Insert romantic title

[2]

Chapter 2

I dried my tears, got up, and got back to cleaning the bar. When I finished, my employer walked in.

"Well done today, Lillie. I heard the b****y black bandit stopped by. Glad to see your okay," he said.

"Glad I'm alive," I stated.

"Here's your paycheck," he said as he slipped a piece of paper towards me.

"Thank you Mr. Henry," I said. This week I made 10 dollars. Just like every week.

"See you Monday," he said kindly.

I nodded, and headed to the bank. When I got there, it was dead quiet. A ghost town. I walked up to the banker, Mr. Harold, who was asleep. I whispered his name, then said it louder when he didn't respond. He snapped up, looked at me, and rubbed his temples.

"Hello there Lillie. Its Friday, isn't it?"

I didn't say anything. I just handed him my paycheck.

"All right. 10 dollars, that means, you have 43 dollars in your account," he said, almost angry.

"Thank you," I said politely. And with that I left the building.

Outside, I would have jumped up and down, dancing from joy. But then I saw him, and he shot me a death glare. It was the bandit. Again.

I raced towards my home, ecstatic that it was in the opposite direction. But just as I reached the door, a pair of strong hands in black leather gloves grabbed my shoulders. Confused, the hands whirled me around as if I was light as a feather, and the face of the cold hearted, murderous, most wanted bandit in the west who had his face about two inches from mine.

Then I heard gunshots. Lots of em'. I looked into the bandits eyes, full of fear. I didn't wanna die here! Not like this! Not before I got to leave this small, dirty town! Not in the hands of the b****y black bandit!

The bandit looked into my eyes, and let go of my shoulders. He took off running, hopped on a white horse, and rode into a mountain range that surrounded the southwest part of town.

I watched him and the horse ride further and further until they disappeared. I looked to where the gunshots came from, and saw some cowboys that had been hanging around town lately, riding towards me. Their horses were kicking up so much dust, I could barely see. But when it finally settled, the cowboys were surrounding me. I recognized them all.

"Are you alright Lillie," I heard Blake say. He was the most talkative of them all, so it was no surprise he was the first to talk to me.

"I'm fine. Thank you," I said, happy the bandit was finally gone.

"The bandit won't bother you anymore," I heard the biggest say. His name was Jake.

The group headed back to their horses, and I went inside. Then I locked the door. The bandit knew where I lived. And I didn't want him here. I started a fire and sat down in a chair. It was uncomfortable, but I could afford it. I picked up a book, even though I didn't know how to read that well.

All I can read is alcohol labels. But I still like the book. I like the colorful pictures. About half way through the book, I heard a soft knock at the door. I opened the door, and found the sheriff at my door.

"Lillie," he said. "We need to talk."