The gunfighter (Open for 1 female. PM me if interested)

[Bardiche]

(Looking for a female to join me. PM me if interested)

A jail in Mexico, 1882

The cell door opened with a loud noise that woke Thad McKenzie from his light slumber. He sat up in the hard and uncomfortable bed that was provided in the cell. Tilting back the stetson hat he watch as the mexican guard enter.

"Senor McKenzie. Your story was right. Senor Algado say you bought the stallion fair and square." The guard move over to Thad and hand him the holster with his Colt Navy.

"This was all a mistake, hope you understand." The guard say and look a little worried.

Thad keep his silence as he fastens the holster around his waist. This trip had started bad and got even worse. Being arrested for horse theft was just the result of a bad day. Now with the colt in his possession it was only natural for the guard to be a little nervous. Thads reputation had spread over the counties and even reached Mexico. Despite his age of 24 he was well known as a gunfighter. Not a reputation his family liked. He didn't much care for it himself. It only seemed to get him in trouble with the law. This time it had been no exception.

"I am free to go?" Thad ask and the guard simply nods and step aside from the cell door.

Thad walk past him and continue going until he are outside. The sun that meet him are a welcome feel against his face. He closes his eyes and draw in the air in his lungs. He had only been jailed for two days and he would do what he could to never set foot there again.

His two horses was outside waiting for him and he patted their heads. He stopped by the black stallion that had brought him so much trouble.

"I hope you are not more trouble than you are worth." He say softly before mounting the brown gelding and turn the horses around. Home to Texas.

Texas, the way to San Antonio

It was very natural for Thad McKenzie to find trouble wherever he went. That was why he had the reputation he had. His older sister Jessie Matthews always said that if there was trouble 10 miles from Thad he would still find it. This time it was a stage coach robbery.

A gang of 4 outlaws ambushed the stage coach and killed the driver and gunner. The stage coach kept on going as the horses was panicked. That was when Thad saw it. He never saw the men being killed but he saw the stage coach being out of control and 4 men chasing it on horse back. Then a figure jumped from the coach and landed hard on the ground.

To his shock Thad saw it was a woman and that she got to her feet and started to run. Her long skirt hindered her and it didn't take long for one of the men to catch her. He threw her to the ground once more and sat down on her.

Thad let go of the rope that held the black stallion in place and drew his colt. He steered the gelding in a gallop toward the scene and when he felt close enough the colt spit death toward two of the men that fell instantly. The man straddling the woman leapt to his horse and raced away, followed by his companion. Thad aimed at the men and shot the man that rode last in the back, then his colt was empty and he looked long after the surviving outlaw.

He dismounted and reloaded his colt and walked over to the woman.

"Are you hurt miss?" He ask while his attention are still directed at the fleeing man. From now on he had to watch his back. Jake Carver was a very dangerous man. Even more so after Thad had killed his three brothers.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson Parker was dusty and tired. She had been travelling for almost a week now. Her home had been in Charleston. Her mother was a widow with a house full of seven children. Jameson at twenty years old was the oldest. Her mother had just remarried Robert Maxwell, a prominent banker in Charleston. Her two younger brothers were being sent to Robert's alma mater, a boys only military academy. Jameson had been informed by Robert that it was high time she either married or perhaps went to work on a neighboring plantation as a governess.

Jameson, named after her mother's family, had grown quite used to her and her mother deciding their fates. She would take her leave, but on her own terms. She had a stellar education. She would be a teacher. She had found an ad looking for teachers to go to Texas. She had packed two bags, taken what money she had and kissed her mother and siblings goodbye. Mr. Maxwell was not pleased with her choice, but that made her choice even sweeter. She had left her mother's tea plantation waving and smiling, and wondering if she would ever go back.

The trip had taken days and days. Her dress was too hot for the blazing sun. She had her eyes closed, trying to imagine the ocean breeze on her face. She was picturing herself on Market Street, the smell of salt in the air and the sounds of the street around her. The soft gullah voices from the women selling their sea grass baskets and the call of the man that sold pralines on the corner. It was almost working. Then the shots rang out.

