Chapter VII Bar Help
Promises and Dreams
By: tk421beth
Here I go again! Just updated this chapter as of 12/28/05 because Jessie's journal date entries were incorrect!
Chapter Summary: Jessie and the Regulators have fled Lincoln after Billy kills Sheriff Brady.
This Chapter is dedicated to MindReadingCoconuts06! Thanks for your reviews! (Hugs)
The sun was shining, with no sign of rain in sight as we headed towards Fort Sumner. We rode for a few hours before stopping for a rest. I notice Steve and Charlie huddled together in a hushed discussion with Doc and Chavez. What are they talking about?
Billy walks up to me, and takes my hand. Without a word, he leads me a short distance away from the others under a huge cedar tree.
"Sweetheart, I have to tell you…what we have is special. I know you feel it too...don't doubt what you feel." Billy whispers, as he takes my face in his hands, and slowly moves his lips closer to mine, kissing me. I kiss him back, feeling giddy with anticipation, as his arms are now around me, pulling me even closer to him. This feels so good…I don't want to stop. I groan with pleasure as we kiss slowly and passionately, letting it linger.
"Ahem!"
We slowly break apart to see Steve standing there, looking uncomfortable. "Billy, could I talk to ya? It's Charlie. You better come see him."
We walk over to Charlie, who is standing with Chavez and Doc. He looks pale and uneasy. "Steve told me, 'bout what they're saying in the paper, Billy." He stammers.
Billy raises an eyebrow in question.
"What are they saying?" I ask.
"Steve told us the new Sheriff…Peppin…is planning a party for us." Doc answers.
"What party?" I inquire.
"He means the hangin'." Billy explains to me with a grin.
Charlie walks up to Billy. "Shit! Have you ever seen a man hang, Billy?"
"Yup! Seen Red Smitty hang…his head came clean off! What a sight that-"
"Billy," Doc interrupts. "I don't think Charlie wants to hear about Smitty. I think he wants to hear that we're not going to hang."
"They say ya mess yourself!" Charlie looks over at me, his face red with embarrassment. "Girls watchin' and everything!"
"If we get caught, we're gonna hang." Billy calmly tells Charlie. "But there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."
I look over at Billy in surprise. That's what Father used to say.
"I gotta do something...before they catch us. You gotta let me do it." Charlie pleads with Billy…with all of us.
I almost grin, full well knowing what Charlie wanted to do.
We arrive at Fort Sumner. The villagers all surrounded us, chanting happily El Chavito! El Chivato! Billy shook a few of their hands with a huge smile on his face. I dismounted my horse, and a young lad suddenly appeared by my side and took my mare to stable her. I notice Chavez and Doc have amazed expressions on their faces, at the way the people were crowding around Billy. I watch Billy with a smile on my face as a few old women crowded around him, blessing him, while some the young girls giggled and batted their eyes at him.
Sweetheart Shooter! Sweetheart Shooter! The locals started to chant along with El Chivato! El Chivato! I grimace, silently cursing The Independent that damned newspaper, whom titled me with a name I can't stand. Billy notices my fury and laughs, finally dismounting his horse.
We all give Charlie some money, and leave him outside as the rest of us head inside the saloon. Before following Billy and the others, I stand outside and watch Charlie pocket the money and walk slowly towards the brothel. I smile and then enter the saloon.
It's not too busy in here, I notice as I glance around the small establishment. A man is playing the banjo near the door, and there are a few men playing cards. Billy, Chavez, Doc and Steve are sitting at one of the available tables. Chavez got up to order some drinks. "I'll get this round." I tell him, walking up to the bar. A tall, well-dressed man and a local gal are the only two people at the bar.
"-If this Billy the Kid is in town, he's two hundred dollars dead." I hear the man tell the local whore. I raise an eyebrow to that. Who the hell is this? I try not to laugh out loud. I glance back at the table. Billy gives me a big grin; obviously he has not heard what this tall man said. And if he did…he would be dead.
The whore laughs at the man, as I signal the bartender. "You can't catch Billito," She tells him, leaning close to him, her chest on his arm. "But…perhaps a strong, big Texas man like yourself can…"
I lean up against the bar, as the bartender comes over to take my order. "Hello, I need five whis-"
"Well, Hel-lo there!" The tall man interrupts me. I slowly look over, to see him smile down at me. He has long brown hair, complete with mustache, and a slight beard. "Texas Joe Grant at your service." He says, offering his hand to me.
