*Waits patiently for RDR to make a sequel where John picks Bonnie*
I don't own anything.
Bonnie sighed and reached for the tea she had just prepared. She poured her and her guest, the distinguished outlaw, a cup. Taking a small sip since, she watched John mop off sweat from his forehead. The Midwestern sun was blazing unforgivably on the hardworking ranch hands. Their chores were unfinished, but when was there never work to do?
So Bonnie didn't feel too out of line when she sat down her tea cup and announced, "I wanna go on an adventure, John."
Eager to please, he asked "Where to, Miss?"
"Surprise me."
"You've got your jacket, Miss?"
Bonnie barely resisted the urge to slap John on the back of his head. "John, how long are you going to call me Miss?"
"Forever, I suppose." John chuckled. Hearing a lack of chuckling from her, he turned around and went silent again. She had her long sleeve clad arms crossed over her chest. Too bad John thought she was adorable and therefore unintimidating.
John smiled, "I apologize, Bonnie."
Her satisfied grin set him afire. A sweat broke out over the man, whether from wearing too many layers in the 100 degree heat or the woman in front of him was unimportant. He blamed both.
She cleared her throat. "Ready to head out?"
"Of course." He climbed onto his horse and offered her a hand up.
Bonnie took his hand but paused. "Is it okay that I'm unlady-like today?"
He nodded, feeling another heat wave flood his body. "I can't recall a day you were lady-like anyway, Miss MacFarlane."
He pulled her up onto the horse, trying not to laugh at the shocked look on her face. She settled behind him and then wretched her hand out of his. "An outlaw isn't much of a gentleman either." She replied before sending a fist straight into his side.
John grunted in pain. He twisted to look at the rancher woman.
"That's for callin' me Miss MacFarlane." She said with a wicked grin. Then she slapped him upside the head, "And that's for sayin' I'm unlady-like."
"I guess I deserve it then," He grumbled, but smiled because she was smiling.
Bonnie lightly rested her hands on his shoulders, "We're burning daylight, John."
"Right as always, Miss." He reached for the reigns and yanked the horse away from the post. "Hang on tight. We've gotta make it before nightfall."
The ex-outlaw spurred his horse to a decent speed, dust flying up behind them. They rode past the marshes just outside Thieves' Landing and he pointed out an old house down in the valley of one of the marshes.
Yelling over the wind, he told her "An old man down there once asked me to collect some flowers for his wife. He must've been crazy though because he had his wife's corpse sitting in a rocking chair in their living room."
"John, you lead an interesting life."
And it was true enough.
John felt Bonnie's arms tighten around his middle as they reached the entrance to Thieves' Landing. He had to slow his horse to a trot as they crossed the bridge.
"And you have a house here, Mr. Martson?" They passed by a big hotel and brothel, women in their corsets and stockings paraded around; tempting men with dirty phrases.
Bonnie laughed lowly, "I can only imagine why."
He felt his face heat up at her assumption. "It's nothing like that Miss, "
"Uh huh." She chuckled again.
"I don't approve how women sell their bodies like that," John cleared his throat, "And anyway, I've sold my property here."
Bonnie rested her head against his strong back. "You're quite unusual, John."
"We're really two of a kind then." He laughed. As soon as they had crossed the last bridge from Thieves' Landing, he urged his horse to a run again.
The ride through the open country set him at ease. He could do without the glaring sun, but the breeze helped cool him off. He passed by Bearclaw Camp and by the mountainside. Then finally they rode, in silence, parallel to the riverbank.
As they rode north, they felt the temperature dropping rapidly. And another thirty minutes of riding, they saw snow on the ground and ice threatening the flowing river.
"John, where the hell are you taking me?"
He smiled at her swear, "We're almost there."
When the gorgeous lake came into sight, he heard Bonnie say "Wow…"
He nodded. It was an amazing sight. The blue water reflected the mountains on its north side for a more picturesque sight.
He rode beside the lake until they came upon the abandoned shack on the lake's shore.
"It gets better, Miss." He promised as he stopped his horse on the snowy ground.
Bonnie released her hold of John and eased herself off the horse. The snow crunched under her work boots, which made her smile. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen snow this pure and white.
John hopped off his stallion and let the animal roam away from the shack towards the more grassy area. He led them towards the abandoned building. The little dock had a canoe hanging from its posts.
The ranchers walked out to the end of the dock and admired the lake.
"This is incredible John…" She breathed.
He practically grinned at how endearing the normally tough woman looked. There was some childlike wonder behind her admiration of the scene. Her breath was visible in the cold air. John could've sworn there wasn't anything more attractive than how she curled in on herself slightly from the chill. Her shoulders hunched and her arms were hugged tight to her chest. Two ungloved hands were clasped just under her neck.
"You see that waterfall over there?" He pointed towards the rocky mountainside and where the river began.
