In the Shadow of the Noose

I'd been one of those until Ethan confused the two.

"I didn't thank you for last night." I said as my thoughts came back to the here and now.

"Without your help, I think the crowd could as readily decided to hand me over to the Dukes."

He grinned. My eyes flitted over that dull tin star, just to remind myself that Joe was still a questionable ally.

"They just needed to hear they weren't going to end up in the boneyard before their time. They're good people. Just needed a little hope."

"Well after this is over they'll have it." I said confidently.

"They'll be able to go back to their lives free of scratching around for cash to pay parasites."

"And what about you? When it's over? Will you stay around or move on?"

The outlying farms reminded me of home. Of what I'd had taken from me. The idea of a little piece of land and a cozy shack with Annie waiting by the fire for me was appealing. But an impossible dream. At least in Arizona. There were three angry sheriffs out there looking for revenge on the two girls who'd duped them. Not to mention Ethan's brother who no doubt still hankered after seeing my lifeless body dangling from a rope.

"We'll be moving on. Settling down isn't... it's not for us."

I wished it were possible.

"Some are just born to drift, I guess." He said.

"Of course. Some have no choice but to keep moving."

My heart skipped at the almost indiscernible change in tone and my eyes snapped to his.

"There's a story about two lady outlaws I heard recently." Joe went on.

I felt myself tense and I looked at the rifle sitting across his lap. His finger was only a hairs breath away from the trigger.

"Would you like to hear about it?"

I shrugged.

"Why not."

My heart beat faster.

"Story goes that there's two outlaws. Fine-looking gals by all accounts. One with long flame-red hair. A little like yours I guess.

She has a bounty on her head for murder. They say her friend has claimed the reward three times by duping three separate sheriffs to lead a posse to her."

"Is that so."

"That's what the story says."

"And what else does it say?"

"That all three times the posse offered up instant justice. Her friend had encouraged them, riding with them, warning how dangerous this murderess was. So by the time they came across her, they were ready for a lynching."

He made an unnerving imitation of being hanged.

"Then her friend, a two-bit Cattle Kate named Annie Campbell pretending to be an upstanding member of society, a schoolmistress at that. Well... she made her excuses about not wanting to see a girl hang, asking for them to wait until she'd gone.

Then hiding up in the hills she takes a clean shot that cuts the rope. In the furor, the murderess escapes and the two of them ride off with the reward money."

Again I watched his hands and the poise of the weapon. He would put a bullet in me before I could draw.

"But why would you suppose a pretty girl would murder a man?" He asked.

His eyes burned into me and I answered slowly.

"I suppose that man might have tried to take something from the girl that didn't belong to them."

"What do you suppose that might be?"

"Her cunny." I said firmly, remembering Ethan's pawing hands between my legs.

My voice tightened, becoming steely.

"I imagine he went to her home not long after her eighteenth. Just days after her Pop had been laid in the ground. I imagine he hit her, that he tore her clothes off. Held her down over the table where she ate and forced his way between her legs."

I was almost spitting the words as the memory returned. I felt the calloused hands on my breasts and smelt his whiskey and tobacco-tainted breath as clearly as I had on the day.

"I imagine the girl struggled. That she reached out and grabbed the first thing she could find in her desperation. I imagine it was something sharp like a butcher knife that she plunged into him with no other thought than to protect herself."

Still his hand didn't move towards the trigger. It didn't move away either.

"And why would a judge then condemn her to hang just for defending herself?"

"Because the man was the Sheriff's brother. A Sheriff that was angered and cared more for his wayward brother than he did for upholding the law. A Sheriff that handpicked the jury."

He studied me a moment longer, then his hand moved. I flinched but didn't go for my gun. He took the rifle by the barrel and stood up. The relief flooded through me as he became less of a threat.

"As I say. It's just an old cowboys tale." He said walking past me towards the barn door.

I breathed out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as soon as he was behind me.

"I imagine the sharpshooter in the story is just like your friend." He added.

I turned around to find Joe still in the doorway. He'd stopped and turned back toward me. The rifle remained unthreateningly at his side.

"The equally pretty cattle rustler destined to hang alongside you. That is until you broke out of jail.

Red hair is distinctive, but I wasn't sure. Not till I realized your friend had a gun trained on me this whole time."

