Two for the Trail by Allison Tebo

THE SNORTING OF KANE’S horse faded into silence while Molly was still crawling forward to get a better look. Not good. She wanted Kane where she could see him. She had finally traced down the infamous killer to this tiny ghost town on the edge of the Mexican border, and she was determined to have him this time.

Her hat thumped against her back as she dug her gloves into the dirt and shinnied along under the house. She peered out into the street. She figured Kane was here to meet one of the many robbers he coordinated with along the border. If all went well today, Kane would never reach that meeting.

There was a soft sound somewhere to her right. Someone was under the house with her. She twisted her head to one side but couldn’t see past a bricked support beam. She fumbled for her shotgun.

She wanted Kane hung but, if she had to, she’d shoot him dead.

“Molly?” a familiar voice hissed.

“Vaquero?” Molly whispered, disbelieving.

The scruffy, grinning face that appeared confirmed her worst suspicions.

It was that ding-dang, jackleg bounty hunter! This sidewinder had been sabotaging Molly’s attempts to catch Kane for weeks. Course, she had pushed Vaquero into a ravine, but she had a right to spoil his efforts. Kane belonged to her.

“Well, well. Hello again, niña.”

Molly bridled. She wasn’t a child. She was fifteen. She was old enough to sass this skunk good and proper.

“Get out of here, or I’ll blast you out!” she snarled.

Vaquero wriggled closer. “First one to grab Kane gets to claim him.”

“He’s mine.” Molly gritted her teeth and finally blurted out the truth. “He killed my grandpa.”

Vaquero’s eyes softened. “Now, why didn’t you tell me that when we first met? So, it’s revenge you seek?”

“Revenge be hanged,” Molly snapped. “I want justice.” But more than that, she didn’t want some other girl to lose her grandpa. Kane brought misery everywhere he went. It had to stop.

Something that might have been niceness crossed Vaquero’s face. “I’ll help you, and we split the reward. Agreed?”

Molly grimaced. “Just stay out of my way!”

She crawled out from under the building and leapt to her feet, shooting like all get-out down the street.

Kane whirled, hitting the ground hard and returning fire, forcing Molly to take cover in an alley.

“Is that you, girl?” Kane shouted furiously.

“It’s me!” Molly yelled.

Kane cursed. “I’m getting mighty tired of you following me around! This is the end of the line for you.”

“We’ll see about that!” She bent down to reload.

Then a gun cracked right behind her.

She whirled around in time to see a cowboy fall on his face a few feet away from her, his gun falling from his limp hand.

Molly gaped at the corpse. In her anxiety to catch Kane, she had forgotten he was meeting friends of his here. Stupid.

Vaquero was standing at the end of the alley, his gun smoking. “A word of advice, niña. Always look over your shoulder.”

Molly reloaded her shotgun with shaking hands. “I told you already, I don’t need your help!”

Vaquero rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes you do. Look, I’ll take care of Kane’s friends. You take care of Kane. Deal?”

Molly hesitated then looked at the dead man again. “Deal.”

They both dove into the street. Molly crawled for the opposite building as gunfire exploded behind her. But she didn’t look behind her. She knew Vaquero was watching her back. It felt good.

While Vaquero kept the other men busy, Molly took cover and peered down the street.

Kane was dashing toward a hitching post and his waiting horse. He didn’t know Vaquero was there. He thought Molly was pinned down by his friends.

It was the advantage that Molly had needed.

Molly slid the butt of her shotgun up and snugged it against her shoulder. Her grandpa used to say that she could hit the eye out of a rabbit.

She brought her gun up and sighted down the barrel. Her finger tightened on the trigger.

The slug struck the rope that held the sign for the saloon. The falling sign struck Kane square on the head, and he dropped to the ground, unmoving.

Molly slumped forward. She had done it. She had finally caught her grandpa’s killer. With some help.

“Vaquero?” she called.

She jumped as he appeared beside her. “The others were taken care of. Worried about me?”

Molly snorted. “Just wanted to be sure none of them slipped past you before I went over to Kane.”

They hurried toward the body and stood looking down at the unconscious killer.

“Cover him,” Molly said, untying the rope fastened to her belt.

“You’re quite bossy, aren’t you?”

“Please,” Molly said between gritted teeth.

Vaquero gave a little bow and complied. “It seems it took two to capture Kane.”

Molly finished tying Kane up. “All that matters is that it’s over.”

“No, it’s not,” Vaquero retorted. “You’ve still got fifty miles of open territory to cover before you can turn Kane over to a marshal—territory that’s full of Kane’s friends.” He spun his gun, casual-like. “You’ll probably need some help. And you’re not such a bad shot. Perhaps we could work together.”

Molly had to admit, the last five minutes of actually working with Vaquero instead of against him had been a heap easier.

“I suppose,” she said at last. Secretly, she felt a lot braver knowing Vaquero would be with her, though she’d sooner be shot than admit it.

Afraid that her relief showed on her face, she added grumpily, “I’ve been riding solo for a while, Vaquero. Don’t reckon on sharing a saddle with me for long.”

Vaquero smirked. “The feeling’s mutual, child.” But when they shook hands, they were smiling. However long this trail might be, at least Molly wasn’t on it alone anymore.

—ALLISON TEBO is a writer committed to creating magical stories full of larger-than-life characters, a dash of grit, and plenty of laughs. She is the author of the Tales of Ambia, a series of romantic comedy retellings of fairy tales. Allison graduated with merit from London Art College after studying cartooning and children’s illustration and, when not creating new worlds with words or paint, she enjoys reading, baking, and making lists. You can find out more about Allison on her website www.allisonteboauthor.com or follow her on Facebook.