A few days later, after much-needed rest, Maddie was ready to leave Blackwater (and the doctor's office), despite Edgar and Archer's pleadings.
She shook her head as she mounted her black filly. She ignored the flare of pain in her arm as she settled into the saddle and gathered the reins. "I've wasted enough time layin' around when I could've been goin' after my next bounty."
"You're barely healed, Maddie," Archer rebuked. He and Edgar stood off to the side of her horse, giving her dubious looks.
"I'll be fine, Mister Fordham. It'll take a lot more than this," she motioned down to her injured arm with a nod, "to slow me down."
Edgar shook his head. "Your tenacity is foolish, Madeline. You must rest."
"And give Charlie Hinkle a chance to escape? No. By the time I get up to Tanner's Reach, he might not be there. He'll have caught onto me after word reaches Manzanita Post that I brought in Grant Avery."
Archer and Edgar shared concerned countenances.
"There will be other days, Maddie, other opportunities," Archer said, looking back up at her. "A bounty can wait; your health, however, cannot."
Maddie glared at him. "I'm. Fine." She nudged her heels to her horse's sides, and the filly trotted off. "I'll have Hinkle in by noon," she said to the men over her shoulder. She rode hard and fast out of Blackwater, across the Great Plains, and into Tall Trees. As she neared Tanner's Reach, she slowed Gypsy and turned her off the road and stopped her in the thick of the woods out of sight. Before she dismounted, she scanned the area quickly…and concluded that she was at a disadvantage: Tanner's Reach was on higher ground. With a sigh of frustration, she dismounted her horse. Gypsy began to graze as her rider walked off towards her destination with her left pistol drawn.
Her right bicep burned with pain; she thought it best to not use her right pistol as she quietly made her way to the bounty target's hideout. She skirted between the trees and bushes, keeping low and quiet and being vigilant of both her surroundings (should there be wolves or bears about) and of the small lodge above her. When she was three hundred yards away, she spotted the first man on lookout, facing her way with a repeater in his hands and his head slowly swiveling about. Maddie immediately ducked behind a tree and tried to slow her breathing. After a moment or so, she dared sneak a peak around the tree and bring up her pistol. She aimed for the man's chest and squeezed the trigger.
The gunshot set off a cacophony of sound and movement; men poured out from inside the cabin with guns drawn and shouting at one another.
"What happened to Stiles?!"
"She's here, you idiot!"
"Boss, stay in there! We've got you covered!"
The seven men set up a defensive position, circling the cabin and facing out towards the woods. Heads swiveled and eyes searched; trigger fingers twitched and chests heaved. Maddie took a chance and aimed at the nearest man; she shot him in the throat. Blood spurted out of the wound, and the man fell to his knees grasping desperately at his neck, before he fell to the ground dead.
"Goddamn it! She got Frank!"
"Where is this little bitch?!"
She took advantage of the pandemonium and trotted closer, hiding behind a thick pile of brush and a couple of trees.
Six more times she did this, picking off the men one by one before moving to a different position and hiding. The men had all but panicked and fired blindly about, hoping to deter her, but, like a phantom, she was swift and unseen in her quest. As the last of his men fell to the ground dead, Charlie Hinkle dashed outside, ran around to the other side of the cabin, and disappeared from her view.
"Shit!" she swore, and she stood up and ran toward the lodge.
The hasty sound of hoofbeats came to her ears; the sound was going away from her.
She sprinted after Hinkle on his horse and whistled for her own. Despite her arm burning, she propelled herself forward, following the hoofprints in the snow and the diminishing sound of the horse as it ran off into the woods.
Soon, Gypsy came galloping up to her, and she quickly mounted up and spurred her after Hinkle. The woods were a blur as she rode hard after the bounty. As she neared him, she cursed at the man for being clever, even in his panic: he was turning his horse left and right, deliberately keeping him and his horse in front of trees and any sort of cover should she fire at him. Maddie had her pistol up and at the ready, but she couldn't get a clear shot.
"Go, Gypsy! HYAH!"
She spurred her horse faster, and the filly bolted forward, catching up to the bay mare Hinkle rode.
The thick woods broke into a clearing. Hinkle realized his mistake too late and as he turned his horse to the left to go back into the woods, Maddie aimed and fired, sending a bullet through his side. The man screamed in agony and slumped in the saddle before falling off the mare; the horse loped off into the woods, leaving her rider to die in the snow and stain it with a crimson puddle.
Maddie pulled up her horse beside the body. She glared down at the dead man and declared, "You ain't gettin' away from me, you bastard." She dismounted her horse. "Nobody gets away from me."
