen said sliding down the rise and running as fast as he could through the thick snow.

  Lily groaned softly. She came awake suddenly
when she realized she couldn’t move her hands separately. They were tied together with what looked like a thick plastic zip tie. Struggling to sit up she shivered as the cold air coming in through the passenger window hit her. Looking in horror at the man driving she shrunk as far away from him as she could.

  The man glanced at her before focusing on the road again. “Don’t try anything. I might not be able to kill you but I sure as hell can hurt you. Do you understand me?” He said in a harsh voice. “I’ve looked for you for too many years to let you go now.”

  “Why?” Lily asked in a small voice. “Why have you looked for me? What do you want with me?”

  The man looked at Lily again. “I know about you. I want what you have.”

  Lily shivered violently. “I don’t know what you are talking about. What do you know about me? What could I possibly have that you would want enough to hurt me for?”

  “You don’t understand. I want what you have enough to kill for it. I’ll kill every fucking man, woman, or child you know to get it.” He said in a hard voice.

  Lily trembled as she listened to him. She believed him. God help her, she believed he would kill the people she loved to get something she was supposed to have. “Please. Don’t hurt anyone. I’ll give you whatever you want. I promise. Whatever I’m supposed to have you want you can have it. It isn’t worth killing over.”

  “You’re wrong. It is. There are even more powerful men than me who would kill for it if they knew about it.”

  “What is it? You can have it.” Lily begged.

  “Immortality.” The man said. “I want to live forever.”

  Lily was confused. He thought she was immortal? “I don’t understand. How can I help you with being immortal? ”

  “I know about you Lily O’Donnell. You were born May 23, 1901. They thought you died with your mom in 1919 but you didn’t. Your body was never found. I have other dates where you’ve appeared and supposedly died. Only you didn’t. They never found your body to bury, did they?”

  Lily began trembling. It had started. It was the beginning of the end. She would soon have to leave again. Looking down at her trembling hands she clutched them together.

  Instead of denying it, Lily looked up at the man driving, “How did you find out?”

  The man smirked. He had been expecting her to deny it and was more than prepared to show her the evidence not to mention make her pay for lying to him. “The Internet.”

  Never before had anyone realized she was the same Lily. She should have known it could happen with the invention of the Internet. “I’m not immortal.”

  The man backhanded Lily across the face. Lily gasped as she placed her fingers to her mouth coming away with blood. “Don’t fucking lie to me. Every time you lie to me or withhold information you’ll get more of that.”

  Lily didn’t say anything else. She had to get away from him. He was insane. She watched as they rounded another curve in the gravel road before noticing a small narrow bridge coming up. He would have to slow down to cross it. It would be too dangerous otherwise. He would also have to stay focused on the road instead of her. If she could manage to open the door she could fling herself out over the side of the bridge. It didn’t look like it was too far of a drop. If the river was frozen she would be able to take cover under the bridge. He wouldn’t be able to get to her without jumping out. It would be more difficult with the steering wheel. Holding her hands to her face as if she were still hurting from the blow he had given her she let her eyes drift down to the controls on the door. She could unlock and open the door at the same time if she was lucky. Sobbing softly, she held her breath as they came to the narrow bridge. When they were half way across, Lily reached frantically for the lock and door handle pushing with all her might against the door as she flung herself out of it and over the edge of the bridge.

  For a moment she was free falling through air before she landed hard on the ice covered river. Under her, the ice groaned a moment before it gave way and Lily fell through into the icy water below. Lily gasped as pain exploded through her when she hit the hard ice. She had landed on her side. Before she had a chance to move the ice cracked under her dropping her into the freezing water. She swallowed a mouth full of water as her body reacted to the cold water. Clawing at the ice she banged with her tied fists against it as she was swept under the ice away from the hole she had created where she had fallen through. She kicked desperately with her feet trying to find a hold that would allow her to pull herself back to the light but the cold was already working against her. She could feel herself starting to lose consciousness. Her last thought before she did was she didn’t want to leave the men she loved. She had just found them.

