Title: Blood Red
    Author: L
    Rating: NC-17
    Disclaimer: COPYRIGHT  2002: Bob Younger nor any of the other from American Outlaws my creation ( *grin* like you didn't know that ) and I can not claim copyright on them. All other characters are my creation and I hold rights to them and on the plot of this story.
     
    ***************
     
    That sun was blood red and goin down
    That sun was blood red and goin down
     
    My daddy was always an easy going man, kind and generous. He always had a quick smile for me, a quick smile for those that deserved them. I never wanted for anything, least of all love, and sometimes that's all he had left was his love for me.
     
    I was ten when it happened for the last time, when he'd finally had enough. I remember that day like it was branded into my mind. It was Uncle Cole's yellin I woke up to, yellin at daddy.
     
    "You just gonna wait around with that little girl up there for her to come back, Bob?" His voice nearly took the roof off the house it was so loud. I remember inching to the top of the stairs. Daddy was standing there at the table with his head bowed. Uncle Cole looked mad enough to kill, and I knew for sure he could, I'd even heard the stories.
     
    For all of my ten years on the earth I'd never seen my daddy cry, not once. He hadn't cried when he'd buried my baby brother, he hadn't cried all them times that mama ran off before. But that day when he lifted his head and looked at Uncle Cole, tears ran like a river down his cheeks, dripping onto his hands where they were braced against the table. Daddy looked whipped that day, looked like he didn't have no more fight in him and not even his brother could change that.
     
    "What'd ya expect me to do, Cole?" He'd asked, voice shaking with the force of his tears. That's when I gave in and cried too, cried for all he'd endured, cried for all the heart ache that must surely be inside him. I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around him, wrap my  arms around him and make it go away, make everything okay. I hated mama for doing this to him again, for leaving him for some other man. Why couldn't she stay with daddy? Why couldn't she love him?
     
    I'd heard Aunt Maggie talking to Uncle Cole just a few short months before. I learned Mama had left the first time when I was just days old, leaving Daddy alone with a little baby to care for. Maggie said she'd done the best she could for me, said Mama should've been whipped good for runnin' off like that. Uncle Cole was quick to agree. Until I overheard them I hadn't know much about my mama's past. I had just known that daddy met her at a dance and he courted her for awhile and then they married. But Uncle Cole had railed on about that's what Daddy got for marrying a spoiled rich girl that's never been told no in her life. He said she'd caused a man's death before. She'd turned two suitors against one another and there had been a fight one night, there'd been a fight and one of them men ended up stabbed to death. The other hanged just a month later for the crime.
     
    "Hell, I don't know, Bob, anything but sit her and take it AGAIN!" Cole yelled, moving closer with that mean look he gets in his eyes when he's really mad.
     
    "No! No!" I raced from my perch at the top of the stairs and pushed between daddy and Cole. "You stop it, Uncle Cole! You got no call talkin' to my daddy like that!" I screamed, my tears echoing daddy's.
     
    There was nothing like a child to soften Uncle Cole when he got into one of those rages of his, whether it was me or one of his own it sobered the mood real quick. He turned gentle eyes on me then and crouched down in front me.
     
    "Now, Bobin, this is between me and your daddy."
     
    I cried all the harder at the nickname he'd given me. He'd always said I was the only shadow my daddy ever had and I should be named accordingly, so Robin was transformed into Bobin. A name I treasured more than any material possession I ever had.
     
    "You're wrong, Cole Younger..." I stiffened my spine, challenging this full grown man, my uncle. "She's my mama so I guess that makes me a part of all this."
     
    "You're too young..." He began, taking my hand and pulling me towards the door. My heels dug in to the worn smooth wooden floor below my feet, eyes cast pleadingly over my shoulder at daddy. "....Tom's gonna take you on over to your aunt."
     
    "I ain't to young!.....I wanna stay with Daddy!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, screamed with all the air I had inside me but it did little good. I found big dark arms wrapped around me. Tom was taking me away from my home, taking me away from my daddy and all his pain.
     
    "No, Tom!...Please, don't!" I continued to plead as I was tossed into the saddle and he moved up behind me.
     
