What we shared together was fun, and real. I wish that things were different so that the next time I see you I won't have to either run from you or try to kill you. I want you to know that you're a beautiful girl, and that I'll always fondly remember you. That being said, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped chasing me. The reason that I answered your telegram was that you sounded smart and capable, not like everyone else who had answered. Yes, I put up the advertisement in the local paper to see if anyone out there was actually looking for me hard enough that it should concern me. When you answered, I was concerned.
And I know this is how you make your living. And I also realize you might pursue me for reasons other than money, especially after what we shared together . . . but I ask you to rethink that course of action. I'm alone in this world, Samantha, and that's the way it has to stay.”
Emma hadn't signed the letter. My eyes filled with tears, and soon they were streaming down my face. I wasn't sure what to do. I walked around and around the campfire, trying to figure things out. How had it all gone so wrong? I wanted to know what I could to fix things, how I could tell her that I'd forget all about the bounty. But would I? What we had shared was extraordinary, but I also knew that people shared things like that and then the next day they meant nothing. I wasn't sure what it meant to me now.
The sun was slowly rising in the sky, and the town still smoked like an old cigar stuck in between wanting to ignite and go out. I decided the best thing I could do was hit the trail. But before I did I surveyed the horizon to see if I could make out any members of the gang taking chase after Emma. I wanted to see if she was full of shit or not, if she had taken off to pull them away from me—to protect me.
I could barely make them out, but the gang was indeed moving from the town's smoking rubble across the desert in pursuit. I wasn't sure what to do, they were too far away to really shoot at accurately, but then I wondered why that would stop me. I quickly pulled my long gun out of its scabbard and rested it on my horse's saddle. I aimed high, so high there was no way there was accuracy, but that didn't stop me. When I let off the first shot, I peered over the saddle, waiting for the reaction.
It took a few seconds for the bullet to get there. I knew that as far away as they were the rifle's report would sound confused. They probably wouldn't know whether it was coming from their front, side, or from the rubble behind them. Their horses spooked, and a few of them wheeled about wildly. I waited a few minutes for them to calm down. It wouldn't do to just rain lead down on them. I wanted to slow them down, not give away my position. One thing I noticed that made me smile was that they didn't even look toward the mesa. They were so certain they had everyone scared stiff of them they'd never thought about how leaving a campsite half set up meant that anyone could come along and utilize it with little to no effort.
When things calmed down, and the group of bandits started to spur their horses to a trot, I let off another shot. I aimed even higher, this time, hoping to send it whining over their heads. Again the horses went crazy, but this time one of the bandits fell off his saddle. Without thinking, I slid my rifle in its scabbard, mounted up, and started out into the desert the opposite direction of the bandits. I hoped that I'd bought Emma some time, and I also hoped that the bandits would be too stupid to figure out where the shooting had come from. Even if they did, by the time they made it to the mesa, I would be long gone.
As I rode out once more across the desert plane, I thought of Emma. I knew that I would keep pursuing her. The bounty was high, and the emotional stakes even higher. If she turned out to be an amazing person, maybe I could forget about the bounty, and we could make a life together. However, if she turned out to be otherwise, I could always bring her in. Or at least that's what I told myself as I rocked back and forth in the saddle with the horse's gate. There would be many long days of riding ahead, but I'd brought water I'd found at the campsite, and I knew that what lay ahead of me was better than what lay behind me.
There would be another town, and there I would gather my thoughts and myself. I needed to rest, and figure out what my next move was. And I needed to hurry, because Emma wasn't waiting for anyone. Not even me. Not that I expected her to, by any means. She was, after all, an outlaw. And outlaws led lives on the run. As a bounty hunter, I led a life of chase. It almost seemed to perfect, and I knew it wasn't perfect at all. But thinking about it kept my mind off the heat and the desert wind. Soon the sun was sinking in front of me, and I knew that the next town was close.
When I got to the next town it wasn't just a little spit of humanity. There were large buildings and streets that bustled with traffic. In one of the saloons there wasn't sawdust on the floor, and I met an old friend there. We hadn't seen each other in years, but it seemed like yesterday we were chasing cattle rustlers across the desert. We talked about my most recent experiences, and I was glad that he could empathize. I told him about Emma, about the feelings she manifested inside of me with her presence and touch.
“Well,” Brad said. “Looks like we should be headed out after her.
“We will,” I said, having already known Brad would want to help. “But for right now I'd just like to sit and talk, maybe get a nice room at the hotel and take a bath.”
Brad nodded. He knew how nice it was to take it easy after a harrowing experience. We both leaned back and our chairs and sipped our beers. A band took the stage and started playing old songs. I looked out the window to see the desert stars twinkling down at me, and I smiled. There would be more adventures, and another day. And now, with an old friend, I felt ready for anything.
Just as we were about to walk up the hotel stairs to our room, someone covered my eyes from behind. I could tell who it was by their smell, and that made me feel strangely alive. There was so much I had missed about Emma, and I hadn't realized one of the things was her very essence. I turned and wrapped my arms around her, and we held each other for a few seconds.
