by Ember Pierce
* * *
Mae’s eyes narrowed. A high flush of color came to her cheeks. “How dare you speak to me like that. I don’t think I know everything, Scott Henderson, but I’ll tell you what I do know. You are nothing more than a coward. A regular, everyday, run of the mill coward.” She turned on her heel and ran downstairs.
* * *
The back screen door slammed and he knew she’d gone out to sit on the porch. Part of him wanted to follow her. He didn’t think that she actually believed him to be a coward.
* * *
It couldn’t be. Not when they’d reached a place where they were beginning to understand each other. A place where he was beginning to trust her. Surely she didn’t really believe that?
* * *
He wanted to follow her downstairs and take her in his arms. He wanted to hold her the way he had when she’d fallen asleep after the gang left. He’d allowed himself a brief moment of showing her he cared. Apparently, he’d been a fool.
* * *
He could understand why she’d called him a coward. He would be the first to agree that it looked like he was. But that wasn’t the case, at all. Mae was asking him to go up against the man who had very nearly ruined his life.
* * *
How could Scott explain that to her? How could he tell her that all of his actions hinged on keeping her safe. He couldn’t allow anything to happen to her.
* * *
Scott sat on the bed in his room. He couldn’t go after his animals unless he got a posse together. But it seemed the townsfolk were already occupied with trying to keep the interlopers out of their businesses.
* * *
So far, no one of the gang had ventured into anyone’s home, but Scott feared that might not be the case for long. Especially on the outlying ranches. It was important that everyone protect what was theirs.
* * *
And that was exactly what Scott was intending to do with Mae. Protect her with every fiber of his being. He cared about the farm but Mae was more important. If he had to die for her, he would. But he would never let her know that. He wouldn’t allow her to know any of his feelings. Maintaining control of his emotions was imperative.
* * *
Exhausted, he fell back on the bed.
* * *
The next thing he knew, the room was filled with moonlight. He was chilled from the breeze that had kicked up and come in the open window. He sat up. The house was quiet. He stood and went to the door. He opened it a crack and put his ear to it. No, if Mae was still at the house, she was sleeping.
* * *
There was nothing to be done about it now. He went back into his room and stripped off his boots and clothes. He crawled under the covers. The sheet held the soft lavender scent of Mae. He rolled onto his other side away from it.
17
In the morning, Scott was not awakened by the smells of coffee brewing, bacon frying, and bread baking that he’d come to love. He got out of bed and got ready for the day. When he went down to the kitchen he saw that the coffee had been left on the cookstove to stay hot.
* * *
There was a plate on the bare table with another plate tipped upside down over it, covering it. The plate contained cold ham, cold biscuits, and some cheese.
* * *
At first look he thought Mae had left him, and he had a split-second of panic. Then he reminded himself that she’d told him that she had nowhere to go. She didn’t know anyone outside of her hometown of Havenshire, Virginia.
* * *
At least that was what he was praying as he tried to force down some food. When he was through, he went out to the porch and could see Mae, at the far end of the back garden, weeding again.
* * *
Well, at least, Bixby didn’t take all their food. Scott had an idea that the only reason for that was that the man didn’t know about the garden.
* * *
Scott walked into the vegetable patch and made enough noise so that she would know he was there. He stood just about fifteen feet from her looking out over the clearing that sloped down to the tree line.
* * *
From the corner of his eye, he saw her glance his way. But she didn’t say anything or acknowledge her presence in any way. He reckoned she was still mad at him and he supposed he couldn’t blame her.
* * *
He went back to the house without a word and sat at the kitchen table. He waited for her and drank another cup of coffee. She didn’t come in.
* * *
He put his coffee cup in the soaking tub and went to the window. Mae was still down at the far end of the garden. He left the house through the front door, gave a wave to Mae so she’d know he was leaving, and walked into town.
* * *
It was only a ten minute walk, but Scott had learned that being close to town didn’t necessarily offer the opportunity for more safety. Mae would be alright for now because it was daytime and Bixby had already made an appearance at the farm.
* * *
Scott was sure that he and Mae had a few days respite from the man. But then what? He stopped at the general store for a newspaper and walked to the mayor’s residence. Ephraim was in the side garden on a bench. He seemed in repose. Scott almost laughed. Maybe Ephraim was praying. Scott wanted to tell him to pray harder.
