Little Sharpshooter Chap 34

Randy didn’t care that she lost. She didn’t even care that much about being co-champion, but she probably would have been if not for Clyde and Ernie. Seeing them in the front row with their damaged hands completely unnerved her. She sighed as she headed back to the hotel. She wouldn’t earn much for losing. There was a certain percentage they were entitled to and it didn’t compare to a tie or winning. That was what Bronson had been worried about. So far the outlaws hadn’t done a thing to bring any attention to themselves. There were too many people around. So Bronson wouldn’t make anything there either. The money was all he cared about anyway.

She took care of Al, brushing his coat in the stable where there were only horses to keep them company. Everyone was no doubt still celebrating Annie Oakley’s win. There were a few people that said she shot well on her way back. But she was so shaken, she could only nod politely. Al deserved something for his outstanding performance, so she took her saddle back to the hotel and returned with several apple slices.

When she stepped out of the stable, she was shoved against the wall.

“Ya threw it, didn’t ya? There was no reason ya shoulda missed that shot. You overheard me tell Ely you were my little goldmine and you missed on purpose.” Bronson’s face was redder than a tomato as he glared at her, shoving her back into the wall once more.

“No. I didn’t. I really didn’t.” She pushed his hand off her chest. “You actually said that? I lost my nerve. I really tried my best to tie and still missed.”

“I don’t believe it. You’ve never lost your nerve and ya never miss when it’s that important. What got into you? I could tell ya weren’t determined there in the end. Ya threw it. I know ya did,” he raged at her.

“I haven’t always made my shots. I missed a shot yesterday when I was practicin’ with Annie. I lost my nerve then too. They talked me into tryin’ anyway and I got through it but it didn’t work today. Clyde and Ernie were in the front just watchin’ me. Every time I see them, they remind me how I missed. How I lost the game that day. I have been paying for it ever since. There here wantin’ me to pay up for my mistake.”

“You never said you missed.”

“Because it didn’t hit me until yesterday when I couldn’t shoot the cigarette in Frank’s mouth. I was aimin’ for their pistols that day and I shot their hands. Two mistakes. Failin’ that day cost me my pa and gave me my bum leg. They won’t let me rest until they make sure I pay up. Today no one died and no one was hurt because I lost. I can live with that. It’s not a big deal.” Randy kicked at the dirt.

Bronson pressed his mouth together and rested his hands on his hips. He was still fuming.

Trevor ran up to them without saying a word and started to push Bronson and pull Randy into the stables. Shots were fired. Randy ducked and tried to see who was shooting. Bronson turned and fired back while he shoved the two of them to safety.

Randy unceremoniously sprawled out on the ground from Bronson’s shove. She scrambled over to the wall of the stable.

“Why didn’t ya just tell me? I can shoot.” She pulled out her pistol but couldn’t do anything inside the stables.

“We’re totally outnumbered. They’re comin’ down both sides of the street. They’re all over. I don’t know where all the law is. I guess protectin’ Annie and not you.”

More shots were exchanged. Bronson yelled in pain as he fell back in the doorway.

“Bronson!” Randy was ready to fire too many men circled around them with their guns drawn.

Bronson clutched his shoulder and rocked in pain on the ground. Deep red spread on his shoulder and chest.

“No!” Randy screamed as she pointed the gun at the nearest man with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Stop,” Trevor cried, shoving her gun down. “Don’t shoot.”

Before either one of them could do anything else to help Bronson as he coughed and struggled on his back, Ernie and Clyde grabbed Randy’s arms, removed her pistol from her hand, and chucked it in the hay.

“No don’t take me from him. He needs help,” she sobbed, struggling to pull free as they dragged her through the stables. Al kicked at his stall door. She glanced back to see two men yanking Trevor away from Bronson. He fought hard to get free using all the skills she taught him. At least he was trying this time.

Rose cackled. “He’s all mine now!” Rose yelled at Randy as she was dragged to a storage building across the way.

Randy pulled hard against Clyde and Ernie, struggling to get a good footing while they kept dragging her. “Y’all wanna keep takin’ the people I love from me? Is that it? Ya gonna kill them all?” She jerked her arms when her foot caught the doorframe. They held her too tight.

“No, we plan on killin’ ya this time,” Ernie shut the door behind them. A few shafts of sunlight lit the building.

“Why? So you can go to jail? Ya know how many lawmen are here? They all know who I am. The important ones know it is you two that wanna hurt me the most.” She continued to pull away. “ya won’t even get outta town. You’ll go straight to jail. Maybe they’ll hang ya this time.”

Ernie froze.

“Why are ya lettin’ her get to you, fool? We finally have her right where we want her.”

“But we’ve been in jail. They’ll send us to a bigger one. They might hang us this time. They’ll be no gettin’ out.”

