Little Sharpshooter Chap 23

Randy let Trevor help her out of the cave and onto Al’s back. Randy shifted her weight in the saddle. Her rear was already sore and her back hurt every time she leaned forward or back ever so slightly. Any movement from Al was going to make her miserable.

Bronson rested his hand on her leg. His mouth twisted as it turned from a smile to a more serious expression. “I’m tryin’ not to laugh. Really I am. We need to get you cleaned up. We’ll see if we can find a creek and then see how ya feel. More than likely that storm held up Clyde if he’s comin’. I think we have enough of a head start where we can afford to spend some time cleanin’ up and dryin’ off before we head on.” Bronson’s muddy shirt clung to his chest. Steam rose from the stone in front of the cave. Even though the air was damp, it was cooler. It would have felt nice if they were dry. But they weren’t. Randy stifled her painful whimpers whenever she shivered.

Once they were off, the sun baked the mud on Randy even more. She itched terribly. When she moved to scratch, her back and ribs hurt. All she wanted was to clean up and find a place to hide and rest until her body felt better. In the meantime, she argued with herself on whether she could continue to go on. The irritation of the mud and desperation to be clean won out. She searched for water. The trees were disappearing and rocks were more abundant. Water, besides what had fallen from the sky, was looking scarce. Every time Bronson or Trevor would look at her to see how she was doing, their faces would twist. They were failing miserably at hiding their humor over her condition.

Randy wasn’t sure at first if it was real. They were pretty far from it. She quickly regretted sitting up higher in her saddle to make it out, but there was a stream meandering down in the little valley between the mountains. Randy urged Al to go faster, doing her best to ignore the pain. She was desperate to change her expression without feeling the dried mud crack and move her arms without the clumps falling off. Al picked up his pace. Chunks of mud fell away and a dust cloud blew off behind her. Bronson and Trevor couldn’t contain their laughter any longer. Randy had enough mud in her ears that she couldn’t hear them all that well anyway.

At the water’s edge, Randy slid to the ground, jarring her back and her leg. She cried out but immediately treaded carefully into ankle deep water. It turned murky quickly where she stood. She didn’t care if she was all wet again as she sat down in the chill water. It enveloped her. The tight mud relaxed its grip on her skin and her clothes. Some of it peeled off her in clumps and was carried away downstream. Randy smiled, leaning back to plunge her head in the water. The tightness of the mud on her scalp released. When she opened her eyes, Trevor stood over her with a broad smile spread across his face. He rolled up his sleeves and kneeled next to her in the water to help wash away the mud that still clung to her ears and hair.

Bronson stood on the bank and all she could hear of him was muffled sounds with her ears still under water. She liked listening to him better that way. Trevor lifted her head up.

“He says he wants your clothes so he can wash them off. They won’t come clean and neither will you while you wear them.” Trevor’s face flushed.

Randy still itched all over from the mud so she was eager to take off her shirt and skirt. She left her underclothes and petticoat on and immersed her body in the water again rubbing one arm and then the other.

Trevor was back but his smile was gone as he chewed his lip. She sat up to hear what he wanted to tell her. “Bronson said you might need more help.”

Bronson was downstream scrubbing her clothes with a rock.

“Just don’t use his methods. I don’t think usin’ a rock will help.” She smiled.

Trevor’s disposition was different as he smiled uncomfortably. He never took his eyes off her face. He had to scrub her eyebrows to get the mud out and rubbed around her ears. Randy unbraided her hair and he scrubbed her head until there weren’t any clumps of mud left.

Randy held her hand out so he could help her sit up. She winced.

“I think I’m bruised all the way up my side.” She pulled up her camisole to show him. He took in a deep breath looking intently at her face. When she looked at it, she regretted twisting her body. “Ahh.”

Trevor finally looked at her side and back. “It’s already bruised blue and purple with several scrapes. It looks bad.” Trevor looked her in the eye all concerned and whispered. “I don’t know if I should be seein’ this much of you.” His arms folded across his lap and he glanced back at Bronson.

“He’s right there. What are you worried about?” She rubbed the mud off her legs ignoring his concern. “Besides, I meant what I said earlier.”