Getting the body onto her horse's back was almost impossible for her, especially with one arm. She had to use her lasso like a pulley, using a thick branch from a tree and all the strength she could summon to pull the body up and over her horse's rump. Once the man's body was on Gypsy, she tied him to the back of the saddle, mounted up, and rode back to Blackwater.
As promised, she delivered Charlie Hinkle at noon.
For the next week, Maddie took it easy at Manzanita Post, letting herself rest and heal, especially since she had ripped out a few stitches and had to get them redone at the doctor's office shortly after getting paid the two hundred dollars for Hinkle's body. It wasn't until she felt the pain from the patch-up and endured the doctor's chastising that she thought it best to take some time off. So after she paid the doctor, she went to the general store, stocked up on food, then went to the bookstore and bought a book, "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. She loped Gypsy out of Blackwater and back to her cabin at Manzanita Post before either her uncle or her father could find her—she didn't particularly care to hear Edgar's reprimanding or Phillip's pleadings. For the first time in a long time, she sat in front of the crackling fireplace and dove into the book in between eating meals, napping, taking showers, and taking care of her horse. She made sure her horse was doted upon, making sure she was brushed out, fed often, and well-rested.
After the week of solitude and peace, however, Maddie began to feel lonely—her thoughts turned to her uncle and aunt. The next morning, she saddled up Gypsy and rode into Blackwater. She began to smile as she rode the familiar path to her aunt and uncle's house: she rode past the cemetery and church, down the hill, and up to the third house on the right. The gigantic two-story house with the wrap-around porch hadn't changed in a year—the white trim and gray house was just as beautiful and inviting as ever. Maddie stopped her horse in front of the white picket fence, dismounted, and hitched her to it. She opened the gate and walked up the stone path to the porch, and her smile brightened as her eyes fell on her aunt sitting on the white rocking chair sipping a cup of tea. She still looked as sweet and loving as ever in her floral dress and long white hair tied up in a neat bun. Time had aged her like fine wine, enriching all the best qualities in the woman, and while she had a few more wrinkles on her face, she was still a beam of maternal beauty and love.
The woman blinked and lowered her cup to the small plate resting on her lap. "Can I help you, ma'am?" she asked.
Maddie laughed and asked, "Don't you know your own niece when you see her?" She looked down at herself, then smirked and added, "Well, in this attire, I'm sure you don't, Aunt Emily."
Emily Ross gasped and looked her over more closely. "Madeline Ann Ross! Oh, my Lord, it's you!" She set her fine china down the porch floor, then leapt to her feet, ran down the three porch steps and threw her arms around her niece. Maddie returned the tight embrace, and the women began to weep softly.
"Oh, Madeline! How I've missed you, dear girl!" Emily said as she stroked her niece's hair. "Where oh where have you been?!"
"Did Uncle Edgar not tell you?" She released her aunt and looked around. "Where is he, by the way?"
"He's in Mexico with Archer, on business."
"Mexico? What's he doin' down there?"
"I'm not sure, darling. He said it had something to do with that John Marston fellow. You've heard about him, haven't you?"
Maddie nodded.
"Your uncle was called to action suddenly, but he's quite used to it—his job demands so much of the poor man." Emily released her niece and took a step back to admire her at arms-length. "And as for your question, he did tell me that you were back, but he didn't specify what you've been up to, or where you were staying. Honey, you can stay here. Your room is still the same as it always was; it's ready for you."
Maddie grinned as she pictured the pale pink room with the white curtains and small bed, as well as the white dresser and armoire. "Aunt Emily, you are too kind, but I don't want to be a bother."
"Oh, darling, you're never a bother! I'd love it if you stayed with us!"
"I'm, uh…staying at Manzanita Post."
Her aunt gave her an incredulous countenance. "You're staying there? What for? Darling, you should be staying here. Save your money and spend your nights here! I must insist! It's been so long since you've stayed." She paused and looked her over once more. "You look thin, dear girl. You must get something to eat. Come inside!" She ushered her up on the porch and into the house, pausing to retrieve her tea and plate.
The living room was just as welcoming and exquisite as Maddie remembered, with beautiful paintings hanging on the wallpapered walls and leather furniture; the old grandfather clock still ticked away the time in the corner of the room, while the stand-up piano sat invitingly over against the opposite wall. Maddie sat down on the leather couch as her aunt disappeared around the corner in the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a tray of her floral tea set and a slice of chocolate cake on a plate. She handed Maddie the cake and a fork, then sat the tray down on the wooden coffee table between her and the two leather chairs across from her. Maddie watched her as she poured her a cup of tea, and even though she wasn't particularly hungry at the time, her aunt's famous chocolate cake was beckoning her, and so she took an enriching bite of it. It was just as savory and delicious as she remembered, and she dove into the cake with gusto.
