Texas: April 1880 (3 months after leaving windfall)
"Wow a real outlaw camp.... I've read about these but I never actually thought I'd see one!" Langly said with a mixture of awe and excitement as he looked around at the dirty tents, small fires and filthy weather worn men lounging around. There were also women there that made Langly blush with the amount of skin they were showing. These women were wearing blouses that hung off their shoulders and skirts much shorter than was considered proper. Their hair was loose and some of them had big hoop earrings dangling from their ears.
"Those are what we like to call man's best friend." Jeremiah said following his gaze to one of the dark haired beauties.
"Are they whores?" Langly whispered, though not quietly enough to keep several men from looking in their direction and snickering.
"Keep your voice down, Langly, you're supposed to be an outlaw now not some wet behind the ears kid." Jeremiah scolded and Langly flushed and tried to sit up a little straighter in his saddle. "In answer to your question, yes they're whores but you ain't gotta pay 'em for their services. All they want is food and a place to sleep and they're happy."
"Mama would shit a brick if she knew where we were." Langly said with a grin. Jeremiah shook his head.
"You better not ever tell her or your damn pa! I'd like to not be shot dead on the spot."
"Pa wouldn't really shoot you dead." Langly argued and Jeremiah just shrugged. Langly couldn't seem to wipe the smile from his face. The last few months had been the most fun he'd ever had. He and Jeremiah had traveled miles every day. Camped for weeks just hunting, playing cards and having no responsibilities. They'd spent nights in some towns along the way and won a lot of money at the poker tables.
Langly had seen quite a few whores at these saloons but he'd never used any, just the same as he wouldn't use any of these at this camp. There were some things he knew he would never do because of his mama and Kaitlyn's pasts and that was one of them.... Even if these women did seem more than willing, Langly figured there wasn't a woman alive who grew up hoping to be a whore... Any women who chose that line of work did so because they were forced into a corner and saw no other way.
"Jeremiah!" A booming voice called out from behind them. The men turned to look back from atop their horses and saw a large man, easily six and a half feet tall with a belly to rival the biggest of bellies. He was clearly part Indian and his long black hair whipped around in the light breeze beneath his bowler hat. He had a long gray and white owl feather sticking out of his hat and beads on the long strands of his hair. His face was covered in pockmark scars and he had a smile that made him appear close to laughter.
"Hawkins! How are you doing?" Jeremiah asked as he jumped from his horse. Langly followed suit and stretched out his aching legs.
"I'm doing good, Jeremiah, doin' good. Where's Duke at? You two are usually connected at the hip."
"Pa always said that Jeremiah was stuck on Duke's backside." Langly said with a chuckle. Hawkins turned and looked at him with that same jovial smile.
"And who might you be, kid?" he asked.
"This is Langly, my nephew." Jeremiah answered for him as Langly held out his hand. Hawkins eyed his hand with amusement before shaking it quickly.
"I didn't know Marston had a youngin."
"Three actually." Langly replied quickly. "He adopted me and Kaitlyn and then he and my mama had Lucy...."
"That's enough." Jeremiah said sharply and then when both Langly and Hawkins eyed him curiously, he shrugged. "The man doesn't care about y'alls life story."
"I'll tell you what, Jeremiah, I got some stuff to be doing but once you and the boy get settled you'll have to come over by my tent and join me for a while. It's been a while since we've had a chance to talk."
"You betcha." Jeremiah replied and then he led Langly away. Langly stepped over the legs of a sleeping man with a big handlebar mustache as he led his black gelding by the reins and followed his uncle.
"You need to learn a few things, Langly." Jeremiah said matter of factly. "Not a single man here is your friend. Every single one of them would gladly sacrifice your ass just to keep their own necks out of a noose. Don't be playing buddy buddy with them and telling them all about your life or your family. Most of these men would gladly find your family, murder the men, rape your mama, sisters and Carol and then burn everything you own to the ground after taking what they could of value."
