The Stranger

Author's Note: I just can't stop writing at the moment! Wheeeee. Thank you to CandyCaner, Saige, Harlequin, and Ikkichi for reviewing. BTW: I love Dr.Harleen Quinzel from the Batman series. She is one of the strangest villaness' ever. So, Harlequin get 10 points. CandyCaner, Saige, and Ikkichi all get 30 points for reviewing each chapter so far. Haha.

Away We Go peoples.

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“Where in the hell did she come from?” Ferguson chuckled darkly, “Her husband oughta beat her for dressing like that.” I gasped and snapped my head to Ferguson. He was chuckling and chugging down the rest of his beer. I just bet he was thinking about Lynn all beaten and bloodied up.

“Be quiet Deputy. I don’t think she even has a husband. Where is he, if she does anyway?” The thought of Lynn being hurt made my heart race in fear. I put my hands on my hips trying to be imposing again. It didn’t work this time.

“It don’t matter Millie, she just ain’t right. She needs a man to teach her a lesson or two about being a proper lady.” He glared at the door and paused. “I want you to stay away from her.” He pushed the beer towards me. I scowled back at him. How dare he talk about her in that way!

“You gonna pay for that or not Deputy? Besides, who are you to tell me who I can or can’t talk to?” I smirked cruelly, “You ain’t my husband.” He nearly growled at me and gripped the bottle hard, it almost looked like he was gonna break it in his hand.

“You’re treadin’ on thin ice there Millie.” He jabbed my shoulder with his finger, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be quiet and do as I say.”He had snarled this out slowly and there was a threat laced under his voice. I was honestly scared at this point. It almost seemed like he was going to hit me.

Of course I was stupid and opened my big trap.

“You still need to pay for that beer, Deputy.” He snarled like a wild and threw the bottle over my head. I screamed, ducking behind the counter.

His bottle knocked into a few of the bottles I had stored on the shelves behind me and they all crashed to the floor, drenching the boards beneath my feet in alcohol. I was quivering in fear and I stayed where I was hidden until I heard the bell ring.

I slowly and tentatively stood back up. My heart was pounding and my breath was sawing in and out of my lungs. I put my hand to my chest, trying to steady my heart. Shawnie, bless her heart, came over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

“You all right Miss Sheafer?” Her voice was up an octave higher than usual. She must’ve been as scared as I was. I swallowed and nodded my head violently.

“Yeah, I’m all right Shawnie. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Millie? I’m your boss and your friend. It’s okay to be a little less formal around me.” I tried to change to subject, not wanting to think about the violent Deputy. My heart had started to slow down a bit by now and I cleared my throat to get my wavering voice back to normal.

“Now, let’s grab some rags, the broom, and the dustpan. We’ll need to clean this up before another customer comes in.” Shawnie nodded her head and grabbed a few of the towels we always had stored behind the counter.

Lawrence came back in as we were finishing. He stopped immediately and sighed.

“Two days in a row, I come in to find you rushing to clean up some broken glass. What happened this time, Millie?” I laughed. Thank god for Lawrence; he could always brighten my day.

“Deputy Ferguson came in while Lynn was in here. He didn’t like her and told me to stay away from her as soon as she left. He got all angry when I told him that he’s not allowed to tell me what to do and to pay for his drink, so he threw his bottle at me. Thankfully it missed, but it made a big ol’ mess” I scrubbed the floor, trying to make it smell less like alcohol than it already did. Lawrence stepped up to the counter and looked down at Shawnie and me.

“Hi Lawrence, how was your break?” Shawnie blushed prettily at him and smiled. She had taken a liking to him the day he started working here.

“It was fine Miss Shawnie, thank you for asking.” He was always so polite to her. He then looked at me. “Who the hell is Lynn?” All sense of politeness just flies out the window when he talks to me.

“Lynn is that stranger who came in yesterday. You know, the one you were very rude to not too long ago?” He narrowed his eyes. Wow, I was just pissing off people left and right.

“Maybe Deputy Ferguson is right Millie. Maybe you should stay away from her.”

“Don’t tell me you think she ‘needs a man to teach her a lesson’ as well, do you?” I had stood up and was irritated by now. Why were they so wary of her? She’s just a woman wearing men’s clothing for Christ’s sake!

“Well no but… Aw Christ, never mind.” He saw that I would not be swayed, and went back to his piano, mumbling to himself.

Shawnie looked conflicted, she didn’t know whether to stick with me or go to him. I grabbed hold of her arm gently and whispered in her ear.

“Go ahead Shawnie, he and I have been fighting bout this since yesterday. He probably needs someone to talk to.” She looked at me, paused for a moment, and nodded.

