The Outlaw's Son

Shadows

CHAPTER 19 - SHADOWS

The stars shimmered across the midnight sky and the cool, but humid, breeze swayed the tall grass around me. As I stared at the sky, all I could think of was how I was going to kill Lucas. I thought I had made myself perfectly clear on two seperate occasions and here he was, running off with my sister. I was uncomfortable lying flat on the uneven ground which added to my irritation. Mary Beth had my saddle and saddle blanket to lay on, which left me on the bare ground, but that was fine. I was getting too deep in my dark thoughts when Uncle Seth let out a loud snore that startled me. I sat up quickly with my pistol, ready to shoot whatever made the noise. Uncle Seth rolled over and stopped snoring. I put my pistol back on top of my boots beside me and lay back again.

I dozed off for about an hour only to wake up again to Mary Beth staring at me in alarm. "Britt.. Britt, wake up."

"What's wrong?" I asked in a whisper.

Mary Beth slowly sat up and was staring behind me with huge doe like eyes. "Britt, there's someone over there."

I looked behind Mary Beth and made sure Uncle Seth was still there. He was, so that meant someone else was standing in the tree line behind us.

"We aren't far from Hope Plain, there are only a few homesteads close to us. None of them would be out here watching us. What are they doin'?"

"Just standin' there. They haven't moved since I woke you up."

I slowly rolled over to my back and slightly tilted my head to get a look at them without being obvious. "Lay down like you're goin' back to sleep."

"Okay." I could hear the fear in Mary Beth's voice and it set fire to my blood.

There was a figure standing just outside of the tree line. It was about one hundred yards from our camp. I watched the motionless figure for what seemed like several minutes, but was just a few seconds before it moved. It stepped back into the tree line and I could barely hear the sound of hooves.

I picked up a rock from beside my leg and threw it over Mary Beth so it would hit Uncle Seth. I missed him by an inch, but it served its purpose and woke him. "What!"

"Shhhhhh." Mary Beth held her finger over her mouth and Uncle Seth seemed to become aware that something was wrong. "There was someone watchin' us."

I stood and began to get my things together. "We need to get movin'. I don't hear their horse anymore, but that don't mean they won't come back."

"Who did it look like?"

"How the hell do I know? It's dark in case you ain't noticed!"

Uncle Seth stood up and shook his head with a familiar grin on his face. Mary Beth started saddling Stormy while we saddled our own. We started on towards Hope Plan in hope of catching up with Paw. I hoped he would have stopped to see Mama before going on to find Ella Grace.

A/N:
I'm sorry this chapter is so short but I knew I needed to give my outlaws something for being so patient with me!
My husband and I welcomed a baby girl into the world on July 22nd at 11:56 am and things have been crazy ever since! There are no words to explain the love I feel for this precious child.

I will not be going back to work for another month, so now that things have calmed down and I have lots of free time I will be posting more chapters from my phone.

I am having trouble with the second half of this book. I had a plan of how I wanted this book to end, but now I don't want the book to take the turn I had originally planned. I honestly believe yall would be so pissed at me if I stuck to the original plan! So, this is where I ask for help. I need ideas. Leave me comments on this chapter of what you would like to see happen from here on out in this book. What would you like the outcome to be for Ella Grace? Do you want to see Britt and Mary Beth form a real relationship? What would you like to see regarding Cole and Cassidy? Throw some ideas at me so I can get back to work and get this book on track.

Thank you for sticking with me 😊