by Trinity Ford
Henry saw the bartender talking to the sheriff and pointing toward him, most likely about the job. “If Millie could see me now…” he thought. “Maybe she can.” He wanted Millie to see him. He wanted to see her face as she realized he’d tracked her down. He wanted instill fear in her as she stood there with him and the sheriff in the same room, not knowing what he’d do next. He walked over to the caged panther and stuck his finger in, poking the animal in the back. It whisked around violently and in an instant, had dug its fangs into Henry’s hand. “Agh!” Henry shrieked, getting the attention of the bartender so they’d hurry and send for Millie.
The bartender rushed over to the cage and struck the bars to get the panther to back off. It hissed at the men and cowered in the corner, droplets of Henry’s blood dotting its mouth. “What’d you do that for?” the bartender shouted. “I told you he was dangerous! Billy! Go get Doc. And hurry!”
The young man ran out of the saloon, hopped on a horse and headed down the road to get help. Sheriff Lockhart walked over with a towel and handed it to Henry. “Here, wrap it up in this until Doc gets here.”
Henry forced a smile to expand across his face as he looked right into the eyes of the man who had stolen his wife. “Why, thank you, sheriff,” he said, unable to feel the pain of the bite over the surge of hatred he felt.
The bartender gave Henry a shot of whisky on the house. “Numb the pain,” he said.
“Much appreciated,” Henry replied, his eyes fixed on the doors to see when and if Millie might arrive.
Chapter Sixteen
Just as Doc was waking up, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!” Millie yelled. She opened the door and found Billy Whitmore standing in the rain. He was the bar help for the Peacock Saloon, and Millie already knew what he was going to say. “When are y’all going to let that poor panther loose?” she asked, resting her hands on her hips as if scolding the young man.
The boy smiled at Millie. “I know, Miss Millie,” he said, agreeing with her about the situation. “It’s some new guy went and pestered it—made it mad,” Billy said. “This guy’s here for a job. Got his hand bit pretty bad.”
Millie sighed. “Let me tell Doc I’ll be heading in with you,” she said. She grabbed her medical bag and found Doc sitting at the table having coffee with his son, Daniel, who had come back to town for a visit with his mom and dad. “There’s been another one. Let me head on in with Billy so you don’t have to rush.” Doc wasn’t a young man, and keeping these overnight hours was hard on him.
“Sure do appreciate it, Millie,” Doc said. “I’ll be right behind you. Just need to grab a quick bite to eat.”
Millie went outside and got loaded into the carriage. Billy could take her in, and Doc would ride Billy’s horse into town so they could trade. Millie was happy tonight. She hoped that when she got to tell John she’d be leaving to take care of everything, he’d be relieved and happy that the time was nearing when they could be together.
Billy turned onto Main Street, but the downpour caused the wagon wheel to get stuck. He hopped down and went around to the side, lifting Millie out, onto one of the porches of a saloon. “Sorry, Ma’am,” he said. “You’ll have to walk the rest of the way while I get this unstuck.” Lightning lit up the street and a loud clap of thunder roared through the plains.
“Goodness!” Millie said, startled. “You come with me, Billy!” The two of them hurried along the uneven path of porches down to the Peacock Saloon. By the time they entered, they were both soaking wet, thanks to the high winds and battering rain. Billy went ahead of Millie and held the swinging doors open for her. She took the shawl off her head and wiped her rain-soaked hair away from her face.
The inside of the saloon was quite dark, but she could make out a man seated at the bar next to the bartender and John. Millie walked up and smiled at John, ignoring everyone else. “I figured Doc wouldn’t make you get out in this,” John said, smiling as he took her shawl and medical bag out of her hands and placed them on the bar for her.
“I wanted to come early,” she said. “Can we talk after this?”
“Sure,” John answered. “I have to leave for a short bit—trouble at Kitty’s—so meet me at the calaboose after.”