  Allen and Caleb had made it down the side of the hill before the car had made the sharp curve and were waiting for it on the other side of the bridge. They knew the driver would have to slow down and planned on charging the car right after the driver crossed it. They had each taken up a different side of the road. Allen would go for the driver while Caleb pulled Lily from the car and to safety. They waited patiently as the car reached the bridge and slowed to a crawl. The bridge was barely wide enough for a car and was hazardous under the best of conditions. Their dads had planned to replace it a long time ago but instead had made a new road which ran through the woods and came out at the new house. Now as they waited they were thankful the old bridge was still there. Both men tensed as the car stopped suddenly halfway across. They heard a yell at the same time the passenger door flew open and a body went sailing off the bridge to land hard on the icy river below. The driver cursed as there was no way for him to open his door and get out without falling also. Both men stared in horror as Lily’s body dropped through the air to land with a thud under the bridge. As both men began climbing down the side of the bank to the river they heard the crack of the ice followed by a cry before everything went silent except for the sound of the car engine running. The driver noticed the men coming out of the woods and gunned the engine moving at a reckless speed over the bridge.

  Peter slammed his fist against the dashboard. The bitch had tricked him into thinking she was weak and fragile. He couldn’t stop now. He had noticed the other man coming up behind him on the road in the horse and sleigh. If the bitch survived the fall he would have another chance at her. He knew she wouldn’t tell the men about who or what she was. He would be considered some homeless guy who she had chanced upon and sooner or later they would let their guard down. When they did he would be there. Fish tailing as he finished crossing the bridge he drove recklessly down the road until he reached the highway. There was no way to identify him as he was wearing dark glasses and a hat. He had worn gloves everywhere thanks to the damn cold weather. He would dump the car, get another one, shave and change. He would not underestimate the bitch next time. He would make sure she was too hurt to try to escape from him.

  Allen ran along the bank to where Lily had fallen through the ice looking desperately around under the ice. He pulled off his jacket and slid through the hole swimming along with the current under the ice. He had to trust Caleb would follow him until he found Lily. If not, he didn’t give a damn. If Lily didn’t make it he didn’t give a shit if he did. Pulling himself along, he swept his hands out. His left hand brushed something. Struggling against the current he reached again and felt Lily’s arms floating lifelessly. He pulled her body toward his and banged on the ice with his fist.

  Caleb had watched as Allen had slipped into the icy hell and followed him as he swam just under the surface of the frozen river bed. The moment he heard him bang on the ice he slammed the sharp end of his knife through the ice breaking it. Pulling desperately at the edges, he ignored the sharp edges cutting into his hands as he tried frantically to save his brother and the woman he loved. As soon as he had an opening large enough he reached down and pulled on Allen’s shirt.

  Ethan had pulled up on the end of the bridge. His heart was in his throat as he had watched the nightmare unfold before his ey
es. He had engaged the break on the sleigh and slid down the opposite side of the bank running recklessly across the ice trying to get to Caleb. He slid to a stop just as Caleb was pulling Allen up by the back of his shirt.

  Allen was shivering uncontrollably, “Forget about me. Take Lily. Get her out of this shit.” He stuttered.

  Caleb grabbed Lily’s arms and pulled her out of the water while Ethan helped Allen up and over the edge. Caleb was frantically working on Lily.

  “She’s not breathing. Dammit, she’s not breathing.” Caleb pressed on Lily’s chest then moved to blow air into her mouth. He kept going back and forth. “Breath, damn you. Breath, you hear me Lily. I won’t let you die. Dammit, you fucking breath.”

  Allen laid there shivering as he watched Caleb work on Lily. He felt numb. They couldn’t lose her. They had so much to live for. They had just found each other.

  Ethan slid over to where Lily was laying on his knees. “Lily, listen to me, baby. You’ve got to breath for us. We need you. Allen, Caleb and I. We need you. Please, baby. Please. Breath for us. You can do it.” He ran his trembling hands over her cold face. “Where’s the fucking helicopter. I called in what happened. I told Matt our position and told him to send the rescue helicopter just in case.”