A Lethal Lady
Chapter 25

Rouse wonders, what excuse would old Joy have given him to cover up for her? Or... suddenly she straightens up and feels her blood start to run cold, what if I ratted her out? For all she knew, she could do it, she arrived on a horse that wasn't hers, all bruised up -Shit, what if that old man gave me away?

and in an unseemly facade.

She couldn't stick around to replace out, she needed to get out of that ranch before Tom broke into the house and took her prisoner.

[...]

-So, sheriff," Joy approaches him, "what happened? Who is this woman you're looking for?

-An outlaw, a thief who stole my horse.

-A woman? I replace it hard to believe that a lady is a thief," Tom watches his horse as he listens to the old man, for a moment he thought the same thing, but now he realised that it was not so.

He thought he could replace her quickly and return her to the village, but the truth is that he was replaceing it quite difficult to track her whereabouts.

-Make no mistake, Joy. It's not just any lady we're dealing with.

The old man frowned, watching the house from afar with a sidelong glance. However, he didn't say a word. Instead, he looks back to the front and that's when he realises that Tom is staring at him. -Do you have something to say to me, Joy? -He sharpens his gaze.

-No," the old man replies curtly. If you have nothing else to offer, I'll take care of my cattle.

Tom held his gaze for a few more minutes, then glanced around the house. He had caught Joy off guard by looking into the house, what was he hiding? Other than that, she was practically kicking him off her ranch.

-What if I told you I wanted to check your ranch to rule out any suspicions?

-I'm not hiding anything. Why would I have that lady hiding in my house?

It was obvious that she was trying to persuade him not to go in, something told him that Rouse was on the land. And that, strange as it was, gave him some relief.

-All right, I must go now. I'll take Belze, bring his saddle to saddle him.

[...]

Rouse watched as Tom saddled the horse and then mounted up and rode off the old man's land. What had happened? I didn't throw her head in with the sheriff. She was a little confused by the old man's attitude, did he really want to help her? At that, someone knocks on the door of her room, causing her to startle. A few seconds later, Joy enters the room. She looked at him suspiciously.

-You look better this morning. Can you work? Or do you need more rest?

-Why don't you charge me to the sheriff?

-I have a different opinion than he does....

-You don't know anything about me.

-I don't need to know anything, if you want to work on my ranch, then you can start in the kitchen. -I don't need to know anything, if you want to work on my ranch. If you really can do it..." He says, looking at his feet, "If you need another day, then you can lie down and rest.

-I can do that.

The old man nods, at which point, Rouse notices the man staring at something of hers. Curious, she looked for what he was looking at, but found nothing unusual.

-The dress looked very nice on her.

-Whose dress was it?

-You'll replace everything you need in the kitchen, I'm going to look at the cattle. I don't think the sheriff will be coming back here, so you can rest assured.

Joy leaves the room, leaving Rouse alone. She evaded his question, but judging by the jovial dress, it must have belonged to a daughter or perhaps a granddaughter. He was an old man, it was impossible for him to keep a wife's clothes. Besides, the clothes were of somewhat modern times. Anyway, that didn't matter to her, the only thing she cared about was getting well so she could get away from those lands. Her feet dawned well enough that morning, and the wound in her side was dry enough for her not to worry about it. Her only headache was in Coloma, she counted on being unnoticed on that ranch....

[...]

Tom dismounts Belze at the police station entrance, and as he does so, out of the station comes Lauren accompanied by Harry.

-Sheriff, have you found her?! -He asks with concern on his face.

-No.

-But he has found her horse.

-He left it abandoned.

-So, she, she's dead? -The young woman covers her mouth in fear.

-I can't know that.

The sheriff walks past her into the police station, if he stayed outside any longer, many would ask him the same question, and he wasn't in a very good mood that morning.

-Tom, what happened? -It was Harry who asked him, since he had gone after him.

-I don't know if she's dead, or alive, or badly hurt," he replied, taking off his hat. The horse turned up riderless at Joy's ranch, the old man told me it was all bloody. I really don't know what could have happened, Belze doesn't have a scratch on him. -Do you think the old man is lying? -Tom kept silent, he couldn't tell his suspicions, it was like he was covering for the blonde, his damn reputation was at stake.

-I don't think so, he has no reason to hide a fugitive.

-As you told me, she's a very attractive woman. She could have caught Joy's eye, he's a lonely man.

On that occasion, Tom looked up. He faced his right hand man with his own eyes, he could believe that Rouse was a bandit, but he doubted very much that she was the type to seduce an old man just for her own benefit.

-What was Lauren doing here? -Harry noticed the change in his boss's attitude and immediately changed his expression.

-She came to replace out about Miss LeRoy. She's very worried, they seem to have become friends. Or so I understand.

friends! that blonde haughty has become friends with lauren.

that is surprising, I never imagined she would harbour that kind of feelings

-That means that Rous... that Miss LeRoy has told Miss Lauren certain things.

-I don't know," Harry seemed surprised at how his boss was analysing the situation.

-Send for her, tell her we need to talk.

[...]

Lauren enters the hotel, more worried than ever, she didn't expect Rouse to run off like that, let alone with the sheriff's horse. She didn't understand why he had done it, if he was helping her.

On the one hand, she imagined he did it because of the argument he had had with her mother. As far as Hilary herself knew, she had told the sheriff about the incident, but knowing her mother it was more than clear that she was only going to tell her side of the story.

The young woman felt a little guilty about the blonde's departure, but despite the short time they had spoken, she had grown fond of her. Even though she didn't talk much, she knew she was a good person.

-Did you replace out what I asked you to do? -Hilary's voice interrupted her thoughts.

-Yes. The sheriff came to the station with his horse, but not with her. He said he couldn't replace her.

-But is she dead?

-I don't know, mother. He doesn't know himself.

Hilary slams the table when she sees that she didn't get any positive answers from her daughter. She wished she could give him the news that she'd been found dead, but apparently that stupid girl had better luck than a dwarf.

-You shouldn't think that sort of thing, mother. She's not a bad person.

-What? Don't tell me they've become good friends, and only because she defended you from a beating from me.

-I didn't say that, only that... -Shut up!

-Shut up! She's not here now, and there's no one to defend you. So watch yourself, if you don't want me to beat you to death.

Lauren felt her blood run cold, her mother was getting colder to her every day. And as time went on she realised that she didn't love her. But she couldn't replace a reason why, sometimes she thought maybe it was because her father left her mother because she got pregnant, and she blamed her for that.

Maybe it would have been better if she had never been born. Her mother wouldn't have so many problems, and she wouldn't suffer so much from being despised and unwanted.

-I don't want to see you loafing around.

The young woman nods and storms off to the kitchen, Hilary watches her and rolls her eyes. She frowns as she remembers what that stupid stranger did to her for defending her worthless daughter.

-Too bad I took that stupid stranger into my hotel, and worse, I didn't terminate that damn pregnancy of mine years ago. Now I've got to take care of that filthy little bitch for a daughter, when all I want to do is take care of Tom.

The woman wished Rouse wouldn't show up anymore, without her, down the road, she had a better chance with the sheriff. She knew he was looking at that blonde with different eyes, of course, as she was all helpless, she pitied him.

-I hope you die, damn you, and get swallowed up by the wolves of the desert.