[Kayla]

Though this story at another site by Roberto (a great friend of mine) is a Western, it includes a nice catfight involving my character, but obviously there's a lot of other things; gunfighting, betrayal, saloongirls, shootings, sex, etc. that is involved. However, thought it better to post the whole story rather than just the catfight as some here may enjoy it complete.


A TOWN CALLED PROMISE
By Roberto


It was just past noon on a warm Summer day when Kayla brought her gelding to a halt, took off her hat and wiped the sweat from her brow. Below her lay the sleepy town of Promise, population 63. Promise was much like any other town of the period, with a row of whitewashed buildings on either side of a single dusty street.

On one side there were two saloons, a livery stable and blacksmith shop, a general store, two cafes, a hotel and a boarding house. On the opposite side was the bank, the Western Union office, a law office, a dress shop, the sheriff’s office and jail, the newspaper and several smaller businesses.

Several horses stood three-legged in front of the Double Eagle Saloon, tied to a hitching rail, and there was a buckboard parked in front of Hastings General Store. Outside the Western Union office, Pete Thompson sat with his chair leaned back against the building, his hat pulled down over his eyes. An old yellow dog lay at his feet, eyes closed, but ears listening for any sound that he deemed out of the ordinary.

Kayla nudged the gelding with her spurs and started down the trail toward town. As she passed the Western Union office, the yellow dog looked up first, then Ol’ Pete shoved his hat back on his head to make sure he got an eyeful.

She hitched her horse to the rail in front of the Double Eagle Saloon then stepped up onto the wooden sidewalk and surveyed the street before pushing through the batwing doors. Once inside, she paused to let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

There was the usual oak bar to her right, with a brass rail at the bottom and a spittoon at one end. The bartender was busy placing clean glasses in neat rows beneath the bar. On the wall behind him was a large mirror and several rows of bottled liquor. A man in a white shirt and dark pants sat playing the piano and there were two attractive young women standing at a card table where a poker game was in progress.

“Whiskey,” she said when she came up to the bar, “and leave the bottle.”

The barkeep looked her over for a moment then set a glass and a bottle on the bar in front of her. Kayla reached into her pocket and took out enough money to cover the cost of the bottle then poured two fingers into her glass. She tossed it down in one swallow, then poured another.

“Just passing through?” the bartender asked, not recognizing her.

“Not if I can help it,” Kayla replied, placing her foot on the brass rail and looking around the saloon. “The name’s Kayla, and I’m looking for work.”

“Mine’s Roberto,” he said. “Where are you from?”

She downed her second glass of whiskey. “Silver City where I worked at the Cactus Belle.”

He nodded his head slightly. “What brings you here?”

“I needed a change of scenery,” she said.

He stopped wiping the top of the bar. “I reckon you got what you were looking for,” he told her. “Promise is quiet and friendly, unlike Silver City.”

“Just the kind of place I’m looking for,” she said. She tossed down the amber liquid, wiped her mouth on her shirtsleeve. “I could sure use that job.”

“Give me an hour,” he said. “I’ve got some business to take care of first.”

“You’re going to see if the law’s after me, aren’t you?”

He glanced back at her with more than a modicum of amusement. “I run an upstanding establishment,” he said. “I want to make sure it stays that way.”

“Can’t say as I blame you,” she said. “And I’m confident you’ll find that I'm not wanted.”

********

Down the street, Sheriff Ric delCampo sat with his feet propped up on his desk and his arms folded across his stomach, catching a catnap. On the wall behind him was a rack with several rifles and a scattergun and across the room sat an iron stove, two chairs and a spittoon. A couple of wanted posters, yellowed and flyspecked, were nailed to the wall just inside the door.

Roberto walked in and the door closed behind him. Ric’s eyelids opened slowly. “What brings you this way?” he asked, looking out from beneath the brim of his hat. “Somebody steal another barrel of that stuff you call whiskey?”

“Nope,” said Roberto, sitting down on the edge of the desk. “I’m looking for some information on a girl.” Then he told Ric about Kayla. “Folks leaving Silver City for a quieter location are often one step ahead of the law.”

“Not this time,” said Ric.

