Loving an Outlaw

by Kristen Iten

  “These horses are gentle as lambs when they’re not wild with fright,” said Abigail.

  “They were trained for one job, pulling the stage. They’ve never been ridden before. Any one of ‘em would throw ya faster than you can bat those pretty eyelashes.”

  Abigail’s cheeks flushed. He thinks my eyelashes are pretty? Jake continued talking as if he hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. Abigail was so preoccupied with the compliment that she missed most of what he said.

  “Sound all right to you?” he said.

  Abigail was too embarrassed to admit that she hadn’t been listening, and gave a little nod of agreement. He guided his horse to where she was standing. She realized by his outstretched hand that she had agreed to ride with him. The thought of sharing a saddle with Jake made her stomach flutter.

  His long legs put the stirrups within her reach. She gathered her skirt once again and put her foot into position. She took hold of his forearm and was surprised to find herself lifted into place.

  “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” said Abigail.

  “It sure was.”

  Abigail glanced over her shoulder. “You expected it to be hard? Do I look like a heavy load to you?”

  “No, ma’am,” he said, wide eyed. “I just meant…” He stumbled over his words while Abigail held him captive with an unrelenting stare. “I meant that it was easier than you thought it would be. You, why you’re light as a feather. I knew you would be.” Jake was flustered for the first time since they had met, and Abigail was eating it up. Although watching him squirm was great fun, Abigail couldn’t hold her laughter in any longer.

  “I knew what you meant.”

  Jake let out a sigh of relief. “You got me,” he said with a chuckle. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, Miss Abby.”

  Abby. She liked that. Only the people closest to her had ever called her by that name; Jonathan, her parents, a few close friends, and now Jake. She liked the familiarity. It was comfortable, just like him.

  Jake reached out and grabbed the lead rope of their pack horse and secured it to his saddle.

  Abigail thought of Abe. She looked down the trail behind them. “It feels wrong to leave him out here like this,” she said.

  “I said some words over him. It’ll have to do for now. He wouldn’t want us staying around here waiting for more trouble to find us.”

  Abigail’s heart was heavy, but there was still a part of her that was excited to get moving again. Each step they took was one step closer to Jonathan. Thoughts of her brother helped put the events of the morning behind her.

  Chapter 4

  “So you named your gun Milly, but didn’t bother to give your poor horse a name?”

  “What makes you think I didn’t name him?” said Jake.

  “I haven’t heard you call him anything but horse all day,” said Abigail.

  “Well, that’s his name. He smells like a horse, looks like a horse, and he definitely eats like a horse.” Jake reached back and patted his animal’s rump. “I figure the name suits him fine.”

  Abigail laughed. “Not good enough.”

  The hours passed much quicker for Abigail now that she had someone to talk to. Conversation flowed easily all afternoon. It felt like she had known Jake all of her life.

  “I guess you could say that mining is my new adventure,” he said. “I’m on my way to join a mining party now. They’re camped just outside of Sweet Creek.” Jake filled his lungs with air and let out a weary sigh. “It’ll certainly take me a long way from here.”

  Abigail wondered at the relief she heard in his voice. He was everything she had imagined a man from Texas would be: strong, rugged, and bold. He belonged here. Why would he want to leave?

  “I’ll miss ranching, but it’s time for something new,” he said. “I’m awful glad I was on the trail to Sweet Creek today.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me about that,” said Abigail. “When does your party leave for California?” Abigail didn’t know why, but the thought of her new friend moving away saddened her. She did her best to mask the disappointment she felt with an overly cheerful tone of voice.

  “We’ll be pulling out near the end of the month. That could mean any day now, I suppose.”

  “But there is a chance you won’t go. I mean, you have to get hired first, right?” said Abigail.

  “Oh, I’ll get hired,” Jake said. “They won’t turn anyone with a strong back away.”

  Their conversation gradually turned into a comfortable silence. It was a nice kind of silence. A quiet space that neither of them felt the need to fill.

  Jake left the main trail in hopes of cutting some time off their journey. His surefooted horse could easily cross terrain that a stage driver would never dare attempt.

  Abigail’s eyes roved over the land. Things looked so different out west compared to her home in Pennsylvania. The gnarled branches of trees looked as if they had weathered a thousand storms, and though they had been bruised and battered, had come out victorious. Where she was used to seeing rich, black soil underfoot, she found only red earth. Everything from the grasses growing on the hillsides, right down to the bumblebees whizzing through the air, was all foreign to her. Who would have thought that the bees would even be different?

  The view through the window of the stagecoach had been stunning but to be out in the middle of it all with no barriers whatsoever was a different experience entirely. It was exhilarating.

  The ground became more uneven as the day wore on. Jake guided his mount down a steep incline. Abigail had to lean back into his chest to keep from tumbling over the horse’s neck. He placed his free arm around her waist. Abigail held on to his wrist and relaxed into him. She could feel his muscles working to lead the horse down the treacherous path. He was as solid as a rock.

  “You comfortable, Abby?”

  The answer to that question was a resounding yes. She was more comfortable than anyone had the right to be on the back of a horse.

