Stump yawned loudly. Kinski gave him a sideswipe. "If I don't sleep, you aren't allowed to sleep, too."
Stump lay again on Kinski's saddle on his belly because his backside still hurt because of the arrow wound. "But when I'm tired and I'm lying, I'm forced to close my eyes..."
"Be quiet and keep yourself busy."
"With what?"
Kinski sighed annoyed. "Count the stones on the ground."
"That's like to count sheep. I will fall asleep more than ever."
"Could you keep your mouths?" Bill growled. "You behave like blabbermouth."
For a while, there was silence until Chorizo interrupted it.
"Bill?" Chorizo asked. "Do you want to kill him?"
"Don't know," Bill muttered.
"Do you have a plan?" Stump asked.
"Don't know."
"Do you know something anyway?" Kinski wanted to know.
"Oha!" Bill snapped for air. "Damn, I don't know! I take things as they come."
"Calm down, Bill," Chorizo tried.
"That's right," Kinski admitted. "We just wanted to be sure that there is no danger for us."
"Indeed," Stump nodded. "Maybe he will be annoyed. Jake is bad, but an annoyed Jake is much worse. What if he kills us..."
Bill stopped suddenly. He turned around and slapped his hand on his saddle.
The others stopped in shock and looked at his gimlet eyes.
"Who is the leader?" the Gila monster asked with threateningly voice.
A deep sigh and a "You" made him calmer.
"Fine." He continued his riding and the others followed.
"I hope it will be not a pratfall," Stump whispered at Kinski.
"Hey, look!" Chorizo said. "I think we come closer to our target."
He pointed ahead where a big dark hill appeared.
Kinski narrowed his eyes. "This must be the high hill."
Bill snorted. "Alright. Let's go."
Beans blew over her coffee cup. Jake watched her. She pressed her hands more around the coffee pot and looked up.
"What?" she asked annoyed.
"What is what?" Jake asked.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
He grinned a little. She avoided his glance.
Jake became serious again and looked again at her. Beans didn't like that he stared at her. She didn't know what he was thinking now.
"Jake?" she began.
"Yes?"
"Why am I here?"
Jake raised his eyebrows. "Why do you ask?"
"I want to know that."
"Didn't I tell you that you should come with me where I want to go?"
"And why here?" Beans asked more stringent.
Jake narrowed his eyes. He didn't like that tone.
"Don't you like the place? It's clean, free and undisturbed."
Beans narrowed her eyes. "Yes, that's it."
Jake snapped for air. "What do you want to say?"
Beans looked away with dark face. "Forget it."
Jake hissed annoyed. "Tell me, woman! What's your problem?"
"Problem? I have no problem!"
Beans let fall the coffee cup almost, when Jake pushed forward and stopped very close in front of her face. "I don't like bad mood in my near. Do you want that I lose my good mood?"
Beans snorted petulantly.
Jake narrowed his eyes. Beans winced when she felt his gun on her back. "Tell me!"
"Jake! I'm bored!"
Jake looked at her with surprise. "What are you..."
"Don't tell, you wouldn't know that!" Beans cried. "I have nothing to do! Did you think, you could arrange me somewhere like a thing?"
"Guard your tongue, woman!" he warned. "Don't make me mad! Or should I bite you?!"
Beans put her cup on the ground. She stood up and walked outside.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I need fresh air."
Jake narrowed his eyes and slithered after her.
"What's your problem, woman?"
Beans stood there with crossed arms on her chest.
"Is it because of him again?"
This sentence sounded very annoyed.
Beans snorted. "Him! Him! Every time the same! There are more things, which derange me."
Jake took a deep breath and tried to keep calm as good as he could. "Tell me, what do you want?" he asked and came closer with his mouth to her ear.
Beans closed her eyes. "Jake."
"Yes, I'm listening to you."
"Jake," Beans was unsure to speak on, but she couldn't hold it anymore. "Jake, I need something to do. I can't stay here at this place any longer."
"I thought you like it. There would be worse places which I know."
"That's not the point. I'm alone. There is no civilization around."
"I don't like other animals in my near. And... they don't like me."
Beans sighed with a smack of sadness. "I can't live any longer here."
"On your farm you were alone too."
"But there were people who I knew. And I had to take care for a ranch. My land. The land of my father and my mother. They gave it to me! I never wanted to give it to others. I had broken my father's heart."
"I thought you found someone who will care for it."
"Yes, someone. But not me."
Jake narrowed his eyes and moved his head more forward so that he looked at her from the side.
"And there is nothing more?"
Beans sighed. "I have no one to talk."
"If you want to talk, you can talk to me."
"Yes," she said with pressed voice. "That's your problem."
"What do you mean?"
"You never talk about yourself. I know nothing about you."
"That's none of your business."
"But I need someone to talk."
There was silence a moment. Jake looked at her thoughtfully, but still with a dark face.
It was easy to take her into his quarter. He had hoped she would accept the Rainbow Wells than some other places, which weren't so nice like this. But after that. By now she used to work on her ranch or to do things in town. Here there was to do little or nothing.
"Alright," he said. "I will think about that. Maybe I will find a solution for you."
Beans looked at him with surprise. "What?"
"I said, I will think about that. If you give me something for my effort."
Beans's eyes became a worried expression. "What do you mean?"
Meanwhile, Bill and his gang were close enough on their designation. They stopped their roadrunners. They left them and walked by foot. On the way, they looked around several times to be sure that there was no rattlesnake in near. Bill smelled the air and followed the familiar smell.
"Do you know where they could be?" Stump asked worried.