The driver had told her if there was shooting that she should get to the floor and stay there. She had ducked on the floor for a while, but the ride of the stagecoach got rougher and rougher. With each bump she got more frightened and the horses were upset. She could hear their cries. She peeked out the window and almost screamed when she saw that the driver was dead. The horses were out of control and there were men on horseback chasing them down. She wasn't sure what to do. For all she knew the horses would run them right over a cliff. She had to get out of the coach.

Jameson grabbed her heavy skirts in her hand and jumped from the coach. She hadn't had a chance to run long. Her delicate button shoes and her petticoats and skirts made it difficult to run. Then she felt herself knocked to the ground. She heard laughter as the heavy weight of a man pinned her down. He turned her over, before straddling her. His laughter and smile no reassurance. He grabbed at her blouse even as she screamed. The first few buttons tore away, exposing her throat and the tops of her breasts. She struggled underneath him, pleading for him to stop.

The exposed flesh of her throat only seemed to egg him on. She kicked at him, but that only displaced her skirts. She managed to get a hand free to push at him, but he grabbed her hand and pinned it above her head. For the second time, shots rang out. This time she was relieved because her captor turned and then ran, mounting his horse. She sat up quickly, watching them leave. She tried to repair her blouse, but the buttons had flown somewhere into the sand. She felt herself start to tear up. But she tried to fight those tears. Her body ached from the blow to the ground. Her face especially. She reached up to feel her cheek, her fingers found blood from scraping against the a rock in the desert like soil. She knew she must look terrible. The mark was deeping in color, making her porcelain skin look even more pale. Her dark hair was coming down from its pins. Her dark straight hair, framing her face as she got to her feet.

A man arrived on horseback, the man that had chased them away. She looked him over and hoped he wasn't another outlaw. He was good looking and very good with his gun. But that didn't mean that he wasn't some ruffian. He did seem concerned for her welfare. He stood his ground, watching the outlaws leave. She screamed when he shot one. Then he reloaded his gun and asked about her welfare.

"I will be alright." She managed to stammer. She found a hankerchief in her handbag and she pressed it to her face. Her left arm hurt horribly from where she had hit the ground. But she didn't want to complain or look like a silly girl from the city. So she kept the throbbing pain to herself.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad looked down at the young woman from the saddle and holstered his colt. He turned his eyes toward the stagecoach and sighed. As the horses had fled in panic the coach had turned over and was damaged. He turned his horse and rode over to one of the outlaws horses that was standing close by. He took it by the rein and led it over to where the woman was on the ground.

"The stagecoach are damaged and i don't have the time to repair it, even if i could." He say as he dismount. He tip his stetson hat to her. "My name are Thad McKenzie miss." He only briefly glanced at her torn clothes before he turned his attention to the dead bodies. He kicked one over so it was lying on the back. It was Gus Carver. The others he was sure was Luke and Warren. He would bring some good news to the sheriff of San Antonio at least. The news that the Carver gang didn't exist anymore. Only Jake was left but Thad knew that he was by far the most dangerous of the brothers.

Only now he looked for the black stallion. He mounted his horse and rode up to the stallion. To his surprise it hadn't ran away when he attacked the outlaws. It just stood where he had left it, looking at him with mean brown eyes. He led it back to where the woman was.

"We need to ride. It will get dark soon and i wan't to make the remaining hours of daylight count. If we ride at least for an hour or two and then set up camp we will be in San Antonio sometime tomorrow morning." He say and offer her the rein of the horse he took from the dead outlaw. "You can ride i hope?"

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson dusted off her dress. "i know how to ride. Never on terrain as rough as this, but I grew up on a plantation. I have been on a horse since I could walk." She looked away from the unseeing eyes of the dead man on the ground. She had never seen a dead man before. She looked back at the stagecoach.

"I know I couldn't bring it all, but my luggage is on that stagecoach. I atleast need to get my valuables and a change of clothes. The rest can be replaced, I suppose. I also have books that need to come along, I have a teaching post waiting for me." She climbed back into the stagecoach and rummaged through her bags. She dumped out the smaller bag and then took out the necessities and packed them. Two dresses, a night dress, her hair brush and the books. She was sad to leave the rest, but riding was going to be hard enough without lugging everything.