  “Yes,” she said, “thanks for helping me stay in the saddle.” She gave his arm a pat.

  “Gentlemen in these parts don’t generally like to make a habit of letting a lady fall off of their horse.”

  Abigail could hear the smile in his voice. She conjured an image of him in her mind. His full lips parted just enough to show off a perfect set of teeth. Crystal blue eyes glinted with the spark of life, hinting of secrets that waited to be told. Even though she had only known him for a few hours, Abigail longed to be the keeper of those secrets. She couldn’t get the image out of her mind. If she was honest with herself, she really didn’t want to.

  Difficult terrain eventually gave way to flat, even ground again. Abigail continued to ride as she was, tucked safely in the crook of Jake’s arm. Her heart soared, certain she had made the right decision. She had been born for a life out west.

  Abigail closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. A faint sweetness hung in the air. The sight that met her eyes when they came out of a small stand of trees took her breath away. They had once again entered the wide open spaces of Texas, but the landscape that lay before them looked like something out of a dream. Fragrant wild flowers mingled with tall grasses as far as the eye could see. Delicate butterflies fluttered amongst the blooms drinking in the sweet nectar.

  “We have to stop for a minute,” said Abigail.

  Jake agreed. “It’s about time to give the horses a break anyway.”

  Abigail slid to the ground the moment they came to a stop. She meandered through the flowers like a child, humming softly to herself as she went. She stooped to touch the velvety petals of one of the flowers at her feet.

  “These red ones are beautiful,” she said. “What are they called?”

  Jake strolled up next to her. He bent to pick a flower. “Some folks call these Indian Blankets.” He held up a flower with deep red petals tipped with yellow.

  “They’re gorgeous,” she said.

  “Acc
ording to legend if you surround yourself with these flowers on a cold night, they’ll keep you warm.”

  Abigail laughed. “That can’t be true.”

  Jake reached out and placed the flower in Abigail’s hair. “I don’t know,” he said, “my heart feels pretty warm right now.” Their eyes met. Abigail only held his gaze for a moment before looking away. Heat rose in her cheeks and coursed throughout her body.

  The rich hues of the bloom brought out all of the best colors in Abigail’s soft brown hair.

  “You should wear a flower in your hair every day.”

  Abigail’s blush intensified under the heat of Jake’s stare. “It’s not every day you find yourself in a field surrounded by wild flowers,” she said.

  “You should. You should always be surrounded by beautiful things.”

  Jake adjusted the flower in Abigail’s hair. His eyes looked like he wanted to say more, but he turned his attention to the sky instead.

  “We best be moving on. I’d like to be a lot closer to the main trail by the time we make camp this evening.”

  Abigail touched the flower in her hair as she watched Jake round up the horses. She bit her bottom lip and sighed as she tried to make sense of the feelings stirring inside her.

  Chapter 5

  Dusk had already settled in when the pair finally stopped for the night.

  “We should make it back to the main trail before midday tomorrow. We might even get to town by dark if we’re lucky.”

  “I thought we had at least two days of travel ahead of us,” said Abigail.

  “We took a considerable amount of time off our ride by cutting through the rough country.”

  Abigail was surprised to find herself disappointed at the thought of their time together being cut short. I came out here to be with Jonathan, not to go pleasure riding with a cowboy. She had never been affected by a man this way before. They had only just met, but she wanted to know him better. She needed to know him better.

  “You can rest a bit over here. I’ll gather some firewood,” Jake said.

  “I’ve been sitting all day, and my backside is staging a revolt.” Abigail wrinkled her nose and gave her rear end a comical rub. “I think I’d rather help you collect wood.”

  “All right.” Jake laughed. “Just watch your step.”

  Abigail headed for a stand of trees to look for fallen limbs. She took a few steps and heard an unfamiliar sound. She glanced at the ground but saw nothing.

  “Stop!” The urgency in Jake’s voice froze her in her tracks.

  Abigail looked over her shoulder only to see Jake with his gun drawn and pointing in her direction.

  “What are you—”

  CRACK! Abigail’s mouth hung open in stunned silence. Jake was by her side in an instant. He lifted her off her feet, spun to the side, and sat her down a good six feet from where she had been standing. He turned back and crouched to the ground.

  “Didn’t you hear it?” he asked.

  “Hear what?” Abigail was still shaken.

  “This.” Jake shifted his body so Abigail could see. He nudged the lifeless remains of a diamondback rattlesnake with the barrel of his gun.

  Abigail shuddered. “I didn’t see it there.”

  “Most people don’t. That’s what the rattle is for.” Jake wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. He inhaled deeply before puffing his cheeks and allowing the air to escape slowly from his lips.

  “Did you have to kill it?” asked Abigail.

  “I wasn’t about to take any chances.” He eyed the snake as if it could come back to life and attack them both any minute.

  “Is it dangerous?” Abigail took a few steps closer to get a better look.

  “Deadly,” he replied. He flung the snake’s carcass as far away as he could. “The coyotes will take care of him later. I’ll gather the wood. You don’t have the right boots for tromping around here this time of night.”

  Abigail agreed and enjoyed the company of Horse while Jake gathered enough wood to last the night.