“There won’t be any gettin’ away.” Randy nodded. Her mind raced as fast as her heart. If she could make Ernie scared to follow through, she might be able to find a way out.

“Shut-up” Clyde threw her against the wall and held her there by her throat. “I have been waitin’ so long for this. I have dreamed about it. What would bother James Carter the most?”

Randy stopped fighting against them and went limp. Clyde wasn’t expecting it and let her go when she collapsed into a heap on the ground. Randy wasted no time catching Ernie’s legs between hers and rolled knocking him to the ground. She scrambled on top of him pulling his guns from his holster and held one to his head. Clyde grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled back holding his pistol to her head.

“How could I torture Carter’s little girl so he’d turn in his grave?” Clyde said through clenched teeth near her ear.

“He ain’t gonna roll in his grave. He’s dead. What’s he really gonna do about it? What ya do to me means nothin’ to him now.” Randy engaged the guns pointed at Ernie. “But as long as I can take one of you out with me. I will have won even if you kill me.”

“Clyde no! She’ll shoot me before ya shoot her.” Ernie’s hands were up in the air. He wriggled under her, struggling to get free. She pointed the gun emphatically at him. Clyde pulled her hair tighter, yanking her head back more. She gripped Ernie’s shirt and kept the gun pointed at him.

“I don’t even need to look at him to make my shot. Look, not very many people know my pa is dead. You’d both be in jail if I didn’t make the mistake of tellin’ no one back home what ya did. I saved your lives already. Ya know I’m a good shot. I coulda shot ya both dead plenty of times. I coulda killed Ernie after he kidnapped me. Clyde, I coulda shot ya in the cave. I was armed but I didn’t do it. I made a lot of mistakes that has spared ya both.”

“Ya just didn’t have the nerve to do it. Your do-gooder pa didn’t teach ya well if ya can’t kill nothin’. But ya did shoot us and that has been a mighty painful reminder that there’s a Carter I need to finish off.” Clyde pulled her hair tighter. She pressed the second pistol into Clyde’s foot.

“Ya killed my pa and ya shot me first before I hurt you. I just got ya back. I will always limp but I’ll remind ya again, I coulda killed ya easily then knowing what ya did to my pa and I didn’t.I haven’t shot ya right now either.” Clyde eased up his grip on her hair. It gave her the courage to go on. “Y’all already got revenge on my pa. Why do ya wanna still hurt him so bad? Why do ya still wanna hurt me?” Randy couldn’t stop the tears. “What’s the point?” Her watery eyes met his. He looked away.

“I told ya! It’s his fault our girls are dead.” Clyde frowned and tightened his grip on her hair, yanking her head back for her to look at him as he raged on. “We were plannin’ to marry them after the job. It was gonna give us the money we needed. The girls didn’t want us to do it so we kept it secret. Your pa ruined everything when he threw us in jail. The Rangers knew O’Malley was to blame for hiring us to steal cattle. We couldn’t do nothin’ about it when O’Malley’s henchmen killed our girls. When we did get out, we found them dead in our house. There was little left of them by then but it was obvious Josie and Ella died an awful painful death.” Clyde was shaking, his face red with the veins popping out his neck. He ignored the tear that escaped the corner of his eye.

“Would Josie and Ella want you to hurt me the same way?” Randy’s face softened she relaxed the gun she pointed at Ernie. “I know if Pa knew, he would have protected them. It wasn’t Pa’s fault you made a poor choice. You paid for it in a terrible way. But you can make a better choice now. If Josie and Ella were still here, what would they want ya to do? They must have loved ya because there was somethin’ good in you. Ya kill me now and you’re done for. If you do escape, you’ll have a high price on your head and ya won’t last long. I’m famous now.” Clyde’s grip on her eased. His face softened when he really looked at Randy. “Truthfully I’m just a young girl that lost everything that mattered most to me. That is what would make my pa turn in his grave. What would Josie and Ella think of that? What would they tell ya to do if they were here? Would they turn in their graves if ya hurt me like they were hurt? I’m not much different than them.” She sniffed with tears filling her eyes. She gently pulled his hand away from her head.

Clyde let her go.

The room was quiet. Randy wasn’t sure whether to let Ernie go. She pointed the guns at them both as she moved off Ernie and slowly stood while he scrambled to his feet.

Clyde took a long look at Randy. “I look at ya now and I see you’re no different than Josie and I’m no different than O’Malley. I’ve been a man possessed.” He rubbed his head and paced the shed. “Let’s go,” Clyde pulled Ernie’s shirt, casting his gaze to the floor.

Ernie picked his hat up and rolled the brim around in his hand. “I’m sorry. I never thought about what Ellawoulda wanted me to do.” He turned abruptly and caught up to Clyde.