He turned his eyes upwards and I followed his gaze. Sure enough, Annie was there amongst the hay with her rifle still aimed down. So silent even I had been oblivious to her presence.

"Good day, Abigail Ward.

And you Miss Campbell."

He tipped his hat and left us. Annie climbed down and stood by me.

"You trust him?"

I thought about it. He hadn't known about Annie and without her he could easily have shot me or tried to take me in. He hadn't.

"I trust his hope that we'll save his town." I decided.

Evan had come not long after Pop's death. may be a week or two at most. I'd still been grieving. He thought his brother gave him rights not afforded to others. He drank heavily and gambled. Any money he had was spent in the brothel. Everyone in the area knew him and knew he was trouble. Sheriff Carter Buck had thrown him in a cell to sober up many a time. But he never put him before a judge and he never upheld a complaint against him.

Drunk one more time, Ethan had gotten it into his head that the young farmer's daughter who'd just come of age was a cheaper option than a whore.

I'd only just been left on my own in the small homestead ten minutes ride from town with a harvest almost ready to gather. For Evan, I was easy pickings. No one was going to stop him from taking what he wanted.

He'd come by at sundown intent on taking his pleasure from me whether I agreed or not. I tried to be nice about it. Then I'd begged him. He hadn't listened and I couldn't fight him off. Even drunk he was too powerful for me to resist.

I hadn't intended to kill him and that first sight of blood had horrified me.

The court case had been a sham. The Sheriff had been little better than his brother. A cruel man with no care for truth or justice. He just wanted me to hang for what I'd done. The jury had been rounded up from people he could rely on. I was certain money had changed hands, perhaps a few threats to be sure.

For a week I wallowed in that jail cell waiting for the rope. Mostly I'd sobbed my eyes out and prayed for salvation. I'd watched them erect the gallows through the bars. Two ropes. One for me and one for the woman in the cell next to me. A cattle rustler that'd been turned in by her own partner.

It was where I lost my faith. The priest had been keen to absolve me of my sins. I saw only that I had been sinned against and I could not worship a god that would abandon me.

The day before the hanging the Sheriff had made a mistake. He'd left the jailhouse in the hands of his youngest deputy. He'd been between hay and grass. Neither man nor boy. A kid with no experience and even less sense.

Annie had asked for water, claiming to feel faint. The kid, stupid and naive, had stepped forward, right up to the bars when she'd put her head down and slumped.

She'd moved so quickly I hadn't really seen how she did it, but a moment later she had him against the bars with an arm across the throat, and his gun in her hand. He'd handed over the keys readily. I'd watched as she tied him up fully expecting her to just leave me. She hadn't.

We took horses from outside the saloon and galloped out of town. We kept going for days, covering our trail at every opportunity. Until we felt confident we had no one tracking us.

I'm not sure what Annie saw in me. Anyone else would have abandoned the moody girl with a grudge against the world at the first opportunity. But not her. She taught me to shoot straighter than I ever had, and how to fight with my hands. She honed my riding skills and educated me in the ways of the world.

I hated that I was on the run. An outlaw from a supposed justice. I hated even more that I was forced to steal and cheat. But I needed to survive like anyone else. Annie taught me how to do that.

It was weeks before she kissed me for the first time. We had been watching a beautiful vibrant red sunset one evening when she'd just leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. It'd been a shock. But also delightful.

Before Ethan, I had always expected to marry and have children. To have the life my mom had missed out on. After, the idea of being touched by a man disgusted me, and I'd resigned myself to the life of a spinster, if I could stay alive.

In one magical moment, I was shown an alternative. One which I embraced with all my heart. It was also the first night I didn't go to sleep wondering if I'd wake up to find my saviour gone.

As I lay in her arms with my head in her bosom I remembered how Annie's kindness had saved me almost two years previously. I gave her the chance to save herself now.

"If you don't want to do this, I don't mind if you ride out before the Dukes get here. They don't know you. You'll be safe."

Annie was quiet for a moment, just running her fingers through my hair.

"Would you be riding with me?"

I wanted to say yes. I so wished I could.

"No.

I can't."

"Then this ol' prairie dog ain't going nowhere."

