Innocence and the Outlaw

Wyoming Territory

April 1884

Leah trembled with anticipation as she paced beside the giant old oak and waited for her beau to arrive. They were going to run away tonight. They were going to get married and build a little cabin to live in as they started their lives together.

Leah sat down on a large gray boulder but her legs continued to bounce. Leah hated that she had to go against her mother and fathers wishes to marry Benjamin but they just wouldn't budge. They insisted that she was too young, he was too old and her father said that Benjamin was not the kind of husband a woman needed out here in the west.

He was too soft, too cultured, too gentle-natured to keep his wife and children safe from the harsh roughness that was life in this lawless land. Leah snorted as she stood back up and resumed her pacing.

Benjamin was perfect. Yes he was older than her seventeen years at thirty-one. Yes he was softer than her father. He smiled, laughed and had an easy going nature that put her at ease. Would he be able to protect her against the wild bands of outlaws that her father liked to bring up? Of course he would. He was smart enough to figure out a way to keep her safe. He loved her and she loved him.

She was certain her father was just blowing hot air when he spoke like that anyway. They had been living in this land for most of Leah's life and she had yet to see one single band of rough outlaws. The Indians hadn't been a threat in these parts for at least ten years and Leah knew that she and Benjamin would be just fine.

She imagined his red hair, soft blue eyes and freckled cheeks. The small gap between his front teeth that gave him a boyish appearance. He wasn't overly tall but he was six feet and he was broad and muscular enough that Leah didn't feel overly huge next to him despite the German blood running in her veins that had given her broad shoulders and a heavier build.

She went to the edge of the small stream and kicked a rock into it, watching the ripples dance across the surface of the water in the moonlight. Where was Benjamin? They had been supposed to meet here shortly after sunset and she had been waiting for what felt like forever. Then again patience had never been her strong point so who knew how long it had really been. Minutes tended to feel like hours whenever she had to wait for something.

The sound of an approaching horse reached her ears and she nearly cried out with happiness. Finally he was coming! Leah hurried to smooth out her plain light green gingham dress and tame the stray hairs that had come out of her bonnet. The only thing Benjamin ever asked of her was to try to always look her best. He vowed to her that he would always take care of everything else. She loved that man.

A sillouhette became visible in the moonlight and Leah realized with annoyance and slight panic that it wasn't her beloved but her annoying older brother Chance instead.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she pulled her coat tight around herself.

"I could ask you the same thing, you crazy idiot. Don't you know it's dangerous out here at night by yourself?"

"You and pa are always talking about how dangerous it is around here but you know what? I've never seen a real outlaw."

"Screw the outlaws. There's coyotes, snakes, mountain lions and all kinds of things that would see you as a nice tasty treat."

"I'm not completely stupid." Leah said with an impatient stomp of her foot. "I have a pistol in my pocket." Chance shook his head and spit on the ground next to his large brown horses hooves.