The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy

Chapter 12 - Sunday Afternoon

Chapter 12 - Sunday Afternoon

Sheriff Lloyd was angry. His attempt at an arrest had just failed, and two people were kidnapped under his nose, all in front of a roomful of people. On top of it all, he now had a bullet hole in his favorite hat.

But he knew there was no time to dwell on what had just gone wrong. There were two innocent people to save.

He picked up Kai's abandoned gun off the ground and put it in his pocket. Then he called for order among the congregation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay seated until the deputy and I can verify that it's safe for you to leave."

He motioned for Deputy Dareth to come outside with him. Doc Julien and the Garmadon Ranch men came along as well. Before Jay went outside, he assured a sobbing Nya that he'd be right back.

They split up in two groups, each group making its way cautiously along each side of the building until they reached the back. From there they all could see the three escaping horses galloping toward the distant ridge.

"If I'm not mistaken, it looks like they're heading toward Skeleton Territory," Sheriff Lloyd surmised, "which means they're heading out of my jurisdiction, and based on past history, the Skeletons won't be cooperative in giving them back to me. Let's take ten minutes to gather supplies and catch them before they cross the line."

Sheriff Lloyd went back inside and informed the crowd that it was safe to leave but that the saloon would be closed until further notice.

Then he and his posse mounted their horses and rode over to the saloon, with Nya riding Kai's horse. Sheriff Lloyd informed Rufus the bartender and the saloon girls about what had just happened, and although they could continue to live on the premises, the saloon was closed for business until further notice.

Nya and the other girls quickly worked on packing food for the posse from the doomed wedding reception. Nya made sure to pack a few extra pieces of wedding cake for Cole.

The posse loaded their packages of food and canteens of water onto their horses. Sheriff Lloyd noted that Doc Julien was still among the group and planning to go with them.

"You up for this, Doc?" he asked.

"I am," the doctor replied. "I allowed this mess to grow into a disaster, but I'm working on fixing it, for Kai's sake. He has a can-do attitude that inspired me last night when we talked. And, also, I can tell he's head over heels for this girl."

Lloyd smiled. "Then you should have this." He handed Kai's gun to the physician.

The men mounted their horses, Jay being the last one after saying one final goodbye to Nya.

"All right, men. Let's head out!" the sheriff commanded. "Remember, don't let them see us."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sam wasn't sure, but she guessed they had been riding for three hours, based on the sun's position in the sky. She didn't exactly know where they were going, but she definitely knew her throat was parched. She was riding sidesaddle, seated in front of Morro, with her left arm holding on to his waist and her right arm holding on to the saddle. It disgusted her that his arms were encircling her as he held the horse's reins.

At least she hadn't had to look at Kai for a while. She was facing away from Bansha's horse. She felt extremely guilty about getting him mixed up in a situation that he had nothing to do with. If only she had only stayed back east and not acted on her stupid, stupid idea of coming out here to the west to seek adventure - and love. She never expected to find both so soon, and in this manner.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun was about to dip behind the dark clouds on the western horizon, and Kai had been hoping they would stop for the day, but Morro had told Archer that they needed to keep riding, by lantern light if necessary, so that they would arrive at their destination around midnight. Kai was desperate to stretch his arms. He had been riding with his wrists tied around Bansha's waist so that he wouldn't fall off the horse.

They were heading to some place within Skeleton Territory, which Kai knew meant that Morro was attempting to evade Sheriff Lloyd's justice. Kai knew that Lloyd and his posse were somewhere back there following them, so he hoped they could catch up soon.

Kai looked over at Morro and Sam. The wreath of daisies around Sam's head was askew and about to fall off from her golden tresses. Not being able to see her face, Kai guessed she was sleeping because her head was leaning against Morro's chest. He knew she wouldn't voluntarily get that close to that scoundrel after what he had done and what he intended to do.

But Kai wondered if she'd ever want to get that close to a poor cowboy like himself. Being an heiress, she had no doubt attended high-falutin' dinner parties and society dances and was used to life's finer things. However, he was a simple rancher and always would be, and that probably wasn't going to be good enough for her.

He consoled himself by reminding himself that at least he could always have the memory of her kiss on his cheek last night.