Chapter 11
Trey dismounted his horse at the entrance of his, barn, ready to go to sleep and never wake up. His joints ached and his stomach had a knot it that prevented his muscles from relaxing. Clayton went to take care of the horses, and Trey walked to the house, dreading having to climb the stairs.
Jess and Mariah came running out of the house. “Did you get her? Where is she?” they asked in unison.
“No I didn’t get her. If anything, she still hates me” Trey groaned, placing his left boot on the bottom step.
“I don’t think she hates you. Don’t seem like she’s capable of hating anyone. Just needs more time” Mariah said.
Trey knew she was just trying to make him feel better, but she wasn’t helping him at all.
“I’m just gonna go on to bed. I’ll see you guys in the morning” Trey walked stiffly up the steps and went to the house. Staring at the winding staircase in front of him, Trey felt like sleeping on the sofa in the parlor.
“Oh, please stop your crying, child” A shrill British voice said.
The voice came from the parlor, and it sounded like it was coming nearer. The sound of a squealing baby neared and Trey had a new sense of purpose getting up the stairs. It was no use. Andria Bowers caught him before he was out of sight.
“There you are, Mr. Shannon. I was wondering when you would get home. This child has been crying all day. Would you mind taking him?” she asked.
Trey pinched the bridge of his nose, bidding the oncoming headache to go away. Millie had always found a way to make Quinn quiet down. He retraced his steps and took his son from the British caregiver he had hired.
“I’ll take care of him. Good night” He turned and started back up the stairs.
“Wait. There are two men in your study waiting for you” Andria said.
Trey scowled. He was obviously not going to get to bed anytime soon. “Thank you, Miss Andria. I’ll take care of it.”
He walked up to his study and closed the door behind him.
“Adam, Jed. What’s wrong?” he asked.
“We were wondering if you planned on going on another job anytime soon. Me and Jed, we’re near broke” Adam said.
Jed sighed. “I wouldn’t be broke if I hadn’t gave all my money to you.”
“I’ll pay you back, Jed” Adam said.
Jed nodded. “You bet you will.”
Trey walked to the corner of the room to his safe. “I’ll spot you a little, Adam. You better not spend this on whiskey and women, ya hear?” Trey put in the combination to the safe and opened it.
“Alright, Trey” Adam grumbled.
Trey withdrew some money and shut the door before placing Quinn on the floor to run around. He placed the money on the table. “Ya’ll split that. I’ll be thinking about our next job.”
Truth was, Trey didn’t know if there would be a next job. He needed to settle down and stop risking his life. Quinn needed a father. He was starting to not like his outlaw life.
Should I turn myself in?
*****
“Well, are you going to tell me or not?” Sheriff Avery stood.
What am I doing? This isn’t forgiveness.
Millie stammered “I-I changed my mind. Any word on my father’s killer?” Millie asked.
“Nothing, I’m sorry” Sheriff Avery said.
Millie walked out of the sheriff’s office.
Why can’t I forgive him?
Millie sat on the roof and looked up into the starry night. The sky was as clear as glass tonight. The stars hung so low she felt that she could reach out and touch them. To think that God made each and every star in the sky and He knew where each of them were, yet He still cared enough to care about each and every little care she had.
How can a God be so powerful yet so gentle? It’s not like I’ve done anything to deserve Him. I’m so unworthy.
A tear escaped Millie’s eye as she thought. God has forgiven me of so much, and I can’t even forgive Trey for something he didn’t even do.
She had opted out of telling the Sheriff about him, and she didn’t even know why.
Spreading her arms out, she looked up at the sky and closed her eyes.
“God, please take away my bitterness. Help me forgive Trey. Help me be free again” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so unworthy of You. I’m such a horrible person. I’m so sorry” her last words were drowned in a sob. She felt so filthy and angry with herself.
“I forgive him” she whispered.
*****
Trey walked into his office the next morning and plopped down in the chair. He hadn’t slept at all last night. His muscles were so tense that he couldn’t relax. He wondered if his conscience was catching up to him. He had never really listened to that little voice in his head before. It felt strange to think that he was actually thinking about if he was doing right from wrong.
No one else in the house was up yet, and Trey was glad for the time to be alone. The past few days had been the most hectic ever. New Years and Christmas had come and gone without much notice, but that didn’t take any away from his rushed life. Everyone was busy doing this or that, and he was always thinking about the next bank to rob or stagecoach to hold up. What he wouldn’t give for a simpler life.
