Special extra amazing tens of thousands of thanks to my best friend Will Cloud for making the amazing cover photo for this story!

And yes, I changed William's age to 16 in this story. Sue me.

As William moved across the nearly barren land atop his horse, he hoped that he hadn't been found out yet by his mother back at home. After all, he had snuck out in the dead of night to go find his father who was escorting an extremely dangerous criminal to prison. No doubt she wasn't going to be happy when she found out he was gone. She'd obviously find out eventually, but the later she did, the farther away from the house he could get.

He was about to find a place to settle down for the night, since he was admittedly exhausted, when he spotted another person on their horse as well. When he got closer to the rider, he was quite surprised to discover that it was a girl!

"Hi," she said to him with a small smile on her face when she realized she was no longer alone. "What are you doin' out here so late at night?"

"What are you doin' out here?"

"I asked you first."

"Fine. I'm tryin' to find my pa."

The girl looked a little confused. "He been lost for long?"

"No, it's not like that," William said shortly. Already this girl was getting on his nerves. Why had he come over to talk to her? He should've just kept riding. It would've saved him her annoying chatter. "He needs my help, even if he won't admit it."

"Help with what?"

"Just somethin' he's doin'. Now, it's your turn. What are you doin' out here?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was tired of my daddy lookin' at me like I don't matter. So I'm wanderin' about, tryin' to make my livin' somewhere."

"Alone?"

"You don't think I can take care of myself? You'd be surprised what I'm capable of." After a pause, she asked, "What's your name anyway?"

"William Evans. I'm 16."

"Name's Lillian. You call me that, I'll gut you like a fish. It's Lilly. And I'm 16 too."

They rode in silence for a little while before William asked, "How long you been out here?"

"Oh, I been travelin' for a couple years now. Sometimes I stay out at night and sometimes people are kind enough to take me in and give me a bed to sleep in for a while. One of these days, I'll find somewhere permanent."

"You shouldn't be out here alone."

"Why? Because I'm a girl?"

"Yes, because you're a girl."

"Oh, so you think I should be sittin' inside stitchin' up little pillows instead of out ridin' my horse? Or wearin' those pretty little dresses with a thousand layers in 100-degree heat rather than my loose and comfortable pants and shirt? Or that I should sit down and be quiet like a good little girl instead of just speakin' whatever comes to my mind? Not a chance."

"Why you gotta be so different than other girls?"

"Why you gotta be the same as every other boy?"

"Stop talkin' like that, will you?"

"You're just mad I have a comeback for everything you say."

"You don't know a thing about me."

"And you don't know a thing about me." When William just rolled his eyes at her, she continued, "You know, William, I reckon you need an attitude adjustment. You have a short fuse."

"Only when annoying little girls say things they shouldn't."

Lilly smiled at him. "I like you. You're not like everyone else I've talked to. You actually say what you're thinkin'. I admire that. But don't ever call me a little girl again or so help me, I will skin you alive. So, William, where you headed?"

William pointed in the direction he was going to ride in. "Followin' the path my pa said he was takin'."

"I'm goin' that way too. I'll keep you company."

"I don't need company," William said. The last thing he wanted was to spend any more time with this girl. She was hitting his last nerve.

"Sure you do," Lilly said, ignoring his shortness towards her. "But right now, I think we should start up a campfire and rest our horses a little bit. Dakota's feelin' a bit worn down."

"You don't get to call the shots here."

"Well fine, do you want to keep goin'?"

"Yes. I want to get to my pa as soon as possible."

"And I understand that, but you look just as tired as I am. You been travelin' long?"

"No."

"But long enough. Give your horse and yourself a break."

"Fine."

Relieved that William finally agreed, the two of them dismounted from their horses and started up a fire. Lilly plopped herself down next to William and she almost burst out laughing when she saw him scoot away from her a little.

"So, what does your daddy need help with?" Lilly asked him. "You were kinda vague back there."

"None of your business."

"I just made it my business. What's he need help with?"

William resisted the urge to smack the girl. He didn't because his father would kill him if he found out that he hit a girl, but she was really getting irritating. He had never met a girl like her before and that was definitely a good thing. If there was more than one girl like her somewhere, the world would explode.

"He and some others are deliverin' Ben Wade to Contention to put him on the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison."

"The Ben Wade? The outlaw? I can see why you want to help him. How are they ever gonna handle him and get him all the way to Contention? He's got that huge posse led by Charlie Prince, and they won't let your daddy and whoever else is with him get him on that train. Are you sure they can do this?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm goin'."

"You close with your daddy?"

"I guess so."

"Is it just you and him, or…?

"No, it's me, my pa, my ma, and my little brother, Mark."

"And y'all get along?"

"We get along alright."

"That must be nice. I never met my mama. I was told she just up and left and never came back. All I had was my daddy and he never really liked me. I know he always wanted a boy to become a man like him, so I was this big disappointment. You're lucky you have those people in your life. It's more than I ever had."

William looked at Lilly for a second, realizing that perhaps she wasn't exactly as bad as he thought. Living without a mom and with an unloving dad couldn't have been easy and explained a lot of her behavior. But that didn't mean he was happy about traveling with her. He'd still much rather be alone.

"Hit the hay, William," Lilly said. "We can get goin' in the mornin' and find your daddy. I can't believe he's got Ben Wade."

Lilly turned over and put her hat over her eyes. William did the same and he fell asleep thinking about his father and even more about the girl lying next to him. He wondered how easy it would be to kill her while she was sleeping…