Chapter 2-Saving a girl

One year later

Colt's P.O.V

Colt walked into the general store and looked at the clerk. "Hey, Colt, how are you doing?" He asks Colt.

"Good," He says as he sets a list down. "There's a wagon outside."

"I'll get them out there," He tells Colt, who nods as he walks out of the general store. He sits on the bench and lays his head back.

"Colt," He looks up at Sheriff Malloy.

"Sheriff, how can I help you?" Colt asks him.

"Do you know where Buck is?" Malloy asks.

"I haven't seen him since he left for Van Horn a couple of days ago. Why?"

"My friend has a daughter. She's around your age. Her father was found dead in his home last night and there looked to be a struggle, and she is gone, tracks let out of town and into the Cumberland forest. I was going to ask Buck to accompany me and find her.

"Let me come, Buck has been teaching me how to track, and I'm a good shot," Colt says as he stands up.

"Okay, meet me at the jail in a couple of minutes." Colt nods as he walks into the shop. He grabs out a stack of cash and sets it down. "That should cover it. I'll be back in a little bit," The clerk nods as Colt leaves and goes over to his horse. He grabs Lyle and goes over to the Sheriff's office, where Molloy is waiting for him. Colt climbs on his horse and follows Molloy out of town.

Buck's P.O.V

Buck sat in a bar inside of Blackwater. He had finished up in Van Horn and had decided to travel to Blackwater. He set the glass down and walked out of the bar. He walked through the street and stopped when he saw a boy being pushed up against the wall by an older boy. "Hey," Buck says, making the older boy look at him. "What are you doing?"

"He stole some money from me," The older boy growls. Buck walks up to them, and the older boy backs up as Buck pulls out $20. "Here now go," Buck says to the older boy, who quickly leaves. "Come on, son," Buck says as he leads the boy away from the alley and onto the sidewalk.

"Arthur," A man says as he comes up to them. "There you are, Arthur."

"He your boy?" Buck asks.

"Yes, he is," The man says. "I'm Hosea Matthews."

"Buck," Buck says as he shakes his hand. "Seems your boy got into some trouble with an older boy. He tried pickpocketing. Didn't go too well for him."

"We picked him off the road a year ago, trying to get rid of those nasty habits," Hosea says as he bends down in front of Arthur. "Go and find Dutch. He is waiting for you at the post office. Go straight there, son." Arthur nods as he walks away from Hosea. Hosea looks at Buck.

"I know the feeling. I got a boy the Sheriff asked me to look after. Lost his parents, some nasty business. Name's Colt."

"Same for young Arthur. Thank you for your help. I should be getting back," Hosea says. Buck nods as Hosea walks away from him.

"Kid kind of looks like a younger Colt," Buck says as he walks towards the Sheriff's office.

Colt's P.O.V

Colt and Malloy tracked the group for hours until the sun had started to set in the sky. Colt had his binoculars out, looking through the trees at a camp. He hands the binoculars to Malloy, who looks at the camp and the girl tied to a wooden post. "That's her," Malloy says.

Colt nods as Malloy hand him the binoculars, and he puts them back in his satchel. "So, how do you want to play this? If we rush in, they might kill her,"

"We could wait for them to go to sleep. You sneak in and get her while I'll watch from here," Malloy says.

"That works. We still have a few hours until nightfall."

Malloy nods as they lean up against the tree.

Three hours later

Colt and Malloy watched the tent and saw no movement. Malloy pulls out a stick of dynamite and hands it to Colt. "Blow the bastards to hell when you get her," Malloy tells Colt, who nods as he slowly moves towards the camp. He couldn't hear anything as the girl saw him. Colt held his finger to his lips as he withdrew his knife and went behind her. He cut the ropes and grabbed her arms.

"Can you walk?" He asks quietly. She nods. "Go there. Malloy is waiting for you," She nods as she stands and moves towards the trees as Colt pulls out the stick of dynamite and lights it before he throws it onto one of the tents and runs. The explosion goes off, blowing up some of the tents. They could hear screams and shouts as Colt got to the treeline, and the men started to shoot towards them. Malloy shot two of them as the woman grabs one of Colt's revolvers out of his holster and shot the last one through the throat. She holds the revolver out to Colt, who takes it.

