She's A Lady

Chapter 2

Catherine found a horse, she didn't really care whose horse it was mind you, and mounted it. She figured she had a quarter of an hour at the most before she had the sheriff on her tail and she planned to use every minute of it.

Once Catherine found her way to the local inn she was staying at, she quickly gathered the few items she chose to keep with her. Once she had everything together, she remounted her new mare.

"Hiyah!" With that single word Catherine Campell was off to wreak havoc on another town, leaving another victim in the dust.

Catherine rode the mare until she thought it could go no longer, then came to a halt. She found herself in a small quaint town, one just like every other one she'd seen. It had all the local businesses and was big enough to have a community but small enough to where everyone one everyone, your typical western town.

Catherine abandoned the mare, gathering her things and walking until she found the local inn. She entered it, her eyes observing the bustling life around her.

It was a decent sized establishment, large enough to be considered a professional business, but still had the family owned rustic feel vibrating from its' walls. It came with a restaurant and pub separated from the inn but still clearly all one building. Catherine hated it, as it reminded it too much of an inn she knew all too well, branded in her mind with a red taint.

"Hello, what can I get you, love?" Came a honey-sweet voice from behind Catherine. She turned around and found herself facing a frail looking older woman, whose face was worn with age and wrinkles, yet had the sweet southern hospitality of any woman in the south. Well, almost any.

"I need a room, a beer, and a shot of whiskey." Catherine said in a deadpan voice.

The woman's smile grew. "Of course! And how long will you be staying with us?" She asked.

"Indefinitely." Catherine's flat voice did nothing to deter the woman's mood.

"Of course, no problem at all! Bartholomew, get this lovely lady a beer and a shot of whiskey while I get her a room." The woman disappeared and was replaced by a young, bright man who Catherine could guess was Bartholomew.

"Your drink are coming right up, please have a seat and make yourself at home!" Bartholomew said with a wink and turned around too quickly to see the dead glare Catherine gave him before choosing an empty bar table in the corner of the pub.

Catherine's drinks were served to her promptly by an overly cheerful Bartholomew who she told to put the cost on her room tab. Catherine knocked back the whiskey and slowly surveyed the lively room all around her.

A particular scene pulled Catherine's attention and she tuned into the interaction.

A young girl with the looks to be in her late teens was collecting empty beer mugs from a table with a solitary man, who was clearly beyond the point of intoxication. The girl herself was beautiful, with a face and figure any girl her age would die for. She was pale with the face of a porcelain doll and had deep red hair paired with stunning blue eyes.

"Hey pretty little lady, how are you doing?" the man slurred out leaning towards the young girl, a leer in his voice.

"I'm fine." The girl mumbled, her eyes down as she focused on her task at hand. "Leave me alone."

The man laughed, he dared to laugh. "Oh come on pretty little lady, don't be like that. I could show you a good time, you know." The leer in his voice left no question as to what his intentions were. Catherine found it disgusting, she tensed.