Roberto was surprised at the sheriff’s answer. “You know of her?”

“A name like hers isn’t very common,” Ric replied. “Even so, I wouldn’t have heard about her except for this.” He sat up then slid a telegram toward Roberto. “The sheriff down in Sliver City is a friend of mine. He sent me this.”

Roberto picked up the paper and read it, then read it again. “She killed a man,” he said, looking up at Ric.

“That she did,” Ric said. “The son-of-a-bitch got what he deserved. Not even in Sliver City can a man get away with laying his hands on a woman.”

Roberto handed the telegram back to the sheriff. “So she left town because the skunk she killed was the son of a powerful rancher?”

Ric tucked the telegram in his shirt pocket. “Yep. The old man was fit to be tied. He swore he’d get the whore that killed his boy.”

“So it’s possible this gent could be headed our way?”

“Anything’s possible,” Ric said. “Trouble is, his description fits just about anyone above the age of forty.” Then he sat back in his chair and offered Roberto a cigar.

Declining the cigar, Roberto shook his head. “Not this time, Ric,” he said. “See you later.”

Ric struck a match and lit the cigar, blowing a smoke ring that drifted lazily across the room. “I’ll be by directly to see your new girl,” he said as Roberto walked out the door.

********

Kayla was still at the bar when Roberto came back to the saloon. Half the bottle she’d bought was gone and she was pouring herself another glassful. “You might want to take it easy on that stuff,” he said.

“Don’t you worry about me,” she said. “I can hold my liquor.”

He took the bottle and placed it on his opposite side, well out of her reach. “My girls don’t drink while they work.”

She grinned. “So you’re giving me a job?”

“The sheriff told me about Silver City. As far as I'm concerned, what happened there is all in the past. As for your job, pay is twenty a month plus room and board. Your room is upstairs at the foot of the stairs. Anything you make up there, I get half.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” she said, “I’m done with whoring.”

[Kayla]

“That’s your business, although there’s a few cowhands around here that are going to be mighty disappointed.”

She smiled at him and he saw the softness in her face for the first time. “I’m awful beholding to you for this,” she said sincerely.

He looked her over as if sizing her up for a fitting. “You go on upstairs and I’ll have your bath water brought up so you can wash off the trail dust. I’ll check by later and we’ll get you into something fit for a girl with your looks.”

********

Business at the saloon picked up once word got around that there was a new girl on the floor, but one of the other women, a slender, attractive redhead named Karin, wasn’t so pleased that Kayla got all the attention. She decided to take matters into her own hand and paid Kayla a visit after hours.

Kayla heard a soft knock at her door and crawled out of bed to investigate. When she opened her door, Karin was standing there with her hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. “We need to talk,” she said, then pushed her way past Kayla.

Kayla closed the door and followed behind Karin. “What’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?”

Karin whirled around and stuck her index finger in Kayla’s face. “Listen to me, you snotty little bitch. You’re no better than me or the other girls, so it’s time you took turns upstairs with the men same as us.”

Kayla’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed Karin’s wrist. “Put your finger in my face again and I’ll rip your arm off and feed it to you for dinner.”

Karin tried to twist free of Kayla’s grip, but found that she was much stronger than she’d imagined. “Let go of me,” she said angrily.

Kayla flung Karin’s arm aside then got up in her face. “Your kind are a dime a dozen where I come from,” she said. “If you ever come into my room again like this, I’ll break you in half. Now get the hell out of here.”

Karin’s face turned beet red as she did a slow burn. No cheap whore from Silver City was going to talk to her that way. “Why you little…” she said as she suddenly slapped Kayla across the face.

Kayla staggered and grabbed her cheek. “You’ll pay for that,” she said, and slapped Karin twice in return. Karin shook off the blows and threw a punch that Kayla easily ducked. Kayla shot two quick jabs to Karin’s belly and the fight was on.

Kayla rushed at Karin, encircling her with her arms and the two women crashed onto the edge of the bed then rolled onto the floor with Karin on top. She punched Kayla’s breasts repeatedly with her fists until Kayla screamed in pain.