Millie nodded her head and watched as John strode out of the bar and into the storm to take care of another incident. She turned her attention to the hand of the man seated at the bar, immediately looking down to examine the bite mark. “We’re going to have to suture this,” she said, reaching for her needle in the bag.
“Just be sure you don’t hurt me,” Henry said, the words forcing their way through his teeth.
Millie’s heart raced. She knew the voice. The hand she held in hers suddenly felt like the skin of a snake. Her eyes slowly made their way up to his face, the whole time praying it wouldn’t be true. Her breathing was fast. She felt as if she might pass out. “Henry,” she said, acknowledging her worst fear.
“You two know each other?” the bartender asked.
“Millie and me?” Henry said, smiling. “Why, we’re old friends. Aren’t we, Millie?”
She backed away from Henry and headed toward the door, not letting her eyes leave his. “Millie?” the bartender said. “Aren’t you going to fix up his hand?”
Millie didn’t answer. She didn’t grab her bag or her shawl. When she reached the doors, she turned and bolted down the street, running in the rain toward home. She ran down the prairie roads as fast as she could, her shoes sinking into the mud until she began going through the grass. The entire time, she kept looking behind her, wondering how fast Henry would catch up to her—and what he’d do when he did.
“No, God, please! Please don’t let this happen,” she sobbed out loud as she ran, her voice drowned out by the strong winds and deafening thunder. There were no stars to use for navigation, so she relied on the lightening to find her way home. She burst through the door and ran into her room, quickly throwing all of her belongings into a bag. As Millie raced around the room panicking, Clara woke up and stood at her doorway.
“Millie!” Clara asked, concerned. She hurried over to the young woman and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Millie! What’s wrong? Tell me!”
Millie stopped packing and sat down on the bed, soaking wet. She buried her face in her hands and cried hysterically. Clara tried to make out the words the best she could. “He’s here!” she said. “He found me!”
Clara ran out of the room and woke Daniel, explaining the situation and ordering him to hurry into town to get Doc and the sheriff. “We’ll be at Mabel’s” she said, ushering Millie out of the house and into the carriage. The rain had subsided, but it still made for a rocky trip. Clara had to drive off the beaten path to avoid muddy ruts, but a short while later, they’d made it to Mabel and Pastor Littlejohn’s home.
The couple had been sleeping, but without hesitation, opened their home to Clara and Millie. Mabel wrapped Millie in a warm blanket, and put some tea on for the four of them. It didn’t take long for Millie to let the truth come pouring out.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried, looking directly at the pastor. “I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just so scared. He kept beating me and threatening me and it kept getting worse and worse!” Clara and Mabel flanked Millie on both sides, their arms wrapped around her shoulder as she unveiled the truth about who she was. “I didn’t know where to go or what to do,” she continued. “I saw your ad and I just wanted to get away—to be safe. I never meant to hurt anyone.”
“There, there,” Mabel said. “The Lord guided you here for a reason. Isn’t that right, Stanley?”
“That’s right!” he added, trying to be jolly in a somber moment. “I prayed for the Lord to guide some wonderful Christian women to our community, and you are a part of the answer to that prayer!”
Millie’s heart swelled with love. Never had she imagined that they would be so forgiving, so charitable after her lies surfaced. “Pastor?” she asked. “Would you pray with me?” They al
l gathered around Millie, held hands and prayed for a peaceful outcome.
Chapter Seventeen
John stood in the doorway to Kitty’s sporting house, waiting for one of the girls to fetch the bawd. He’d been sent for just as Millie had arrived in the Acre and he couldn’t wait to see what she wanted to talk to him about.
“Sheriff,” Kitty said, emerging from the back room. “False alarm. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“What was it?” the sheriff asked.
“Thought one of our girls had been murdered,” she said, coldly. “Just another one did herself in. They’re cleaning it up right now. Bad for business. Matter of fact, you know this one.” She lit a cigarette and drew her breath in slowly, exhaling a cloud of smoke around the sheriff.