I ignore him, and order the five whiskies. The bartender turns away as he fills my order.
Grant unexpectedly grips my shoulders and spins me around with ease. His fingers grip me possessively, as he clears his throat. "Well, little lady…rudeness like what you just displayed is not tolerated by the bar help…no matter how pretty they are." I can see the desire in his features, as his eyes leisurely roam my body.
I glare at him, with my mouth open wide. This idiot thinks I'm a whore? A hundred things that I should say raced through my mind all at once. I decide on the first thought. "Get your goddamn hands off of me!" I hissed.
He smiled again, and did what I requested. Grant then produced a ten dollar silver piece from his pocket. "I adore your accent…England, right?" He placed the money on the bar in front of me with a loud thwack! "Missy, you're gonna earn every cent of this ten dollars, and walk away with a lesson on manners to boot." He licks his lips in anticipation. My mouth drops in shock at his lewd offer.
I'm worth more than ten lousy dollars! I gain my composure, and without thinking, I bring my knee up to his groin. As he bends over in pain, moaning, his ear levels with my mouth. "I think it's you that needs a lesson in manners, Mister Grant. I'll take your ten dollars in payment for the first lesson, thank you very much."
The bartender nervously hands me the drinks I had ordered on a small tray. I toss him the silver piece, and walk back to the table. To my dismay, Billy, Chavez, Doc and Steve all have amused expressions on their faces, laughing.
"Shut it!" I tell them, quickly swallowing my drink. "All of you." I glance back over at the bar to see the whore help Grant stand up straight. Grant glares at me, and I slowly place my hand on my pistol, my eyes never leaving his face. Grant studies me for a second, then backs off, more interested in the whore for now.
"You sure took care of yourself back there." Doc remarks with a smile and downs his drink.
"Yup, Jessie, you sure did." Steve looks at me with wonder. "You really got him good back there!" He laughs.
Billy winks at me, downs his drink, gets up and walks over to the bar. "Are you really gonna kill Billy the Kid?" He inquires Grant.
Grant just looks at him, and calls the bartender over for another drink.
"Is that the gun you're gonna use?" Billy presses. "Can I touch it?"
"What the bloody hell is he doing?" I whisper to Chavez, glancing over at him for a moment as he calmly pulls out his Bowie knife.
"Protecting you, Bonita." Chavez observes, twirling his knife in one hand. "But I'm not so sure if you need protecting anymore."
"Oh, shit!" What was Billy doing?
"I really admire you, sir…" Billy continues. "I just want to touch the gun that's gonna kill the Kid."
Grant stares at Billy, and takes his pistol out. I notice it's a Colt Peacemaker with a pearl handle, a fine gun, without a doubt. "You know iron, son?"
Billy nods, as Grant passes him the gun. "Well, take a look at her, and then pass her back. That's the gun that killed Ed Rollins."
"Really?" Billy states, inspecting the gun. He then looks over at us and mouths Bullshit! I try not to laugh.
Grant gets the bartenders attention, as Billy is handling his gun. I watch as he carefully checks the action of the Peacemaker, as he opens the cylinder and removes the cartridges, while Grant is busy talking. Oh, God! What is he doing? Billy carefully slides the cartridges into his pocket. With a quick flip of his wrist, he closes the cylinder.
"Okay…pass her back." Grant tells him. Billy smiles, and passes the Peacemaker back to him.
"Well, I'm leaving now, and I wanna know…what I need to look for, in case I see the Kid, so I can come back and tell ya."
Grant smiles. "He's a good looking fellow…dresses like a dandy and he's left handed. Folks say that he likes to whistle sad ballads." Who says that? I wanted to laugh out loud. Billy's not left-handed! And Billy likes to sing, instead of whistling. Grant pauses to finish his drink. "Now, if you see anyone that fits that description, you come back here and tell me."
"All right." Billy turns to stare into the mirror across from him, behind the bar. "I see him!"
Grant looks over at Billy, then around the room, baffled.
"Right there! See him?" he points at the mirror, laughing.