"Are you okay, Wynonna?" Malloy asks the girl, who nods. Wynonna is tall and slender with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes, strong eyebrows, and defined cheekbones.

"I'm fine, my Dad?" She asks Malloy, who shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, he's gone. Let's get you back home," Malloy says as he helps her up. She nods as she slowly follows them back to their horses.

Valentine

Colt and Malloy stood in the Sheriff's office. Wynonna was upstairs in Malloy's room showering. "That girl has been through a lot," Malloy says.

"Where is her father?" Colt asks him.

"He's in a casket by the church. They wanted to wait until Wynonna was found to bury him," Malloy says. Colt nods as the door open, and Wynonna walks in wearing boots, black jeans, and a black shirt.

"How does my house look?" Wynonna asks.

"No, great. I'll get someone to fix it up. Would you be okay with staying with Colt for the night?" Malloy asks. Wynonna nods. "That okay, Colt?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Colt says. "Come on," Colt says as he goes to the door.

"My father's gun and hat?" Wynonna asks Malloy. Malloy goes behind his desk, pulls out a black cattleman and white hat, and sets them down on the desk. "Thank you, Sheriff," Wynonna says as she follows Colt out of the Sheriff's office and towards the general store where the wagon was.

"Can you ride on the wagon?" Colt asks Wynonna, who nods as she climbs onto the wagon. Colt climbs on his horse and starts to ride out of town, with Wynonna following him on the wagon.

Colt's house

Colt puts his horse in the stables with the horses that pulled the wagon. They go inside the house, and Colt shuts the door and locks it. "You can sleep in Buck's room. He won't be back for a few days."

"Thanks," Wynonna says as she walks into the room. Colt nods as he walks into his room.

Morning

Colt walks out of his room and goes to the cabinet. He grabs two cans of corn and some meat and puts them on the stove. He rubbed his eyes as the door opened, and Wynonna walked out and looked at him. "I'm going to need a ride to town," Wynonna tells him.

"Eat first, and I'll take you into town," Colt says as he cooks the food. Wynonna nods as she sits down.

"Is Buck your Dad?" Wynonna asks him.

"No, my Dad is dead, got hanged. Buck took me in," Colt says. "He's gone a lot. He's a bounty hunter."

"What do you do?" She asks him.

"I work at the auction yard," Colt tells her. Wynonna nods. After they eat, they get on Colt's horse and ride for Valentine.

Valentine

Colt watched from the Sheriff's office as Wynonna stood by the grave that her father was in with a priest. "She's going to need a friend," Malloy says as he walks outside. "I suspect both of you need friends."

"Thanks, Sheriff," Colt says as Malloy stands beside him.

"You did good yesterday. You ever thought about following in Buck's footsteps?" Malloy asks him.

"Bounty hunting? I'll wait a few more years until I start doing that. I'm only 17. I'll see how I feel in a couple of years, and if bounty hunting is what I'm supposed to do, then I'll do it. Till then, I'll work at the auction yard and help when needed."

Malloy nods as Wynonna walks down towards them. "Thank you both for your help,"

"You know where I live if you need help," Colt tells her. She nods as she walks away from them, and Colt walks back toward his horse.

A few days later

Colt sat at the table cleaning his gun when the door opened, and Buck came in. "Did you have a nice vacation?" Colt asks with a smirk.

"I did," Buck says as he sets his satchel on the table and looks at him. "Talked to Malloy before I came here. Said you helped save a girl."

"He was looking for you, but you were too busy on vacation."

"I was getting money," Buck says as he sits down. "I knew her father. He was a good guy."

"I'm sure he was. I'm going to get some sleep," Colt says to Buck, who nods as Colt walks towards his room.

"I'm proud of you, Colt," Buck says. Colt smiles as he walks into his room.

Thanks for reading. This was a shorter chapter, but I wanted to use it to bring in Wynonna, Arthur, and Hosea, who will be getting my own version of events leading up to the Blackwater Massucure, so the next chapter will skip a couple of years ahead. I think maybe five. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.