Desperately, Kayla reached up and grabbed a handful of Karin’s curly red hair and gave a vicious pull downward, giving Karin a wicked head-butt that temporarily stunned her.

With Karin’s punches temporarily abated, Kayla regrouped and slammed her fist into Karin’s right ear. Karin’s eyes lost focus and she collapsed as if she’d been shot. Kayla threw Karin aside and ripped her bustier off her body. Then she rained short but powerful jabs to Karin’s belly and ribs, her fists leaving red blotches over the length of her upper torso.

Moaning and groaning, Karin tried to double up into a fetal position to avoid any more damage to her belly. Kayla got up and kneed Karin in the kidney, bringing another deep moan from Karin’s lips. She lashed out again with her foot, but Karin managed to summon enough strength and quickness to reach out and grab Kayla’s ankle and give it a violent twist.

It was Kayla’s turn to cry out as she crashed heavily onto the floor. Like a cat, Karin was atop her, ripping her nightdress to shreds, then landing several blows to Kayla’s small breasts. Kayla tried again to grab Karin’s hair, but this time Karin was ready, slapped Kayla’s arms aside and jammed an elbow into her throat.

Kayla grabbed at her throat, gasping for air, giving Karin an easy target. Blow after blow landed on Kayla’s tender breasts and the pain was excruciating. She threw a wild right that bounced off of Karin’s shoulder then missed with a left to Karin’s chin.

Karin countered with a bevy of punches to Kayla’s lower belly from her bellybutton to her pubic mound. It was all Kayla could do to keep from vomiting. Seeing Kayla almost defenseless sent a surge of adrenalin through Karin’s body and she doubled the intensity of her attack.

Kayla was on the ropes and she knew it. Her brain told her she must do something and quickly or she would lose miserably. She tried an uppercut to Karin’s chin and missed, but a short jab to Karin’s heart stopped her cold.

Breathing heavily, Kayla rolled atop Karin and punched her in the face, splitting her lip. She hit Karin twice more in the face and several times in the breasts before she sat up, pinning Karin’s arms beneath her knees. She reached down and took Karin’s nipples between her fingers and pinched them unmercifully, pulling and twisting until Karin begged her to stop.

Kayla laughed and pulled even harder, bringing a flood of tears from Karin’s eyes. Frantically, Karin reached down and grabbed Kayla between the legs, digging her fingers into the tender flesh of Kayla’s sex. Kayla screamed and twisted away, rolling onto her back.

Nearly winded, Karin leapt atop Kayla and drove a knee up between Kayla’s legs. Kayla groaned deeply and her hands went to her bruised sex, leaving her open to another attack by Karin who punched her unprotected belly and ribs.

Absorbing several brutal blows, Kayla reached out and wrapped her arms around Karin, pinning her arms to her side. Then the two women, their upper bodies shining with a sheen of sweat, rolled across the floor, fighting for leverage, hoping to find an opening that would give them the advantage.

Kayla found what she had sought, landing a vicious blow to Karin’s kidney that made her retch. Kayla struck her several more times in the same place then got to her feet. Wiping blood from a split lip, Kayla waited until Karin pushed herself up onto her hands and knees then drove her foot into Karin’s side. A loud “Ooof!” escaped Karin’s lips as the wind was forced from her lungs. She faltered, almost went down and then rolled aside just as Kayla lashed out at her again.

As Kayla’s foot swept past her, Karin reached up and grabbed her ankle and, using Kayla’s own momentum against her, pushed upward so that Kayla lost her balance and crashed to the floor. Both women lay on their sides, eying each other as they struggled for breath. Slowly, they got to their feet, their legs rubbery and weak. Both were nearly exhausted.

Facing each other warily, they stared into one another’s eyes. There was little of the original fire left in either of them, only a desire for the fight to end. Karin glanced at Kayla’s heaving breasts, saw the nipples hard and distended and it angered her. She’s turned on by this, she thought, then realized that her own nipples were taut and engorged.

The slight distraction gave Kayla a break and she threw two ineffective punches to Karin’s belly. Karin countered with a jab to Kayla’s pubic mound then an uppercut to the chin that laid Kayla out cold.