She returned to Thad's side. "I suppose I am ready."

 

[Bardiche]

So this was the new teacher San Antonio was waiting for? Thad was quite surprised that she was so young. He was sure it would be a surprise for the town people as well. A teacher so young he had never heard of. He waited patiently as she collected her belongings. Then he smiled faintly as she mounted the dead outlaws horse.

"Then we ride." He turn the horse toward San Antonio and ride slowly to let her keep up with him. If he was by himself he was sure he would reach San Antonio right after dark. With her in tow it would be a slower ride though. He let her ride up to him and they rode side by side.

"So you are the new teacher." He glances at her. "I believe some folks are eager for your arrival." He smile at her. The first real smile in a few days for him. "Glad i came as i did then." He look forward again. She looked almost to proper to fit in Texas. Even if her dress was somewhat thorn she radiated class. He wondered why she would wan't a life out here where the west was still somewhat wild.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson was able to ride the horse passably well. Not at the pace she was sure that Thad would normally take, but he was holding back for her. She tried to straighten her dress, smooth her hair as she rode. She could feel the bruise spreading across the side of her face, her arm ached badly, and she was sore from taking her tumble.

But she couldn't help but think that the land around her was beautiful. She rode through the hills following Thad. "I am looking forward to making my start in San Antonio. " She smiled her best smile. Living in the wilds of Texas had to be better than having Robert Maxwell for a stepfather.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad nods at her words. "I guess San Antonio is a good place than any to start a new life." He say as he look at her from the side. He smile before looking forward again. "The school house is small but it have two floors. You have the second floor as your private quarters." He look back at the black stallion and meet it's eyes. A mean creature but perfect for breeding.

"My ranch isn't far of the school house." He nod as he eyes her again. "If you need help you only need to contact me." He smile again. "That is what neighbours do. Help each other."

They ride in silence for an hour or so before the sun start to set down. They keep riding for a few more minutes and then Thad stop.

"We better rest here. Before it is getting to dark." He say as he dismount by a small tree. "We will be in San Antonio by the morning." If he had been alone he would have continued riding. With the company he now have he don't dare to. There was to many slopes someone not familiar with the territory could get hurt in.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson dismounted from the horse, she was a tumble of skirts and petticoats. "I know I didn't say so earlier, but I need to thank you for saving me. I don't know what might have happened if you hadn't been there...." She flushed a deep red. "Actually, I have a really good idea of what might have happened."

After they settled in and the horses had been watered she looked at him with a smile. "Do you know how many children are at the school? Or if they have had a teacher recently? I have six younger siblings and I helped my mother educate all of them. I also taught all of the children that lived on the plantation, that was my mother's doing." She cleared a spot to sit down.

"Have you always lived in San Antonio, is your family there?" Her voice had the sweet soft drawl of the Carolina's in it. Her father always said the voices of South Carolina women had the sounds of sweet loving and the sea in them. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She surveyed Thad. He was a good looking man, but he gave off an air of trouble. For some reason she was sure that trouble followed Thad. BUt the thought made her smile, Jameson was always accused of dragging trouble home. She had always loved living slightly unconventionally. Her mother had always approved. Her stepfather had not. Incurring his displeasure had at first been amusing. But her mother could not handle his displeasure, the stress was too much for her. So, here she was. On her way to the two story school house.

She knew it would not be luxurious, but she was counting on somewhere to bathe and a soft mattress to sink into and sleep deeply.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad unpack some blankets from the saddle bag of his gelding and handed her one. He smile at her. "Was my pleasure." He say and place his blanket on the ground. "We can't have our new teacher killed. Wouldn't be very good for the town." He adds with a wink.

He sit down next to her. "I reckon it is twelve to sixteen children you will teach. I'm not really sure. It is about two months since we had a teacher." He didn't saw the need to tell her that their former teacher Mr Carl Dunham had been killed in a bank robbery. The robbers had gotten away and the sheriff believed it was the Carver gang.