Grant frowns at Billy. "I don't have time for your wise lip, boy. If you don't stop, I'll have to drop your britches and spank your ass in front of everyone." Grant spots me sitting with Chavez, Doc and Steve and smiles at me again. What an arrogant asshole!
Billy stares at Grant, puckers his lips, and starts to whistle 'Silver Thread among the Gold.' He turns to face Grant, whistling even louder, and off-key I may add.
"You're a testy little cuss." Grant mumbles, reaching for his Peacemaker, and holds it point blank at Billy's face.
Billy continues to whistle, and I see the wise-ass smirk begin to form on his face, as Grant pulls the trigger. Click! Click!
I watch Grant's face turn to horror, as he realizes that Billy had emptied the cartridges, and that this young whistling man in front of him is definitely the Kid. On Grant's third Click! Billy raises his own pistol and fires. Grant staggers back into the wall, and slides onto the floor, dead. The local whore's eyes go wide in terror, and she scurries outside.
The small Saloon is filled with silence, except for Billy's whistling. "How many does that make, Doc? Twenty-Five?"
"Five."
"Call it ten." Billy walks over and sits down next to me, his arm around my shoulders.
He hands me Grant's Colt Peacemaker with a grin. "It's for you, sweetheart."
The banjo player plucks out a lively tune, as the patrons start talking, drinking and gambling again, as if nothing happened. I accept the gun, but do not return his smile.
"Shit, Billy!" I turned to face him. "Did you have to kill him? I mean, he was an asshole, but really, I can take care of my-"
I'm silenced with a passionate kiss, both of Billy's arms around me, holding me still. My eyes grow wide, as I open my mouth to protest, but the kiss turns deeper. I can taste the whiskey on his breath, and feel the heat between us. I slowly close my eyes and take pleasure in his kiss.
"BILLY!" I hear someone shout. Billy abruptly breaks off the kiss, as we look towards the door.
Charlie is standing there, looking disheveled, his eyes wide in fright and spurts out two words that we did not want to hear: "John Kinney!"
With those two words, we all scramble out of the Saloon and race to our horses. I can feel my heart pound like crazy, as we rapidly ride out of Fort Sumner, not looking back.
We're all riding hard and fast. I can hardly see, due to the dust and sand that our horses are kicking up. John Kinney and his men are right behind us, intent to catch all of us…or to kill us for the reward money posted on our heads. Whichever came first, I suppose.
Besides the fear of being captured, I feel the hair on the back of my neck rise and my heart beating fast, due to the thrill of the chase. What the hell is wrong with me? I could be caught, or killed!
Bullets fly through the air, as we all hang on our horses, racing ahead of Kinney and his men. We all return fire, but that does not slow them down one bit.
I look ahead and gasp in panic as a reaction to the hundreds of thick and nasty looking switch trees. There is no other way out! We have to ride through this! I sink as low as I can in my saddle, urging my horse to run as fast as she will go. This is going to hurt like hell!
I scream in pain as we ride through what seems to be thousands of these trees! It's a goddamn jungle of these switch trees! Thorns slash through my body as I close my eyes for a moment, hoping this agony would be over soon.
I open my eyes again, to see Billy ride off to the right, and disappear over the side! A way out! I quickly follow and breathe easy, realizing that we're in a small creek, minus those switch trees! I allow myself to grin, even chuckle as I can hear Kinney and his men still stuck in the forest of switch trees, looking for us. We have escaped once again. Billy has saved us…again.
Situated in the hot springs area, we were hiding out, and recovering from the Kinney chase. Chavez is busy taking the thorns out of Charlie's behind, as Charlie is yelping in pain. Doc and Steve are in one of the hot springs, and Billy is sitting near us all, reading from a faded dime novel he picked up somewhere.
I sit on my bedroll, wondering where we were headed next. I pulled out my diary, and began to compose. February 1878. Dear Diary, So much as happened in just a few weeks! Billy killed Sheriff Brady and now Peppin is the new Sheriff of Lincoln. He too needs to go down. We didn't see Murphy, but I know he's still around, giving the orders.