    "I'm sorry, Little Bird.." He whispered near my ear, there was pain in his voice too. Tom was a gentle soul, although to hear tell of him you'd swear different, but I knew the real Comanche Tom and he was no murdering savage like was whispered about. He'd married Daddy's and uncle Cole's middle sister and had a place of his own not more than a mile away. Those two sure gave me plenty of cousins to play with, eight as of last fall and another was on the way.
     
    Now, here I was riding away from my home, riding away from my daddy. Knowing for the all the world I was the only thing he had left. I had to get back to him, somehow, someway.

    Part 2
    *******
    That sun was blood red and goin' down
    That sun was blood red and goin' down
     
    Bob watched Cole drag his daughter out of the house, his only child. His heart ripped and bloodied he eased into the chair beside him, his head in his hands as the tears ran in torrential torrents down his face. He had long since gotten over the notion of loving Marie, his wife, Robin's mother. His heartache came now from the helplessness he felt, this shame at letting her do this to him, letting her make him weak. He slammed his palm on the table cursing himself for ever meeting the woman. The only good thing, the only beauty, that came from the whole relationship was Robin, and now he'd failed her completely.
     
    "Bob, I think you should see about gettin' a divorce..." Cole appeared before him, minus his daughter.

    His eyes widened as they lifted to his older brother, shaking his head, divorce was unheard of, was unaccepted. "I can't, Cole...."
     
    "You sure the hell can, Bob Younger.....She ran off again and left you, her husband and her child......That's grounds.. "Cole paced back in forth beside him like a caged wild cat.
     
    "I can't, what about Robin? Think of the things people would say..." Bob countered, his only concern was for the dark eyed, sable hair girl. His Daughter.
     
    "Damn, Bob, what're they sayin' now? You think they don't talk about her having a daddy and a uncle that are outlaws. And don't kid yourself Brother, we may be settled down now, but we'll always be outlaws." He planted his hands on the table and his eyes narrowed on his brother.
     
    Bob stood now, walking over to the cabinet near the black iron stove and grabbing a bottle of homemade corn grain whiskey. "I can't do nothin about that, Cole..." He uncorked the bottled and took a long draw, coughing wildly as he pulled the glass away from his lips. "But I can do something about this..."
     
    There had been only one other time that he'd seen Bob like this, seen that wild dangerous gleam, and that was the day he thought he had turned Jesse in years before. Those earthy brown eyes echoed his intention and for the first time there was concern for his brother. Maybe he had pushed him to far, pushed him to do something that couldn't be undone.  "Bob, don't do anything that's gonna get you in trouble. Divorce her and be done with it." Cole commanded, as head of the family he expected to be heard to be heeded.
     
    "Okay, Cole.." came Bob's listless voice as he turned up the stairs, dismissing the other Younger.
     
    Cole exhaled deeply and turned, casting one last glance over his shoulder at his retreating brother."Bob, come on over to the house." He called, trying to draw the other man out of the odd mood he'd sank into.
     
    "No, I'll be fine, Coleman." He said, topping the stairs and turning into the room he had shared with Marie.
     
    *********
     
    Bob fastened the gun belt around his waist, removing first one revolver and spinning the cylinder and then the other. He took the stairs with seldom found purpose and strode towards the barn. His eyes turning up to the dusk sky for a moment of contemplation. The sun was sinking into a orange sky, ominous sky,  red streaked fingers shot out from the horizon almost like staining blood.
     
    "Easy boy," He patted his gelding's neck soothing the nervous horse as he entered the stall. It was obvious the animal had picked up on the wild pitch and roll of emotions inside him, adding to the tension inside the spirited animal.
     
    Leaning down he picked up his saddled and tossed it onto the animal's back and in moments was leading the horse from the barn. His mind set on one purpose, one conclusion, and this whole sorted mess would finally be over. He and Robin could get on with their lives, could finally be happy, and that was the thought that kept his mind set.
     
    ***********
     
    "Jenny?" Tom stormed into the house, his face filled with concern, with something akin to fear.
     
    "Yes?" The thickening, honey haired woman waddled in from the kitchen, clutching her swollen stomach. She came to a abrupt halt at the look on her husband's face. "Tommy, what is it?"
     
    "Where's Robin? She's not outside, not with the kids." He asked, moving towards the set of narrow stairs.
     
    "She's not in here. I would have heard her come in." She called up after him as he checked room after room.
     