“What?” Trevor shook his head not remembering.

“I said I love you. I meant it. I want you to know that.” Randy rested her hand on his knee.

Trevor looked at her in disbelief for a moment. His mouth pressed tight together and he stood abruptly, turning away from her.

Randy thought he didn’t want hear her say it. Then he pressed his hands into his eyes and sniffed. She struggled to stand up in the water to limp over to him. She rested her hand carefully on his shoulder, afraid he was going to push her away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I wanted you to know I mean it even after it’s been a few hours since I almost died.”

Trevor turned around so fast that Randy thought he might hit her. She flinched painfully. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. He held her head against his shoulder. “I love you so much. To hear you say it means everything. I didn’t think anyone could love me, especially not you. I’m nothin’ special.” He kissed her neck all the way up to her face until his mouth pressed hard into hers. “I almost lost you again. You need to stop that.”

A flutter shot through her body every time he kissed her and he didn’t stop.

“Now, that’s enough you two.” Bronson hit them both with Randy’s wet skirt.

With Randy’s clothes and their shirts drying on the rocks, the three of them rested in the sun to dry. Bronson looked over Randy’s back when he saw the spots of blood on her camisole.

“That’s a quite the prize for a good hard fall. No wonder you were cryin’ out in the saddle.”

“I wasn’t cryin’ out!” She shoved Bronson.

“No, ya weren’t. I was worried though when I heard the little noises you were makin’. I know you’re not a complainer.” Bronson hugged her head into his chest. “I’m pretty impressed with your pa that he didn’t raise no sissy little girl. He’d be proud of ya.” He kissed the top of her head.

Randy blinked several times surprised at Bronson’s sudden show of affection.

“I hate to put ya through this but you need to get dressed so we can get a move on. I’ll slow the pace down so you can handle the ride. Don’t want to make things worse for ya or kill ya in the end by ridin’ you too hard in the saddle with those kind of bruises.”

It was a good thing they slowed down. The ground was still mucky for the horses. The heat escalated as the day wore on. There were no trees as they traveled past stone formations, scattered sagebrush, and an occasional cactus.

Randy struggled to find a comfortable position. Sweat ran down her back and irritated the abrasions on her side. She unbuttoned her shirt partway and the hot breeze helped dry the sweat. Her eyes blurred and the horse’s heads were low as they followed the trail crossing the plain with monstrous red and orange stone formations all around them.

Bronson and Trevor would take turns to slow down and check on her. Al had more energy than the other two horses. But the effort for Randy to continue much longer was waning. Bronson rested his hand on hers.

“As soon as we can find a place that’s not so out in the open, we’ll stop for the night.”

Randy struggled to speak. “But there’s plenty of daylight left.”

“I’m not worried about distance now. I’m worried about you.” Bronson turned to Trevor. “You stay with her. I’m gonna go ahead to see if there’s a good place to camp.”

It wasn’t long before Bronson returned to lead them to one of the rock formations. He led them down a tunnel that was just wide enough for a horse with its rider to walk through. The tunnel opened into a cave.

“I’ll find somethin’ to burn so we at least have some light when it gets dark.” Bronson left.

Trevor helped Randy slide off of Al. She could barely stand. He took off her bedroll and his and rolled them out on the ground. He unsaddled Al and quickly made a place for her to rest. Randy held his hand as he helped her slowly sit down. She struggled to find a comfortable position. Randy sighed once she was settled and pressed the back of her hands into her eyes.

“Sometimes that horse is more trouble than he’s worth.” Randy seethed.

“You don’t mean that.” Trevor stroked her head. “I’ve been watchin’ him. You haven’t been leadin’ him much since you’ve been in pain. He knows to follow us and he’s been takin’ you on the smoothest path he could go. He looks genuinely sorry. I’ve never seen a horse look as sad as he has since you fell off.”

Al stood next to Storm with his head to the ground with his lip circling the dirt. He puffed the dirt and shifted his weight where he stood. She had to admit he did look pretty sorry.

“They need water.” Randy started to sit up.

Trevor held her down.

“We will find them water. You need to stay put.”

“Why do I keep slowing our progress down?” Randy blinked away more tears.