"Sure I do," Bill snorted. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, I don't."
Bill stopped and scanned his surround. Then he pointed in a particular direction. "They must be there. The odor trail of that snake is still fresh."
Stump bit his nails. They stalked carefully.
For his own safety, Stump hid behind Kinski.
"Do you see them? Do you see them?" Chorizo asked excited.
"Don't make me mess. I will tell you when I see them," Bill growled. "Look. It must be over there. Behind that little hill."
He went slowly closer. The others followed. Then they lay themselves on their bellies.
"Alright," Bill said. "I will take a look, while you keep on the ground."
"Why that?" Kinski asked disappointed.
Bill snorted. "Do you want to risk that he shoots you?"
That made sense. Bill crawled forward while the others stayed on the sandy floor. Bill took his spyglass and peeked over the top of the little hill.
"Aha."
"What?" Chorizo whispered.
"They are standing in front of the entrance of a cave," Bill replied and put the spyglass on his eyes.
"I can't believe that," Stump said quietly. "She is still alive? Is she undamaged?"
Bill narrowed his eyes. "She doesn't look damaged or somehow. Even her dress seems to be untouched."
"What are they doing?" Chorizo wanted to know.
"They are talking to each other."
"About what?" Stump asked.
Bill snorted. "Damn! I can't hear that."
"Jake," Beans breathed. "I'm not ready yet for that kind of step."
Jake hissed annoyed. He never wanted to force her, but he wanted it.
"So, is that a sign that you will never accept that I'm better than your ex friend?"
"I didn't say."
"But you are thinking it." He looked deep into her eyes. "Give me a proof. To find out."
Beans grimaced. "I will not kiss anyone who I don't love."
Jake hissed annoyed, but he found his self-control again. This woman was wild like a storm. He liked that.
I will tame you. Somehow.
"At least, you could do it for my obligingness. I was very patient with you."
He came closer with his face. Beans's eyes were filled with fear, but she didn't run away.
"Just a little," the snake begged ordered. "I don't want more."
Beans looked at him annoyed. But then sighed. "Alright. Come here."
Bill opened his mouth with disbelief.
"What the hell... are they... doing?" he muttered more to himself.
"What? What? What?"
The others couldn't keep it any longer and left their hiding place. They crawled next to Bill and peeked over the hill.
"What the..." Stump began, but his voice stuck.
Beans and Jake stood there in a very unusual position. Their heads were closer than usual.
Beans hesitated a moment more and thought where she could put her lips in a good way. Then she formed her lips and bent ahead. She winced a little when their lips met. She had never been so near him like now. The girl smelled the leather of his hat and metal of his bullets or gun. But it wasn't so bad like she imagined.
Jake enjoyed that moment. But just the first second. He breathed deeply her smell of soap. It would be a shame to eat such a little thing like her. Her lips were small, but he managed to keep free her nose. More or less.
Beans squinny her eyes when she felt Jake's tongue on her lips to find admittance. But she didn't allow and pressed her lips together. Jake narrowed his eyes. It was cold. Without passion. Like a flower in wintertime. It was just a movement of two individuals and a meeting of lips. Nothing more. No intensive. Just unemotional. Jake tried again to educate a little tenderness from her, but she didn't open her mouth. It was like she was forced to kiss her brother.
Would the area be a universe, Beans would be a moon and Jake a wild stormy planet, while Bill became a supernova. The lizard still watched them through the spyglass and clutched the watching instrument with hard hands so that he left behind imprints. Kinski, Stump and Chorizo saw all from the distance, but they could see clearly, what's going on.
Jake and Beans didn't realize what happened around.
Jake only thought how to request a response from her, while Beans tried to ignore his endeavor.
At the end, it was Jake, who interrupted the kiss.
Beans opened her eyes and saw what she expected to see: Disappointment and anger.
Jake looked into her eyes. Neutral eyes looked at him like they would say, you can never. But she didn't say. Her lips kept sealed.
He looked deeply into her brown eyes. Her eyes were beautiful, but it wasn't easy to break her will. But it resisted himself to force her affection with guns and weapons.
Jake opened his mouth, but he closed it again and resigned a rebuke.
Instead, he thought a moment and spoke: "I expected more."
Beans crossed her arms.
"I'm not ready for that step."
The big rattlesnake narrowed his eyes and seemed to read something in her eyes like: and you will never break me.
He had to be calm. With hard words, he would not win.
"Well, let me think about," he said monotone, but his anger wasn't mistaking.
"About what?"
"About your problem."
Beans looked at him skeptically. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to think."
Without saying one word more, he slithered away and let Beans alone.
"What was that?" Chorizo asked.
"Am I cross-eyed?" Stump wanted to know and rubbed his eyes. "Or did you see what I saw?"
Kinski nodded. "Yes, and I thought her mouth would be too small for him. What are you thinking about that Bill?"
Bill didn't reply. He still lay on his belly, still holding the spyglass in his hands and didn't move.
Kinski bent himself more ahead.
"Uh... Bill? Bill? Hey Bill!... Aaaaahhh!"
Stump and Chorizo jumped at Kinski and closed his mouth before he could cry more after Bill had hit a slap in his stomach.
While the others were busy to keep quiet, Bill began to move his lips: "That... that ... such a... that slut..."
Stump looked at him worriedly. "Uh... Bill, are you okay?"

YOU ARE READING
The Promise 2
FanfictionFew days were past since Beans left with Jake the town. Rango buries himself in his work and tries everything to forget. Bill doesn't want to accept this situation and to live with a weakling and decides to defeat Jake, but things come different tha...