Unedited, read at your own risk:)
Chapter 17
Trey stared at the small form covered in a brown coat tied to a tree. Rain pounded down all around him and the thunder shook the ground he stood on. What could posses them to leave Millie out in this storm? He watched the tent to Millie’s left and saw no movement. Shifting the rifle on his hip, he ran toward the tree that Millie was tied against and slid to a stop beside her.
“Millie!’ he had to yell to be heard above the rain.
She twisted around and her eyes widened. “What in tarnation are you doing here?”
“Baking a cake” Trey grinned sarcastically as he knelt to cut her ropes.
“How did you get past that lynch mob?” Millie asked, rubbing her wrists.
“Back door” Trey winked. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”
They hadn’t ran ten feet when a shot rang through the air. Instinctively, Trey threw Millie behind a tree and threw a shot behind him before dashing behind another tree next to her.
He peeked around his tree and saw Adam and Wes both walking in their direction.
“Shannon! You can’t hide from us!” Wes said as another shot splintered the wood close to Trey’s head.
Trey squeezed his eyes shut and muttered a prayer. Pulling out his Colt, he fired in Wes’ general direction.
The rain slacked off some as Trey glanced over at Millie, who clutched the tree she hid behind like a lifeline.
Another shot hit the tree near him. Trey gritted his teeth and took time to aim and pull of a shot.
It cost him. He felt a bullet whiz past him and graze his hand. He winced and grunted.
“Trey! Trey, are you hurt!” Millie squealed.
He waved her off and ignored the pain in his left hand. Time to try the right-handed thing. Suddenly, a shot sounded and he didn’t feel the bullet hit the tree. Surely Wes or Adam hadn’t missed.
“Jed! What’re you doing, you idiot!” Wes’ voice hollered.
Trey peeked out and saw Wes knelt over Adam, who lay sprawled out on his face. Jed stood behind him, his gun raised. Trey seized the opportunity and tackled Wes onto his stomach. “How much did you pay that bank teller to lie in court, huh?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Wes yelled into the mud.
Trey put his knee in the middle of Wes’ back and took his gun. “Me? You kidnapped my wife! What’s wrong with you?”
Wes stilled. “Wife? You married ‘er?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it. Now I want you to tell me any reason at all why I shouldn’t kill you right here” Trey said, pressing down harder of Wes’ back. “You were gonna let me hang for something you did, Wes.”
“I’m sorry. It was Adam…” Wes grunted out.
“Uh, huh. You always blamed thing on Adam. Well, Adam’s dead and so is your alibi. Come on, any more excuses?” Trey asked.
“Y-You’ll be charged with my murder” Wes said.
“Nope. You’re an outlaw. Besides, I’m already hanging tomorrow for murder” Trey said nonchalantly.
“Come one, Trey” Wes pleaded.
“Let’s take him in, Trey. Maybe Avery will listen to you now” Millie said from behind him.
Trey twisted around to look at her. “I don’t think he’s listening to anybody right now.”
“He isn’t?” A loud, booming voice said from the edge of the woods.
Trey followed the sound of the voice and spotted the subject of the conversation standing there with five or six men.
“How…?”
“How did I find you?” Avery interrupted. “I’m a very seasoned officer of the law, and as such I can smell trouble a mile away. Now get off of that man” Avery pointed a gun at Trey’s head.
“You’re not sticking him with another crime, Avery!” Millie yelled. “He’s hanging tomorrow! What more do you want?”
“He nearly killed me!” Avery argued.
“He had very good reason to! You’re the most annoying man ever known!” Millie stomped her foot, looking more like an angry teenager than an infuriated woman.
“You’re out of line, Miss Williams…er, Mrs. Shannon” Avery said.
“Let him be, Millie. I’ll go with him” Trey said, standing.
Wes tried to stand, but Trey pushed him back down with his boot. Wes fell back down into the mud with a grunt.
“Wes is the man who killed my father, I heard him admit it myself” Millie said, ignoring him.
Trey shook his head. “Woman! Will you ever listen to me?”
“I’m not letting you hang, Mr. Shannon!” Millie said. “You can sit around and wait for a miracle, but I’m gonna do something about it!”
“You’ll get thrown in jail like me, and then where will Quinn be? I’m not gonna trust Mariah to raise him” Trey said.
