A Lethal Lady

The fair had long since begun in Coloma, the town was lively and full of lights. Some food stalls were set up in strategic places, there were also games such as target shooting, and of course, supervised by Harry.

While Tom took care of other matters. He wasn't interested in the fair, but he was still dressed in his best suit for the occasion... after supervising the last details of the fuss in his town, he was on his way to the police station, when Hilary stopped him halfway.

“Where are you headed, Sheriff? Not interested in the party?

Not really, but go ahead and enjoy it.

“Well, I thought we could dance a little, I saw that they've put in a dance floor. What do you think? Cheer up a bit," she sa moving a little closer to him.

Ym 50 sorry, Hilary.

Tom nods with his hat and walks past her. Hilary stands in the same place, repulsed and offended. She clenches her jaw i anger, she had put on her best dress for nothing, because the sheriff didn’t even look at her.

-Damn you,” she mutters, only to turn and watch him walk away down the desolate street.

-Hilary was startled to hear the mayor's voice, the woman turned around and eyed the man warily. And here I was thinkin that guy wasn't a man anyone could fall in love with," she smiled.

“What does he want?

-Do you love the sheriff?

That's none of his business.’ She makes an attempt to walk away, but doesn't, Wyatt grabs her arm and pulls her back. The sheriff doesn't belong to you, does he, tell me something, why? -Wyatt sharpens his gaze, provoking fear in the woman.

-1 don't know...

-Maybe your daughter does.

-Do what you want with her, I don't care.

Hilary releases her grip and starts down the road, but then stops abruptly, as if an idea has occurred to her.

He likes that woman... the stranger who ran off with his horse,” she informs the man, without even turning around. She knew she was being watched by him.

She walks straight to the party, but with a radiant smile on her lips. Possibly, things wouldn't end all bad for her.

Wyatt's smile faded the instant the woman gave him the news, he watched her walk away and didn't bother to follow her. He didn't think it was necessary, besides, he doubted she was lying.

He turns his body towards the police station, and smiles...

“We'll see how I can use this interesting information to my advantage.

[.]

-Billy! Billy!

At the sound of his name he rises to his feet together with the rest of his companions, all drawing their pistols and going on the alert.

In the distance they spotted a horse and its rider coming at full speed...

-It's Pete,” says one of them.

They were all waiting for Pete's group with some cattle from Joy's ranch, it was an easy enough job, since they were not going to bring many cows. But this rider came alone, and that worried the boss.

Billy makes his way through his companions, and stands in front of the horse that stopped in front of them.

“What the hell happened? Where are the rest of them? And the cattle? -The man almost fell off his horse.

I've been shot in the shoulder.

Ym not asking you about your f****g shoulder, where are the rest of the bastards?

-Dead,” he answers, shaken. They're all dead.

Joy, did he kill them? -The bloody old man!

“No, it was someone else. Very fast, agile, he can shoot at night with a fair degree of certainty.

The man frowns, fed up with the bloody story, grabs Pete by the lapel of his jacket and pulls him to his feet.

-Goddamn it, what the hell are you saying? Who the hell killed them?

-A woman! It was a woman... theres a woman defending the old man’s land.

Billy let go of the man, and was silent for a moment...

a damn woman killed them all. it is impossible, that is not possible

[.]

Rouse had to force the old man to go to sleep, she promised him that she would keep watch and look after his land while he rested. That man had done so much for her, somehow she had to pay him back with something.

So, she took the shotgun, and a couple of other guns she had strapped to her waist and went outside. It was possible tha the guy who escaped would come back with more of his friends, but she would be waiting for them.

After a couple more hours, she realised that they would not be coming back. Maybe it was time to go back to the house a try to rest. Likewise, the leader of that gang must have been aware by now that joy had a defender, the detail was, she wasn't sure how long she would be the old man’s heroine.

Her idea was not to stay for too long in these lands...

She slung her shotgun on her back, and walked straight to the house... sleep would be good for her.

1 wondered how long it was going to take me to find you,” he says.

Rouse stops dead in his tracks, and with it he draws his gun and points it straight at the sheriff.

The two were a safe distance apart, but the only person who was threatening the others life was Rouse. Tom hadn't even drawn his revolver.

“How quick you are! I'm surprised, for a lady.

-Sheriff, don't look for me to hurt him.

-Don't you want to? -He frowns. “You know, Rouse, I was aware that you were on this land,” he says with that patience tha she blinked at him several times, but without lowering her gun.

-And why didn't you come looking for me in the first place? When he came in the morning.

Because there are things I must know before I do anything against you.

1 won't answer you anything, don't ask me, because I won't say a word to you.

Tom looked her over from head to foot, she was wearing a very gay and fashionable dress that night. Now she did Look Lik a lady, but with that resolve in her hand, she was more like a lethal lady.

“What are you doing in these parts, Rouse? Joy's a good man, I'm not going to let you...

Ym not going to hurt the old man, if that's what you think.

With all those guns on him, believe me, I'm thinking the opposite of what he says.

-Did I hurt your horse? I ain't no damn bastard, sheriff.

Of that he had no doubt, Tom slips his hands into his jeans and takes a step towards her. Without taking his eyes off her. -Don't go any further, don't make me shoot you.

“You can't run forever, if you kill me, you'll bring a lot of people down on you. They'll hang you, Rouse. Without judgement 1 don't care, Id rather be dead than... -I don't care, I'd rather be dead than...

That's not true, you've fought too hard to stay alive.

She clenches her jaw as she sees that he was quite close to her. The blonde takes the safety off the revolver and points i straight at Tom's face.

-Don't underestimate me, sheriff. Why are you here unarmed? Why did you come here?

To see her.

Rouse’s heart skipped a beat at those words, to see her? What do you mean, to see her, he wonders?

“What do you say...?

But he doesn’t manage to finish the question, as the sheriff disarms his hand, and ends up wrapping his arm around her waist. Their bodies come together, practically lip to lip.

-I'm here as a man, not a sheriff, Rouse.

She looked into Tom's eyes in the dark, and for a moment she felt damned safe.

You...

Tom kissed Rouse’s lips, first probing, then reinforcing the kiss by making it more lustful and intense. After a few seconds he felt the blonde's arms around his neck, giving him the opportunity to loosen the strap around her waist to finish disarming her.

She might be a little vulnerable at the moment, but that didn't mean she was harmless. He could already tell how fast sh was, not least by hearing her voice. She had drawn her revolver in seconds, and had she not known it was him. He was su he would have killed him.

But he would deal with that later, he hadn't gone to Joy's land to interrogate her. The truth is, he wanted to see her that night, and since the town was pretty busy, he thought he could get away.

It wasn't right what he was doing, but it was unavoidable.

-Sheriff, what the hell are you doing? -She whispers against his lips.

-1 don’t know, Rouse,” he licks his lips and kisses her again.

Without being able to help it, the sheriff let the blood of a normal man run through his veins. In these moments he was r an officer, he was simply a man who wanted a woman. But not just any woman, she was an outlaw, he wasn't entirely sure of that, but it was clear that Rouse was a thief.

Not so much for showing up naked in his village, or stealing his horse, he thought because the damned thing was getting deep inside him. Worst of all, he suspected that when he found out what she really was, he wasn't going to like it. Howev in those moments he didn’t give a shit what she might be.