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The three men who had ridden with them from Willow Creek gave her one last look before heading down the hill toward town. Not that she cared. If she ever saw them again, she hoped it was for the lynching they deserved.
Walter turned in his saddle and looked at her. His eyes held that hard glint she saw most of the time, but today, it seemed more cold.
“You say one word about what went on in Willow Creek and I’ll have Pete and his friends go back and burn the whole damn town to the ground. We clear?”
She bit her tongue to keep from saying something she would regret, and nodded instead.
“Good. Now, let’s go. I’m ready for a bath and a hot meal.” His gaze raked over her from head to toe. “A little company would be nice as well. It’s been a long damn time.” He smiled, and that hard look in his eye turned to one of lust. “I’ve sorely missed you, Morning Dove.”
He reached out and ran a finger over her cheek, and it took everything in her not to pull away.
Walter clicked his tongue to get his horse moving, and she followed behind him all the way to town. She saw no one until they passed in front of the blacksmith’s shop. The blacksmith stepped out the door and stopped when he noticed them. Walter did not even glance the man's way, choosing to ignore him. Morning Dove looked at him, though. If he was shocked to see her, it didn’t show. She knew nothing about the man but wondered if he’d tell anyone she was back. Not that it mattered. They had ignored her situation for years. She did not see that changing anytime soon.
It took another twenty minutes to reach Walter’s cabin on the outskirts of town. It was still as homely as it was the last time she saw it. The chickens still pecked at what little grass grew under the shade of the trees that surrounded the house. The small barn behind it still looked like one hard wind from blowing down, and the house was not any better.
Her bones ached when she climbed down from Cash’s saddle and had to hang on to him a minute before trusting her legs to hold her up enough to step away.
Walter threw his horse’s reins toward her and said, “Go bed them down for the night and draw water for my bath.”
She did not argue with him, but stared through the trees, back toward the road, wondering how far she would get if she climbed back onto Cash’s saddle and left. Seeing the three who had been riding with them at the makeshift saloon at the edge of town when they passed by told her not far. With her luck, they would see her and chase her down and make her wish she had stayed with Walter. Not to mention what Walter would do if he caught her running. He had threatened for years to horse whip her. If she ran again, she knew he would make those threats a reality.
Clicking her tongue at the horses, she led them around the side of the cabin to the small barn that sat near the back of the property. She settled Walter’s horse before turning her attention to Cash. Just looking at him hurt her heart. He would be a constant reminder of what she had lost but as long as she had him, she had a part of Ben.
His saddle bags were heavy. Once she had Cash settled into a stall, she looked toward the house before looking inside them. There was all manner of stuff tucked inside the leather, but it was Ben’s clothes she snatched up. She brought his shirt to her face and inhaled the scent that lingered on the fabric. Tears pricked her eyes the moment his scent filled her nose. She could not stop the tears then, nor did she try. She cried broken sobs until her heart ached and felt raw and bruised.
When her tears were under control, she lifted her head from Ben’s shirt and stared at Cash. She should get back on him and ride away.
She glanced toward the house. Most of her life, she had lived in fear of Walter. That fear kept her compliant, but she had grown over the past year. She was not that scared little girl she used to be. Aaron and Betsey gave her the freedom to become the woman she wanted to be, but … if Walter caught her trying to run away…
I’d rather die than stay here.
Tonight. Morning Dove stared at Ben’s saddlebags, then looked down at his shirt in her hands. He would want you to be brave.
“Where’s that water, girl!”
Morning Dove jumped and turned to the house, shoving Ben’s shirt behind her back.
“What are you doing out there?”
“I am almost finished.”
“Well, hurry it up. I’m next to starving in here.”
She stuffed Ben’s shirt back into the bags and sat them near the back wall. She made quick work of getting Cash settled and had to make several trips back and forth to the well to collect enough water to heat for Walter’s bath.
He did nothing the entire time but sit in front of the cold fireplace and clean a handgun…Ben’s gun. He caught her staring, and she turned away, back to the stove. Watching water heat was preferable to Walter’s company, anyway.
She searched the pantry for something to cook while the water continued to heat and had something warmed for him and ready to eat before she got all the water heated.
Pouring the bath, she ignored him while he ate and hoped he did not intend on her washing him, but the way he was staring at her, she imagined that was exactly what he was thinking.
The days seemed to blur into one and Ben got lost twice, having to divert to a couple of small towns in order to find Silver Falls. Luckily, neither had a saloon because his withdrawals were so bad now, he would have drunk himself under the table if he'd been able to access anything alcoholic.
Sweat poured from him and soaked his shirt. He leaned his head from side to side, trying to work out the kinks in his neck. His back was stiff, his ass sore from sitting in the saddle for so long. The promise of a hot meal and a soft bed were enough to keep him going.
The road leading into town was narrow and surrounded by trees so even though he couldn’t see much, he heard water long before he left the forest lined road.
When Wind Chaser stepped out of the trees, he saw the source of all that water he’d been hearing. The waterfall Aaron and Morning Dove had talked about was as magnificent as they’d claimed it was. He stared at it as Wind Chaser continued into town, wondering what it looked like from the top of the mountain.