Millie clenched her fists and tightened her jaw. “But…”
“But nothing. I have to go” Trey scowled down at Wes and unbuckled his gun belt.
“Please, Sheriff. You’ve got to do something” Millie pleaded.
“Will another trial make you feel better?” Avery asked.
“Yes, I guess so” Millie said.
“I’ll see what I can do” Avery turned to his men. “Conner, get the one on the ground. Burton, you take the one over there.”
Jed walked up and handed over his gun. “Guess it’d be useless to fight it.”
Avery put handcuffs on Trey as one of his men brought Graceful from the woods. Millie felt tears sting behind her eyes as he mounted his horse. Maybe now the jury wouldn’t convict him of murder. At the moment, the only thing she wanted to see was Wes swinging from the end of a rope.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
The verse rang in her ear over and over. Why hadn’t she remembered that verse months ago? Why was she constantly wanting to see revenge for her father’s death when it wasn’t her place to give it? She needed to have a serious talk with her pastor when she arrived back in town.
*****
“What brings you here, Miss Williams?” Pastor Harper sat down beside Millie on the pew that she sat on toward the back of the little church.
“I need to speak with you” Millie said.
“I’ve got time” Pastor Harper said.
Millie sighed. “Guess you heard about the man they have in the town jail.”
“Yes, I also heard that he hurt the sheriff and escaped.”
“He was trying to save me. It’s all my fault that one man is dead and that Trey had to assault the sheriff and that he had to come after me” Millie leaned against the pew in front of her.
“How is that?”
“I married him” Millie blurted. “Because of that he was obligated to come save me from the real murderer. He’s not that outlaw anymore. I saw him change before my very eyes, and how he went from the cocky outlaw to loving father in just days. Why would God allow him to hang for something he didn’t do just as his life was changing for the better?”
Pastor Harper sighed. “We aren’t meant to understand God’s plan for us. His ways are so much better than ours. We just need to have faith in that.”
“Faith. What faith? My faith is about a thin as a piece of paper right now. If God cares so much about me, why is my husband going to hang?”
“”I thought there was going to be another trial” Pastor Harper said.
“Nothing will change. They’ll believe Alan Carter, and he’s getting paid to fib to them. What hope it there?” Millie felt hot tears stream down her cheeks.
“The hope that all things work together for good to them who love God, and those who are called according to His purpose” Pastor Harper paraphrased one of her father’s most beloved verses.
“Trey’s death doesn’t seem good to me, I’m afraid” she struggled a smile. “I’m… tired of feeling that Papa’s death has to be avenged in order for me to be happy again.”
“Would you like me to pray for you?” Pastor Harper asked.
Millie nodded and bowed her head as he prayed a long prayer for her. At the end, she stood and smiled. “Thanks for letting me talk to you. It was good to finally be able to vent things to someone.”
“I’m here any time you need me. Remember that no matter how crazy life gets, God is still the same as he was when things were going to smoothly” Pastor Harper told her.
“I will.”
Back at the orphanage, Millie sorely climbed the dimly lit front steps and turned to look down the street toward the jail.
God be with him. Help us both not to doubt You ever again
.
“Millie Williams! I cannot believe you! Wait, it’s Millie Shannon now, isn’t it?” Texiss’ voice said in her usual, demanding way.
“Yes, it is” Millie said, knowing that a lecture was coming.
“You married him? Of all the crazy things to do! You didn’t even ask me to be a part of it!” Texiss said.
Millie walked inside the orphanage and saw Cameron at the table with Caroline. “Hey, Cam” she greeted.
He nodded at her.
“Texiss, you have to understand that our marriage was meant to be a secret until after the trial. Speaking of which, how did you find out?” Millie asked.
“The whole town knows, Millie. Shannon told the sheriff so you might as well have put up a poster in Eli’s store” Texiss said.
“How did he find out?” Millie asked.
“I have no idea, but what I am wanting to know is who was at this wedding, where it was, and when” Texiss sat down beside Cameron at the table where several penciled pictures were scattered here and there.
“Clayton and Mariah stood beside us in Sunnyvale at the justice of the peace. It was nearly two weeks ago. I told Trey that I would let him turn himself in as long as he let me be his wife for one week. That was our deal” Millie said before sitting across from them.
