Little Sharpshooter

Little Sharpshooter Chap 15

Randy was strangely numb inside. It was a long slow ride from the rundown shack with Ernie walking all funny behind her from his bruised man parts. He whined about it the whole way and kept telling her how he was going to kill her when he got out of jail. But all she had to do was speed up to shut his mouth.

When she saw all the men sitting on the edge of town with no intention of coming to help her, she was disgusted with them all. There were no gentlemanly type in the territory. They all reverted back to animals that fend for themselves. But the most amazing sight was Trevor on Al’s back. Her horse finally could trust someone other than her. If she had any feeling left inside her, it would mean the world to her. But it would have to wait. It was obvious she had to show all the men she could take care of herself and didn’t need them. Randy wouldn’t fall apart until she was alone. That also meant that she didn’t trust herself to say a word.

The men tried to ask her how she did it as she rode by. She didn’t stop, staring straight ahead to head for the jail. The sheriff had better follow. Trevor was asking her questions but she couldn’t answer yet. Randy would tell him later. She wasn’t mad at him, just mad at everyone else.

Randy stopped in front of the sheriff’s office. She slid off the saddle, tied the horse to the hitching post, and held onto Ernie’s rope until the Sheriff was there to take it from her. She didn’t look at him once he took the rope from her. He asked her something. Randy didn’t hear him as she walked away.

 The boarding house wasn’t far. She clutched her chest to close her ripped shirt avoiding everyone’s eyes as she single-mindedly walked back to her room. It wasn’t much farther. Her eyes were welling with tears. She still had the second room key in her pocket as she fumbled with the lock. The door finally opened. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes blurred the streaks of blood on her face and down her neck. Blood was all over her shirt. She tore it off and threw it in the corner. Randy couldn’t hold it in anymore, falling to her knees on the floor. Big sobs fell out of her. She covered her face, folded over on the floor, and she couldn’t stop.

Bronson was first by her side. He rubbed her back and said something to her. But whatever he said didn’t matter. He lifted her to hold her in his lap on the floor. He held her for some time trying to console her patting her head as if she was a dog.

“Sweetheart, the sheriff needs to know if he violated you,” he said when she finally calmed down some.

She shrugged and she couldn’t control her sobs.

 “He’ll have to wait until you can pull yourself together. I’m gonna give you to Trevor now. I have to go talk to the sheriff.” He lifted Randy in his arms.

Randy covered her face with her hands as Bronson set her down on Trevor’s lap on the bed.

“She needs this,” Bronson said.

Trevor moved her hands from her face. A cold wet cloth touched her chin. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, tears were spilling from his too as he washed her face gently.

Trevor touched the bruise on her cheek lightly. He wiped his face with the back of his hand before he rubbed away what dried blood she had on her neck.

“You’re not hurt as bad as it looked like you were.” He attempted to smile.

Randy was able to crack a slight smile in return. “I think I hurt him more than he hurt me.”

“That’s good. He had it comin’.” He held her head in his hands, closed his eyes to rest his forehead on hers, taking in a deep breath. “I was really scared I wasn’t gonna see you again or if I did, you’d be pretty messed up worse than ya are.”