AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded and got on the horse behind him.
They moved out of the campsite with Jake hollering all the while. Matt heard him but determined to ignore him. "Damn son of a gun, running our horses off like that."
Jake snarled.
They rode for what seemed like miles through brush and bushes and with only one horse. After a while, he told her to get off, and they walked the horse. It was nearly dark when he stopped, he saw that she was tired, but she didn’t complain. "Sorry you can't ride for a while; the horse needs to cool down a bit" he told her. "We have to get as far away from camp as we can."
She nodded.
They moved through the wooded area for a long time, until they could no longer see in front of them. It was a dense forest and weaving in and out of the tree lines, they seemed to make good time. Only weariness drove them to make camp. By then they were miles away. There w
as no sign of anyone following. He had a good start on them if they did.
"Will they follow?" Snow Bird asked as she brought wood for a fire and began making coffee for them. Matt was a bit miffed at her. She accepted their escape easily enough, and she did things without being told, he liked that. He didn't have to tell her to build a fire, or make coffee, she did it without hesitation. It was in their favor that she was well versed in the forest too. Still, she said very little and he wasn't sure about her either.
"They will, but I don't know for how long. We got a good head start on them. It'll be tomorrow before Toby gets back and that gives us some time. If he's drunk when he gets back, it will be two days before they start out to find us. And they'll waste some time getting their horses back too." He smiled at her. "I didn't take their money, and the only thing I got they want is you. I guess it all depends on how bad they want you."
"They think you will tell. That is why they will come. It is not me."
"Yeah, I know. But if they catch up to us, you'll be in trouble."
"Would you tell?" She asked eyeing him closely for an answer.
"No, we aren't headed back down the mountain, there is no use telling now."
She didn't smile but she regarded him sadly.
"Where do we go?"
He shot her a quick glance, as his lips turned upward. "I'm taking you back to your people." He announced as though he knew it all along.
She raised up from the fire and stared at him. "You would do this?" Her eyes widened with shock.
"That's the plan." He grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee. "I figure I gotta right some of the wrongs we did."
"Why?" She asked, perplexed. Her eyes were wide, and she had no idea how beautiful it made her look. "I do not understand you."
"Well," he took a sip of his coffee, then leaned back on a tree trunk. "They killed a man at the store, I can't change that. But taking you, I can change. I can see you get back to your people. You told Toby you were married to a buck back at your camp, didn't you?"
"Yes." She replied, watching him, her expression leery.
"Is it true?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll take you back to your husband. It's where you belong. You do want to go, don't you?" Matt asked her simply as he sipped the coffee.
She turned her head, as though puzzled by his decision, or not certain of her answer one.
"Why?"
"Why what?" He glanced up at her now as he settled against a tree trunk.
"Why would you bother with me? Why would you bother taking me home?" she eyes him suspiciously.
"I just told you, to right some of the wrong, and to get you back where you belong."
Matt was quiet a moment, then scrutinized her. He leaned to look at her. "Despite how it looks, I wasn't brought up like them. When they stole you from that Supply Store, that was about the last straw. All they originally wanted was a cook, but I saw the looks they were giving you. And they weren't decent. I knew what they wanted. That was the beginning of my leaving them. Then Jake killed that fellow. I didn't like that either. I didn't know the man, but I still didn't like it. I couldn't stop that, and I wish I could have. But it's done. You’re a married woman, you belong with your family, your husband…"