He smile at her quite amused by her plenty questions. It was only natural that she was curious about the place she would call home. It was getting darker and he lay down at the blanket looking up at the stars as he contemplated her question about him.

"My family are from Arizona. We came to San Antonio when i was eight years old." He maybe would tell her the complete story on a later time. It was quite event filled. For him the biggest experience was that he had killed his first man as a eight year old. He sigh as he think back. The hunt for Frank McKenzie. Their father. That was what had led them to come to San Antonio. And they had arrived just a week before Frank was about to be hanged.

"We better get some sleep. If we get up early tomorrow we will be in San Antonio on the morning." He say before he tip his stetson down over his eyes and places his hands under his head.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson arranged her skirts, trying to get comfortable. She tucked her hands under her cheek like a little girl. SHe wasn't used to sleeping under the stars, every noise made her jump. She tried to imagine she was sleeping on the summer porch on the back of her mother's palatial house.

She closed her eyes and finally sleep came. She was exhausted. She tossed and turned, her sore body not used to sleeping on the hard ground. She began to stir, sure she had heard something.

She sat up in the pitch blackness of night. "Thad" She whispered in a panic. She knew something was wrong. She heard a scuffle. "Thad!" She called out this time, scrambling for a stick or a rock or anything to help her feel more protected as she tried to see in the dark.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad was suddenly wide awake. Something had disturbed his sleep. He realised it was the movement of Jameson that had waken him.

"Thad!" He heard the panic in her voice and automatically drew his colt. Just then he felt a blow to his left side and tumbled back on the blanket as he heard the unmistakingly sound of a gun. He saw the flash to his left and pointed his colt that way and fired twice. He heard a low grunt and just a few seconds later he heard a horse galloping away.

"Damn it." He mutter as he drop the colt on the blanket and his fingers touch his hip on the left side of his body where he felt the pain. when he look at his fingers he see the blood. He had been shot. Damn it. Not again, he thought as he lie back on the blanket and take a deep breath. From how it felt it was probably just a flesh wound but he was sick tired of being shot.

"Are yiou alright?" He bites into his lips as he sit up. Even if he wasn't seriously injured it still hurt as hell.

 

[wideeyedone]

"What the hell sort of place is this?" Jameson muttered in her thick southern drawl. She was wide eyed and shaking by the time she made it to Thad's side. "Are you hurt?" She whispered. She was close enough now that she could see the blood.

"What do you need me to do? I don't mean to be so useless. Tell me what you need." Jameson calmed down almost instantly when she realized that Thad might need her help. She fumbled in her bag for a hankerchief. "Will this do for a bandage? Will you be able to ride?" Jameson was standing awfully close to Thad. But she was scared. It was pitch black, the horses were restless and whoever had shot at them, was still out there.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad groaned as he felt his wound with his fingers. Thankfully the bullet had passed straight through him. He felt Jameson's presence. "It is only a flesh wound. I will live." He mutter. "That will do great." He say and accept the hankerchief and press it against the wound. He was bleeding pretty much and the hankerchief did not do much to stop it.

"Can you make a fire?" He ask as he sit on the blanket and feel the pain increase. "When the morning come i will be able to ride." If he don't bleed to death first he think to himself. He pick up his gun from the ground and holster it.

"I wounded the man that shot me so he won't be back soon." He say to try and calm her. No doubt it was Jake Carver out for revenge and maybe a roll in the hay.

The horses seemed to have calmed down so he lay back and endure the pain. The bullet had hit him maybe one inch above his pants on the left hip. Not a bad wound but it hurt like hell.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson bit her lip. She could start a fire in the kitchen at home, with tinder and kindling. She wasn't sure about a fire out here in the wilds of the west.

"I am sure I can start a fire if you tell me what to do...." Jameson whispered with regret. "I am afraid I came ready to teach children, rather than start fires."

Jameson's heart pounded as she tried to start the fire. She hoped daylight would come soon. Her arm ached and she was frightened. Maybe her stepfather was right, maybe she should have stayed home.

