School's out! Now, a lot more of my fanfic updates can be expected. Happy summer vacation to all you fellow students out there! Enjoy chapter 3.
A week had passed on the Tunstall ranch since Natalie Greenwater's arrival. Most of the Regulators had grown accustomed to the newest hand, but the relationship between Natalie, Billy, and Charlie grew into an almost unbearable tension. Everyday, Natalie found Charlie gazing lovingly at her, and Billy smirking at her. Dick informed Natalie that Charlie was always a love-sick being, and Billy just wanted to cause trouble, and that she should just ignore them both. Natalie tried, but after Billy "accidentally" dropped Natalie's brush, her only feminine possession, in the muddiest part of the pigpen, she snapped.
"Sir, you've gotta help me out here!" she pleaded to Tunstall.
"Alright, Natalie, I'll talk to Billy," he promised, wondering if taking the girl in had been a great move after all, "but in the meantime, miss, try to be the bigger man—er, person. Have you tried ignoring Billy?"
"Yes! If he enters the barn, the house, or the corral, I leave, even if it inconveniences me. I just can't stand him smirking at me!"
"Natalie, please, for the good of us all, keep from taking a revenge on him for a little while. Now, you say he dropped your brush in the pigpen?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, we shall replace it, at his expense, of course."
"Thank you, sir."
"This warrants a trip to town. I'm sure the boys will appreciate it. We shall go in Saturday; you may inform the boys."
"Yes, sir." Tunstall turned from Natalie, and she exited the house and kicked at a clump of dirt. A trip to town was not exactly what she wanted, especially when she knew Tunstall was itching to get some "proper lady clothes" for her.
"Hey, watch it!" Natalie jumped back, realizing she had almost walked in front of Steve atop his horse. "Careful of where you're goin', Lee!"
The boys, except for Charlie and Billy, had taken to calling Miss Greenwater "Lee", which had helped her fit in, made her feel more like one of their equals.
"Sorry, Steve. I've a lot on my mind."
"Oh?"
"Tunstall's taking us to town on Saturday, and I'm not really looking forward to it." Natalie found herself taking to a cloud of dust, though, as Steve had galloped off at the word "town" to tell the other boys. Natalie shrugged and made her way down to the well, where she would gather water for the horses.
Later that night, in the bunk house, the tired Regulators of the Tunstall ranch lay in their bunks, discussing what they discussed every night: Natalie.
"She's certainly something, isn't she?" said Doc. "I mean, I've met lots of ladies, but nothing like her."
"There's nothing special about her," said Billy nonchalantly. "She's just like all the rest of them, but in pants."
"She's an angel," proclaimed Charlie, smiling.
"Charlie, you say that about anything with long hair and a pretty face," said Dick.
"Yeah, soon he'll be seeing Chavez as an angel," said Steve. The guys laughed as Chavez threw a pillow at the mocker. However, he smiled a little and spoke.
"You know, I think that for all the bad times he's giving her, I think our own Billy is smitten with Lee."
The boys, except Charlie, chuckled at Billy's reaction.
"And just why do you say that?" he demanded.
"Oh, come on. Boys tease girls they like. They're polite and neutral to ones they don't really care about, but they tease girl they do like, so they'll have their attention."
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard, Chavez."
"No, I think it's true," agreed Doc. "Of course, it's more of a juvenile thing, but you're not called Kid for nothing, are you?"
The boys laughed and Billy glared at Doc. "I don't want here, okay? She's, well, she's a she! Girls don't have any reason to live on ranches except if they stay in the house and wear a dress, and she's just making us look bad. She's working circles around all of us, admit it, and you guys are just accepting it. She hasn't even told us what she did to get her here, and I think it's time we knew. Tomorrow, I'm going to find out. Dick, I think you should come with, being foreman and all, because it's your business to know all the petty crimes that got us here."
Dick sighed. "Well, if it'll make you feel better. But after this, you better start acting nicer toward Lee, William H. Bonney."
"Will do, Richard."
The next morning, Natalie rose early, washed her face, got dressed, making sure the blinds were tightly pulled down after the little fiasco involving Billy and a mirror, and walked out of the house to the porch. She groaned in dismay as she found all six Regulators waiting for her.
"What?" she asked flatly.
"Lee," said Dick, clearing his throat, "We all decided that you better tell us what you did that caused you to come here."
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"We're all criminals, or so the townspeople say," said Doc. "What did you do that made Tunstall think you should come here?" Natalie surveyed the boys, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"I don't quite think it fair for me to stand here on trial and tell all of you." She frowned and looked at Dick. "Could I just tell you in the house?"
Dick looked at the Regulators, who nodded at him. "Yeah, we can do that." He followed her back into the house, and they sat at the kitchen table.
"What I did wasn't very major, you see," she began. "It's more of who I am. Five years ago, when I was fifteen, I rode out away from home with my brother, Hank. He and some of his friends and me rode around through various towns, just wanting to get away from the town that had treated us bad. The Greenwater family had a reputation as not being the most respectable clan, and even though we tried using aliases, people figured us out. They accused Hank of stealing, violence, and philandering, with hardly any of it true, and I also received a bad reputation, with me being a girl and all. Anyway, about two months ago, Hank and two of his pals were chased out of town after they stole a horse and were shot down. I just rode on with two other guys, and they…" Natalie's voice trailed off and her eyes burned a bit as she struggled for words. "…They assaulted me, took my horse, and dropped me off in Lincoln. I didn't really know what to do, so I just kind of sulked around for a while, and the 'authorities' just kicked me around and didn't try to help me. I did meet a guy named Ted, though, who said he wanted to help me. He didn't bother to tell me he was wanted for murder, though, so when he was being chased, he dropped me in his flight and Tunstall came and took me in."
"You have my condolences, Lee," said Dick quietly.
"Don't need them." Natalie stood and coughed and quickly wiped her eyes. She walked toward the door, but Dick took her arm and stopped her.
"If any of the boys are mistreating you, just let me know," he said.
Natalie nodded. "Just keep Billy away from me."
Dick nodded, keeping a serious face, recalling the conversation of last night in the bunk house.