* * *
As if he heard Scott’s footsteps, Ephraim opened his eyes. “Scott, have you come to join the fight?”
* * *
“I have no interest in fighting. I want to live and I want my wife to live. I’m looking for peace.”
* * *
“This is the time to stand up and help defend those who can’t defend themselves, Scott. We need to show Wayne Bixby that Fable Springs is our town. He needs to know that he has no power over us.”
* * *
Scott sat across from Ephraim and opened the paper. In the back, properties were listed for sale. There was a ranch for sale in southern Oklahoma. He’d seen the place listed for over a month. He’d decided he was going to put a bid on it and get out of Fable Springs. With Mae.
* * *
“No. Not me. I’m not interested. No one knows better than me that no one can beat Bixby at his own game. I’m leaving Fable Springs, Ephraim. I’m leaving and I’m taking Mae with me.”
* * *
“Leaving? There you go again. Pipe dreams. You’ve put a lot of work into the farm in the last year, Scott. Now, you’re just going to walk away? Just where do you plan on going?”
* * *
“Oklahoma.”
* * *
“Oklahoma? You’ve got to be kidding. What’s in Oklahoma that could take you away from here, Scott? You’re a Texan. What are you thinking? Oklahoma. You almost had me going.” Ephraim slapped his thigh and laughed.
* * *
“I’m not kidding, Ephraim. I’m buying a ranch up there. I want to have a normal life and I want Mae to have a normal life. I want to work on my marriage. I want to make it a real union, not a marriage in name only. I don’t want to be Mae’s escape hatch for what she’s run from in Virginia. But let’s face it, I’ll never win against Bixby, here in Fable Springs, and you know it. Bixby wants me out of town. Or dead. And you know something? He can have Fable Springs, for all I care. I’m done with fighting. I’m going up across the line into Oklahoma tomorrow to look at the ranch, although my mind’s already made up. It’s the house I really want to see. If it’s not what Mae wants, I’ll be building another one.”
* * *
“How can you even think of running away, Scott? I mean, I know you’re not irresponsibly fleeing. I know you want to protect Mae. I understand it. Honestly, I do. But nothing that happened the day Annie died was because of something you didn’t do, or something you did wrong. You have to stop blaming yourself, Scott. You won’t be able to build a life with Mae if you don’t. Does that make any sense to you? Leaving Fable Springs will mean nothing if you can’t stop blaming yourself for Bixby’s a
ctions.”
* * *
“Ephraim, I’m not running away. I want...I need safety for Mae. And for myself. My feelings for Mae, well, let’s just say they’re strong. Stronger than they were when we married.”
* * *
“I’ve seen that. I know your feelings for her run deep. I understand your desire to protect her. Just think about what I say. You can take Mae around the world but if you don’t come to terms with your undeserved guilt, nothing at the heart of it will change. Does that make any sense to you?”
* * *
“Look Ephraim. I’ve fallen for Mae. It seems to me that keeping her sheltered from the unsavory things in the world is almost a compulsion. If something were to happen to her I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Keeping her safe is the most important thing to me right now. Keeping her safe and happy.”
* * *
“Once Bixby is held accountable for all of his crimes, Fable Springs will be safe. Once he’s in prison we won’t need to give him another thought ever again. We just need to get him. And I believe we’re going to need you in that endeavor. What do you say? It’s not a volunteer position. You’ll be paid for your consultations with law enforcement as well as any other work you do in that capacity. We’re going to need every gun we can get if we’re going to take Bixby down once and for all.”
* * *
Scott shook his head. “No. I can’t do it. Like I said, my mind is made up. I’m taking Mae away from this place. It’s the only way I’ll trust that my wife is not in danger. It’s the only truly safe option for us, for her. It’s my only choice, Ephraim.”
Mae went into the house. Scott had walked into town. She might as well go too. He’d said that they’d be safe for a day or so, till Bixby struck again. Well, there were a few items she needed from town.
* * *
Thread, some pins, and some fabric. It was time to make the curtains for the kitchen. There was also a letter to put in the post. She’d finally written to her father.
* * *
She’d told the whole story of what state she was living in and why she’d run, although she had a feeling her father would have figured out the why of it.
* * *
In it she’d also written about her new husband, for no other reason than to show them she was happy and that they shouldn’t think about coming after her. She’d put no return postal address on the letter.
