Cooper sat on the inns rickety wooden porch in a rocking chair, his hat pulled low over his eyes as he watched the people shuffle past him.
According to the trail the doctor should be here any hour today, who really knew when. So the ghoul sat waiting. Jamboree had wandered off about an hour into the stakeout, he had told her to stay in his sight and she had just flipped him off and immediately disappeared from his vision.
He didn't bother going after her, if he had to trade on bounty for another he would've taken the doctors instead of Jamborees father.
One was far better paying.
That didn't stop his eyes searching for her battered cowboy hat in the crowd. He told himself it was just a safety precaution, but something twinged when he heard her laugh echo from somewhere in the square.
Cooper closed his eyes with a sigh, his fingers rubbing his forehead. This girl gave him a goddamn headache.
There was commotion coming from the middle of the square, near to where he had heard her laugh. He sat up a little straighter trying to gauge if she was in danger or not.
He stood, pushing his way through the crowd that had gathered til he could see what was happening. Coopers eyes widened, his lips quirking up in an amused smirk.
Jamboree sat directly across from a man at least twice her size, a table between them that had cards splayed out on it. There was a substantial pile of caps in between the two and several chairs thrown around, clearly this game had been going on a while, and she appeared to have made it to the final round.
A small smile found its way onto Jamborees face, feeling the familiar burn of Coopers eyes on her. She looked up, catching his amused stare and flashed him a grin, dropping her cards on the table.
"You lil fucker, I oughtta-" The man slammed his losing hand on the table, standing sharply as Jamboree began gathering up the caps.
Her tone was icy, her eyes even colder. "None of that," she growled, and before anyone could even register her revolver was pointed at his face. Cooper could see the gears turning in the man's head but something in Jamborees eyes caused the man to stand down.
The man grumbled something and stormed away as the crowed cheered laughing.
"No one's beaten him in years!" Someone laughed to the person next to them, a cheerful admiration seeming to ripple through everyone.
Jamboree grinned at Cooper, jingling the bag full of caps at him before she swiftly pocketed it.
Once again she was practically skipping over to her ghoul companion. "Pretty good yeah?" She winked at Cooper, the sun catching the warm darkness of her eyes.
"Not bad, sweetheart," Cooper couldn't help but smile back down at her as the people dispersed, seeming now to notice the ghoul in their midst as quiet whispers started up.
The praise made her laugh, her head tossing back. "Well I'll be damned! Cooper tellin' me not bad, never thought I'd see the day," Jamboree fell in step next to him as he started walking, people parting in front of them.
She caught a few of the whispers and shot them a scathing glare, which seemed so shut at least some of them up. No one wanted to piss off the gambling girl with the ghoul by her side. She liked the feeling.
"Why do they stare at you so much?" Jamboree couldn't help her self from asking.
"What kinda dumb ass question is that?" Cooper eyed her, his eyebrows raised.
"Fair point..." she conceded after looking him up and down.
He was intimidating. Tall, dark and skeletal, it didn't help that he oozed fuck around and find out energy. His hat almost always hid his eyes, and all you could see was a yellow-toothed, wicked smile and a hole where a nose used to be.
YOU ARE READING
Ever Gentle On My Mind (Cooper Howard x OC)
Fanfiction"I almost shot ya there Coop, don't scare me like that!" "Wouldn't be the first time darlin'," Jamboree finds the town of Red Sands rather boring, not much happens in a forgotten shanty town. Until a strange visitor leads her on an adventure she was...
