BE READY TO HAVE YOUR WORLD ROCKED!
~SARA
"You?" Rage circled through me, aching for a release which I could not give. "Why? Why would you do such a thing? They were no threat to anyone, why would you do that!"
"Stop shoutin' woman!" His harsh rebuke stoked fire within me, but I feared if I berated him I would not get the answers I now so desperately needed. Al fidgeted, seeming to want to get away from me but held in place by a force I did not yet understand.
"I woulda been happy to let you be, an' never lay eyes on you again, but Toby..." he stopped speaking for a moment, his eyes wandering off into the distance. "He wanted you back awful bad, an' so I tol' him I'd see what I could do."
"Why would you care? You've made it clear you hate me...I'm not even certain it wasn't you that did this to me!"
"Ifin I was the one, we wouldn't be havin' this chat, squaw...but I owe Tobe my life." He said it shortly, as if hating the fact he was indebted to anyone for anything. "He saved me twice when he didn't hafta, risked his neck for me...I owe him for that. He wants you back, misses you somethin' fierce, so I'm bringin' you back."
"How'd you know where I was?"
"Your ma. She saw that buck snatch you an' ride for the horizon."
"And the soldiers?" I pushed harder, images of Wind Runner and Stalking Elk flashing through my mind. "What about them? Were they necessary to return me home, Al Baily? That village was full of innocent men-"
"What do I care about a bunch of red savages? They'll all be on reservations by winter anyhow...they lost a long time ago. Some jest ain't accepted it yet." He looked meaningfully at me then, and I met his stare directly. "'Sides, them soldiers was Tobe's idea. He heard they was ridin' through an' let 'em know you been kidnapped, that we was lookin' for a missin' girl from a white family, that's all they needed to hear."
"He let them think I was white?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but Al merely shrugged. Confusion and denial swirled through me, but I was too weak to struggle with it for long. We sat in silence while he fished out the makings for a cigarette, and I watched him make it.
"How did he save your life?" I finally asked.
The question hung between us while Al struck a match, lighting his smoke. He puffed clouds of blue for a moment, the took the stub from his lips, studying the glowing end for a moment. I began to think he would not answer me then he did.
"We was runnin' from the law after a stage hold up, an' I was shot off my horse. Hit the ground an' figured my time was up. Tobe swung around for me and brought my horse back, layin' down cover fire while I pulled myself back into the saddle. Once we put some miles away, he patched me up an' stayed with me 'til I was well."
"Robbing a stage?" shaking my head, I tried to see if he was telling the truth. "You and Toby were outlaws?"
"For a time," Al nodded. "We held up stages, robbed a few banks, had some laughs...and some women."
"You're lying."
He came off the ground fast, his fist up ready to strike. It was in me to fear him, but I strove not to let it show, keeping my eyes on his.
"I won't put up with no half breed squaw callin' me out. I got no use to make up stories to lie about. Believe me or not, but don't you dare cast shadow on my word."
"And the second time?" Deciding it best not to antagonize him further, I moved on. "What happened then?"
"Savages." He said it forcefully, staring at me with malicious dislike. I began to feel as though he blamed me for every negative encounter he had with the natives of this land. When I did not press further, he smirked at my silence.
"You don't ask 'bout that huh? Reckon you know how them devils treat a white man."
"That's not-"
"Don't matter. My number was up... chips cached in, then Tobe showed up outta nowhere guns blazin'. I figured him gone for good, us splittin' up the way we did with the bank money in his bags. That war party jumped me out on the plains, snatched me without me knowin' I was caught 'til it was too late," he stood up again suddenly, turning his back as he threw the remnants of his cigarette into the fire. "It does somethin' to a man, to be worked over that way, changes 'im."
When he stopped speaking I lay in silence, watching the strange, brooding, sullen man who'd unexpectedly shown up to bring me home. I could not imagine his life, and had to no wish to know of it, but somehow I was now viewing him as a human being, whereas before I saw Al Baily as little more than a vicious animal. His assertion was unbelievable, but yet, I had a sinking feeling he was not lying.
"If you were outlaws, why are you working for my father?"
His eyes bored steadily into mine for a moment, then he smiled grimly half shrugging.
"Ain't a healthy way of livin'...sleepless, runnin', robbin, killin'...it's only a turn of luck that we dodged the hangman's noose this long."
