AN: Howdy partners! I'm having too much fun writing this story!

Thank you to my two wonderful outlaw pre-readers:

Rowdy "Letsjustdance" and Slick "GeezerWench"

"GeezerWench" has just published a NEW chapter of her awesome story "I Live"

It's chock full of Jasper-y goodness! Mmmmm Jasper-y goodness... Check it out :)


Chapter 2

The brothers had been riding hard for quite some time when Peter motioned for Jasper to stop. "I think we should go that way," Peter said as he pointed towards a slightly wooded area.

"You getting one of your feelings?" Jasper asked.

Peter closed his eyes and focused inwardly. He mouthed a silent prayer. "Yep." He finally answered, conviction evident in his voice.

"You lead then." Jasper said as he followed Peter toward the trees.

Peter had a way of knowing things. He was usually right when he got one of his feelings. It had always been that way. Even as a child, Peter had the gift. Knowing that Peter felt confident gave Jasper a renewed sense of hope that they were somehow going to find the girl and get the reward. Maybe something could go right for him.

Just this once.

After a few minutes of riding, Peter slowed and pointed to something that had caught his eye. "Tracks." Peter whispered. They both dismounted and tied their mules to a tree.

Jasper made out two sets of prints—one set was huge, and the other was much smaller. They appeared to be fresh, so the brothers decided to leave their mules and follow the tracks on foot. They didn't have to walk for very long before they saw two people in the distance. A white girl and an Indian were down in the valley walking across a small stream. The girl was wearing a plain light brown dress and she had long dark brown hair that was braided down her back. She was accompanied by the biggest Indian that Jasper and Peter had ever seen. He wore dungarees and a deerskin shirt. His simple beaded tribal headband held a single eagle feather, that hung down behind his left ear, and his hair flowed loose and black below his broad shoulders.

"Maybe he just looks big from far away." Peter said. "You know, maybe she's so short that it makes him look tall."

Jasper shook his head. "Nope, he's a big fella. It's going to take both of us to pin him."

"Let's do it then. I'm not going to shoot him in front of the lady." Peter sighed. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to go smoothly.

The brothers stalked quietly behind the girl and the Indian. They were waiting for the right moment to attempt to rescue the girl, but strangely she appeared to be comfortable with her captor and in good spirits.

"You think she ran off to be with him?" Peter suggested as he raised his eyebrows. "I bet he's big all over."

Jasper elbowed Peter in the ribs. "Shhhhhhhh...Quiet." Jasper hissed. "It don't matter how big he is. I'm going to get her home to her Daddy and collect the reward. Now, I'm going in with my gun ready, and he's going to surrender. You back me up."

Peter nodded in agreement.

Jasper and Peter trailed them. They had done their fair share of hunting and knew how to be quiet while stalking their prey. Finally, they had gotten somewhat ahead of the couple and when they were less than six feet away Jasper jumped out, pistol drawn. "Hands in the air, fella. The girl is coming with us."

Anger flashed across the Indian's face as he jumped in front of the girl, protecting her. He had a knife at his waist, but he carried no weapons in his hands. "Do you know these men, Bella?"

"No, I...I've never seen them before," Bella stuttered. It was obvious that she trusted the Indian. She clung to him as she hid behind his massive frame.

"You're not taking her anywhere." The Indian spoke clearly, a look of defiance on his face.

"There's a group of men looking for your girl, big fella. It seems to me that it's your lucky day, being that I'm not going to shoot you. I just want to take the girl back to the fort and collect the reward." Jasper waved his hand at the girl, motioning her over.

"I'm not going back!" Bella yelled. "I'd sooner die."

Bella stood her ground as she balled her hands into fists by her sides. She had never seen these men who were threatening to take her back to the fort. She was sure she would have remembered them. They were both tall, muscular, and had the same dirty blonde hair. From their looks they appeared to be related. Their coarse shirts and worn dungarees were filthy, and their sun darkened faces were partially obscured by sweat stained cowboy hats. The larger of the two men, the one who held the gun, was down right scary. She could hardly look him fully in the face. His hair was shoulder-length and he had a scruffy beard. The smaller of the two, had shorter hair and was clean shaven.