********

Kayla came to in her own bed with the most pleasurable sensation between her legs. She blinked her eyes then looked down to see Karin’s face buried between her thighs. Her first instinct was to abruptly put Karin in a scissor lock that would choke the life out of her.

But Karin’s mouth was sending jolts of pleasure from her belly to the tips of her toes, her tongue was like a velvet lance, bathing Kayla’s intimate flesh, massaging her swollen clit.

[Kayla]

Slowly, Kayla’s hips began to roll, her pelvis tilting upward, in an involuntary reaction to Karin’s ministrations. Then Karin reached up and grabbed Kayla’s breasts, bruised and sensitive, kneaded them gently so that she was filled with both pain and delight.

The pleasure that Kayla felt began to build, reaching the point where she slowly ceded control of her body to Karin, let her lover take her to greater heights, until she was vaulted to the pinnacle where she experienced one of the most explosive orgasms ever. Her body quaked and quivered, her breath came in heavy gasps. She reached down and grasped Karin’s head, lacing her fingers in her hair, holding her tight as she came yet again.

When she was finished, Karin lay down by Kayla’s side and watched as she slowly came down from her peak, drained of energy. Finally, Kayla turned her head and looked into Karin’s eyes.

“Why?” she murmured. “Why did you do that?”

“Fighting does that to me,” Karin answered, “just like it does to you.”

Kayla continued to search Karin’s eyes. “You must be hurting as well,” she said.

“I’ll survive,” Karin answered as she turned on her side and touched one of Kayla’s nipples with her fingertips.

Kayla closed her eyes and her body shuddered. “I’m not sure they’ll ever be the same,” she said, referring to her battered breasts.

“They will, with a little help,” Karin replied, then leaned over and began to kiss Kayla’s breasts, licking the salty sweat from them and rekindling the smoldering fire in her loins.

Suddenly, Kayla pushed Karin away and sat up in bed. “We can’t,” she rasped, her voice still choked with desire. She got out of bed and walked over to the washstand to bathe her bruised and battered face..

Karin sat up and watched Kayla from behind, admiring her taut muscles, her gently flaring hips. You’ll change your mind, she thought. You’ll remember how much pleasure I brought you and you’ll beg me to fuck you.

Kayla watched in the mirror as Karin got out of bed and retrieved her tattered clothes. “This changes nothing,” she said.

“Bet on it,” replied Karin, then walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open.

When Karin reached her room, she bathed her wounds then crawled into her bed. She was still so charged that she couldn’t fall asleep. She leaned back onto her pillows and opened her thighs. Remembering how Kayla tasted, how her cries of pleasure made her hot with desire, she eased two fingers into her slit and began to pleasure herself. Wishing it was Kayla’s tongue bathing her intimate flesh, she quickly brought herself to an orgasm.

********

“I don’t know what went on between you two last night,” said Roberto the next morning after the two women came down from their rooms, “but it better not happen again. Our customers don’t want to cozy up to a woman who looks as if she’s been in a drunken brawl.”

Karin and Kayla exchanged sharp glances, but said nothing. When Roberto was through talking, he told Karin to come to his office.

“What the hell were you two thinking?” he asked when she came in and closed the door. “I expect this shit from our customers, but not my employees.”

“It won’t happen again,” said Karin.

“Why did it happen this time?”

Suddenly angry at being the one singled out for a private tongue-lashing, Karin shot back, “Because the other girls and I are fed up with the way that bitch has come in here and practically taken over our best customers.”

“So you decided to teach her a lesson, is that it?”

“That was the idea.”

“Listen, Karin, you’ve been here longer than any of the girls. You know how it goes when a new girl comes along….hell, it was that way when I hired you. The men couldn’t seem to get enough of you until the newness wore off. You never lost your good looks, but eventually you became just another familiar face. It’s the same with Kayla. Give it a week or two and it will be just like it was before she got here.”

He reached into his desk drawer and took out a bottle of imported whiskey and two glasses. “Drink?” he asked her as he poured two fingers into the first glass.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m afraid it will burn the cuts inside my mouth.”

He smiled at her. “Gave you quite a run, did she?”

Karin nodded her head.