"Was it Toby's idea, or yours?" I asked, watching his nostrils flare.
"What do you care?" He challenged me, and I was too tired to argue further.
"I don't."
Sleep came subtly, and I was blinking my eyes open before realizing I'd fallen asleep. I was gently rocking and looking about, realized Al had fashioned a travois from blankets and branches, and had put me on it. In this way I felt little pain and we would not be delayed in getting home. Everything from last night felt like a dream, and for a moment I was certain it had not happened, until Al spoke.
"Missed breakfast," he said sourly from in front of me, somehow knowing I was awake. "Ifin' you're hungry, you'll wait 'til we stop."
I was hungry, and hated him all the more for his blunt treatment of me. Yet in this way I was more at ease, and with the steady motion of the sled, fell back to sleep. When I woke gain, it was night and Al was faced away from me. The scent of frying meat was accompanied by the sharp sizzle of flesh on flame. I shifted a little, noting I had less pain than before.
"If you wanna eat, now's the time," he spoke without looking around. "I ain't makin' exceptions for no half breed."
"I am hungry,"
He brought the plate to me but almost tossed it on the ground rather than hand it to me. With a sour look, I picked it up, picking at the seared steak with my fingers. There was silence between us, a thick, heavy silence that grew heavier as time passed. Finally I set the plate down and looked over at Al, startled to find him already staring at me. Wanting to know the truth made me speak.
"Does Toby ride with you, or do you follow him?" I asked, watching his eyes narrow. I wasn't certain he would continue our conversation, then he answered.
"We sorta stick together I reckon, but like I said," spitting into the dust he shook his head. "I owe 'im."
"So you stay with him, until your debt is repaid?" It was said softly, for dangerous light was flashing in his eyes but Al nodded.
"You said Toby asked you to find me..." I was hating myself for this, but suddenly everything I thought I knew was on shaky ground. "Does- does anyone know who shot me, or why?"
"Yup." His short answer made my eyes fix to his face, but I couldn't read his inscrutable expression. Seeing my confusion, he shook his head. "Don't ask. You ain't tough enough for the truth."
"I am."
His eyes studied me, as if gauging the sincerity of my words. Al's eyes were brown, a very dark brown that blended with the deep black of his pupils.
"You near killed me that day," his remark startled me, and for a moment I didn't know what he was talking about. Half smiling, half grimacing, he rubbed his jaw. "I never knew a girl could shoot so well, I couldn't chew for a week."
"We were children," my answer was soft, remembering the hatred I felt then, and knowing that deep inside I felt much the same toward him now.
"We was," suddenly he looked back at me all trace of softness gone. "But we ain't now. You want the truth? Fine, here it is. Toby shot you that day, he was aimin' for that savage but you spoilt it an' he's been boilin' up inside ever since. Happy?"
"What! He told you that?" my voice was high pitched as shock rippled through me in cold, powerful waves. "Toby Whitney shot me? Does Frank know that?"
"Don't be stupid!" His harsh response provoked a snarl from me but Al ignored it. "Colter ever found out Tobe'd be shot dead, or hung. He only told me 'cause he knew I'd be lookin' around and would recognize his sign. I'm a better tracker anyhow, an' he wanted me to find you, bring you back."
I felt the blood drain from my face at his words, unable to believe what he'd said but equally unable to deny them. I started to shake my head but then my muscles wouldn't stop and I half lay there, quivering uncontrollably. Al watched impassively, neither worried or compelled to comfort me. At last I managed to force a single sound from my lips.
"Why?"
"He got tired of waitin', I reckon. Tobe," here he grinned, a sly, sneering expression. "He's mighty particular 'bout his women. He don't like to share."
"Share?" I felt heat rise to my cheeks, watching Al smirk at me. "Who said that I was his to claim?"
"I figure that's somethin' you're goin' to hafta sort out with him, Jaynie Colter. He's got his sights laid on you, an' that ain't a good thing, bein' that you ain't been too convincin' on dissuadin' his attentions. I seen his way with girls, an' how he talks honey to 'em until the trap springs shut, then he's got a mighty heavy hand and uses it often."
"There's no understanding between us-"
"Don't matter. He wants you now."
"You approve?"
"Don't matter what I think, once Tobe sets his mind to somethin', he gets it."
"Does he..." rage was boiling inside me, smothering every soft, warm thought I'd ever had for Toby Whitney. "We shall see."