Deciding to set some coffee to brewing, Trey stood and went downstairs to the kitchen. The windows were still dark, so he had to light a lantern. He made the coffee and placed it on the stove.
Sighing, he walked out of the kitchen and went to start a fire in the parlor. He walked into the cold room and took the matches from the mantel, lighting one and throwing it on the wood. Once he the fire was stirred up and was giving off substantial warmth, Trey turned to go check on the coffee. He stopped suddenly. Someone lay on the sofa, obviously asleep. The medium length red curls gave away the person’s identity.
Millie?
Trey walked to the sofa and looked down at her. What was she doing here? Raising his hand to remove a few wayward strands from her face, he was surprised at the coldness for her face.
She must have rode all the way out here last night
.
He squatted down beside the sofa.
“Millie” he whispered, rubbing her forehead with his thumb, not knowing if he wanted her to wake up. She looked so peaceful asleep.
Leaning forward, he lightly kissed her forehead before gently shaking her shoulder. She slowly blinked awake.
“Millie? You okay?” Trey asked.
Millie rubbed her eyes and nodded.
“What’re you doing here?” Trey asked.
Millie sat up pushed her hair out of her face. “I--I’m…” She hesitated. A tear slipped from her eye, followed by two or three more.
“Hey” Trey stood and sat beside her. “What’s wrong?”
Millie bit her lip and leaned her head against his shoulder. She didn’t say a word.
Trey took her hand in his, thinking that she needed a moment to compose herself.
“I’m sorry” she whispered low that he was sure he had heard her wrong.
“What?”
Millie sat up and twisted to face him, drawing her feet up under her. “I’m sorry. I’ve been the worst example of a Christian I’ve ever known. I’ve been a complete jerk to you for something you had no control over. I don’t blame you for Papa’s death, and I forgive Wes for shooting him. I just…I just don’t know what else to say.”
Trey wiped the tears from her wet cheeks. “It’s okay” he said.
Millie shook her head and looked down. “No, it’s not.”
Trey tipped her chin up with his hand. “I’m everything you said I was.”
Millie reached into her satchel beside the sofa, and withdrew a thick book.
“Of all the books I’ve read, this is the one I know I need the most. I’ve marked some passages for you. You should read them. I know you’re capable of changing, Trey. You just have to want to. Please think about it?” Millie put the book in his lap.
The Bible. He should have guessed.
“Please?” Millie repeated.
Trey nodded. Millie smiled and lay against him, wrapping her arm around his. Within a few moments, she was back asleep.
*****
Millie woke up toward the middle of the day, alone in the parlor, to a loud and shrill voice.
“You can’t let me go! I did a very good job, with Quinn” the voice said.
“I know, Miss Bowers. You remember that you took this job knowing that it could be temporary” Trey’s low, calm voice said.
Millie rubbed her eyes as the two continued to exchange conversation, sighing and looking around. Somehow she had ended up in a chair closer to the fire, it’s warmth feeling so good on such a cold day.
Standing and stretching, Millie gathered her things and walked out of the parlor. A tall, skinny woman with dark hair stood in front of Trey, her eyes shooting darts at him. Trey looked over at Millie and gave a half hearted smile as the woman continued to lace him up.
“…Furthermore, I think that you should reconsider you decision. You won’t find any woman willing to come out in the middle of nowhere to take care of a spoiled brat like that of your son” the woman said.
“You are out of line, Miss Bowers” Trey said.
Millie was taken aback by the woman’s outburst. Quinn wasn’t a spoiled brat, unless she had been the one doing the spoiling.
“Nevertheless, do not expect me to come back when the next woman you have lined up doesn’t work out” Miss Bowers turned to leave, but caught sight of Millie. “Is this the one? The one you’re replacing me with? Oh, she won’t last a week.”
Millie returned Miss Bowers’ haughty stare. What in the world would cause the woman to have a chip on her shoulder? Millie hadn’t even seen the woman before that she knew of.
Wait.
There was something about her that seemed familiar. The thick British accent, the dark hair, the electric blue eyes.
She did know this woman.
“Andria? Andria Bowers?” Millie couldn’t believe that she stood in front of Lance’s mistress after all these years.
Half of her wanted to tackle Andria and strangle her, while the other half just wanted to get out of her sight.
