by Pamela Prim
The adventures that her books took her on were momentous and thrilling, but when the book ended, she would come to the sad realization that she was still all alone.
Yet, one night, while she was reading, Shelly could have sworn she heard the front door of the ranch creek opened as heavy footsteps tried to tread lightly on the wooden floors.
Slightly alarmed, Shelly stopped, propping her ear in the direction of the noise, but heard nothing else. Almost disappointed, she shook her head and mentally reprimanded herself for letting her imagination get ahead of herself. Without further delay, she went back to her book, but soon was certain that she heard footsteps again, tapping lightly around her kitchen.
This time she stopped, placed the book to the side and crept up from her chair, eager to figure out what could be making such strange noises.
Certainly, she was alone in the house. This was a small town and while she had a reputation for being wealthy, she also had a reputation for being extremely unfriendly.
When she reached the doorframe to her childhood bedroom, she stopped to listen again. Now, she knew for sure. She was not imagining anything. Someone was definitely in her house and she was going to get them out as fast as she possibly could. She certainly wasn’t going to let these people come into her house and push her around!
While she slinked down the stairs towards the general vicinity of where she believed the intruders were culminating, she thought about all of the books that she had read. Although she was undeniably scared, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement in her gut.
Wasn’t this what she wanted; to add a little bit of excitement to her otherwise humdrum life?
Shelly’s hair was standing on end. Every fiber of her being felt as though it was completely alive. She wondered if all of the new sounds she was hearing were a heightened sense, or simply her body trying to tell her that she was afraid.
Shelly was fascinated by the adrenaline that coursed through her veins and the almost crazed feeling of connection she had to everything around her. She took a strange liking to the feeling, as she had only read about it in her books.
She had probably had it on the day that her parents died, but she doesn’t remember either of those days and she would never consider them exciting.
She breathed in deeply, slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible while she approached the voices that were coming from her kitchen. However, when she grew closer, she became determined to find out who would possibly have the nerve to enter her house unannounced and quickened her step.
When she came up on the men, she grew a little too overzealous and stepped towards them with haste. Her foot immediately stepped onto a place in the old house where the ground always creaked.
With a gasp, she knew that she had alarmed the two men, even before they turned around.
“Get her!” She heard one of them say as she turned around in a panic. Yet, as her body spun, her attention shifted and she didn’t realize that there was another man coming up behind her. He grabbed her with ease and pulled him against his body, covering her mouth so that she couldn’t scream and dragging her back.
Shelly fought the man, scratching and trying to bite him, but no matter what she did, his grip was too strong for her to overpower.
As she was dragged into her living room and the other men followed her, three in all, Shelly’s heart pounded with fear as all the excitement drained out of her. All she was left with now was a will to live and raw emotion.
“Shhhh!” The one man said, putting his finger to his lips in a passively threatening motion.
Shelly tried to wriggle out of the other man’s grasp for a few seconds more, before the third man brandished a gun.
“Whoa!” The second man said, pointing it away from all three of them and pushing past his cohort. He moved in close to Shelly and pressed his hands on her shoulders, weighing her down so that it was even harder for her to move. She felt his lips close to her ear. “Please do what we say.” He whispered, almost in a desperate manner. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but I’m not hanging for the likes of you.”
Shelly thought about this and eventually stopped struggling, realizing that if they were going to kill her, they would have done it already. They certainly wouldn’t have put the effort in to get her to stop fighting them. When the man moved towards her, she saw the gleam of a blade sheathed to his belt. She knew that if they were worried about her making noise, they could have killed her with that and wouldn’t even have had to waste the gunpowder of the other man’s pistol.
Breathing heavy from over-exerting herself, Shelly quieted down to a soft whimper as her whole body shook. This wasn’t how she expected her adventure to go, especially because now that she was caught, she was completely at their mercy. She only had herself to rely on because she had pushed everyone else away and she had failed. Since she knew that there was no one to come for her, no one who loved her that was still living and no one to miss her if she disappeared, these men had hit the jackpot.
With horror, Shelly realized for the first time that these men could truly do anything to her and no one would ever even notice.
This thought caused her to quiver. The men backed her down, onto the couch and stood around her.
“You live here alone, don’t you?” The man who had spoken before asked her. He seemed to be the leader.
Shelly tried to think of exactly what she wanted to say. She didn’t respond right away and that seemed to agitate the man quite a bit.
“You best not lie to us.” He instructed with warning on his tone, but the way Shelly had seen him react when his friend brought out the gun and looked as though he had lost his patience caused Shelly to wonder.
