The Outlaw's Son

Company

CHAPTER 25 - COMPANY

The wind was wiping the grass around by the time we made it to the cabin. We stopped out front and as I dismounted my horse I saw Mary Beth's hair flying all around her face. She looked uneasy. "Just stay on your horse."

Mary Beth nodded without meeting my eyes. Uncle Seth and I stepped onto the porch and I knocked on the door. We waited but no one opened the door. I didn't hear anyone inside so I grabbed the door knob and turned it. It wasn't locked. Uncle Seth nodded so I swung the door open and he stepped in with his pistol drawn. I stepped in behind him and we looked around the small cabin. My eyes landed on the figure sitting at the table eating what smelled like beans.

"Paw!"

Paw looked at us with a grin and continued eating. "What took y'all so damn long?"

"Thanks for waitin' on us." Uncle Seth said as he slapped Paw on his back.

"I didn't have time to waste. I figured y'all were right behind me."

I stepped outside and grabbed Paw's hat from my saddle bag. "Paw is inside. It's safe." I said to Mary Beth and Lucas. They quickly followed me inside. The bottom was going to fall out any minute.

"Well hello, darlin'. What you doin' here?" Paw asked when he saw Mary Beth stepping into the doorway. She smiled and ran to him, engulfing him a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Of course, did you really think somethin' had happened to me?"

"Well, when we found your hat out on the plain I was afraid somethin' terrible had happened."

Paw looked over to me at the mention of his hat and I held it out to him. "I have felt naked the past two days without this old thing." He examined it for a minute before putting it on his head and sitting back down at the small wooden table. We all found something to sit on and crammed in around the table.

"What happened?" Uncle Seth asked from across the table. He sat with his arms crossed on the table top and suddenly looking younger than his years. He seemed almost excited to hear what Paw would tell him.

Paw pushed his plate to the side and leaned back in the creaky chair. "Well, I was trailin' the wagon that Ella was tied up in. I got a little too close. We had a scrap when they realized who I was and the one driving the wagon unhitched the horse and took off with Ella before I was able to catch 'em."

Sniffling started again from the corner where Lucas sat and we all looked over at him before returning our attention to Paw. Paw rolled his eyes at Lucas and continued talking. "Ella is fine. She beat the hell out of the one drivin' the wagon and somehow in the process lost both shoes and a stockin'."

Lucas perked up and stopped sniffling. We all let out a breath of relief. Of course we had thought the worst when finding her stocking.

"Have you found Mama?"

"No, son I haven't. Not yet." Paw looked so sad and angry for a split second that I thought he was going to explode, but it passed as quickly as it came.

"Cassidy is tough, she'll be alright." Uncle Seth said while looking down at the dusty table. He shared the same explosive expression as Paw had.

"Where do you think the rest of the family is?" I asked, afraid of what could have happened to them.

"I saw Running Horse when I stopped by the house. He was waitin' on me.
Said he knew I'd be comin' as soon as I heard. The children are safe with Cassidy's family."

"Thank God." Mary Beth said quietly from Paw's side. She wouldn't meet my eyes, but when I'd look away I could feel her staring at me.

"Paw, where is your horse?"

"Oh, he's 'round here somewhere."

A loud clap of thunder sounded overhead. Mary Beth jumped and then exhaled loudly. The wind was whistling around the cabin, almost sounding like a pack of wolves howling in the distance. I moved over to the edge of the room and sat on the chair by the dirty window. There was so much grime built up that it was hard to see through it. There was a black speck off in the distance, slowly moving down the tree line towards us. I thought maybe it was Paw's horse, but as it got closer I realized it was a man. 

"Paw?"

"Yeah?"

"Come look at this."

Paw stood from the table and walked to the window. I pointed at the man walking at the wood line. Paw strained his eyes until he spotted the man.  "I don't like the way he's sneakin' 'round."

"Me neither. What you wanna do?" 

Mary Beth walked over to the window and whispered to Paw, "What are we lookin' at?"

"We've got company, darlin'."

Mary Beth looked out the window and watched the man walking along the tree line. Her eyes narrowed in on him as he got closer, then finally slipped into the woods where he couldn't be seen. Mary Beth placed her hand over her heart and started taking steps backwards, slowly shaking her head.

"What's the matter?" Paw asked. I stood and grabbed her by her shoulders, afraid she was about to faint. 

"Oh, no. That's.... That's..." She faded off, shaking her head still. 

"Who? Who is it Mary Beth?" I demanded. 

Mary Beth's tear filled eyes met mine. "That's my husband."