Roberto tossed down the liquor and savored the burn as it went down. “Okay,” he said, taking a seat on the corner of his desk. “I’m finished with the lecture. Go back out there and tell Kayla I want to see her.”

So the little cxnt is going to get reamed as well, thought Karin, feleing somewhat mollified. I hope he tears her a new asshole.

Karin left and a few minutes later Kayla came in. “My turn?” she said when the door was closed.

“Sit down,” he replied, offering her a drink.

Kayla gladly accepted the whiskey and sat down in his chair while she put the glass to her lips. Roberto poured another glass for himself and when he looked back at her, she raised her legs so that her feet were on the desk top and he was trapped between them. Looking at him over the rim of her glass, she let the liquor flow slowly across her palate. “What are you going to do to me?” she asked, giving him a sultry look

“You’re a brazen one, for sure,” he said as he took a drink from his glass.

“Completely shameless,” she replied, giving him a wink.

He set his glass on the desk then reached down and pushed her dress up her thighs. “I like shameless bitches,” he said. He leaned over and placed his hands beneath her buttocks and lifted her from the chair. Her dress rode up all the way to her waist as she wrapped her legs around him and encircled his neck with her arms. She wore nothing beneath her dress.

“It’s about time,” she whispered as she buried her face in the side of his neck.

He took her through a door that led to an adjoining bedroom; a place where he could rest without having to leave the saloon. He sat her on the edge of the bed then began to unbutton the bodice of her dress. When he was finished, she helped him pull the top off her shoulders, exposing her breasts. He cupped each of them in his palms, rubbed her nipples between his fingers until she began to squirm.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “Exquisite.”

“Even with the bruises?” she asked coyly.

“Even with the bruises,” he replied, admiring her milky white flesh and the contrast of her dark nipples.

She responded by reaching down and unfastening his trousers and slipping her hand inside. She took him in her hand and he groaned softly at her touch. That was the catalyst and they quickly began removing articles of clothing from each other until they were both naked.

[Kayla]

Roberto eased her onto her back and came down between her open thighs. Kayla was already wet and when she fit him against her opening, he slid all the way up her until he was hard against her mount, their pubic hairs mingled together. With her velvety warmth surrounding him, he began to move inside her. She was so tight, the friction of her intimate flesh intoxicating, causing the pleasure that had begun to pool between his legs to build up and out, spreading to his chest and down his legs to the tips of his toes.

They moved in unison as if they had been lovers forever, enjoying one another, savoring each tantalizing moment to its fullest. Even as the pleasure built, as their bodies responded to one another’s touch, they fought to make it last, struggled against the rushing tide of completion, and when it came, when they plunged together over the precipice, it was with such force that Kayla had to bite into his shoulder to keep from crying out.

When it was over, they stayed wrapped in each other’s embrace, him still buried deep inside her, her inner muscles still spasming around him. He kissed her then, a deep, passionate kiss that said what his lips had already told her.

And then she pushed him away, changing positions so that her face was now above his swollen member and her sex positioned deliciously above his mouth. She took him between her lips, bathed him with her tongue. His cock gave a lurch and then she took all of him into her mouth, her tongue swirling around his swollen shaft, the insides of her cheeks caressing him, her teeth teasing his most sensitive parts.

He arched up and held his breath and when he could hold back no longer, when his cock began to pulse, he shot into her mouth, inundating her palate with his semen. As she held him in her mouth, she lowered herself so that her slit hovered just above his lips. She smelled of sex and he groaned into her open nether lips. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down, impaling her on his tongue, bringing her to another to another explosive orgasm.

********

Kayla came out of Roberto’s office, her head bowed and looking unusually contrite, just as he had instructed her. “Remember,” he told her, “you just got your ass chewed.”

Serves you right, you conniving whore, Karin thought when she saw Kayla come back into the saloon. But we’re not finished…not by a long shot.

********

A silver-haired man wearing a dark suit and gray vest walked into the saloon and surveyed the room. Several men playing poker at a nearby table turned around to look then went back to their card game. He walked confidently up to the bar and ordered whiskey. “Not the rotgut stuff,” he said. “I want the best you’ve got.”