"We ain't that bad." A very short man with long white hair and a slick spot on the center of his head said as he shoved between them and continued on his way.
"Maybe not all of them are that bad." Jeremiah amended. "But some of them are so it's better to just take zero chances. That's always been my motto. I don't trust nobody and the only two people I ever opened up to were Marston and Duke."
"So trusting is a no-no." Langly mumbled as he leaped in the air to avoid stepping on a small black dog running around his feet. "What are we doing here if you don't trust anyone?"
"Because I like that." Jeremiah replied with a grin. Langly followed his gaze and saw the tall big breasted brunette wearing nothing but a corset and a short petticoat.
"Oh." he said flatly.
"That's what makes a boy a man." Jeremiah added with a laugh. Langly just followed his uncle through the camp. Men were laughing, cracking vulgar jokes, cursing, spitting, playing poker and bloody games of five finger. Feminine moans of pleasure and male grunting could be heard from inside the dirty panels of cloth that made up the tents.
What had he gotten himself into? After months of traveling with his uncle and having more fun than he'd ever had he was now in a camp with what seemed to be hundreds of cutthroat outlaws and he was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.
He hadn't realized just how sheltered his mama and Marston had kept him but he was definitely realizing it now; had been realizing it ever since leaving home. Truthfully going home sounded like a really good thing to do but what kind of man left home to be his own man only to go crawling back months later begging to be taken back in? After the hurt he'd seen on Marston's face as he'd ridden away, the least he could do was make the trip worthwhile and go back with something to talk about. Some sort of manly experience like his pa, Duke and Pete all had.
"We can set up right here." Jeremiah sighed with relief as he found an empty spot and looked around. "We'll stay here a couple days and then we'll move on. Life in an outlaw camp is something every young man should experience at least once in his life."
"If you say so." Langly muttered as he watched two men tackle each other into the mud.
"I do." Jeremiah nodded as he pulled a flask from his pocket and took a long swallow. The two men went about setting up camp and then Jeremiah led Langly back through the crowd.
"Where we going?" Langly asked.
"Hawkins invited us to come talk at his fire. When Hawkins invites you over you're best bet is to take him up on that. He'll include you on big jobs that'll make ya big money if you do."
"Life stories: no. Chatting with Hawkins: yes. See I'm catching on to all of this outlaw stuff already."
"The fact that you call it outlaw stuff tells me that I still got my work cut out for me." Jeremiah replied with a shake of his head.
"You damn beast horse!" A feminine voice yelled out and Langly turned toward the sound to see a sight unlike any he had ever seen before.
A young woman, probably about the same age as him was fighting with a large Palomino stallion that was struggling against the lead rope attached to his halter. She was being drug around in ever direction while she fought to dig her buckskin boots into the mud to keep her footing. Langly let his eyes wander up from her mid-calf high boots, to her fringed buckskin pants that hugged her legs and rear, and a tight white blouse that hugged her curved chest and tiny waist before tucking into those damn trousers that were still stealing his attentions.... Her hair was brown with bursts of gold running through it and it was full of waves and wild on her head like the mane of some kind of big cat.
Her face was flushed with anger and her eyes, which appeared to be a rare color of violet, were narrowed as she fought against the animal that clearly outweighed and out-muscled her.
Langly broke away from his uncle who was still going on a rant about how he was going to have to teach Langly a thing or two about being a man. He made his way quickly to the woman and grabbed the lead rope at the horses head firmly. He clicked his tongue and whispered soothingly as he ran his hand over the stallions light mane and instantly the giant horse quieted.
"Well I'll be damned." the woman said as she grabbed a black hat from the ground and wiped it against her pants leg before placing it on her head. "I guess he likes men a bit more than he likes women."