 

[Bardiche]

(OOC, sorry for the dely in post)

Thad smiled at her. She was very much out of her element here. He sat up with a painful groan as he started to doubt that he had wounded the man enough for him not to return. What if he came back to finish them of. He probably realised that he had hit thad with his shot.

"The fire may be a bad idea after all." He say to her as he try to stand up on his feet. The ache in his wound are manageable but troublesome. He manage to get up and stay up.

"Get some sleep and i will keep an eye open." He try to smile but it come out as a grimace. He stumble over to the tree and sit down with his back against it.

"We will get to town early in the morning so you better rest." He draw his Colt and let it rest in his hand as a reminder to keep him awake. This was not the best way to introduce the young school teacher to Texas he thought to himself with a wry smile.

 

[wideeyedone]

Jameson looked up at him. "You are wounded. I should keep watch. I can scream if I see anything." She offered, even though she knew he wouldn't give in.

It was hard to rest on the hard soil, worried about who might arrive over the hillside. Soon, morning light came. She gathered her things and packed the horse. Thad looked tired and grizzled as he loaded up his horse.

"Thank you for taking care of me. You are a true gentleman." Jameson offered as she mounted her horse with just a little difficulty. She winced as she used her sore arm to pull herself up.

"How long a ride do we have?" She asked surveying the terrain before them.

 

[Bardiche]

Damn he was tired and he suspected that he had lost more blood than what was really healthy for him. He had refused her offer to keep watch. It had just been to risky. If something had happened and he had been asleep. Her shouting may not had been enough. If Jake had returned Thad had just been to freshly awake to be really aware of the surroundings.

Now he looked at her as she mounted her horse. He saw her wince as she pulled herself up on it.

We have quite a short ride ahead of us. One maybe two hours and we will be in San Antonio." He say as he mount his own. The pain throb from his wound. Even more so than earlier. He grit his teeth's as he look at her. If she are wounded it obviosly ain't very serious.

"Are you hurt?" He ask softly as he steer the horse to stand beside hers. He feel an admiration for her. He had met only a few southern girls but none of them had seemed to have her stamina and endurance.

 

[wideeyedone]

"I'll be fine. I am just not used to tumbling with outlaws." She said with a grin. "I can make the ride to San Antonio but I am looking forward to a hot bath and a soft bed."

She smiled as they rode over the rough terrain. "So, what were you doing out here that you happened to come across my stagecoach being robbed? Are you some sort of lawman?" Jameson was just trying to pass the time. The sun was rising in the sky as they rode.

She tried to be extra watchful knowing that who ever had shot Thad might come back. But the way seemed to be clear for now.

Jameson thought about the new adventure ahead of her. SHe had made the right choice, she was sure of it.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad smile at her words. He had been a deputy for Sheriff Jack Dawson a few years earlier. If only for a short time he knew that it wasn't for him. It required him to be stuck at one place to long.

"I just got myself a horse." He say and pull the rope holding the black stallion closer to them. "This will be a breeder for my ranch." He say with a smile. "He's a little troublesome at times but was worth every dollar."

He smile to her. "And i am no lawman, though i have been once. Was just pure luck i came as i did." He look forward again as his mind work over what would have happened if he wasn't put in jail and therefore was delayed. Then she would had been dead.

He looked up at the sky as they kept riding on. After some time he saw the ridge ahead.

"San Antonio lie just on the other side of that ridge." He smile at her.

 

[wideeyedone]

"I must look like hell. Not the impression that I wanted to make on the fine citizens of San Antonio. But I have my books and I am ready to teach. I suppose that will have to be enough."

Jameson tried to smooth her dark hair and her dusty tattered dress, but it wasn't going to be any use. But she was pretty anyway. The dress clung to her curves and nipped in on her slender waist. Her dark hair was a stark contrast to her porcelain skin. Her big brown eyes took in the hills around San Antonio.

"Thad, I can't thank you enough for bringing me here. I am so excited about my new life. I don't think I could have taken one more day on that plantation."