    "DAMNIT!" He hissed, taking the steps down to her two at a time. Running a hand through thick black hair he looked to his wife.
     
    Jenny's face showed sudden surprised. Tom was a Christian man and his own wife had seldom heard him curse, but he had now and Jennifer Younger Red Wolf knew something must be very wrong. "She's got to be around...."
     
    "No, she doesn't..." He huffed, striding back towards the front door. "She's gone after Bob."
     
    "Oh Lord....Tom..." She rushed out onto the porch watching her husband ride out of the yard, knowing he was going for Cole. She was struck with the sudden feeling of an inevitable twist of fate, feeling this would be a day that none of them would escaped unaffected.

    Part 3
    *********
     
    That sun was blood red and goin down
    That sun was blood red and goin down
     
    As the blood streaked sky slid into the waiting night the heaven's above opened up and slow saturating rain bounced against the parched earth. The falling rain filled deepening ruts along the road, ruts that Bob Younger's horse plodded through kicking up the brackish water. Ahead loomed the town of Pine Grove. Bob blinked the droplets from his eyes as he lifted his head, his eyes narrowed on the only illumination in the small cow town. The Saloon. He kicked his mount into a faster gait. The rage that was so unfamiliar to him, seethed and rolled in a caldron of hatred. He hated Marie for what she'd reduced him to, for what she made him feel. Always taunting him that he wasn't enough man to fulfill her desires, she flaunted herself in front of him daring him to claim what she so often refused to give willingly. Then there was Robin who had never really know the love of a mother, a mother that gave warm hugs, a mother that kissed away her tears, and that was the worst of his wife's betrayal.
     
    A mile behind him, on the road and fighting the bone chilling rain, was a small shivering form. Her determination was unwavering, Robin was set on finding her father and nothing would stop her, not Tom, not Cole, and certainly not the rain. She rode on urging her horse faster, her thoughts a jumble of anxious fear. She knew this time was so much different than the times before, the times that her mother would disappear for months on end, and with the knowledge came the certainty that something bad was going to happen.
     
    ***********
     
    The saloon had long since cleared of its mass of patrons, only a few lingered, and they made hasty exits as Mad Bob Younger strode into the brightly lit room, his right hand resting on the butt of his revolver. There was a aura of danger about him, a menacing glint in his chocolaty brown eyes. His lanky frame adapted a threatening pose, legs spread, arms tensed and ready, fingers clenching and releasing.
     
    Across the room, sitting on some gamblers lap was Marie, giggling and plying the man's face with kisses. She turned her head just in time to see him level his deadly gaze on her. She gasped, her hand flying to her lily white throat, as she cut her eyes to the man with who she was occupied.
     
    "It's him.." She whispered, feigning a fear she didn't feel in the least. But Marie wasn't a woman not to put her all into a performance, to draw every little nuance of drama from a situation, it was a game to her.
     
    The gambler turned his head in a slow carefree manner, his smile speaking volumes. He knew Marie was married and hadn't cared in the least, hadn't the morals to care about the family he ripped apart. Lifting her gently off his lap he cocked his head at Bob, preparing to stand.
     
    "So, this I presume is the infamous Bob Younger.." His slow drawl pin pointed his deep southern roots. "Well, Mr. Younger you gonna shoot me dead?"
     
    Bob's eyes traveled over the well dressed man, from the flat brimmed hat cocked on his head, to the silk shirt below a finely stitched vest, and finally down to the clean pressed trousers. He was just the sort of man Marie belonged with all along he realized, a man that threw money hand over fist at her and cared nothing for her. "Your not the problem, Mr."
     
    The almost yellow eyes of the gambler narrowed on Bob, a challenge issued in a brief malicious glance. "Oh, but son, I think it is...."
     
    "Marie..." Bob, began only to be cut off as the gambler pushed her behind him.
     
    "I don't think I've made myself clear. She's my lady and if you wish to take issue with her you'll deal with me first." The other man's face twisted into a mask of fury.
     
    "She's my wife..."
     
    "Not anymore, Son.."
     
    "Move.." Bob advanced, and the gambler pulled the navy colt at his side. Bob Younger was by no means one of the notorious fast guns of the day, no shootist. He didn't carry the reputation of such men as John Wesley Hardin, or William H. Bonney, but he was accurate and that counted for something. The report from the gambler's gun echoed loudly through the saloon, divesting anyone of the idea this was anything but a fight to the death.
     