"Ya just gotta talk real sweet to some of them is all, ma'am." Langly replied as he took off his hat, tucked it under his arm and then held out his hand. The woman looked down at his hand and then burst out laughing as she took the rope. Langly stared at her tiny nose, her arched brows, those violet eyes beneath those long lashes.... Her top was a little too thin compared to her bottom lip but they were both rosy red and she had a stubborn little dimple in her chin.
"Where the hell did you find this kid at, Jeremiah?" she exclaimed. Kid? Langly was offended. There was no way this woman was any older than he was.
"He's my nephew, Jessie... Damn you're all grown up." Jeremiah replied as he walked over and joined them.
"Yep. I finally grew some boobs to fill my shirts out." she agreed with a nod. Langly just stood there feeling confused, embarrassed and awkward as he watched this woman who looked so much like an angel, cussing and talking vulgar with his outlaw uncle.
"Watcha doin' with your pas horse?" Jeremiah asked as he looked at the Palomino.
"Pa got himself shot up and killed." Jessie replied with a shrug. "So I took the horse. It was the only damn thing of value that bastard had." Jeremiah laughed but Langly didn't really see how what she had said was that funny.
"You got some time? We were fixin to go over to Hawkins fire for a while." Jeremiah said and Jessie shook her head.
"I've been here a few days and I was actually fixin to move on but this damn thing was fighting with me. He's a bit calmer now thanks to your nephew here... What is your name?" Jessie asked as she looked Langly up and down. Langly flushed bright red. He wasn't used to having a woman look him over quite like that. It was as if she was sizing up cattle at an auction.
"Uh... Langly, ma'am." he replied and then he dropped his hand as he realized he'd still been holding it out and his ears burned.
"You might want to keep an eye on him, Jeremiah." Jessie said with a chuckle and a very unladylike snort. "He seems a little green." She laughed as she patted Langly on the back and then jumped up into the saddle of the big stallion.
"Ma'am...." she said and then she burst out laughing as she rode away. Langly watched her ride off and then felt Jeremiah's hand land sharply on the back of his head.
"What the hell was that about?" Jeremiah demanded.
"She... She looked so..." Langly couldn't figure out how to say what he wanted to say and Jeremiah laughed.
"That's Jessie. Her pa raised her up right. She looks like some kind of innocent angel but that damn woman can cheat at poker with the best of them. She can drink most men under the table and handle a set of irons better than anyone I know. She cusses, spits, smokes and she's dangerous because she knows how pretty she is. I suggest steering clear of that one, Langly. You're better off spending your time with more honest women who tell you upfront what they want for an hour of their time."
"How old is she?" Langly asked, still watching the now empty path Jessie had disappeared down.
"I can't say for sure... 'Bout your age, maybe a year younger or a year or two older. That don't matter though because she is gone now." Jeremiah replied as he threw his arm around Langly's shoulders. "Now come on let's get to Hawkins' fire."
Langly nodded and let his uncle lead him away though his mind was still on that woman. She was unlike any woman he'd ever seen before and she had laughed at him for being polite and calling her ma'am! She had also called him a kid! Neither of those things were things that he liked and he'd like the chance to give her a piece of his mind. Though he knew he could never be rude. Not to a woman.
"Jeremiah! Nice of you to join me!" Hawkins exclaimed loudly, jerking Langly from his thoughts. "Have a seat both of ya and lets play catch up." Langly sat down on a rock beside his uncle and felt very awkward in this group of tough burly men. His pa would fit in here but he didn't quite so much. He was tall but kind of scrawny and he still had that stupid red hair and those childish freckles.
"What's your name? I didn't get it earlier." Hawkins asked him and Langly smiled and held out his hand.
"Langly is my name, sir." he replied and again Hawkins stared at his hand with amusement.
"You sure are a polite one." he said with a chuckle and Langly quickly pulled back his hand.
"Hawkins come here a minute!" A man called from across the camp and Hawkins nodded.
"I'll be right back, y'all help yourself to my whiskey." he said before standing and walking away.