I was torn on hearing that. I wanted her to be safe. But I also couldn't face not having her by my side. Live or die, I needed Annie.

I twisted my head up and smiled as her fingers moved down to caress my cheek.

That hand moved lower, finding my breast to squeeze and toy with.

"Mmm."

I wriggled as the fire in my belly raged hotter and hotter.

Annie was giggling when she kicked the covers away and knelt on all fours, offering her butt up to me.

"Wanna come play?"

"Does a dog chase a rabbit?"

I kissed her sweet little butt. Feather-like brushes of my lips all over and down to the tops of thighs that my hands wrapped around to hold her in place.

"Ooh."

I breathed in deeply, smelling her honey pot. Earthy and arousing. To me it was perfection. The scent of promise. Of pleasure.

"Oh yes."

I kissed it, licking her soft flaps to the side so that oozing juice coated my tongue.

Her body quivered from head to toe and she drew breath sharply.

"Sorta nice ain't it." I teased.

"Dang gal. It's better than a barn dance at harvest time."

I smiled at that. Enjoying a girl's genitals with the mouth was considered too French by the puritanical types. And, understandably, unhygienic by people who couldn't bathe regularly.

I couldn't imagine Mary took pleasure in it with her Alfred. But to me, it was a delight. Both to enjoy and be enjoyed. There were times we had to make do with fingers, but we took every advantage of streams and rivers, and found lodgings whenever we could to stay clean.

I pushed my face to that warm wet meat and tickled it with the tip of my tongue.

"Uhh. God."

I found her pearl. A hot little button, hard under my tongue.

"Aw. God."

Annie was gasping as I lapped at her juices and flicked her pearl.

"Oh god. Stop."

She forced herself away and turned, taking hold of me. I was pushed down onto my back and she scissored her legs around mine.

"I need you so much."

Annie pressed her cunny against mine and rocked her hips. I put my head back and pushed my groin tighter against hers and we climbed the rock face together.

"Uh."

We reached our pinnacle in unison.

I slept soundly with my tension released. A good night's sleep that would serve me well in the coming fight.

When I woke, Annie was already up, splashing water on her face to freshen up for the day.

I stretched and spread out in the bed watching her. She only had a skirt on and I was treated to seeing her breasts swing and jiggle as she moved around. Beneath the blanket, I tickled my crack a little to ease the excited ache.

"You're awake." Annie said as she turned to see me.

Her eyes flitted to the movement under the blanket and she smiled at knowing exactly what I was doing. I stopped as my cheeks heated.

"No time for that.

You have a town to barricade."

Annie hauled her skirt up and crouched over the chamberpot.

I heard the stream of piss jet from between her legs echoing in the bowl as I sat up.

"Breakfast first." I said finally getting out of bed.

I filled the bowl with more water and washed the sleep from my eyes. Using a rag I wiped my armpits free of their sweat and cleaned my cunny of last night's residue.

"I saw eggs being brought in last night." Annie offered up as she laced up her boots.

"Real bacon would be nice. Not that tinned buzzard bait."

I dressed and we went down to a more amenable landlady who seemed to have gotten over her high-falutin attitude towards us.

"Good morning.

We have fresh bacon this morning. And eggs from the Sandersons."

"Hallelujah." I grinned.

The table was empty next to us. Mary saw me looking.

"They left at first light. The Pastor agreed to take them over to the next town.

Not everyone is so keen to welcome the Dukes."

FIVE

While Annie continued with target practice, I took charge of directing those who were too fearful to take up a weapon with building defenses. The Sheriff helped. It was disconcerting that a man who could have me lynched in the time it took to saddle a horse seemed comfortable working alongside me knowing I was an outlaw.

I put that out of my mind and concentrated on preparing the town for battle.

We knew the Dukes would come from the east so the west side of town was barricaded with overturned carts to stop them riding through. More carts were positioned at the east end to roll in place as soon as the gunmen were inside.

We couldn't block every exit between the buildings, instead relying on confusion to keep them inside the crossfire zone.

Old barrels and anything solid were used to provide shelter in the big storage barn. When the doors were swung open a barrage of fire could be unleashed precisely where we hoped to trap the Dukes.

We placed other barrels at the side of the street for strategic cover. If I was to be at the center of this, I needed somewhere to find shelter.