She hoped that these men weren’t as ruthless as they were trying to appear, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. So, she told him the truth in a sad voice. “Yes, I live here alone.”
“Are there any servants, ranch hands, or anyone that is going to come around here for a few days?”
Shelly sighed, feeling as though her fate was sealed and death was surely imminent. Trying not to seem so terrified, she swallowed hard and shook her head, buying time until she could find a solid voice. “No. I…uh…I’m here alone, almost all of the time.”
The man’s eyes sparkled as he glanced around at his fellow outlaws and grinned. “Boys…I think we have found ourselves a new home.”
The other men laughed from deep within their throats as the leader dropped down to eye Shelly keenly. “Listen, I want to make something clear. We don’t want to hurt you. We steal money and damn near anything we need to survive, but we would rather not murder anyone…but especially not a pretty thing like yourself. I admire your bravery.” When her eyes met his, the man seemed genuine. “Really. I appreciate you telling us the truth. It makes me think that we can get along.”
“What do you want?” Shelly inquired, trying to keep her voice strong and clear. The last thing she wanted was for them to know how truly terrified she was of them.
“We need a place to lay low for a while. We pulled of a big score a few towns back and we need a place where no one will think to look for us. We were gonna rob you and leave, but I think this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. So, if you can give us that, we promise we will not hurt you.”
“How long do you have to stay?” Shelly asked, knowing that she didn’t have much of a choice, if she wanted to keep her life.
“A few weeks. A month at most. Just until the dust clears and they think were long gone.”
“How do you know that you will keep your word?”
“You don’t, but by letting you live your normal life and not making you a hostage, we are taking a risk too.”
Shelly considered this for a moment. She was still afraid of them, but there was something about the leader at least, that she started to trust.Considering that the three of them were outlaws though, she wasn’t about to give into that feeling absolutely. Yet, she couldn’t help but h
old a curiosity about them.
Thinking positively, she decided that while this wasn’t the adventure she thought she would have, at least this was different from her life thus far.
Also, if she did survive this, she would probably be adventured out for the rest of her life, feeling completely content with her books and her ranch.
“So, what do you say? Will you help us out?” The leader asked, eyeing her seriously.
Shelly locked eyes with him and eventually, she agreed.
This seemed to please all three of the men and they backed away, giving her some personal space.
Not sure what else to do, she figured she should be a good host, like her mother had taught her. “When I saw you, you were in the kitchen instead of rooting around looking for valuables…Would you like something to eat?”
Shelly seriously doubted that this was what her mother had in mind when she told her that she should always be a gracious host, but she supposed that she had to work with what she was dealt.
“Well, that is awfully nice of you.” The leader exclaimed, seeming slightly cautious.
Shelly shook her head. “Well, if you aren’t hungry, that’s fine too. I’ll go up to bed and you can fend for yourselves.”
“No.” The leader answered quickly. He looked at the man who had grabbed Shelly from behind and gave him a command. “Go with her. Make sure everything goes well and if she needs any help, be a gentleman.” He grinned.
The man turned his attention to Shelly. “After you.”
She simpered carefully and hurried offinto the kitchen. She had no intention of trying anything. Instead, she was curious about how this was all going to play out. Therefore, she was thankful for the extra hands. Before reaching the kitchen doorway however, she turned around. “Oh and I would suggest you two clean up before dinner. There are two separate bathrooms upstairs and plenty of hot water.”
At first, the leader seemed as though he didn’t like her telling them what to do, but after a moment he shrugged and turned towards the staircase.
The four of them shared a meal before going to bed.
The next day, the men allowed Shelly to go about her business, exactly as they promised. They laid low and slowly became inclined to trust her. She wasn’t planning to try and hurt them and eventually, they realized that for sure.
Despite being outlaws, they were respectful of her and seemed to appreciate the attention she gave them.
After a few days, when the four of them had settled into a routine of sorts, Shelly couldn’t help but think that, in a strange way, was enjoying the company. It seems strange to her, but after a week went by, she was almost dreading the idea that one day, they were going to leave.
Then, one night, the four of them were sitting by the fire in her large drawing room and the leader, who she now knew as Troy, struck up a conversation.
“So, how is it that a woman like you, young as you are, came to acquire this ranch? Are you widowed?”
Shelly shook her head. “This was my family’s house. When my parents died, I lost the will for a life that most would call normal.”
“Well, this ain’t really living…” The muscle of the group, Bronx insisted.
“It’s better than the alternative.” Shelly admitted. “Loving a man literally to death and dying of a broken heart, leaving your daughter to fend for herself.”
“Is that why you don’t want anyone here?” The trigger happy fellow, Dustin inquired.