"Well, we need the money, and your Pa wants you back, so you're coming with us. Besides, it's better this way. A sweet little thing like you shouldn't be living in the wilderness with the Indians, it's dangerous." Peter said. He took a few steps forward towards the girl, and all hell broke loose.

Everything happened so quickly. Bella darted away, and Peter took off after her. Before Peter was able to make it very far, the Indian grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Peter went for his gun, but the giant russet-skinned warrior easily knocked it from his hand.

Jasper watched the two men wrestling in the dirt, and decided it would be too risky to take a shot, so he ran off after the girl. The Indian shoved Peter aside, leapt up, and bolted after Jasper. He grabbed him by the arm and somehow slapped the gun out of his grasp. He hauled back and punched Jasper in the eye, sending him sprawling.

By the time the Indian had laid Jasper out, Peter had staggered to his feet, pounced on his back, and flung his arms around his neck. He was choking him from behind when the muscular native reached back and knocked Peter right in the mouth.

Jasper, who had never been bested in a fight before, came from out of nowhere and lunged at the Indian, knocking him over.

Peter sat up coughing as he spit out a mouthful of blood, including a few teeth. He put them in his pocket before he went to help his brother hold the impressive fighter down. The brothers had never fought someone with such strength before. He was tossing and bucking the brothers off of him with great ease.

They were all too busy to notice that Bella had returned. She crept up quietly beside the fighting men and timidly picked up the guns that Jasper and Peter had dropped. She had never held a pistol before. Her intention was only to retrieve the weapons, but one of the guns accidentally went off and the force of it knocked her to the ground.

Then she heard a groan, and she saw blood. "Jake!" she yelled as she ran over to her friend. She was still holding the pistols.

Jasper and Peter, thinking she had aimed for them, backed away from her and her wounded friend with wide eyes.

"It was an accident Jake, I swear!" Bella cried as she dropped the weapons and knelt beside her injured companion. She fussed over his wounded arm worriedly, where the bullet had pierced the muscle, not knowing what to do.

"Nobody touch those guns," Jake panted. "I'm going to be fine. It just grazed me. That's all." Jake stood up, groaned, and swept the guns out of reach with his large foot. He was holding his hand over the wound in his arm in an attempt to staunch the bleeding, but blood was oozing from between his fingers.

"What are we going to do now, Jake? We have to get you to the doctor. We have to go back." Bella pleaded.

Peter and Jasper had been in many fights over the years, but the beating that they had just received had been the most brutal. They were going to have to rest a few days before they continued on their journey.

"Listen, I've got an idea." Peter said between gasps as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Let's all go back to the fort together. We can say that we all rescued her, and we can split the reward."

Bella tore a strip of fabric from the hem of her dress and wrapped it around Jake's wound. "I'm not going back. I'm not marrying Mike Newton, and that's final."

"Well you can't marry this Indian, either. Your Pa will kill him," Jasper said.

"I'm not marrying Jake, for your information. He was just helping me escape. I'm not marrying anybody." Bella fumed, her mouth set in a thin line.

"Jas, you remember what happened to Rose," Peter whispered.

"It could work." Jasper nodded. "Let's say we tell whoever it is you don't want to marry that you've been violated by a bunch of ruffians. We can rub your friend's blood all over you, and make it look like you've been hurt. That would put the wedding on hold, and we could all split the reward," Jasper said.

Bella thought about it for a minute. She felt sure that the high-falutin Mr. Newton would call off the wedding if her purity had been tainted. Even if she ran again, there were more men searching for her. Since there was a reward being offered for her return, it made her feel as if she could never escape. Jake and the two men looked like they had been through hell. All three men needed the attention of a doctor. Bella was sure that the good Doc Cullen would be willing to help them all. If tarnishing her reputation was what it would take to avoid marrying Newton, so be it.


AN: Bang! Bang! Bang! That's me shooting my pistols :)