"I'll take the church tower," Annie said.

"Almost a straight line down the center of town.

Use the cathouse for our best shooters."

"How's that going? Do we have any 'best shooters'" I asked hopefully.

"Depends on how you define best. There's a few who can hit a barn door. So that'll have to do."

"And the rest?"

She shrugged.

"Just hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot."

"Where do you want me?" Joe asked.

"The barn." Annie answered.

"It's exposed if the men in there can't keep up their rate of fire. You'll be the only one who can shoot straight. Make your shots count."

"Yes ma'am." He teased.

"Try and keep the reloading staggered. Don't want everyone's head down at once."

I checked the cathouse next for its vantage point. If we were putting men up there we needed to know that had cover and a good line of sight. And of course, the whores needed to move out.

Several rooms overlooked the street. The beds were heavy wooden things. Strongly made to withstand the raunchy behavior they'd experience. Upturned, they'd provide good cover. The fine linen would need putting away. It was even better than in Mary's hotel and would be a shame to spoil it.

The three whores working there, or rather not working, were compliant. They were fairly decent gals who'd had bad breaks in life. I couldn't help but think that had Annie abandoned me after our jailbreak, this might just have been the only option available to me for survival.

Plenty of women fell on hard times and found themselves doing the unthinkable. Would I have been any different? The thought was abhorrent to me, but what life had taught me in the past two years was that there were many things I would do just to stay alive.

"The Duke brothers and their men always come by here when they're in town. Usually, just three or four to collect payment."

The dark-haired gal said. She went by the name of Clara.

"Tomorrow. You're bringing the whole clan down on us.

If you don't win, they're coming here to celebrate after. All of them."

"Isn't that the idea of a Cathouse? To bring the men in? Good business?"

"Not Dukes men. They don't pay. And they're rough."

To my mind that wasn't a business transaction. It was what Ethan had intended for me.

"Then pray we win."

Clara had a pretty face and long well-defined legs that she was keen to show off and I was looking a little too much. She noticed, suddenly softening her stance and smiling.

"So how about you?

I hear you're not so taken with the menfolk."

Her eyes ran me up and down.

"Someone been blabbing?" I asked.

Mary was my guess. Though I didn't expect she associated with the likes of Clara.

"I hear and see things.

Can't say I would object if you were to want a go on me. I'll even do a special rate for someone as cute as you.

You'll be my first paying gal."

I laughed. Rare for me that something struck me as funny. But being propositioned by a whore was new.

"Paying?"

She smirked.

"You think us gals stay chaste and play cards when the customers dry up?"

"No. I 'spose not."

I looked at those legs again. Smooth and shapely. Certainly, if I was of a mind to pay, I'd happily part with my five dollars for Clara.

I took a breath to calm my loins.

"No thanks. I'm a one-woman gal."

"Pity."

"Get dressed and take your gals over to the Johnson house, to the south. They've agreed to keep you safe until this is over."

She nodded approvingly.

"I know the Johnsons. Decent people. They don't judge."

I looked over the room again. It might be the workshop of what they called a spoilt dove, a sportin' woman, but it was well kept and Clara seemed to have taste.

"Why do you do it?"

Clara sat back and lifted one of those fine legs onto a stool, looking me over.

"Prostitute myself?

We all need to survive. I use what god gave me."

She expanded as though she felt she should justify herself.

"I was married young. My pa was a bullying man and I got out before... it became more. But my husband wasn't any better. He wasn't a nice man. Roostered most nights. Came home wanting his dues. Wasn't always pleasant about it.

I didn't have a lot of options but I figured that if I was gonna lay on my back and open my legs every night, I might as well get paid for it. And every single man that's been up here has treated me better than he ever did."

I nodded my understanding.

"My gals, they were orphans. Found them on the street one night in Tucson. Hungry, desperate, and selling themselves for a few cents. I took pity and showed them how to be nice to a man in return for a fair dollar."

"And what in Sam Hill brought you from Tucson to Valley Hills?"

"The saloon owner, Nathaniel. He came looking for some sportin' women. Told us there were good pickings to be made.

For a while that was true. Five dollars for some fun. Ten for the night. Then the Dukes came."