Shelly’s shoulders raised up to her ears and fell back into place lamely. “What about you guys? What made you become outlaws?”
“Oh, you don’t want to hear about us.” Troy insisted.
“Yes, I do.” Shelly replied, genuinely intrigued by the possibility that she might learn their story.
Troy was quiet for a moment, considering what she was asking. “Well, for me, I grew up an orphan. I was dropped on the street and left there to die. I didn’t, but that was only because I was taken in by an outlaw couple. When they were killed, I was on my own and being an outlaw by association and skill was the only skill I had. So, I embraced it and here I am.”
“I was a sheriff of a local town.” Dustin offered. “I was well-respected, until one man came into town, challenged me to a duel and shot me in the arm. He declared that he was the new sheriff and the people ran me out of town, fearful I couldn’t protect them anymore. I had nowhere to go and after being unable to get another way to make money, I joined up with Troy.”
“I was on the run anyway.” Bronx spoke up. “Not from the law though. I had a whole mess of gambling debts.” He sighed. “I came to Troy in order to get them all straightened out and he let me leave the town. I’ve since paid off my debts, but I can’t go home and I owe my life to Troy, so I stayed.”
“Wow…” Shelly replied, looking from one man to the other and feeling badly for each of them. She was always thankful that she was well off, because she knew once her family died, she was so bitter that if she didn’t already have the ranch, this could have easily become her life. She could have been on the run also and as a woman, with few social and survival skills, she likely wouldn’t have made it more than a few days. To that, she felt for them, realizing that it was likely they didn’t have any other options available to them. “I am so sorry. That is awful.”
“Not really…” Troy answered nonchalantly. “At least we are free from the bounds of society. After you come to the realization that this is your life and there ain’t much you can do about it, you learn to live with what you’ve got. It’s actually far more exciting than it is anything else. It keeps your heart racing and the constant fear of death makes you live far more than most would ever think possible.” He snickered at this thought and everyone fell into silent contemplation.
In this moment, Shelly mulled around what he had said in her mind. She had always been attracted to a life of adventure, even though her life has always been a little bit mundane. Therefore, she imagined what it would be like to be one of them. Having observed how they operate for a little while now, she figured she would be safe with them, at least. Plus, she would have a camaraderiethat, as Troy put it, would be so consumed by the idea that death could happen at any moment, that she could live without fearing that death would sneak up on her.
Shelly had never thought much about death until the day her father died and then her mother. However, after all of that was over, she feared death, which was why she refused to have any friends or loved ones. With the way Troy described their life though, death was never a surprise, because they were always staring it in the face.
In a strange way, much like the rest of her experiences with the outlaws, their lifestyle was intriguing and this particular aspect of it was actually comforting.
“So…” Troy began, almost as though he was nervous. Yet, he paused and allowed his eyes to connect with Shelly’s while she waited patiently for him to continue. “Excuse me if I’m being bold, but I have to know…The way you talk, it seems like you have never been with a man.”
“No.” Shelly replied, almost self-consciously. “Before, I was saving myself for my husband, but after, I haven’t even had a courtship, so there would be no opportunity to...engage in such behavior.”
He agreed and beamed, inching closer to her. His eyes now fixed more on her bosom than any other part of her body.
Suddenly, Shelly felt warm, as though the fire roaring in front of them had suddenly intensified its heat exponentially. At the same time, she felt the hair on her arms stand up on end.
She had felt something for the men ever since she came to the conclusion that they weren’t going to harm her. Her curiosity had quickly melded into attraction, but until this moment, she had paid it no mind. Now however, as she felt their eyes on her, as though they were intent on ravishing her right where she stood, she could think of nothing else. Her mind raced with the choice that she instinctively knew she would have to make incredibly soon.
“Would you like to be with a man? O
r is that not something you are interested in?” Troy inquired in a deep throated, sensual tone.
Shelly felt her eyes pass around to stare at each of the men before her voice came through to them. “Are you asking?” She finally expressed when her eyes reached back to hold Troy’s glance.
“If you’re offering.” His lips coiled into a dirty sneer and his eyes flashed with anticipation. “I guarantee you won’t regret it.”
Shelly laughed carefully and felt her cheeks blush as she fixed her attention on Troy. However, with the intensity of the moment, Shelly was startled by the feel of a hand on her shoulder and a sultry voice cooing in ear. “Let us give you a first time that you will never forget.”
With that, she felt her body be pulled up and a hand slap across her bottom. She yelled and leapt away, surprised at first, but turned back around with a seductive look in her eyes and she answered in a teasing tone. “Hey! What was that for?”