𝓦ESTERN DESIRED REALITY INTRODUCTION 1884
KATHRYN ABERNATHY was born and raised in the small town of brookridge, new mexico.
her father, jesper, protected the town as best as anyone could. he was a formidable gunslinger, one of the very best. her mother, esme, was from deadwood, a town of only women. the day jesper stumbled in, black and blue and bleeding, he was nearly ran out. esme took a chance, saving the poor man and falling for him in the process.
the two of them became notable bounty hunters. they caught the toughest criminals in the state, especially since the law wasn't doing anything about them. they would leave KATHRYN with her grandfather, adam bartlett, as they traveled for weeks at a time. he taught her how to shoot, hunt, and ride.
in december of 1869, jesper and esme abernathy traveled to bittersprings, a place that was comprised of outlaws and criminals. they were after frank griffin, one of the worst criminals around. they were given a tip and even helped by some of the outlaws, however, the moment frank showed up they were a foot into their graves. jesper and esme abernathy did not leave bittersprings that afternoon and they never would again.
KATHRYN never really knew her parents but she knew what they stood for. she decided to do good, help those who needed helping, just like they did. she avoided the bounty hunter route and rode as much as possible.
ROY GOODE was an orphan for as long as he could remember. he and his older brother, jim goode, wandered around as they tried to make their way to california. they had no money, no talent for gunslinging, and could only live off what they found.
one evening, a nun named lucy cole took both boys in. she helped them get fed, have a place to rest, and even gave them purpose with helping out the horses.
jim ended up leaving roy at the orphanage. he said he was leaving for the both of them and that he'd write to him once he found a place for them. ROY was devastated, feeling left behind by his only kin. he begrudgingly accepted and didn't fight lucy on staying.
about three years after jim left and without any letters, ROY decided to leave as well. lucy was upset but knew she could not stop him. he set off on his own, hoping to make his way to his brother. on his way there, though, he ran into notorious criminal frank griffin.
frank was unusually kind to him, taking him in as a son. he taught him how to shoot, ride, take care of horses, and how to hide his tracks. he was never cruel to him, strangely enough, and he brought him along to all his raids.
about ten years after he left, ROY came back to the orphanage and gave a bunch of money to thank lucy. she had no idea it was stolen and praised him for turning his life around. she informed him that she had a letter from his brother, it had arrived about a year after he had left the orphanage. feeling guilty, he silently vowed that he would truly change his ways.
after arguing with one of frank's men, he left for good. he didn't want to be associated with frank and his cruel ways. instead, he began tormenting them. he'd steal frank's money in the dead of night, follow them and ruin their raids, and even spread rumors so the authorities would chase them out of certain states.
eventually, frank got so angry that he burned down an entire town because they aided ROY. the two of them met up and had it out, which resulted in frank losing an arm and ROY going on the run. he ended up stumbling into the edge of brookridge on the abernathy property.
APRIL 1884 . . .
he showed up just as the rain began to fall and night had settled on the town. he was weak, shot twice on his abdomen and bleeding through his ruined shirt. before he could speak, he fell off his horse with a thud.
she had been up, wanting to watch the storm from the comfort of her window. that's when she heard him fall, the weak groan that escaped him. she grabbed her pistol and rushed out, seeing him unmoving as the rain began to come down hard.
she moved him into the barn, swearing under her breath the entire time at the circumstances. she lit a match, cauterizing his wounds. he woke with a yell, screaming at the pain, before passing out from exhaustion. she took his horse into the stables, tending to him before heading to bed herself. she had no interest in snooping in his worn satchel or interrogating him this late.
he woke around midafternoon, just as she was getting back from a ride. he couldn't help but stare, unsure if he was in heaven or not with the way he went out last night.
she hopped off her horse, making her way over to the weak man who was already trying to force himself to stand. it was then she realized he was going to be stubborn about this.
MAY 1884 . . .
she ended up letting him stay longer than she initially anticipated. her grandfather wasn't so happy, often stopping by and just staring at the man as he worked on the ranch, but the man didn't mind. he found it amusing after so long.
"you should stay longer," she heard herself saying to him as the evening sun beat down on them. "i've gotten a lot done around here with your help. besides, my grandfather is getting older and can't keep helpin' me the way you have. i have new horses that need guidance, if he gets thrown off he's done for."
he should've refused. he was no good, he would only make her life harder. however, he found himself considering it despite himself. he'd grown used to this ranch, to this town, to her.
"if i was to stay here and break them horses for ya', there'd be somethin' else i'd be wantin' from you," he said, looking up at her from where he knelt by the broken post, his hands suddenly unmoving.
"and what might that be?" she asked, her hands moving to support the top of the broken post.
"teach me how to read."
"teach you to read?" she echoed, "that's all you want from me?" she had been expecting money, which she was already providing him despite his protests, or even control of the ranch like most men asked for when their heads got too big for their bodies.
he presented a small smile, one he would usually hide from others. his horse huffed behind him, almost as if laughing at his pitiful demand.
"is that all you want me to want from you?" he asked, standing slowly and taking a small step closer to her.
she glanced to the side, biting back her own smile, "we can start lessons tomorrow, bright and early."
with that, she walked back to her home. he watched her, his smile only growing at her deflection. he decided that would be enough teasing for tonight.
"and don't you be late mr. goode!" she called out from over her shoulder.
"i wouldn't dream of disappointin' you, miss. abernathy!" he called back.