Once they were gone, Randy slid down the wall until she squatted, rubbing her head. She exhaled with relief.

“You know ya ain’t safe yet. There’re a bunch of others out there that wanna see ya hurtin’ because they don’t know your pa’s dead.” Butch entered the building and squatted in front of her. “I didn’t think ya could talk your way outta that one. So they killed James Carter?”

Randy nodded.

Butch held out his hand. She rested her hand lightly in his and stood up. He didn’t let go.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“Yep. It’s far from over. Is Bronson dead?” She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“They cleared out and left him behind still strugglin’. But that Ely found him and he was taken to the hospital pretty fast.”

“Are they lookin’ for me?”

“No one knew you or your boyfriend went missing. Bronson couldn’t tell them much. Will ya give me a kiss for what I know?”

Randy scowled and shook her head.

“It was worth tryin’. Your boyfriend’s in trouble. We need to hurry.” He handed her the pistol Clyde threw in the hay. He took her to another building a few streets away.

“I think ya should hold the gun to my head like ya captured me. Promise ya won’t shoot though,” Butch said outside the door.

“Why?” Randy hesitated.

“Rose might be after your boy but she’s always had a soft spot for me even though I’ll have nothin’ to do with her.”

“Oh. I’ll be careful.” She checked to see how many bullets she had.

“You gotta act tough though. I’m a good fighter and I know you are too. But it’s gotta be believeable.”

“I gotta tie ya up.”

“Nah. I got a tender head. Grab my hair but don’t hurt me too much.” He bent over to the side so Randy could grab a handful of hair. “Ow!”

Randy smiled and got a tighter grip on his hair. He scrunched his face up. “You’re mean.” He whimpered. “Don’t let on that I’m helpin’ ya.”

“Shut-up,” Randy said, leading him into the wagon shed.

“Come on, you’re such a good lookin’ boy,” Rose said, straddled over Trevor’s legs attempting to kiss him. He was sitting on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. Randy smiled. Trevor was close to loosening one of his hands. She needed to give him a little more time.

“Let him go!” Randy’s voice bounced off the walls in the empty building.

“Or what?” Rose asked, jumping to her feet when she saw Butch. She immediately pulled it together to play it down. “What makes ya think I care about him?” Rose started to walk away. Randy spotted a pistol on the bench where Rose was headed. Randy pulled Butch closer to the bench.

She pointed her gun at Rose. “Don’t move.”

When Rose leapt for the pistol, Randy shot. It flew off the bench and slid across the floor. Trevor was free and was able to grab it. With trembling hands, he pointed it at Rose. Randy was sure he was still useless though.

“Shoot her, Miranda,” Butch whispered. “She deserves it. Ya have no idea how many she’s killed.”

“I’m not the law. I won’t play God.” Randy mumbled in his ear. She pointed the gun at Butch’s head again. “Lie down, Rose. Lie down now. I’ll kill him,” she yelled acting as if she was about to go through with it, engaging the gun.

“Lie down!” Butch pleaded. “Ya know she’s good.”

Rose didn’t, she lunged for the gun in Trevor’s hand.

Before Randy could shoot, Trevor fired and hit Rose in the shoulder. She reeled backwards and hit the ground hard wailing in pain.

Randy released Butch to go for Rose when he caught her by the arm. “If she got the gun first, she woulda killed you both.”

“She wouldn’t have. I woulda shot her myself. But I still wouldn’t have killed her.”

“I think you were lucky. Gotta run. I’ll catch up with ya later.” Butch let her arm go and ran out the door.

Trevor tied up Rose’s hands as she moaned in misery. Randy was waiting for him to finish and once he stood up, she hugged him.

“I didn’t think you had it in you.” She held him tighter.

“You never told me how to deal with being attacked by a girl.”

“Punching them in the nose works for me.” She kissed him.

“You let Roy go?”

“He got away when I was afraid Rose was going to hurt you.”

“I see. Ya had no faith in me.” He shook his head. “Let’s go see if Bronson is still alive.” Trevor picked up the pistol, grabbed hold of the shoulder on her jacket, and pulled her out the door. They caught up with Ely and the sheriff. After they told the sheriff where to find Rose, Ely led them down the hill, running all the way to the hospital.

They were completely winded when they climbed the stairs and entered in the front door of St Mary’s Hospital. A nun greeted them.

“Where’s Bronson?” Ely asked and they were immediately led to a room.

“There isn’t much we can do for him. I think he is hanging in there for you two. He kept calling for a Randy and Trevor. Is that you?” the nun asked.

They both nodded.