"What in the world is wrong with being polite?" Langly demanded of his uncle while Jeremiah grabbed the large jug and pulled out the cork.
"Nothing, necessarily." he replied as he stuck his nose to the mouth of the jug and then let out a cough as his eyes began to water.
"Apparently there's something wrong with it because I keep getting laughed at." Langly argued.
"Your pa can pull of the polite outlaw thing because just the sight of that giant bastard scares the shit out of people but you... You aren't all that scary lookin'."
"Kiss my ass." Langly grumbled as he kicked at a tuft of grass by his boot.
"The truths' the truth." Jeremiah replied with a shrug and then he took a big swig of whiskey and instantly began to gasp for breath and pat on his chest. Langly's eyes widened.
"Are you okay?" he gasped and then Hawkins came back laughing.
"He's just fine.... That's some good whiskey and it'll put hair on your chest where there wasn't none before." he replied as he sat down. "You want some?" he added and Langly shook his head.
"No, thank you." he said and then he noticed the way that both Jeremiah and Hawkins looked at him and cleared his throat. "I mean hell no I don't' want none of that rotgut." Jeremiah laughed but Hawkins studied Langly a moment before turning his shoulder to him and talking to Jeremiah.
Langly realized he had just been seen as unworthy for this conversation and he found himself offended as hell but what could he do about it? He picked up a stick and began tracing patterns into the mud while hearing snatches of conversations from the men all around them. One conversation in particular caught his attention.
"I'm not sure what's wrong with this thing." a man said.
"What's it doing?" another asked. Langly turned his head to see the two men studying the revolver in the first man's hands.
"It just keeps wanting to seize up on me. It doesn't want to cock right... It's gonna get me killed is what it's gonna do."
Langly offered no explanations to Jeremiah or Hawkins before standing and walking over to the two men.
"Can I take a look at it?" he asked and the men sneered at him.
"Who the hell are you?" The first man demanded before spitting a mouthful of tobacco at Langly's feet.
"I'm Marston Jacob's boy and I'd like to take a look at that revolver. My pa taught me a thing or two about working on them."
"You're Marston's kid?" the first man asked, but now instead of irritation, Langly was sure he heard awe in the mans voice.
"Yeah that's right." Langly replied holding his head high as he realized the angle he could use to get a little respect around here. The first man handed the gun over to Langly and Langly inspected it carefully.
"I see your problem... I could get this lined back up for ya if you wanted me to." he said finally and the first man nodded.
"Hell yeah! I'd be willin to pay ya to do it to cuz that things gonna get me killed if it's not fixed soon."
"Not a problem." Langly replied with a shrug as he finally felt a little more in his element. He knew the ins and outs of gun repair. Langly walked away from the men and back to where he and Jeremiah had left their horses. Langly dug around in his saddlebags until he found the leather satchel full of gun smith supplies.
He didn't even realize that an audience was gathering around him as he worked on the revolver. This is when he felt peaceful... With a cold piece of metal and wood in his hands being brought back to life under his touch. Finally he reassembled everything and nodded with satisfaction.
He looked up and realized that quite a few men were standing around watching him, including Jeremiah and Hawkins and the owner of the gun. Langly stood and gave the revolver back to its rightful owner.
"That should work better now." he said and the man smiled.
"Only one way to be sure." he replied and he quickly fired off six shots and emptied the revolver into the sky. "Hot damn!" he exclaimed. "That felt like a brand new gun! You are something else!"
"Thank you." Langly said with a proud grin, forgetting all about being rude. The man dug in his pockets and gave Langly a handful of change.
"I'll make sure folks know about you.. What's your name?"
"Langly Jacobs." Langly replied deciding to go by the name he'd taken when he had thought Marston was dead. The man nodded again and the crowd cleared. Hawkins walked over to Langly and patted him on the back.
"Well damn, kid, maybe you'll find a place around here after all."