“Thank you Miss Sheafer.”

“It’s Millie, now go get him.” I smiled as she walked over to him and talked to him softly while he continued to mumble angrily at the keys of the piano.

I threw the broken glass into the bin and listened as he cussed me out and she tried to soothe him.

Why would they think she was dangerous for me? Sure, she had a gun, and sure she was dressed as a man, but that didn’t mean anything. I mean, how is she so threatening? Lynn was a beautiful woman by anyone’s standards. If she had been wearing a dress and acting demure, she would’ve been attacked from all sides by men wanting to court her. Those midnight eyes just sucked me in and her voice, while rough, had a beautiful lilt to it.

I sighed and went to the cellar to grab some bottles to replace the ones that were broken.

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I lit the gas lamps around the room as my night bartenders started walking in. The men were dressed in slacks, button down shirts, and vests, trying to look nice for the patrons. The women, however, wore dresses with shorter, thinner skirts than usual. They made the excuse that it was a hot night and they didn’t want to have to run around the building all flustered and overheated, but we all knew that shorter skirts equals fatter tips. The women would flaunt what they had if it meant a few more pennies to take home that night.

I had asked more people than usual to come in because I wanted Shawnie and I to have to night off. We had been working since earlier than we should have been. Plus, we had that scare from the Deputy earlier. Goodness, I hated that man.

“Do you want me to walk you to your home Shawnie?”

“I’ll be fine Miss Sheafer. Thank you. Have a good night.”

“It’s Millie, and you too Shawnie.” I slipped my tips in her pocket and went upstairs to my safe. It was as good a time as any to deposit everything in the bank before it closed.

I grabbed the cloth bag full of money from my safe, and zipped it closed with my account information stuffed inside. I walked back downstairs, said my goodbyes, and walked out into the humid night.

I walked down the road and crossed through a few allies in the northeast direction to get to the only bank in town. We hadn’t had any robbers in this town since I moved here, so I felt fairly safe. The only thing that ever caused me a bit of nervousness was the fact that there was an Indian tribe not very far away.

I remembered the stories I had heard, back in Yellastin, from the other little girls in the schoolyard when we would wait for our mothers to come pick us up and walk us home. They would talk of nasty, horrific stories about evil Indians who would capture and scalp any white people they found. They had always made me shiver in fear.

When I would tell my momma and papa the stories, they would always brush it off, saying it was just as bad hating Indians as it was to hate black people. We had hired this nice Negro by the name of Harold. He could play the banjo really well, and he would make me smile by telling me great stories. I never understood why most people didn’t like black people, it never clicked with me. But those stories about Indians, they scared me beyond all reason. I couldn’t help but believe them.

I shook off the prickles that had crawled up my spine, and I opened the door of the bank. I took a look around and, what do you know, there’s my mysterious woman talking to one of the bank tellers. I smiled and bounded up to the only other available teller to deposit the money.

“Has that woman been here long?” I nodded towards Lynn.

“A fair while, she’s creating an account. I think that they’re just about finished.” He finished up the deposit quickly and handed me my receipt. “Thank you Miss Sheafer, have a nice evening.” I smiled and nodded, said my thanks and went to sit down in one of the waiting chairs. I hoped she hadn’t seen me yet.

A few moments later she murmured a thank you to the teller she was working with and turned around. She saw me instantly and her lips quirked.

“Are you following me Miss Sheafer?”

“Call me Millie, please. And no, I’m not following you. I just happened to be doing my deposit, and here you were.” I stepped towards her. “What’re ya doing here?” I already knew, but I wanted an excuse to talk to her more.

“Just setting up and account for now. I’ll need it while I’m here, if I’m going to be here for a while.”

“Are you going to be here a while?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged slowly and made her way out the door. I scrunched my face. Why couldn’t she just give me a straight answer?

I followed her out and around back to her beautiful horse again. I watched as she began to untie it from the beam and get on its back. I noticed that the blanket had changed though.

“Where’d the new blanket come from? It’s too big to have been in the saddle bag…”

“The wife of the man I brought back to the tribe gave it to me as a thank you. They’re quite nice people, once you get to know them.” It looked like she had a fondness in her eyes. She was nearly staring off into space, almost as if she was remembering something.

I was doubtful though. I never knew Indians to be anything other than drunks or evil creatures. She was confusing me.

“You’re still gonna keep your promise though, right? I’m still gonna see you tomorrow?” I scuffed my shoes in the dirt beneath me.

“Of course Millie. I don’t break my promises.” She rode away towards that shack.

I smiled.

She called me Millie.