Urgent Business

Cheyenne, Wyoming had concerns about Mrs. Longley. Her husband had been part of the gang that tried to rob their bank. William Preston Longley’s reputation as an outlaw had finally reached Cheyenne. Its citizens had recently learned he was on the run from Texas lawmen and had a $1000 bounty on his head offered by the Union Army. Although there was no evidence Longley was part of the holdup gang before the robbery, he fled with them. Guilt by association.
Perhaps the outlaw would come back for his wife, putting everyone in the town at risk.
They didn’t know the real story, though. Neither did Lizzy.
Sure, when Longley rode into Cheyenne, it was with the intent to help plan a robbery. In fact, his fellow gang members were camping outside the town. Longley was to report back with the details.
But he didn’t report back.
The outlaw’s plans began to change the moment he rode in front of the Cheyenne bank and tipped his hat to the beautiful young woman staring up at him. Their eyes met and time stopped. When the woman met him at the saloon doors and invited him to Smithy’s restaurant there was no chance he would get back to the gang. The young woman had pulled him in to her world and inserted herself into his heart.
The outlaw tried to shake off his fondness for the woman. He even surveyed the bank surroundings for the future planned robbery. But there was no escape from those feelings. If he went through with his plans, there was a good possibility she would get harmed. The only option now, to keep her safe, was to go straight. A foreign concept to him but one that made him feel good about himself.
However, Bill was conflicted.
He had not returned to his gang. He knew they would come looking for him.
What would he do when they found him?

A couple of days after he arrived in town, Bill saw one of the gang members snooping around the bank.
Bill knew that relying on his fast gun and his past history was a crucial part of the success of the bank heist. Yet, Bill had made a decision to give up his gun and his past for this girl. And that, he knew, created another problem. His former buddies, camping outside of town, would not understand. They needed him. And now Lizzy was all he needed.
Somehow, he had to get word to the gang that the Cheyenne bank was no longer an option for them. It would be difficult, but he had to find a way to tell them. That meant leaving Lizzy alone and perhaps vulnerable.
He left his wife’s bed one night for a campsite outside of town. He never returned to her side. The men in the campsite had found a way to force to him to ride with them the next morning.

Lizzy knew her husband had been part of the gang who tried to rob the bank. He spoke to her from his horse as he galloped away with the robbers. They had pistol whipped a teller and shot an innocent bystander. The posse was chasing them through the Wyoming territory.
Elizabeth Mary Smith Longley was no longer the innocent young respectable girl she was two short months ago. Now, she was the wife of an outlaw who was on the run from the Cheyenne posse. What’s more, she knew the man she married was an outlaw. He confessed it to her the day they met. And now Lizzy Longley was having the outlaw’s child.
Lizzy Longley was convinced she had changed her husband’s past. He told her so and she believed him. Their romance was short, sweet, and true. The day before the Cheyenne Bank robbery, Lizzy and Bill had found out they were going to have a baby. Most likely a boy. Arrangements had been made to tell her father the next day at his eating establishment.
Bill, though, had left Lizzy’s bed sometime during the night. When she awoke, she found a note next to her where her husband slept. The note read:

Had to take care of some urgent business. I will be back in time to share our wonderful news with your father. See you at Smithy’s at NOON.

Love you forever,
Bill

Bill did not keep his noon appointment with Lizzy.