"Here you are, my dear," Emily said as she set her teacup atop the plate in front of her on the coffee table.
Maddie swallowed the luscious mouthful of cake and replied, "Thank you, Aunt Emily. Your baking is just as delicious as I remembered."
"Thank you, sweetheart." She sat down across from her niece on one of the leather chairs and picked up her teacup and plate. She took a thoughtful sip, then lowered it to the plate sitting on her lap and said, "So, tell me: where have you been this past year? I want to know of your adventures. Your uncle told me you've been to Mexico and back. Is that true?"
Maddie nodded as she raised her teacup to her lips. She took a sip, then said, "Yup. I was in Mexico for a year learning how to be a gunslinger and then a bounty hunter with the help of Landon Ricketts. He taught me everything I know now, and I couldn't be more indebted to the wonderful man. You should've met him, Aunt Emily: he is quite something."
Emily gaped at her. "You're kidding me."
Maddie shook her head. "Nope. I really did meet him."
"So… you're a bounty hunter now?" her aunt dubiously asked, blinking several times. "How…. How did this come to happen?"
Maddie told her story to her, from the night she left on the eve of her father's wedding night to her training and then bringing in the bounties. Afterwards, she sat in silence waiting for her aunt to speak, and for a long moment, she didn't. Doubt and worry entered her sweet face; she pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in thought as she took a reflective sip.
"Aunt Emily, are you all right?"
"Yes, dear. It's just that…well…"
Maddie leaned forward in her seat. "Yes?"
"I…I just don't know what to think of it all."
"I'm makin' good money, Aunt Emily, and I'm real careful. I bring 'em in dead most of the time, anyways. I'm bringin' in criminals and keepin' the streets safe. Besides, it's something that Mama would be proud of. I'm doing something with my life, and I think she'd be happy for me."
Emily paused for a moment, bit down on her lip, then asked, "What does your father say about it?"
Maddie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you know him. He's just as much of a skeptic as everybody else. But I'll show him and everyone around that I can do this job and be damn good at it, too."
"Maddie, dear, I'm scared for you! What if you get shot?"
She shrugged. "I'm a bounty hunter. It happens. Besides, the wound will heal up and be just another scar."
"Darling, you could get killed!"
"Not if I kill them first."
The women looked at each other for a long moment, before Maddie broke the silence.
"I'll see myself out, Aunt Emily." She stood up, set her tea and plate on the tray, then turned to leave.
"Madeline, please don't leave! Please, stay and talk with me. I've missed you so much. Please stay here for a few nights. I don't want you staying at that cabin in Tall Trees: it's dangerous up there in the forest. Lord knows what could happen to you."
Maddie snorted. "You're talkin' to a bounty hunter, Aunt Emily. I'll be safe, trust me. I know how to handle myself." She pulled back her duster and showed her aunt the semi-automatic pistols that hung on her hips.
"Madeline, listen to me: what you're doing is dangerous and uncanny for such a little thing such as yourself. Women don't become bounty hunters, darling, they simply just don't. It's unnatural, dear. Please don't continue this brash road—you could get yourself killed, and for what? A few hundred dollars? Madeline, your life is worth more than that, to me, your uncle, and especially your father."
The bounty hunter glared down at her. "You just don't get it, do you? It ain't about the money. It's about bringin' in criminals and keepin' the streets safe. I'm doin' you and everyone else here in Blackwater a service, and a damn good one at that! Besides, there ain't no one else out there like me that's doin' this kind of job." She looked her aunt over, then added, "It was nice seein' you." Then she turned and walked out of the house.
She mounted her horse and spurred her into a gallop out of town Nobody believes me, she thought. This is ridiculous! Who says a woman can't be a bounty hunter? Well, I'll show all these disbelieving sons-a-bitches up and show 'em how it's really done! She rode hard and fast back to her cabin at Manzanita Post, where she hitched her horse at the cabin before going into the store and buying a bottle of whiskey. She went into her cabin and, for several hours, sipped at the whiskey and cleaned her firearms. When she began to feel buzzed, she ate from her rations then went to bed.
The next morning, Maddie was still angry. She ate a quick breakfast from her rations, reloaded her firearms, saddled her horse, and rode into Tall Trees toward Aurora Basin. She didn't bother to take the road, but instead through the wild. She skirted around a pack of four wolves; Gypsy easily outran the canines and continued to Ralph Stricker's last known location. She loped her horse abreast of the raging river, and just as the road began to curve around the boulders and drop-off where Tanner's Reach sat above her, she pulled her horse to a stop, dismounted, and took out the Carcano rifle from the saddle scabbard. She checked to make sure she had a full magazine, then loaded it, and continued on foot.