Bonnie's eyes widened. "Let's go look at it closer."
John shrugged and motioned for her to take the lead. As they walked the snowy path towards the waterfall, he pulled gloves out of his pocket.
"Here, Miss." He held out his best pair of gloves for her to wear. "Drew would kill me if you caught a cold in the middle of the season."
Bonnie blushed at the gesture, "Thanks John."
He couldn't pretend the flush of her cheeks was from the cold. It made him smile. "Not a problem."
"Damn."
The waterfall did look intimidating, but breathtaking. John watched Bonnie hesitantly step out onto a rock that jutted out into the water. He offered her a hand so didn't slip into the almost freezing water.
"Be careful." He warned.
"Look at how tall the mountain is," She said, giving his hand a squeeze. He looked up and tried to resist the flash of vertigo.
"There was a gang hideout up in those hills." Dutch falling to his death played in his mind. "Pretty clever location."
Bonnie nodded, "I don't think I would wanna go up that high."
He tugged her back towards solid ground, "Have you ever been to Manzanita Post?"
"No, but that does sound interesting." Bonnie then saw a beaver scurrying ahead on the path. She ran after the animal, laughing as it scampered in the snow faster.
John chuckled and jogged after her. "Wait, Miss."
"Shut the hell up with the Miss-"
A low growl erupted, stopping them in their tracks.
John reached for his rifle and his eyes darted back and forth. "Sounded like a wolf."
Bonnie moved away from the rocks near the mountainside to join John in the middle of the clearing by the lake. "Yeah, but where is it?"
"Maybe we can outrun it before it finds us." John joked as he whistled for his horse.
Unfortunately, a small pack of wolves appeared from the other side of the hills. They weaved through the trees, teeth bared.
"Stay behind me, Bonnie." John growled, pulling her back so he could protect her. "Shouldn't be a problem."
And it wouldn't have been, if the other half of the pack hadn't stalked by the mountainside to sneak around on the other side of them.
Bonnie reached for the revolver at his hip. "Shit John."
He made a low noise in the back of his throat before taking aim at the wolves. "Ready?"
The rancher woman clicked the revolver's hammer back, "Ready."
John fired first, hitting the closest wolf between the eyes. Bonnie fired next as he aimed for the biggest wolf. By now the pack was startled and feeling threatened.
"At least they're bigger targets than coyotes." Bonnie muttered.
He grunted back as he took out two more wolves. The last one leapt at him as he pulled the trigger. He breathed out a sigh of relief until he heard Bonnie cry out in pain.
He twisted around and saw her fling the wolf off her arm. She clutched her left arm to her chest, but still managed to pull the trigger to kill the last wolf.
"Dammit." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Let him get too close."
John took the revolver from her hand and shoved it back into his holster. "Lemme look."
Bonnie held her hurt arm by the elbow. John sucked in a breath at the deep gashes. Skin was pulled away from her arm and blood poured from the wound.
"Shit, Bonnie." He whistled for his horse once again. "I'll get you to Dr. Johnson."
The blonde woman smirked, "It really was an adventure."
Resisting the urge to tell her to be quiet, he reached into his saddle bag and retrieved an old rag. He gentle took her arm and wrapped it carefully but tightly.
"Your father will murder me." John chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
"I doubt it, John." Bonnie looked up at him, eyes sparkling with tears she refused to let fall. "I wouldn't let him."
"Dammit John! Are you trying to kill my only daughter?!"
"No sir," He muttered, seated on the lumpy couch and staring at the floorboards of the MacFarlane's sitting room. Drew towered over him, scolding him like a kid in trouble.
Bonnie sat beside him with her arm wrapped in bandages. Blood threatened to soak through the white cloth, but it was probably time to change the wrappings anyway. John glanced up to see her reassuring smile; still, he could only frown back.
"Just what were you thinking, boy?"
"I guess I wasn't, sir." The ex-outlaw sighed, shifting his eyes to meet Drew's for a moment before they fell back to Bonnie's arm. "She wanted to go on an adventure and I wanted to make her happy…"
"You think she's happy now?" Drew shook his head in anger.
Bonnie sighed at how unnecessarily mad her father was acting. "Pa, it's going to heal. I've been through worse."
"But the scarring!" The older man let out a frustrated breath. "I might as well advertise for a wife for you, Bonnie!"
The rancher woman blushed. "Pa…"
"Well, sir. I'd marry her." His somewhat proposal took both himself and Bonnie by surprise. He dared to gauge her reaction and noticed how her face was practically aflame.
"You're not a good wife, John! Endangering her like you do!"
Bonnie snorted out a laugh, while John bit his lip to keep from chuckling.
Drew looked down at the two and noticed them shaking with silent laughter. He sighed. "I'll consider your offer, John."
That sobered them up very quickly.