“Because we need to slow down. The horses can’t complain the way you can. They’re tired too.”

“There’s nothin’ here for them to eat.”

“Randy, we will take care of it.” He stroked her hair back away from her face. “I can take care of you and Al. Al lets me near him now so it will be fine. Believe me?”

She nodded.

“Good. Now rest as much as you can so you can get better and ride.” He leaned in to kiss her tenderly on her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” Randy squeezed his hand and smiled.

His face lit up with a huge smile before he got up to take care of the horses.

Randy’s eyes were so heavy she couldn’t keep them open any longer.

The sound of gunshots woke Randy. The horses were still in the cave. She gripped her pistol as she listened.

“Trevor! You can do better than that. Hell, I bet that horse a Randy’s could shoot better than you. Come on focus, boy. You gotta be able to take care of yourself out here. What if Randy and I aren’t there to save you? What if it’s just Randy. You wanna be saved by a girl? Pull it together.” Bronson’s voice echoed down the tunnel. Her heart felt as if it was being squeezed from the grief Bronson was giving Trevor.

There were two more gunshots.

“That’s more like it.” Bronson yelled.

Randy eased back to rest. She spun her pistol around her finger and then flinched from her back pain. When she did it again, she imagined a card on the ceiling of the cave. Then she imagined a whole deck of cards with Clyde’s face in the middle of every one. Randy pretended to blast holes in each ugly card. She tucked the pistol under her saddle near her head when they returned to the cave.

“It sure took you long enough. But I’m tellin’ you, ya need to be good. Not just because Randy can show ya up. She can show me up and every man in every town where we are headed. If you’re gonna be with her, you’re gonna be in danger. If ya wanna live, ya gotta be able to shoot fast and on target.”

Randy was going to pretend to be asleep but Bronson’s words were too loud and clear, being with her meant danger for all of them. The last thing she wanted was for Trevor to get hurt or die because of her.

Bronson stopped when he saw Randy’s face. He looked away and went for his saddle.

“I gotta speak the truth. We’re all in danger now. It’s no surprise to you, Randy. Why do you think we’ve been runnin’ across the country? Trevor is happy to learn how to hold his own. We might not have chance to protect him with all that’s goin’ on. Clyde knows we’re both attached to you. He’s gonna do whatever it takes to get what he wants. I’m not sure if that’s to kill you like he said or torment you over his messed up hand. He could do anything.” Bronson chewed on a piece of jerky.

Trevor sat beside Randy and offered her water. She shook her head.

Randy didn’t say much to either one of them.

“Look, I need to be better. I’m getting’ there. You’ve been learnin’ how to survive forever. At some point I wanna be able to take care of you and not the other way around.”

“I know.” She sighed and squeezed his hand.

“I think I have a clue where to find water and grass for the horses. I’d leave Trevor here but your horse still won’t let me touch him so I need Trevor.” Bronson tossed his saddle on his horse’s back and cinched it up. “You’ll be fine.  I can see for miles out here and there ain’t no one. I don’t think anyone would survive long out here anyway.” Bronson mounted his horse and took Storm with him.

“Wait, do you want to ride Al?” Randy asked Trevor.

“I’d rather be on his back than risk him rippin’ my arm off.” Trevor was still cautious when he placed his saddle on Al’s back. Al sidestepped a few steps until Trevor had his foot in the stirrup.

“Al, be nice,” Randy reprimanded. Al eased up, transferring his weight from one foot to the other.

“I think where Bronson is headed is not close. We may be gone a while.”

“I’m tired and sore enough that I think I’ll sleep fine. Bronson has a snore that wakes me up all night.” Randy’s mouth turned up to the side.

“Really? He hasn’t kept me up.”

“I know.”

“We’ll be back soon.” Trevor headed out the cave.

Randy settled back down and sleep came easily. She started to stir when Trevor’s weight leaned onto her, shooting pain up her back.

“That hurts.” She blinked a few times and before she could see clearly, she could smell whiskey on his breath. The whiskers brushing against her cheek were too many to be Trevor. When she finally focused, it wasn’t Trevor or Bronson. It was Clyde.