“I heard that there’s gonna be another trial” Cameron said as Caroline fell asleep on his shoulder.
“Thanks to Sheriff Avery. I can’t believe that he convinced the judge of that” Millie said.
“Maybe he’s not such a bad guy. Maybe Trey just rubs him the wrong way” Cameron suggested.
“That’s entirely possible, but I don’t think Trey intentionally did it” Millie said thoughtfully.
“Coming to the trial tomorrow?” Cameron asked.
“Yes. Of course, they won’t let me in this time, but I can wait outside” Millie said, playing with a strand of hair.
There might just be a glimmer of hope after all.
*****
“Reckon they’re taking long enough?” Millie paced the ground in front of the courthouse, her heart pounding in her chest.
Texiss shifted Caroline on her hip and sighed. “It can’t take too much longer.”
“I’ll be cold in my grave by the time they get out of there” Millie scowled, turning on her heel to pace back toward Texiss.
“Patience is a virtue, Mil” Texiss said calmly.
If Cameron was the one on trial, Texiss wouldn’t be nearly as easy going. “I know, but it’s one virtue I’m a little short on right now.”
Suddenly, the courthouse doors open and the crowd exited. There weren’t as many as there were at the first trial, but there was still quite a crowd. Millie looked around for Cameron, who had been taking notes inside. When he finally exited the building, he was flipping through his notebook, his eyebrows close together as he figured.
“Well? What happened?” Millie asked, trying to keep from shaking the answer out of him.
“Wes was convicted of the murder of your father” Cameron said.
“So Trey won’t hang?” Millie held her breath.
“No.”
“Oh, thank you sweet Jesus!” Millie exclaimed.
“Wes will hang tomorrow” Cameron said.
Millie had a hard time feeling sympathetic, but she knew that Wes was as human as anyone else, and that even his life was valuable.
“What about Jed?” she asked.
“Jed was charged with kidnapping and robbery, and he’ll go to jail for 5 years for that” Cameron said.
Millie sighed. “What did they decide for Trey?”
“He… was convicted for robbery and assaulting an officer. He got eight years” Cameron said.
“That’s too long! Didn’t they take into consideration that he gave himself in?” Millie asked.
“Yes, and eight years is very lenient. I wouldn’t push my luck” Cameron said.
“I’m going to talk to him” Millie sidestepped Cameron, but he caught her arm.
“Fine. I’ll talk to him. I don’t think it’ll work though” he said.
“Thank you” Millie smiled.
Cameron went back inside to talk to the judge, and the sheriff brought Trey out at the same time.
“Trey!” Millie smiled and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.
Luckily, his hands weren’t handcuffed to he could catch her.
“I’ll never doubt God again” Millie said into his shoulder.
“Me either, sweet thing” he said, squeezing her tight.
“Come on, Shannon” Sheriff Avery said, his voice impatient.
“I’ll see you soon” Trey said as he sat her back down on the ground.
Millie nodded and smiled. Texiss walked up beside her and stared after her husband.
“I admit it. Even if I don’t really like him, I can see that he really loves you” she said.
“I know” Millie grinned.
They sat on the courthouse steps until they heard footsteps behind them. Wes and Jed were brought out and led over to the jail, the former with a not so pleasant look on his face. They were led over to the jail, and Millie stared after them. To think that Wes would die the next day wasn’t as pleasant to Millie as it would have been a few months ago.
Cameron came out just then and sat beside them.
“Well” he said.
“What’s the verdict?” Texiss asked.
“He reduced it down to six years” Cameron said.
Millie wasn’t too enthralled with the idea. “Surely he can get it down to at least four.”
“Millie” Cameron whined.
“Hang on” Millie hopped up and went inside before Cameron could stop her.
The judge sat at his desk, talking to Sam Hill and arranging papers.
“Judge Carpenter?” Millie spoke up.
Sam jerked his head up. “Miss Williams!”
“Can I help you, young lady?” Judge Carpenter asked.
“I want to speak with you about Trey Shannon” Millie said.
“There was a man in here a minute ago about him” Judge Carpenter said.
“I know. All I’m asking is for two more years” Millie said, approaching the high desk.