John’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out which of the girls he knew. They always came and went so quickly in the Acre. Suicide wasn’t rare. In fact, more of Kitty’s girls had taken their own lives than any other sporting house. Suddenly it dawned on him. “Not Nellie,” he said, hoping the young woman hadn’t found her way back.
“Yep,” Kitty replied. “Folks wouldn’t take her back when she headed home, so she came crawling back to me. Figures she’d off herself right in my best room.”
John shook his head in disgust and walked out the door, letting it slam behind him. Such a waste, he thought. Week after week he saw innocent young women land in Fort Worth with nowhere to go, no job to support themselves. They always ended up in the clutches of Kitty and the other bawds in town.
As he headed back up the road toward the calaboose, Daniel rode up to him on a horse. “Sheriff!” he said. “He’s found Millie!”
“Who’s found Millie?” John asked, alarmed.
“Her husband,” Daniel blurted out as he hopped down and tied the horse to the hitching post.
“Husband?” John asked, shocked. “Millie has a husband?” His heart sank as he understood in an instant why she hadn’t moved their relationship forward—why she’d kept him at arm’s length all this time.
“He’s dangerous,” Daniel warned. “He’s here to get her. His name is Henry. Henry Wallace.”
John raced down the street and stormed through the doors of the Peacock Saloon, with Daniel close behind. Doc was stitching up Henry’s hand, and Henry turned his attention to the sheriff, looking eager to see his reaction to the news. “Well, if it ain’t my little lady’s sweetheart,” Henry said, mocking John in a drunken stupor.
John yanked the needle out of Doc’s hand and took Henry’s hand in his, squeezing the wound hard as Henry grimaced in pain. “Your hand hurt like this after you beat her?” the sheriff said in a low voice, standing an inch from Henry’s face as he remembered the bruises she tried to cover in shame the first night they met.
A wicked smile crept across Henry’s face. “Mostly,” Henry said, “I liked to kick her like a dog.”
John’s mind went black. Once again, he was engulfed in rage and hatred toward someone hurting the woman he loved. John lunged at Henry, both men falling backward toward the bar. If it hadn’t been for Daniel and Doc restraining him, there’s no telling what he would have done. The bartender held Henry’s arms back as the other two men calmed the sheriff down.
“Wake Judge Bryant,” John ordered Daniel. The young man exited the saloon and hurried off to the judge’s house. “Henry Wallace, you’re under arrest for assault of an officer.”
“I ain’t assaulted no officer!” Henry argued. “You the one tried to assault me!”
“I don’t think anyone else saw it that way,” the sheriff said, looking around the room. “Anyone here see me try to assault this man?” Every man in the room shook their heads in the negative. “Nope. Not one. Looks like you’re going to jail.” John took Henry’s hands behind his back and handcuffed him, walking him out the door toward the calaboose. Doc stayed close, making sure John didn’t allow his rage to get the best of him.
With Henry locked up in the calaboose, Daniel arrived with Judge Bryant in tow. “What’s so important, Sheriff?” the judge asked, not used to being disturbed in the middle of the night for legal business.
“Got a prisoner here who needs your help making a choice,” John replied.
“Oh?” the judge asked, curious. “Well, let’s hear it.”
John walked the judge over to the cell where Henry sat stewing. “This man, Henry Wallace, would like to know if he should go on trial for assaulting an officer,” he said, “or get you to help him get a quick divorce from Miss Millie so he can be on his way back to Kansas and never show his face here again.”
Judge Bryant watched John’s face as he spoke. It was no secret that John and Millie were head over heels for each other. It was shocking that she was still married, but the man sitting behind bars didn’t look like anyone worthy of being married to. “Seems like a pretty simple decision to me,” the judge answered. “I happen to have some papers in my satchel right here.” The judge opened his bag and pulled out some standard forms he used for common legal issues, including divorce.