Aurora Basin sprawled out before her; just three-hundred yards in front of her sat a shack with a dock, and within it, Ralph Stricker and his men. She snuck up to the edge of the lake and hid behind a tree as she looked through the scope and counted the men on patrol. At least ten gang members idled about the place, some on guard duty, others ambling about mindlessly. Maddie scoped the place as quick as she could, and she let out a grumble when she couldn't find Ralph.
The bastard's probably inside the shack, hiding like a coward, she thought with a frown. Oh, well. No matter: I'll take out his men and then go in for him. It'll be easy.
With that, she aimed her sights on the first of many men and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked back against her shoulder, making her grunt in discomfort, but she reloaded and fired again and again. After the third man fell dead, the rest of Stricker's men knew her position and began firing. She kept her back pressed against the tree, making sure her shoulders weren't sticking out for them to shoot. Back and forth they exchanged fire; Maddie was slower to reload after each gunshot—her injury pained her, but not enough to stop her from continuing with the hunt. One by one, the men fell. When the last gang member tumbled to the ground, Maddie went back to her horse, mounted up, and galloped over to Aurora Basin.
Everything was eerily quiet; the dead bodies of Stricker's men were scattered about, staining the ground with their blood. Nothing stirred outside or inside the shack as Maddie dismounted her horse and approached with her pistol drawn and her senses sharpened. Cautiously, she opened the door and entered the shack, looking about as she walked further in.
Out of nowhere, a large, powerful arm wrapped itself around her neck, choking her and holding her in a firm grip. A hand wrapped itself around her mouth and nose, making it almost impossible to breath as she struggled against her captor's grip. Maddie panicked, dropping her pistol as she thrashed and screamed. A cold wash of dread flooded her chest as she felt her oxygen being cut off—the arm tightened around her neck and the hand cupped harder against her face. Her vision blurred, and the edges of her sight began to blacken. The darkness quickly overtook her, and in a moment of pure panic, Maddie reached for her hunting knife, unsheathed it, and wildly stabbed behind her.
A wail of excruciation sounded, and the arm and hand immediately released her. Maddie collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping.
"You little whore!" a man shouted. "You've stabbed me!"
Maddie caught a glimpse of her gun as her sight slowly returned. She wasted no time grabbing it, leaping to her feet, spinning around, and aiming her gun up at the man. Ralph Stricker froze in place in fear; he held his bleeding gut with both hands, and a flicker of horrified acceptance crossed his face as he watched Maddie pull the trigger. The bullet tore through his chest and buried into the wall behind him; Ralph gasped and gurgled as he fell to his knees, clutching at his bullet wound, before he fell face-first onto the floor.
Maddie leaned against the opposite wall, gasping and shaking terribly. Tears quickly flooded her eyes, and she slid down the wall, sat down, then cradled herself with both arms and cried hard for several minutes straight. All the while, a growing puddle of blood seeped out of Stricker's body that lay ten feet away from her.
In what felt like ages, Maddie tried collecting herself. She tried to slow her chaotic breathing, tried to ease her thundering heartbeat, and attempted to stop quaking. Adrenaline still pumped thickly through her body, so she stood up, drug Ralph's body out of the shack, then whistled for her horse. Gypsy came running, and after she came to a stop before her, Maddie threw the bounty's body over her horse's rump.
She rode to Blackwater as fast as her horse could gallop, dropped off the body at the police station, then rode straight to the saloon, where she hitched her horse out front and walked inside. She beckoned the bartender over urgently.
"What'll it be, Miss Ross?" the man asked.
"Whiskey, please," she urgently said.
The man blinked and looked her over. "You okay, miss? You look paler than the moon."
She nodded. "Just get me some whiskey, please."
"Alright, then," he said, and he fetched the bottle and shot glass. The second the drink was poured, Maddie eagerly picked it up and threw it back. She beckoned for another.
"Easy, Miss Ross. You ought to slow down."
"To hell with that, barkeep. Just keep 'em comin' until I say so."
Four shots later, Maddie was considerably buzzed and calm. No longer did she quake with terror, or her heartbeat gallop in her chest. She was content, happy even, as she paid the bartender, stumbled out the door, unhitched her horse, mounted up, and rode back to Manzanita Post. Before she knew it, she was back at her cabin. Unsaddling her horse was a little more difficult, but she managed to do so and carry the tack inside with her before locking the door behind her. She dropped the tack on the floor beside her bed. She eagerly dug into her rations, and once she had her fill, she crawled underneath the bedsheets and fell asleep to the sound of the fire crackling.