Karin saw him come through the batwing doors and recognized him as a man of means and eased in his direction. Kayla was nowhere to be seen.

“This one’s on me,” Karin said to Roberto, as she pressed her warm breast against the stranger’s arm.

He turned and looked at her, his eyes going to the dusky cleavage between her full breasts. “Hello, pretty lady,” he said. “Let’s you and me find us a table.” He then turned to Roberto and asked for the bottle.

She led him away from the bar, the gaming tables and the piano, waited until he had taken a chair then sat on his lap. “Where are you from?” she asked, teasing the hair at the base of his neck.

“Silver City.”

“You’re a long way from home,” she said as she poured him a drink. “What brings you to a small town like Promise?”

He placed his arm around her waist so that his hand rested against the lower curve of her breast. “Just looking around.” He tossed down the liquor like it was water.

She poured him another glass and he took it from her. “Looking for what?”

He took the glass from her and put it to his lips, slowly downing the liquor. “A girl…a very special girl.”

“It’ll cost you thirty dollars,” she told him.

“I never pay for anything I can get for free, sweetheart.”

“You’re awfully cocky,” she said.

He chuckled at her reply, turning her on his lap so that she was facing him, her legs astride him. In this position, she could feel his growing erection. “Just stating the facts, he said, “You see, where I’m from, no whore would dare ask me for money.”

She wiggled her ass so that she was pressing harder against his stiff member. “Well, stranger, I’m no whore and this isn’t Silver City.”

He laughed again. “I’ll agree to half that,” he said, “but let me tell you exactly why I’m here then we’ll talk money.”

She gave him an amused smile and told him to keep talking.

“This girl I’m hunting killed my boy a couple of months ago and then left town. The law says it was self-defense, but that doesn’t mean shit to me. I intend to see her pay for what she did.”

“And you think she’s here in Promise?”

“I know she is.”

It suddenly came to Karin that Kayla was from Sliver City and had been in Promise about two months. Was it simply a coincidence? “What’s this girl look like?” she asked with renewed interest.

“Tall, brown hair, nice figure, a little younger than you maybe.”

“She have a name?” asked Karin, her heart beginning to race.

“Strange name,” he answered. “Never heard anything like it. Calls herself Kayla.”

Karin’s breath caught and she reached for the glass, taking a drink herself. “If I can help you,” she said, hoping to get him upstairs before Kayla showed her face, “what would it be worth to you?”

He squeezed her breast as if he were kneading dough. “If you bring this girl to me,” he said as his other hand slipped beneath her skirt and up the inside of her thigh, “I’ll pay you two thousand dollars.”

Karin stood up and took the man by the hand. “This way,” she said as they headed for the stairs that led up to her room. Roberto looked up as they passed by, then turned his attention to the sheriff who had just walked up to the bar.

“Evenin’, Ric,” he said. “The usual?”

“Not tonight,” the sheriff replied. “I may have some work to do and I don’t want anything to impair my skills.”

“Expecting trouble?”

“You see that fellow who went upstairs with Karin?”

“I saw him, but didn’t pay him much attention. Why?”

“He fits the description of that gent from Silver City; the one that’s hunting Kayla.”

“You think he could be one and the same?” Roberto replied.

[Kayla]

“Won’t know until I ask Kayla to identify him.”

“She’s upstairs nursing a sore jaw,” said Roberto.

“Tell you what,” said Ric, “you keep an eye on Kayla and I’ll see where the man goes once Karin’s done with him.”

********

“You sure you don’t want to come work for me?” asked the silver-haired stranger as he buckled his trousers. “A woman with your talent could do right well in one of my brothels.”

“I don’t aim to keep this up much longer,” Karin replied, fastening her bustier. “Fact is, I intend to put that two thousand with what I’ve already socked away and head for San Francisco where I can start my own brothel.”

He put on his vest and coat then slipped his pistol into his belt. “Don’t spend that money just yet,” he said. “Not until I know you have the right girl.”

“How many Kayla’s do you think there are?” Karin replied.

“Wait until after midnight,” he said. “I’ll be waiting in the abandoned barn at the edge of town. You bring her to me and when I’m done with her, you’ll get your money.”