“Brad,” I said. “This is Emma. Emma, this is Brad, an old friend of mine.”
Brad tipped his hat and went to make accommodations with the hotel clerk for a room of his own. The night held the night held so much surprise, and so did the future” so much promise, and so did the future.
~ THE END ~
Cowgirl From Hell
~ Bonus Story ~
A Western Lesbian Romance
Anna hates that, she and her brother Pete, are going to have to rent out room's on their family ranch. She can't stand the idea of selling out and becoming some sort of a dude ranch. But there just isn't any other way for the to pay the bills and feed all of the animals.
When Dahl responds to their ad, Anna fears that she's invited just the sort of spoiled yuppie that she can't stand into her home. Dahl is a know-it-all and irritates Anna to no end, following her all over the ranch, and giving advice that nobody wants to hear.
But when the two of them are caught in a severe storm and the lives of the horses are in danger, Anna finds herself having to rely on Dahl for help. Could Dahl be more than just the self-involved city-slicker that Anna had imagined her to be? Could there be something wonderful blooming between the two of them?
* * *
Chapter One
I sighed, frowning down at the paper in my hands. There just had to be a way to make this work.
“There isn't any other way to make this work.”
I jumped at the voice from the doorway. My eyes found my brother's sturdy frame blocking the kitchen doorway.
“Pete,” I sighed. “What are you doing? Reading my thoughts?”
He laughed and shook his head.
“Well, you're kind of obvious, Anna,” he said. “You're chewing your bottom lip off your face, while you look over that expense sheet.”
“I don't know,” I mumbled. “I just really don't want to stoop to taking guests. We're not a dude ranch. We don't need to sell out.”
Pete chuckled.
“Actually, Sis, selling out is exactly what we need t
o do. If we want to feed the horses and pay the mortgage on this place that is.”
“Damn,” I said. “This drought has really done a number on us. It's set us back more than we have ever been set back before. I can't remember a time when we ever had to buy pre-made feed. I don't think we ever even had this happen when Mom and Dad were still alive. We've always been able to grow enough hay and grains to feed the horses. I just never realized how much money we saved by growing our own horse food.”
“Right,” Pete said. “and it's not exactly an expense that we can skimp on. Not with so many of the mares with foal.”
“Like I don't know that!” I snapped. “I'm not about to let the horses go hungry. I'd go hungry first.”
“That's not what I was saying,” Pete answered. “I'm not saying that you're trying to do wrong by the animals. I just meant that the situation sucks. There's no way around it and the circumstances aren't ideal. But we won't have to take on guests for long. It's only temporary. We just need enough money to get through the next few months.”
I groaned.
“Come on, Anna. You know these city slickers will pay a decent price for the chance to feel like a real Cowboy.”
“Or Cowgirl,” I replied absently, my eyes once more drifting over the expense sheet.
Pete snorted.
“You'd sure like that, huh?” he said with a laugh.
I ripped my eyes from the balance sheet and gave them an exaggerated roll.
“No!” I snapped. “Either way, I'm going to be annoyed. Strangers in my house, playing ranch. Just treating our real life like some kind of a make-believe escape. It's not like any of them will want to help out with any real work either. We're not gonna get any help cleaning out the stalls, or grooming the horses. What about the broken fence on the far side of the property? You think one of them will help fix it?”
“Oh, come on, Anna,” Pete muttered. “It's not all that bad.”
“We're gonna have to change the way we do everything,” I sighed. “While the city folks are here, we'll have to spend all day riding horses and feeding chickens. That's all those folks wanna see, the stuff they've seen in the movies. They want to rope cattle and spit, but they don't want to put in any of the actual work. They don't want to contribute to any of the day-to-day muscle that really keeps a horse ranch functioning.”
Pete gave a soft smile and reached across the table to clasp my hand.
I gave a forced smile in return.
“It's going to be fine. We're only going to need to take in a few guests and it will be enough to get back on our feet.”
I nodded.
“Okay,” I sighed. “Let's do it.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” I said, in a tone that sounded far more confident than I felt. “Mom would want us to do whatever we need to, to take care of the animals, and keep this place in good standing. She would have hated to see the ranch go into debt, so we can't let that happen.”
Pete nodded and smiled.
“Good,” he said. “Well, I'll go feed the animals and then I'll see if I can get an ad up on the web. With any luck, we'll be able to secure our first guest by next week.”
He stood and made his way out the back door, clamoring down the steps with far more noise than was actually necessary.
I shook my head. He was always so loud and clumsy. His movements were far too large and he had a habit of shaking and bumping everything that he encountered.
I looked back down at the expense sheet and internally groaned once more. It was just something that had to be done. We were biting the inevitable bullet.
But really how bad could it be? It was only going to be a couple of weeks of the tourist season. After that we'd be back in good standing with the bills, and back to having the ranch all to ourselves.