He handed them over to Sheriff Lockhart and watched as the cell door was opened and Henry was lifted onto his feet to sign the papers, caving to intimidation from a man who fully intended to protect the woman he loved. “You can have her,” Henry said, spitting on the floor after he signed the papers.
“And you can’t,” John stated as he shot daggers out of his eyes at Henry. “Let him out at sunrise and follow him out of town,” the sheriff told the marshal. “If he comes back, shoot him.”
John, Daniel and Doc all headed to Pastor Littlejohn’s house to find the women. John couldn’t wait to see Millie and tell her the good news. Maybe now she could let her guard down and trust him when he said he would protect her.
Chapter Eighteen
Hours passed as Millie, Clara, Mabel and Pastor Littlejohn sat waiting to hear word of what was happening. Mabel couldn’t sit still, so she went into the kitchen and started cooking for the group. Clara and Pastor Littlejohn listened as Millie told them more about her life with Henry, how she had met him and married him in the hopes of escaping her abusive father. She talked about the fact that she never had children with him, and why—and each time a new revelation came out, they simply embraced her without judgment.
Shortly before sunrise, hoofbeats approached outside. Millie sat up on edge, ready to run if Henry walked through the door. A knock sounded, and Pastor Littlejohn stood up to see who it was. When the door opened, Doc, Daniel and John walked in. John walked over to Millie and took her hand in his, helping her stand up out of the chair, and leading her out onto the porch. The others stayed inside as Doc and Daniel told them what had happened.
John gently closed the door so they could speak in private. “I’m not sure how much you told them,” he said.
“Everything,” Millie said, hanging her head, partly because she was drained of energy and partly because she was ashamed of her truth, now that it was known by everyone.
“Millie,” he said, lifting her head up so he could look her in her eyes. “He’s gone. I took care of it.” Millie didn’t know what that meant. Was Henry run out of town? Was he dead? Did he escape and would come back later to find her?
“No,” she said. “He’ll never be gone. I’ll always be running from him, and I can’t bring that upon everyone here.”
“Millie, listen,” John said, holding both of her hands in his. “When Daniel showed up at the saloon, he told us what you’d said to Clara about Henry finding you. Henry was strongly persuaded to sign some divorce papers, and once you sign, too, it’ll all be behind you.”
“But…where is he?” she asked, unable to believe she was safe from Henry.
“Well, I gave him two choices,” John said with a grin. “I could bury him under the jail, or he could go back to Kansas and never show up here again. He chose the latter.”
John reached into his vest and took out the folded divorce papers. “Put it all behind you, Millie,” John said, “A
nd then be mine forever.”
Millie’s eyes filled with tears as she took the papers from John and held them close to her heart. “Not yet!” she said. She turned and ran back inside to find something to write with. She signed the papers and hurried back out onto the porch. “Now,” she said, showing John her signature.
John dropped to one knee and took a ring out of his pocket. “I’ve been carrying this with me in case you ever changed your mind,” he said. “Millie, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Millie cried, tears streaming down her face as she knelt down on the porch with John and hugged him tightly. Finally, she could feel his arms wrapped around her and not feel fear or guilt.
“You two okay out here?” Mabel asked, poking her head out the door.
“Mabel!” Pastor Littlejohn yelled. “Leave those two lovebirds alone!” She promptly scurried back inside, leaving John and Millie in a fit of laughter and happy tears.
Chapter Nineteen
Millie and John wasted no time getting married. The following weekend, surrounded by all of their friends, they said their vows and started their life over together. Everyone who had been there the night Henry showed up kept Millie’s secret to themselves, allowing her the opportunity for a fresh start.
John was happy that Millie had decided to quit working the Acre and focus solely on her midwifing skills. It made her happy to help women bring their babies into the world, even though she wasn’t able to have one of her own.
He still worked nights there occasionally, mainly when Millie was attending a late-night birth, but he let the marshal work most of them. “How you doing tonight, Billy?” he asked, walking into the Peacock Saloon to see how business was since the panther’s recent release.
