Cowboys and Angels

Chapter Twelve

Author's note: this chapter's song is "Home" by Blake Shelton. I'll like it above.

There Adeline was, sitting, face to face, with the leader of the outlaws. Dutch van der Linde was his name. He was nothing short of intimidating but Adeline was determined not to let him know that. Arthur explained everything that happened to Adeline and her home to him already. He had asked her about her backstory and he seemed intrigued when she mentioned being the only heir to her grandparents' fortune. She figured Dutch was a nice enough man but she knew deep down, he would do anything to survive. If that meant only keeping Adeline around because she was sitting on a small fortune, then he would be more than happy to play the role of her friend.

"Remind me how you know Arthur again?" He asked her, narrowing his eyes a bit.

She sighed. She had already told him. It seemed like he was interrogating her. "He saved me from getting robbed and then a few days later, I distracted the law while he shot his way out of Valentine. Since then, we've had a few run in's, even one where I met Lenny." She explained.

Dutch finally sighed. "I'm sorry it seems like I'm interrogating you. I just can't risk you being an O'Driscoll spy."

"I'm not, I promise you. I've answered truthfully, it's up to you to decide if you believe me or not." She explained. "And no offense, sir, but I don't care if you believe me or not. I know I'm telling the truth and that is all that matters. If you kick me out of your camp because you believe me to be a spy, I will find someplace else. I am strong and I'm no fool."

Dutch was slightly taken aback yet at the same time, he was impressed. Never had anybody spoken to him like that. She was assertive yet respectful at the same time. She knew her worth and wouldn't let anybody trample on her. Dutch could respect that. He smiled at her before standing up, "Welcome to the camp, Miss Blackwell." He shook her hand. Adeline shook it back.

"Let's get you settled in," He said to her, leading her to the tent she had sat in with Miss Grimshaw. "I'm sure you've already met Miss Grimshaw but she will get you settled in here with all of the other girls and then once you're ready, she will show you the ropes of camp." He paused, his gaze softening. "I know you're grieving, and I know how it feels. Feel free to take as much time as you need to feel better."

"Thank you," She said, truly meaning it. She hadn't expected to see this side of Dutch. It almost made her feel bad for thinking those negative thoughts about him earlier.

He gave her a nod then left her outside the tent with Miss Grimshaw. "This is where most of the girls sleep, except for Abigail and myself. There's plenty of room for one more." She led Adeline in the tent but unlike earlier, there were people in it. "Girls, this is miss Adeline Blackwell. She is a new addition to the camp."

The girls all smiled and offered a small hello. "That's Mary-beth, that's Tilly, and that's Karen." Miss Grimshaw pointed to each girl, respectively.

"Hello. It's lovely to meet you all." Adeline said softly.

"It's getting late so I'll leave you with the girls to get settled in for bed and I will come and check on you tomorrow morning." Miss Grimshaw instructed.

Adeline was suddenly scared. Miss Grimshaw had been one of the few people to show her any kindness and now she would be gone. Still, she was eager to make new friends. "Thank you, Miss Grimshaw," she said to the nice lady before she left. Miss Grimshaw nodded kindly and left her.

Adeline turned back to the other girls and gave an awkward smile.

"Here, come sit," The girl who Miss Grimshaw called Tilly said, patting the ground next to her. "We were just teasing Mary-Beth about the man she's sweet on."

Adeline smiled at finally having some female friends and joined the gossip circle next to Tilly.

"Wait," The girl called Karen said. "First tell us how you got here, in camp."

It was like the wound was reopened. Adeline hadn't thought much of what happened since she got her. Her eyes started to prick with tears.

"Oh Karen, you made her sad," Mary-Beth scolded her friend.

Adeline gave a little chuckle at that. "No, no it's ok." She inhaled deeply and calmed herself. "O'Driscolls burnt my house down and they would have taken me with it if it wasn't for Arthur. He killed them and brought me back to camp where I could be safe."

Mary-Beth was the first one to speak up. "You poor thing," She leaned in to hug Adeline. Adeline was thankful for these girls. It was nice to not be alone for once.

Adeline smiled sadly, "It's ok. It was nice living there while it lasted. And that much I'm thankful for." She remembered her 'better to love and have lost than to never have loved at all' philosophy. "I still have these," She said, pulling the love letters and photograph out of her satchel.

"Is that you?" Karen pointed at Adeline's mother in the picture.

She laughed. "No, that's my mother. Her and my father died a few years after I was born."

The girls looked at her, tears in their eyes. "Oh you poor, poor thing. All alone out here." Mary-Beth said again.

"I'm ok, truly. I still have memories of them here," she held up the stack of love letters. "And I'm not alone anymore. I had Arthur too."

The girls all looked at each other with a sly smile. "Oh, you had Arthur?" Tilly asked.

"Yeah, he saved me from getting robbed. And I saved his ass a few times. We're friends." Adeline explained.

"How romantic," Karen teased.

Though the jokes were at her expense, Adeline enjoyed the change in subject. It kept her mind off the events of today.

"Arthur doesn't just rescue a girl from O'Driscolls and robbers and bring her back to camp so she'll be safe." Mary-Beth argued. "Sure he can be a kind man at times, but never that kind."

"You must have quite a hold on him," Tilly added.

"We're just friends, trust me. I know Arthur isn't the type for relationships anyways. He's very closed off." Adeline defended.

"Well you have to admit, he's kinda cute. In a rough and scruffy kinda way," Karen giggled.

"She's right, you know." Tilly added.

Adeline sighed, not getting out of this easily. "I'll admit, he's very cute but there's no point wishing because it'll never happen."

"I don't think he's that cute," Mary-Beth piped up.

Karen rolled her eyes. "You only think that because you're sweet on Kieran, that O'Driscoll."

"I am not, I was just helping him when nobody else would," Mary-Beth defended herself.

"There's an O'Driscoll in camp?" Adeline asked, wearily.

"No. He used to run with them but he left. He's a good man." Mary-Beth answered before anybody else could answer. Karen glared at her. It was obvious Karen didn't like him much.

"I understand," Adeline said. She was soon wracked by a large yawn.

"We should probably get some sleep," Tilly said. "I can imagine you're exhausted from today, Miss Blackwell," She said to Adeline.

"Please just call me Addie," She said before yawning again. "I guess I am a bit tired." She confessed.

"You can have this cot," Karen pointed to a fourth cot in the back of the tent. "It used to be Sadie's before she demanded her own tent."

"Thank you," Adeline said. She set her stuff under the bed. Once she laid down, she fell asleep almost immediately.