Jameson watched as the town appeared over the ridge. It wasn't like the large cities back east. Nothing like Charleston at all. But she didn't care. She saw the rugged beauty of the place.

"Thad, we should get you to a doctor."

 

[Bardiche]

Thad looked down and saw that the front of his shirt was covered with fresh blood. The blood had leaked through the provisionary bandage. He grimaced at her. He hated to go to the doctor. He just knew how Stephen would react seing him like this, again.

"Your right." He simply said and they steered the horses toward the town. He looked around and saw Jack. He hold in the reins and stopped in front of the aging sheriff whose eyes was on Thads shirt.

"Is it bad?" Jack asked as he met Thads eyes with his own.

"Not that bad." Thad smiled ironically. "There are a few bodies back on the stage coach trail. It was the Carver gang. I got three of them but Jake got away."

"Son of a bitch. I send a few deputies to get the bodies here." Jack say and look concerned. "Who is this lady?" He say and smile to Jameson.

"She will be the new school teacher. I will let her introduce herself." Thad felt the pain increase in his side and gritted his teeth's. He better get of the horse before he fell of.

"Take care of my stallion." He say to Jack as he hand him the rein to the black horse.

Then he turn his horse and slowly ride to the doctor's place. He clumsily dismount and stagger inside the building to be met by Laura, Doctor Stephen's beautiful wife.

"Damn it Thad. That was alot of blood." She mutter as she step under his arm and put her slender arm around his waist to support him.

"More than i would like." He say with a small laugh.

"Stephen will kill you. You know that right?" She say as she help him to lay down at a bench.

"If not my wound do that first." He grin at her. She smile back and places a wet kiss on his cheek.

"Stephen will mend you and kill you himself. He will have it no other way."

"I know he will." Thad mutters back.

 

[wideeyedone]

"I am Jameson Parker." Jameson stammered to the man that greeted them. SHe followed Thad on foot, worried that he wasn't going to make it to the Doctor at all. He looked horrible. Well, she didn't think that Thad could ever look bad at all. He just looked pale and clammy.

She followed him in and saw him in the arms of a lovely woman he obviously knew well. Seeing him with her felt a little bit like a punch to the stomach, but she got past it.

"Is he going to be alright?" Jameson asked breathily. She watched the other woman intently. "He saved my life, twice. He has to be alright." Jameson clutched her hankerchief tightly in her hands.

She hoped it wasn't too obvious to the other woman that she was starting to care about Thad a great deal.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad was surprised that Jameson had followed him inside. Surprised but somehow pleased. He smile at her as he allow Laura to unbutton his shirt and take it of him. Just then Stephen come in and take one look at him.

"Maybe i should just let you die?" He say as he watch the bloody bandage.

"Maybe you should." Thad respond with a smile.

"Laura. Get me some clean bandages and my doctors bag." Stephen order his wife. With a smile at Thad she do as she are told. When she return Thad look at Jameson.

"I will be fine. This isn't the first time i've been shot and Stephen here are a damn fine doctor as well as my older brother." He look at them with a smile.

"Stephen and Laura. Meet Jameson Parker. Our new School teacher."

"Miss Parker." Stephen smile at her. "What mess have Thad drawn you in?"

 

[wideeyedone]

"He saved my life. The stage coach driver was shot. And I tried to make a run for it and this awful outlaw jumped out on me and pinned me to the ground and Thad shot his friends and chased him off. Then last night they came back for us. It wasn't his fault at all."

Jameson looked wideyed as she told the tale. Tears threatening to come. She gasped when she saw how much blood there was on Thad. She held the edge of the table beside her because she felt a tiny bit faint. But she fought it off, she didn't want to look like a silly southern belle.

 

[Bardiche]

Thad looked up from his wound to Jameson. To him she looked more affected than he was. He became a little concerned that she might faint. He was the one that had been shot but she looked more pale than he.

"Maybe you should lie down." He suggested in a soft voice. He saw that Laura glanced over at Jameson. She smiled at him and walked over to Jameson and placed her hand on the younger womans shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She look over at Thad. "Thad are used to this but you aren't."