“Do you two know each other?” Trey asked, looking in between them.
Millie felt tears sting her eyes and she quickly blinked them back. She was tired of forgiving. It was time someone received some justice.
“I know ‘er” Millie snarled.
She knew exactly what Andria was after.
“Yes. We’ve met” Andria said, looking down her nose at Millie.
“Ah, old friends?” Trey smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No!” Millie said quickly.
Trey’s smile faded some, as he turned to Millie with a quizzical look. Millie let a tear slip free before she turned to the stairs.
“Just get rid of her” She said to Trey as she passed him.
*****
Trey walked through the open nursery door later that evening, seeing the window open and Quinn’s empty crib. Silently, he neared the window and looked out. Millie stood on the balcony with Quinn on her hip, wrapped up in a quilt.
“I missed you, little fella” she said, stroking his hair. “Did you miss me?”
Quinn thought a moment before shaking his head several times “Yah.”
Trey smiled and stepped out onto the balcony.
“Hey you two” He smiled when Millie turned toward him.
Millie smiled and looked down at Quinn. “You want Daddy?” she asked.
Quinn shook his head clung tighter to Millie.
“I say someone’s getting a little partial” Trey smiled, poking Quinn.
Quinn giggled.
“Is she gone?” Millie asked slowly.
“Uh huh” Trey said, not pushing her any further.
Millie nodded.
They stayed out there until the sun had begun to set and Quinn’s eyes began to droop closed.
“Come on, little guy. Let’s get you to bed” Trey took Quinn from Millie and took him inside. There was something he had to tell Millie, and he was waiting for just the right moment. He returned to the balcony after he had tucked Quinn into his crib, wrapping the quit that had been around Quinn around Millie’s shoulders. She looked over at him.
“Thanks.”
“You okay?” Trey asked, leaning on his forearms and folding his hands.
Millie nodded. “I’m… just tired.”
“Tired, huh? You just woke up like five hours ago” Trey said, knowing there was more to her than that.
“I know” Millie sighed. “Guess I just have a case of the melancholies.”
“Because of Andria?” Trey asked.
Millie nodded. “She was Lance’s mistress. I know, really a coincidence, right?” Millie wrapped the quilt tighter around herself and leaned against the railing. “She was after you, ya know. She had never had a kid in her life.”
“Really? She said she had a little brother” Trey said.
“Andria has affairs with married men, she has no qualms about lying” Millie said, her knuckles white from holding the blanket so tight.
Trey covered her hands with his. “She’s gone now.”
Millie nodded and turned her hand to hold his. Trey kept hold of her hand as he moved behind her and wrapped her up in his arms. She felt so good against him. Then, he knew he loved her.
“I have to tell you something, Millie” he said softly, kissing her temple.
“What is it?”
“After you fell asleep earlier, I read through those passages you marked for me” Trey said.
Millie stilled. “Really?”
Trey nodded. “I’ve been thinking lately of quitting the outlaw business and settling down, but I didn’t really know how. I felt like I needed a really good reason in order to convince the guys. Turns out, I don’t need another reason accept that what I’ve done is wrong. It’s partially my fault that your father got killed, and if I hadn’t got into this in the first place, his death might have never happened. Now, I don’t know- I just feel so free knowing that I’m forgiven of all of that by God. It would make me feel a whole lot better if I knew that you forgave me” Trey said, trying to gauge her reaction through her body movements.
She didn’t move. “Are you saying that… You’re a Christian now and… you’re quitting the robbing?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying more or less” Trey smiled.
Millie released his hand and turned around in his arms. Trey saw that she was crying.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Trey asked, cupping her face in his hands.
Millie shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. What could possibly be wrong?” She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. “My prayers are answered!” Her words were muffled by his shoulder, but he still heard them.
Millie felt like hopping up and down with joy even after she and Trey had already said their goodnights and went to bed. Millie had unpacked, changed into her nightgown, and was comfortably snug under the thick winter blanket on her bed, but she still wasn’t tired. The room felt just as much like home as her room back in town. Maybe even more so than home.
Sighing, Millie snuggled closer to her pillow, her heart so full she felt it would burst. Trey had actually turned from his robbing ways! She would’ve had a harder time believing it if the words hadn’t come from Trey himself. He had been so prideful and arrogant before, she couldn’t believe he had actually humbled himself before God.
That’s the power of God, I suppose.
She thought.
