The Outlaw's Return

The Outlaw's Son - Prologue

This is the prologue for the next book! Get excited!! :)

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           "Britt!" My sister angrily called to me as I walked away. I didn't come home for this. "Britt! I am a grown woman and I have a right to make my own decisions! You should be happy for me!"

          "You don't even know him, and seventeen is not grown! I'm not even grown! We're only a year and three months apart" I snapped back at her. She was about to make a huge mistake and I didn't want to be around for it. I untied my horse, but she stopped me.

          "Britt, I'm not fightin' with you. Please stay, for Mama and Paw.  They haven't seen you in a long time." She begged. I just shook my head.

          "Ella, I can't be here and watch you throw your life away."

          She looked at me as if I'd punched her in the face. "I'm not throwin' my life away! I love him and I'm gonna marry him! Whether you like it or not!"

          I glared at my sister. For someone so smart, she was so dumb. "You've only known him a month! You don't know if you love him! I don't trust him anyway. Ain't no lawyer gonna marry my sister. I'll kill him first." I meant every word and Ella knew that. She stared at me for a few seconds.

          "Britt, I love you. You're a great big brother and I'm so thankful to have you, but there are some decisions I have to make on my own and this is one of them. Please don't be this way. Just get to know 'em a little better. For me?" I was about to jump on my horse and leave until Mama saw me.

        "Britt?" She called from the porch. "Ella Grace! Is that Britt?" Excitement and happiness flooded from her voice and I almost felt quilty for being away for so long.

         Shit.

      "Hmm... Well, now it seems like you have to stay." Ella gave me the smirk I always hated and I kicked the rock at my feet. I looked up with a grimace across my face, but couldn't help the grin when Mama came running towards me.

        "My baby is finally home!" She screamed in my ear. I looked up to see Paw walking towards us. Mama didn't let me go, not even when Paw held out his hand. I shook it as best I could with Mama bear hugging me.

         "Nice to see you, boy." Paw said with a grin.

        "Nice to see you too, Paw."

        "I can't believe it's you!" Mama screamed, again. "Come on inside and I'll fix you somethin' to eat." She demanded as she pulled my arm. I followed her inside the ranch house that I grew up in. Ella was behind me giggling. If she wasn't my sister I would have punched her. This was her fault. She tossed her long, dark brown hair and narrowed her eyes at me. She had Mama's eyes.

        "Britt!" Ariyah yelled from the floor. She jumped up and ran to me. Her long dark curls bounced around her elbows and her blue eyes lit up like stars. I couldn't believe she was almost fifteen now. She wasn't very tall, but none of the girl's were. Ella was seventeen and she was the same height as Mama, which was around five foot. Maybe a little shorter. Paw was around six' one or two. I was the same height as him now.

        "Hey, little sister." I hugged Ariyah and looked around for her shadow.

       "Where's Annabelle?" She would be twelve now and my little brother would be ten. I saw him asleep on the couch in the living room, so I didn't ask where he was. He was tall, like I was at his age. We looked a lot alike now that he'd grown a little. Annabelle was a tiny girl with Mama's hair and Paw's eyes. We all had Paw's eyes, except for Ella Grace. She had huge brown eyes that were just a shade lighter than Mama's.

       Mama turned around and seemed to think about it. That was when I noticed she was pregnant. Again. "I think she went out to see the new puppies." That dog had puppies like Mama had babies. It was ridiculous, all the life in this house. I wasn't planning on getting married and having any kids. The world didn't need anymore of me.

       I wondered where the other three were, but didn't ask. I heard giggling from outside and knew it was Cheyenne and Lakota. Cheyenne would be eight now and Lakota would be six. They looked just alike, they should have been twins. Both girls were the same size even thought they were two years apart. They took after Mama. My youngest brother was three. He came stumbling into the kitchen where we were and Paw picked him up and sat him on his knee. His name was Zachary, after our Pawpaw.

      "Mama, ain't you had enough babies?" I asked, trying to keep from laughing at Paw's expression. Mama whirled around and looked at me, placing her hand on her hip.

       "Now don't you come home and tell me when I can stop havin' children. If you would have stayed a baby like I had wished then I wouldn't have to keep havin' 'em!" She said while pointing her finger at me. I couldn't help but laugh at her. She smiled and I thought about when I was little. Mama still looked the same, just a few grey hairs here and there. She had thin, barely noticeable, laugh lines that she didn't used to have. Her hair was still long and curly. She still wore it in one long braid and I remembered how Paw used to tell me to go pull her hair, and I would.

     Paw still looked the same too. He had let his hair grow a little longer and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week or so. He was an 'honest man' since he and Mama got married. He looked bored a lot of the time, and Mama did too. I figured that was why they kept giving me younger siblings.

      "Here you go, baby. You eat all you want to, I got a big pot of it on the stove." Mama said as she handed me a bowl of deer stew. I didn't like coming home, but I had missed her cooking. I had been gone for almost two years. It wasn't that I didn't like to be around my family, I just couldn't stand to be in one place all the time. Mama had said I got that from Paw. I left home when I was seventeen and worked for a stage. I didn't like it so I started working as a bar keep in the saloon in Escalera. I didn't like that either. I didn't like anything, except being who I really was.

The outlaw's son.