  Nightfall didn’t cool the air as much as Abigail would have liked. What I wouldn’t give for a long cool bath right now. The campfire warmed her already overheated feet, but the light it gave off was preferable to the thick darkness that would surround them until the moon rose.

  Jake sat on the opposite side of the fire from Abigail. One elbow propped his body up on the saddle while the other rested on his raised knee. He sat still as a stone, only moving once every few minutes to bring his coffee to his lips. Firelight danced across his chiseled features as Abigail looked on, wondering at the change she saw in him. He had barely said two words while they ate their supper. Now, he seemed a million miles away.

  “That dented kettle made a pretty good cup of coffee,” she said.

  “Pardon?”

  “Never mind,” said Abigail. “It was only a joke. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Shoot.” Jake looked at her over the rim of his cup and took a long swig.

  Abigail looked into the fire and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Have I done something to upset you?”

  “Of course not.” Jake sat up. “Why would you think that?”

  “You’ve been really quiet ever since we made camp,” she said.

  Shadows flickered on his face for a few moments before Jake spoke again. “Even considering everything that happened with the outlaws this morning, I’d still have to say this has been the best day I’ve had in years.”

  He tilted his head to catch Abigail’s attention and smiled when her eyes met his. It was the same smile Abigail had seen earlier that morning when Jake had delivered the news about old Abe. He smiled with his lips, but his eyes revealed a sadness lying just beneath the surface.

  “Are you sure?” said Abigail. “We’ve barely spoken a word since you shot the snake.”

  “That rattler brought back a flood of bad memories—things I haven’t thought about for a long time.” The faraway look returned to his eyes. “Seeing you so close to that thing …” Words failed him. All he could do was shake his head.

  Jake took another swig of his coffee. He grimaced and slung the remaining contents of the cup into the fire. “My brother was bitten by a rattle snake three years ago. He didn’t make it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. Thoughts of what it would be like to lose Jonathan filled her mind. The longer she dwelled on the thoughts, the heavier her heart became.

  “Look what I’ve done. I’ve gone and spoiled a beautiful night,” said Jake. “Let’s see if we can salvage it.” He came around to Abigail’s side of the fire and sat next to her. “Would you look at those stars? I love dark nights like these. My brother and I used to lie out under the stars and see how many we could count.”

  Jake stretched his long body out on the ground and placed his hands under his head. “We’d always run out of numbers long before we’d run out of stars.”

  Abigail pushed the dark thoughts of a future without her brother from her mind and laughed with Jake.

  “My brother and I used to look at the stars, too. That’s actually why I’m here,” she said.

  “You couldn’t see the stars good enough back east?” he teased.

  Abigail leaned back on her elbows. She stared at the heavens, and let out a sigh. “Jonathan and I were lonely after our parents died. Life was so different with our aunt. I’m grateful to her for taking us in, mind you, but there wasn’t a lot of affection. Not like we were used to, at least.”

  Jake turned his attention away from the sky, focusing on Abigail.

  “Our bedrooms were side by side up on the second floor. It was easy to slip out to sit on the flat part of the roof just beneath our windows. We did it all the time when the weather was nice—sometimes even when the weather wasn’t so nice.” Abigail shook her head, the fond memories bringing a soft chuckle to her lips.

  “We’d sit out there together for hours on end. Just the two of us, looking at the stars and talking the nig
ht away.”

  “How did that end up leading you all the way out here?”

  “You see that lone star over there?” Abigail pointed to a dark corner of the western sky. A single star twinkled in the darkness. “We always felt sorry for that little star. We thought it looked as lonely as we were. I don’t really remember when but at some point, we decided we’d move out west one day and build a home of our own right beneath that lone star. That way the three of us would never be lonely again.”

  Abigail sat up and looked at Jake. “It sounds like such a childish dream when I say it out loud, but it’s what kept us going after losing our parents.”

  “It’s not childish at all. I know a thing or two about being lonesome. It’s a good dream; I like it. So you followed your lone star all the way to Texas?”

  “Yes, but it still looks so far away.” Abigail tossed a small twig into the fire.

  “I’m sure it’ll feel a lot closer when you’re with your brother again,” said Jake.

  Abigail nodded before stretching her limbs out in front of her. It was long past time to sleep, and her eyelids were heavy. She brushed a few stray pieces of dried grass off of her bedroll, opening her mouth in a deep yawn.

  “Well, I suppose I’d better go to my room, so you can get some sleep,” said Jake. He walked to his saddle and rummaged around for a moment before returning to where Abigail was already stretched out on her bed.

  “Let’s put the finishing touches on your bed.” He held a rope in his hand and shook the coils out onto the ground. He laid it around Abigail’s bedroll in one large loop.

  “What’s that for?” said Abigail.

  “Protection. An old trail blazer once told me that snakes won’t cross a rope line.” Jake squatted at the foot of her bed, making sure the ends of the rope met.

  “Is that true?”

  “I ain’t been bothered by a snake in my sleep yet. I can’t say it’s because of the rope, but I can’t rightly say it’s not because of the rope, either.” The playful look from earlier in the day returned to his eyes. “Sleep tight, Abby.”