* * *
But after the argument they’d had, she wasn’t feeling very confident about the words she’d written. She was so disappointed and confused. Her life had taken a different path than anything she’d ever imagined. She was alone. There was nothing else to do but make the best of things.
* * *
She went upstairs and washed her hands and face. She took the letter and placed it in her satchel. Then she smoothed her hair on the sides, brushed what hung to her shoulders, and changed her clothes.
* * *
In the kitchen she wrote a quick note telling Scott where she was and an approximate time of return. Then, in the front hall and after pinning her bonnet on in a perfect forward tilt, she was ready to go. She took up her new paisley shawl and out she went.
* * *
The general store wasn’t far. There was no reason to hitch up the buggy. Her purchases would fit in the basket she’d brought along.
* * *
As she walked, her mind went back over the events of the past few days. Wayne Bixby, his gang, Scott’s secrets and moodiness, it all seemed overwhelming. If she’d any idea the west was so drama-filled, she might very well have chosen a different path.
* * *
But what path would that be? She’d had to get out of Havenshire. There was no way she could have been Bill Master’s wife. He was too concerned with how everything appeared, not how it actually was.
* * *
That was ironic to her. Scott was immersed in reality to the point of creating another idea of it in his mind. Mae didn’t think it was any better than Bill’s inability to see reality. Bill seemed to make up his own ideas based on certain facts. There was nothing she could do about it. It was just the way he was.
* * *
Could Mae live with Scott’s ways which were so different to her own? She couldn’t make sense of anything anymore. She felt like she was in some foreign land where things were done in a way she couldn’t grasp. There was no use going over and over it, though. Things were the way they were.
* * *
Her attention came back to her. She was almost to the square and could cross the road here or wait until the next corner. She stepped off the wooden walkway that lined main street.
* * *
Just then a hay wagon turned into the intersection causing a bottleneck of three wagons. Mae headed to the next corner, one block from the square.
* * *
The path she decided to take caused her to pass The Golden Grain Saloon. It was a seedy, raunchy place, the likes of which Wayne Bixby or his cronies would spend their time and she always crossed to the other side of the road when she found herself near it. But she didn’t want to miss the post so she headed down the block, hurrying her steps as she approached the saloon.
* * *
She took a deep breath. The batwing doors didn’t keep the raucous piano music off the street. Even at ten in the morning, the strains carried out over the square. She forged ahead and nearly tripped over a man who came barreling out of the bar and landed on his back side in the road.
* * *
As Mae watched in horror, the man reached for his gun as the one who’d thrown him appeared in the entry to the bar. A shot rang out and the man in the doorway returned the fire from the man on the ground. Three others with weapons poured out of the doors followed by two others with their pieces out and aimed.
* * *
Mae ducked back and around the side of the building in an alley. She looked around frantically trying to figure out where to run to. Across the alley there was a side door into the little coffee house that was there. Could she make it? It was her only choice. She looked at the road, then across at the coffee house door.
* * *
Just as she was ready to make a dash for it, a movement caught the side of her eye.Her head jerked to the side. A man, dressed all in black, and one she recognized from the other night, aimed his pistol at her. Without thinking, she crouched and dove behind a wagon that was, thankfully, parked there, just as he pulled the trigger.
* * *
The horse reared up a little and whinnied as another shot sounded. A searing pain throbbed in Mae’s shoulder. She watched as the man who’d shot at her was shot by someone else and by now, the men from The Golden Grain were in mortal combat on the road in front of the drinking hole. This was her chance.
* * *
She ran, keeping as low to the ground as she could, to the coffee house and in the side door. The proprietor and the two servers, along with the five patrons in the room were at the window. Mae stumbled and ran into a chair, almost falling. The owner of the establishment turned.
* * *
“Mrs. Henderson! Are you alright? You’re bleeding. Let me get you to the doctor.”
* * *
“No. Please, will you just take me home?”
* * *
“Don’t you think Doctor Ryan should have a look at that shoulder?”
* * *
“My husband will ask him to come to the house. Please, I just want to get away from those men. The one who shot me, I...he, he did it on purpose.”
* * *
“Really, Mrs. Henderson?”
* * *
“He looked right at me and aimed. I think he aimed to kill me.”