“This will hurt much worse, sweetheart.” Clyde was inches above her face. She could feel the cold steel against her temple. He engaged his pistol. “I’ve been thinkin’ how I wanted this to be when I finally had you all to myself. It couldn’t be more perfect. You and I alone. Far from the law, and your friends.” His laugh was sinister. She trembled looking at him with wide eyes.

“I dunno. Such a waste of a pretty young thing.” He brushed his whispered lips against her cheek.

Dread consumed her body. She hurt

He pushed himself up on his elbow moving her half-unbuttoned shirt over to show her shoulder. He trailed a finger along the lace of her camisole. “Such a pretty girl. A shame ya got yourself in such a heap of trouble by shootin’ my hand ya know.” He gazed at her face, running the back of his finger down her cheek. “But I know better. Ernie told me his mistake. But of course he didn’t have a gun at the time, did he?” He opened her shirt a little more to show her other shoulder and smiled even bigger. “I’ve thought about killin’ ya. I‘ve thought about havin’ my way with ya. But no, that’s not gonna do. Toyin’ with ya back there, makin’ ya so scared you tossed your lunch. That was gold I tell ya, pure gold.” His hot whiskey breath heated up her cheek.

Randy was frozen until he ran a finger across the edge of her camisole again and stopped to fiddle with the top button. She pushed him away. He pinned her arm to the ground, shoving her hand above her head. Her fingers brushed against the grip of her pistol hidden under her saddle. She wrapped her hand around the grip.

“No, I’m not gonna ruin you yet. I have a lot of game to play. Ya know that old man? He’s usin’ ya too. Not only in the sharpshootin’ contest, but he’s attractin’ a bunch a fellas that have it out for yer Pa. The sheriff’s been able to round them up with him goin’ and makin’ the arrangements long before your show. The payoff for the reward money is far bigger than the notes ya earn shootin’ up those cards.” He laughed.

Randy’s shaking hand held tight to the pistol, keeping it hidden. It was an awkward position to shoot him. She couldn’t make a sure shot and even though she was scared to death, killing him wasn’t something she was prepared to do. Besides, he still had a gun pressed against her head. Even if she shot him, he could still shoot her. She was in so much pain that putting up a fight would be risky.

“I figure once ya know that the old man is out to take advantage of ya too, and if I take care of that boyfriend of yours, you’ll have no one left to turn to. You might even beg me to kill ya then. The agony of bringin’ ya down will all be worth it. As long as I leave ya alive, and just follow ya for a while, the law won’t be able to do a thing to me. Not until it’s too late. Yep, I just gotta keep my nose clean here on out until I have completely destroyed you.” Clyde kept laughing his horrible cackle. He kissed her jaw pressing his whiskers into her skin then kissed her neck and chest. She tried to push him away with her other hand. He dug his hand into her back and she screamed in agony. “Oh yes, I know about this. Saw ya in the creek washin’ off. I did a good job of catchin’ up. Y’all took the long way. I would have been disappointed had that mud taken care of ya before I had a chance to have my fun. See ya in the next town, or who knows, maybe I’ll run off with that boy before then. I’ll be right where ya don’t expect me.” Clyde squeezed her bruises as he stood up. She screamed and kicked at his groin. He backed away before her foot met its target. Shaking his finger at her, Clyde laughed as he headed out of the cave.

Randy sat up with a stabbing pain in her side. She pointed her gun at the tunnel with her hands shaking and tears spilling down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do to warn Bronson and Trevor. With no horse and no sense of direction and the amount of pain she was in, it was pointless. She lay back as the tears kept falling.

Randy was done crying when she wondered if they were dead with the amount of time that had passed. No matter what happened to them, Clyde would not have the satisfaction of taking her out. In fact she wasn’t going to be afraid of him anymore. That’s what he wanted. Bronson tried to remind her of that back in town.

Clyde was going to play a game with her, she was good at games. When she was done with Trevor, he would know how to play too. So what if Bronson was getting reward money. He was finishing up the job her pa never had the chance to finish. She wasn’t going to be anyone’s victim.

Relief overwhelmed her when Bronson and Trevor arrived in the tunnel. They obviously hadn’t encountered Clyde. She knew what needed to be done. They needed some time before they encountered Clyde again.