Karin opened the door and let him out. “Don’t tell anyone you got it for free,” she said.

“All part of doing business with you,” he said as he disappeared down the stairs.

********

Ric stood in a darkened doorway across the street from the saloon. He recognized the stranger right off and watched him mount up. When it was clear, Ric forked his own bronc and followed the man at a distance until he was sure he was leaving town. Satisfied that he’d been watching the wrong man, Ric rode back to Promise and told Roberto what he’d seen.

********

The saloon was dark and quiet. Everyone, including Roberto, had long since departed. Karin waited until the grandfather clock in the hallway outside struck one then she slipped a .44 derringer into her pocket. Just before she left her room, she unbuttoned her shirt enough to reveal the soft tops of her breasts and just the edge of her nipples.

When she reached the door to Kayla’s room, she knocked softly. A few moments later, Kayla came to the door asked who it was. “It’s Karin. I was thinking about that fight we had the other night and was hoping we could find a way to put it all behind us.”

“Come in,” said Kayla, opening the door. In the dim light cast by the lamp in the hallway, she saw Karin’s exposed breasts and felt a quickening in her belly. “I was just getting ready for bed,” she said.

“I can’t think of a better place to resolve our differences,” Karin replied, opening the front of her blouse so that her half-hidden breasts were fully uncovered.

Kayla nodded her head and held out her hands. “Come here,” she murmured, welcoming Karin into her open arms. “I’ve been dying for this moment,” she whispered as Karin’s breasts pressed against her own.

“And I’m here to see that you get your wish, you worthless cxnt.” She pulled the derringer from her pocket and jammed it into Kayla’s belly, just above her belt. “Keep your mouth shut and your hands where I can see them.”

She forced Kayla down the back stairs and into the alley. “This way,” she snapped, shoving Kayla toward the edge of town toward the pre-arranged meeting place with the man from Silver City.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Kayla.

“Shut up,” said Karin. “You’ll see soon enough.

When they reached the barn, Karin shoved Kayla inside then closed the door. At the opposite end of the barn a light shown from an empty stall. “She’s here,” said Karin.

Just then the older man stepped out of the stall and faced the two women. “Hello, Kayla,” he said, smiling confidently. Kayla froze and her heart leapt into her throat. Karin backed slowly away.

“Who is it?” Kayla asked., “Who are you…what do you want?”

“It’s you I want,” said the man. “You killed my boy down in Silver City and now I’m going to see that justice is served.”

Kayla backed up a few steps. “Karin….why?”

“Never mind Karin,” said the man and then he drew a gun from inside his coat, firing twice.

When Kayla saw the pistol, she reacted instinctively, dropping to the ground and rolling aside. The gun she’d hidden in her belt came up as she thumbed back the hammer and fired. The man from Silver City staggered backwards, a patch of red blossoming on the front of his vest, right over his heart.

“No!” cried Karin. “This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen.”

Kayla turned quickly, bringing her Colt to bear on Karin, but there would be no need for her to fire another shot. Mortally wounded, Karin stood wavering on her feet, two dark holes in her belly, just below her waist. Her derringer lay in the dirt at her feet.

When Kayla ducked aside, the two slugs intended for her struck Karin instead. Kayla’s bullet hit its mark and the older man was dead before he hit the floor.

Karin went to her knees, looking at Kayla in disbelief. “You knew,” she rasped as blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. “How?”

“The walls between our rooms are paper thin,” said Kayla. “I heard the two of you plan this whole setup.”

“You bitch,” muttered Karin as blood spilled down her thighs and formed a dark pool around her knees. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell face down into the dirt.

Kayla gathered the money from the dead man’s coat then stood by until the Ric and several others arrived. “They plotted to kill me,” she said, not mentioning the two thousand dollars, “but their plan backfired.”

********

“San Francisco is beautiful this time of year,” said Kayla as she and Roberto boarded the train for California.

“So I’ve heard,” he answered. "Now hurry so I can get a seat by a window."

THE END

_________________
"This town ain't big enough for both of us."
Gene Autry

[Marie B.]

Roberto sure can tell a tale.

Thanks for bringing this to us, Kayla.



Marie