    ***************
     
    Robin tied the tired bay mare to the hitching post just outside the saloon, having seen her father's horse standing in the drenching rain. A loud clap of thunder had her scrambling up onto the boardwalk outside the saloon.
     
    "Oh Lord...." She hissed, wrapping her small arms around her. A pattern of speech he had taken from Frank James, her father's cousin and a man she greatly admired. Crouching near the bat wing doors she peered under then. A heavy gasp was trapped in her throat as her view was filled with her father's back.
     
    **************
     
    The gambler slumped heavily to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his lifeless head as Marie screamed. The gambler's bullet had went wide, missing Bob by a good mile, but he wasn't as lucky. Bob's aim was true and his bullet ripped through the other man's heart, ending his life instantly.
     
    "You sonofabitch!" Marie continued to scream, as she dropped to her knee, the green satin of her dress pooling around her as she examined the gambler. "You bastard!"
     
    Bob took another step towards her, reaching out to grab her arm. "I ain't got time for this, Marie. It's time we settled......"
     
    She scrambled backwards, the long ringlets of her hair falling from the combs atop her head, her eyes red rimmed from useless tears. She pushed to her feet as her hand went behind her back. "Don't you touch me, Bob Younger! Don't you dare!" She spat, with all the venom of a cornered rattlesnake. "I hate you...You hear me? You hear that, Bob Younger, I hate you! I've hated you since the day I married you!" She continued, the years bitterness fueling her words. "I only married you to spite my father...An outlaw, a bad man, he despised that...." Behind her back she was reaching into the deepened emerald sash that molded tightly around her waist. "I never wanted a baby either...Never wanted to get fat and have some screaming little brat....You know, I would have smothered her as soon as she was born if you and Cole hadn't been right outside the door. I swear I would have!" Her last words were screamed as she jerked the small silver derringer from behind her.
     
    She never got a chance to squeeze off that fatal shot. Cole stepped from behind the store room curtain. The black material swirling around his ankles as his bullet found it's target, exploding into her side.
     
    Bob's eyes went wide and all he could do was step away as she stumbled back against the bar, her hand dropping the derringer and reaching for him. "Oh God, Bob..." came her blood frothed words.
     
    He couldn't be sorry, only grateful to his brother for not being the one to have to actually pull the trigger. He had that murderous intent in his heart but he knew now, watching her die, that he could have never been the one to end her life.
     
    With a eternal gasping breath she slid to the floor, leaving a trail of gore against the smooth wood of the bar behind her.
     
    "Bob, I'm sor....." Cole began, not really feeling the words only uttering them out of propriety.
     
    His brother waved off his words, not caring now, not feeling anything but a deep sense of relief. But that changed the instant he heard the small voice behind him.
     
    "Daddy?"
     
    Bob swung to face his pale and trembling daughter. Her eyes pivoted between him and the bodies scattered upon the floor.
     
    "I...I..." She stammered, wanting for all the world to release the pent up tears that choked her words.
     
    "Robin..." He exhaled, stepping towards her only to have her back up. He stood his ground then and waited for her, waited for her to show him what she needed.
     
    She took slow and deliberate steps around her father, eyes never leaving him in fear that he would try and stop her as she neared her mother. Standing above the woman who had given birth to her she tried with all her young might to find some love in her heart for Marie, but it just wasn't there. Her father was her family, was her heart and soul, and that was never more clear to her than in that moment.
     
    "Bobin...I couldn't let her..." Cole began, his gut twisting in near shame as he watched her, watched his niece take in the destruction that yet again he was a part of.
     
    Taking a deep breath Robin stepped over the cooling body and went to Cole, placing a gentled hand on his forearm she smiled, tears for him and her father finally falling. "It's okay, Uncle Cole, you had to. You had to and I'm not sorry, because my daddy's still here." She whispered.
     
    There she stood in all her small youthfulness giving Cole Younger, a hardened outlaw, a man use to killing, the only absolution he would ever need. Over head both men exchanged looks of pride over this child, over a girl that held so many of their traits it was like a stitched quilt with her, another Younger to carry the name onward.
     
    *************
    Fini