I stare at Billy, who is standing and reading out loud to us. He looks back at me and smiles, with a jaunty wink. I blush, and quickly start writing in my diary once more. I know now I have strong feelings for Billy, but don't want to show it around the others. Doc is mad as hell about our "relationship" because he cannot do anything about it, I expect. I want to have some time alone with Billy, but it seems that we are interrupted all the time! But, after all that has happened, I wonder when we will have time alone again…if ever.
Fond recollections of the time we spent in the cave that stormy night are still vivid in my mind. I feel my face flush again; thinking of the places Billy caressed and kissed me. That was the night he started to call me his sweetheart. That was the night he promised to take care of me.
Closing my diary, and putting it away, I thought with relief how fortunate we were that John Kinney had lost our trail! We have some time to unwind, before we have to move on. Closing my eyes, I lay on my bedroll, on my back, trying to relax, as I listen to Billy read out loud The Authenticated Adventures of Billy the Kid.
"I ain't left handed." He chuckles. "This ain't me!"
As I lay there, getting comfortable on my bedroll, I realize that Billy is all of a sudden silent. I open my eyes to see him crouching down next to me. "Comfortable?" He asks with a wicked grin.
"Yes." As I look into his blue eyes, I try to control the feelings swirling around inside my head. I cannot live without him. I love him…I love Billy…Wait! Where are these thoughts coming from? As if reading my mind; he leans down and gives me a kiss.
I hear Doc grunt in disapproval, but I pay no attention to him. "Billy." I hear Doc say. "Billy!"
Billy breaks off the kiss and looks over at Doc. I silently curse Doc, annoyed that he interrupted us. It seems that every time Billy and I have a few precious moments together, we get broken up. I heave a sigh, and close my eyes again.
"I'm guessing we've just gone into one big circle. I'm sure we're not headed for Lincoln again-"
"We are." Billy cuts him off.
"Fuck!" Doc spats.
"It ain't a good idea, Billy." I hear Steve comment.
"Lincoln is where we'll find the rest of the men who killed John." I open my eyes to see that Charlie and Chavez have now wandered over. Billy has a serious expression on his face, his eyes ablaze with rage. "We're gonna bury them, and then we're gonna bury Murphy." Billy looks over at me. "We take Murphy and the Santa Fe Ring falls. We kill him, we win."
"What is this?" Doc demands. "Do you think this is a game?"
"That's right. Whoever doesn't get killed wins. You just can't forget what happened, because that's when you get slow, and they'll kill ya. The closer you get to danger, the less scared you get…the better you get. You don't feel it? I know Jess does…" Billy glances over at me for a moment. "Like when Kinney's on our ass…your hair stands up on the back of your neck and it's like…" Billy then laughs loudly, draws his gun, and shoots at a nearby cedar tree. "It's really quite a sensation… ain't it, Jess?"
I don't reply. I just stare at Billy in awe. How can he feel exactly the same way as I do? What was it about him?
"I'm sure it is, Billy." Doc argues. "I'm sure in your mind horns sound and the angels sing, but I shit my goddamned pants! So, you want to keep testing yourself? Fine! But I'm taking Jessica and we're riding to old Mexico!"
"I'm not going to old Mexico!"
"Shut up, Jessica! I've had enough of your shit!"
My eyes widen with surprise at Doc's retort. "What did you say to me?" I mutter, stunned that he is talking to me this way.
"You heard. This has gone on long enough! I'm going to take care of you."
"Like hell you are!" I shout, quickly standing up. "I'm not leaving New Mexico!"
I look angrily over at Doc. "I am not longer a child." I remind him, in a calm voice, surprising even myself. "I'm staying here with Billy, here in New Mexico territory. Murphy has to go down." Of all people, Doc should understand! "So…you want to go to old Mexico? Then, go! But as Billy said, you all will be testing yourselves, and you don't even know it! Every possible way to enter old Mexico from Arizona to Texas will be covered. John Kinney knows everyone down south! You'll ride through all those damn switch trees you all love so much. Old Mexico…hah! That's the game of all games, if I say so, Doc!"
"Hell, I'm in!" Billy laughs.
I stood there with my first clenched, still upset with Doc. I turn to look at Billy in surprise. Of course I don't want to go, but if Billy wants us to go to old Mexico…we're going.
Author's Notes: Hoped you liked it! Please review! This is the L-O-N-G-E-S-T chapter I've written! Sorry! As always, special hugs and kisses to Tom and Sue!