For once, she allowed her heart to wonder, thinking what it would be like to fully let her heart love again. Trey was nothing like Lance, but was she completely sure of his character? Only time could secure such a confidence, and she was certain it would come in God’s timing.
*****
Breakfast the next morning was a merry occasion, even if Trey was late getting up. Clayton and Mariah were acting awfully suspicious, but they were all gathered around asking Millie question after question.
“What made you come back?” Clayton asked.
“I--- I don’t rightly know. I guess I felt like I was needed here. I missed Quinn… and all of you” Millie smiled.
“So are you and Trey… you know” Mariah grinned over the edge of her teacup and glanced at Clayton.
“No, Trey and I aren’t ‘you know’, but we are friends” Millie said, feeling herself blush.
“What a shame. You two looked so cute up on the balcony last night” Mariah said.
Jess snorted a laugh as Millie felt herself blush even deeper.
“How would you know that? We were talking things out” Millie said, taking a long drink of tea.
“Mm-Hmm, there wasn’t very much talking going on from what I saw” Mariah said in a gossiping voice.
Millie rubbed her forehead. Why was the woman blowing this out of proportion?
Just then, the front door opened.
“Oh, thank goodness” Millie breathed.
Trey burst through the kitchen door, in his buckskin coat and woolies, taking his black Stetson off his hair. It sure didn’t seem like he had just woken up.
“Clayton, I have somethin’ to tell you. Come up to my study. You too, Millie” With that, he slapped his hat back on and left the room.
Clayton stood, raking his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “Guess it’s urgent”.
Millie stuffed the rest of her biscuit and bacon in her mouth and motioned to Quinn at Mariah.
Mariah nodded and grinned, while Jess’ lips took on the shape of an “O” and her eyebrows shot up. Millie rolled her eyes and followed Clayton up to Trey’s office.
Were Jess and Mariah right? Were she and Trey really “you know”? Millie shook her head. She knew that it was Trey that brought a blush to her cheeks at her thoughts in the middle of the night when she couldn’t sleep and her mind would wander. It was Trey that her thought trailed off to anytime her mind was unoccupied.
As they entered Trey’s study, Millie looked at the scene before her. Catalogues, notebooks, maps of Trey’s land, old papers, and books were scattered all over the floor and the desk.
“I couldn’t sleep last night” Trey said, glancing at Millie.
“So you decided to wreck your study?” Clayton asked.
“No” Trey tore off his coat, throwing it into a chair and unbuckling his woolies. “I had this thought. As of yesterday I am no longer a bank robbin’ outlaw. I want to leave all that behind and get this corn plantation back up and running”.
Millie grinned and kneeled down by the mess on the floor.
“What are you planning?” she asked.
Trey threw his woolies beside his coat and kneeled down beside her as Clayton sat in a chair across from them. Trey pulled over a map of his land.
“See this part here?” he circled an area with his finger. “I aim to keep that for the horses. This, “ he circled another larger part, nearly half the map, “is perfect soil just waiting to be full of the biggest ears of corn you’ve ever seen. Why Pa ran moonshine instead of stayin’ here with all this is beyond me. You wait and see, when that corn gets to growin’ and you go out on that balcony, those’ll be the prettiest sunsets you’ll ever see” Trey said, smiling at her with his charming eyes.
“Sounds perfect” Millie smiled.
“Do you know anything about corn farming?” Clayton asked.
“No, but you do. You grew up around your Pa, who was the best corn farmer in Louisiana. Surely you can remember how he did it” Trey said.
“I don’t know…” Clayton said hesitantly.
“You think on it. I know the first few years will be rough, but once we get this thing underway, I’ll have something worthwhile to pass on to Quinn” Trey said, rubbing his forehead.
Millie smiled up at him. This was the side of Trey she knew she could get used to.
Clayton stood. “I’ll think on it. As for right now, I’m gonna go finish my coffee” Clayton walked out of the room, leaving Millie and Trey alone.
“How long did you work on this?” Millie asked, looking around at the scattered papers.
“All night. I’m not even tired, though” Trey focused on the map before him, as if in deep thought.
Millie stared at him a moment, smiling. “Let’s go riding” she blurted.
“Hmm?” Trey looked over at her.
“Can we? I’d like to see all the fields you plan to use for corn” Millie grinned, standing.
Trey smiled and jumped up. “No reason in the world why we can’t”.