When they entered the room, Bronson was barely breathing on the bed. He had bandages over several bullet wounds on his shoulder and chest that Randy hadn’t seen earlier. She felt the same as she did when Pa was dying in her arms. She squeezed Trevor’s hand while tears flooded from her eyes. Trevor was crying too.

Bronson reached out and coughed. “Quit you’re bawlin’ ya babies. No belly achin’ over me. I thought ya’ll were goners. But I should know better.” He coughed again. “I woulda benefitted from your pa’s trainin’.”

“Everything he knew didn’t save him either.” Randy gave Bronson a watery smile.

He held her hand against his chest. “I know I’ve never been the man your pa was. But I have been a much better one since I’ve been with you. Ya brought out the better parts of me. No other woman has been able to find anythin’ worthwhile.” He coughed some more. “I die knowin’ I did the best I could to take care of you. I’ve barely been able to take care of me all these years.” Bronson wheezed and reached for Trevor. “You are good for her. You should marry her and keep caring for her as well as you have. I know she acts like she needs no one. But she would be lost without you. You’re just as good of a man as her pa was.” He struggled to breathe in and writhed in his bed. When he calmed down, he stared up at the ceiling. His breath continued to wheeze a little when he exhaled. His eyes fluttered for a moment and he was silent. The nun rested her hand on Bronson’s face and closed his eyes. Randy turned to Trevor, clinging to him in disbelief.

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Trevor cried softly into her shoulder. The nun stepped out of the room and closed the door. It took some time before they finished crying. They each said their goodbye to Bronson. Randy kissed his forehead. Trevor squeezed his arm. They held each other’s hands tight as they stepped out the door.

Ely and the mayor were waiting for them in the sitting area.

“We’re so sorry.” Ely rested his hand on Randy’s shoulder.

“I don’t think ya understood the seriousness of how badly those men wanted to kill her. Ya said there was protection but there wasn’t a soul around when we were ambushed.” Trevor clenched his fists as he glared at the older men.

“I had no idea. I figured the presence at the show was what Bronson was worried about,” Ely said.

“What made you think they would start a shootout with that crowd? They waited until we were alone. You said there were men everywhere.” Trevor wasn’t going to back down. Ely backed away from Trevor’s fury. Randy had never seen that side of Trevor before.

“We’re sorry for your loss, son.” The mayor stepped in. “You come with us and we will take care of the business side of this and compensate you for your troubles here today.”

“You can’t compensate us enough for losing Bronson,” Trevor retorted.

Randy didn’t dare say anything. She would burst out sobbing all over again.

“True. But I can help make arrangements for his funeral so nothing comes out of your pocket.”

The next hours were a bit of a blur and mind numbing. It was as if Bronson had just gone off for the day and hadn’t died. At least that was how Ely and the mayor behaved. The mayor gave them a pile of notes and said he would take care of everything for Bronson. When they arrived at the hotel, they were informed they would have to leave the suite, and if they wanted to stay there any longer they would have to pay. Trevor and Randy tried to find another room but they were all full from the competition. They wound up back at the International Hotel, paid for one night in a much smaller but very expensive room and hoped people would start clearing out of town the next day.

“The mayor should have provided a room for us until after the funeral.” Randy grumbled counting how many notes she had left.

“I’ll look into that tomorrow.”

Randy went to the stable to tend to Al. She was brushing him when she stopped to rest her head on his shoulder. Tears continued to fall into the straw.

“Fame doesn’t seem to suit ya, does it?” Butch leaned over the stall door.

Al shook his head up and down to protest. Butch backed away.

Randy rubbed her face with her sleeve and stepped out of the stall.

“Not when you lose, its not. Or when you lose someone that was like family over it.” She leaned against a post and studied her toes.

“And if you won? Would it be better?”

“Not really.” Randy sighed. “Bronson’s dead and there are still men out there that want to kill me, aren’t there?”

Butch nodded.

“Why aren’t ya out to get me?”

Butch stepped closer to her and ran his finger over the necklace. He lifted it from her neck rubbing the large turquoise stone between his fingers. “Because of this.”

“What do you know about it?”

“This kind of necklace finds those that have death on their heels but their spirit is worth saving. I’m sure it has saved many lives before yours. But also, I like you. I can’t help it.” He leaned closer to steal a kiss.

She covered his mouth and shook her head.

“Well, that was the closest I came to succeeding. I mean, I helped save your boy, don’t I deserve it?”

Randy turned her mouth to the side before she kissed his cheek. “That’s all ya get. I do appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

“Well, I’m not done yet. Come with me. It’s about time the famous Miranda Carter and quiet Randy parted ways. In trade, I want the necklace.”

Randy rubbed the stone between her fingers and hesitated. However, she was curious at what he was getting at. She followed him out the stable and down the hill into Chinatown.