Chapter Two
It only took a week before Pete's ad had a response. We hadn't exactly gotten an outpouring of inquiries. It wasn't as though we had potential guests assaulting our email with inquiries. It was probably because we weren't listed as a hotel, or even as a dude ranch. We were listed as a ranch and operating farm only. So, we only got one response.
Thankfully, it was someone hoping to come for an extended stay. They wanted to spend three weeks with us. Just as I'd expected, it was some yuppie who didn't know the first thing about working a ranch. Their entire email sounded like a bad joke.
Pete read the email aloud.
“I'm very interested in taking advantage of your enticing deal. I love westerns and I've seen all of John Wayne's movies. I welcome the opportunity to see ranch-life up close. I can't wait to see what life was like in the wild west. If you have a room available, I'd like to come up in a few days. I've earned some vacation time at work, and so if possible, I'd like to spend three weeks there. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience, and let me know if this will be possible. I look forward to speaking with you.”
I rolled my eyes.
“John Wayne? The wild west? Is this guy serious?”
“You mean, is this girl serious,” Pete corrected.
“Oh God,” I moaned. “So, we have to deal with a yuppie and a priss.”
Pete snorted.
“Oh, stop it, Anna! Isn't that sexist?”
I shrugged.
“I don't know. What I do know is that every woman who's ever come here, who isn't from a ranching background, flips out at the sight of horse poop. They think the idea of horses is all romantic and lovely, but then they get a whiff of what an actual stable looks like, and their feminine sensibilities are, like, all offended or something.”
Now, it was Pete who rolled his eyes.
“Knock it off, Anna. You're not the only woman alive that can handle a horse ranch. You aren't that cool, or that special.”
“Pssshhh....We'll see,” I muttered.
“We will,” Pete agreed. “I'm gonna shoot this lady an email right now. Tell her she's our first guest and give her a discount, since she's coming for an extended stay.”
“Okay,” I sighed.
I left the room then, thinking of everything that I had to do. I had a lot of cleaning and tidying to do. If we were going to do this dude ranch thing, we should at least do it right. We would give our guest a nice clean room to stay in and show them a great time. I might even do some cooking of my best recipes. I wandered down the hall, planning in my head as I went.
*****************************************************
Three days later a car arrived, bringing our guest from the nearest town.
Pete and I stood on the porch, watching the white Oldsmobile slide up the dusty drive. I recognized the car from town. It was the car of an older gentleman who acted as the town cab driver. He mostly ended up driving guys home from the local bar when they'd had too much to drink. Every once in awhile he had a ride like this, a visitor heading to a ranch or a farm like ours a few miles from the outskirts of town. My guess was that this wannabe-rancher had taken the bus down the bus depot in the center of town and caught a ride with him from there.
The car stopped in front of the steps, and the back door opened up nearly right away. The car had hardly stopped moving, and as she jumped down, I worried that her feet would be crushed by the still rolling tires.
It was a slim well-built woman that jumped down from the backseat and began looking around eagerly, an idiot grin on her face. She had short-cropped black hair that curled around her ears. She had wide shoulders, that were further accentuated by the smart gingham blazer that she wore over a fitted red turtleneck. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of over-sized aviator sunglasses. She was slightly taller than average. She looked to be about 5'9 or maybe even 5'10. Her lips were smooth and red, and they slid open to reveal a dazzlingly white smile, creating dimples on either side of her face.
“Wow!” she gushed. “This is gorgeous! Just look at that barn! Oh! And that round pen over there! That must be where the horses run! This is just the way I imagined this place to look. It's
like something out of a John Wayne movie. It looks just like the old wild west!”
I caught Pete's eye and raised my brows. This was the person that we were going to be spending the next three weeks with? She was already prattling away and she wasn't even conversing with anyone yet. She was just spinning in circles and making pointless noise.
“Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed, taking her two Luis Vuitton suitcases from the driver. I was ashamed of myself for knowing what they were, but my sister was into all that high-end stuff. Ever since she'd moved to Boston and married a fancy lawyer three years ago. I remembered seeing the same logo emblazoned upon her bags. I also recalled the way she'd humble-bragged (or tried to) about the prices. I readied myself for the worst. I knew that I was going to have to put up with the same pretentious and self-involved sorts of conversations from this well-dressed urbanite.
I watched the woman place a generous tip into the driver's hand. Maybe too generous. I considered, with suspicion, the possibility that she may be over-tipping just to impress us. Maybe she was trying to show off or make us feel small.
Well, whatever she was trying to do, it wasn't going to work. She was wrong if she thought a little money was going to impress me. Anybody could make money. Not everyone had character, or knew the meaning of true hard work. I wasn't going to pay her any mind. I would just be a professional, give her the superficial ranch experience of her dreams, and then send her on her way.
“Howdy!” she called with a small wave, making her way over to the porch. She grinned as she climbed the steps, and I had to exert physical effort to keep from rolling my eyes in their sockets. Howdy? Seriously?
The woman used one hand to remove her sunglasses, and with the other she extended a hand, giving me, and then Pete, a vigorous handshake.
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