“Two more? I just took two off, isn’t that enough?” Judge Carpenter asked.
“It’s very generous, but you have to understand. Trey Shannon is an amazing father to a two year old boy who desperately needs him. He’s a husband with a wife who thinks she can’t live without him for one second, let alone that many years. She nearly lost him to a hanging, and she’s barely hangin’ in the balance” Millie pleaded.
The judge sighed. “Would you know this wife of his?”
“I’ve known her all my life” Millie said.
“I see. Five years, and that’s final” Judge Carpenter slammed down his gavel as if court were in session.
“Can I get that in writing?
Trey walked out of the sheriff’s office and breathed in the sweet fresh air. A prison wagon awaited him, but it didn’t look as gloomy as he thought it would. This was the beginning of his life for the next five years, and he might as well make the most of it.
“Trey” Sheriff Avery slapped him on the back. “I’m…I’m…”
“A good Sheriff” Trey finished.
Avery looked at him a narrowed his eyes. “Meaning?”
“Meaning what I said. Keep up the good work. Only try not to be so… annoying, huh?” Trey grinned, letting the sheriff know that he was teasing.
Avery laughed and shook his head. “Take care of yourself, Shannon.”
“I will” Trey said.
He turned to see Alan Carter standing there, fiddling nervously with his spectacles. “Mr. Shannon?”
“Yeah?” Trey asked.
“I’m-I’m sorry about testifyin’ agin you” Alan said.
“All’s well that ends well, Alan. Don’t give it a second thought” Trey smiled.
Truth was, he was at peace with his circumstances. Glancing down at his bandaged hand, he smiled. Maybe all things had worked together for good.
“Trey!” a sweet, buttery, Louisiana accented voice called to his right.
Trey turned to see his wife running across the street with a small book in her hands. Alan scampered off and the sheriff distanced himself to talk to the prison wagon driver.
Millie skidded to a top in front of him. “Here.” She gave him a small, leather bound Bible. “It was Papa’s, and I think he would want you to have it. Read it every day and think of me?”
“I’ll be thinking of you every second” Trey said, accepting the book from her.
Millie’s eyes filled with tears. “When you come back, I’ll be sure that your fields are full of corn so high even you can’t see over it.”
Trey smiled. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Millie put her arms around him and squeezed him tight. “I don’t want to let you go” she mumbled.
“Hey” Trey pulled her away just so he could see her face and wipe her tears. “I will come back to you. I don’t care how much distance separates us, or how much time has passed. I will always come back, okay?”
Millie nodded and sniffed.
Trey leaned down and kissed her. Gently first, then deeper when she responded to his liking. They pulled apart and gave each other one last hug before the guards came for Trey.
“I love you” she called after him.
He smiled and mouthed the words in return. He memorized the moment to remember until he saw her again.
Millie stared after Trey, her heart breaking as tears spilled down her cheeks. She would never forget the moment when he was shoved into the prison and carted away like an animal with Jed right beside him. She slowly walked behind the wagon until it disappeared out of town, leaving a dust trail behind it.
“Come back to me safe, Trey. Don’t change on me” she whispered. “I will come back to you. I don’t care how much distance separates us, or how much time has passed. I will always come back” she repeated his words over and over until people started complaining that she stood in the middle of the street
“I will always come back.”
Several Months Later
Mariah and Jess leaned against the bedroom door where Millie seemed to be at war with herself.
“Trey, I’ll murder you as soon as I see you again!” she hollered.
Then a cry of pain sounded throughout the halls of the Shannon Plantation.
“Oh, Trey. I wish you were here with me! Come home, please. Please. Please!”
Then another cry of pain.
“Oh! I’ll kill him for doing this to me! Why did he leave me in such a way! I’m gonna kill him!” She yelled harshly.
Several more cries sounded before she spoke again.
“Trey! I’ll kill you if you don’t come home now! I need you! Somebody please help me!” Millie pleaded.
“Reckon she’s gonna be okay?” Jess asked.
Mariah rubbed her large belly, round with the little one she carried. “I’m sure she will. Sure wish Mr. Shannon were here.”
“Me too. He seemed to know how to calm her down” Jess agreed.
“It won’t be long now.” Mariah smiled. “I can feel it.”