AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because no one cares what happens to my people. They will not punish someone for killing them.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
She said nothing else, and he hoped he was right. It was true most saw the Native people as expendable. Thought of them as less than…but regardless of the prejudice most carried, they still had a right to live peacefully and if it was the last thing he did, he’d see that Walter paid for what he did to Morning Dove and her family.
Chapter Sixteen
Walter was waiting outside the jailhouse when they made it to town. His arm was in a sling, but the scratches she had clawed all over his face were nothing more than thin red lines now.
She ignored his angry glare, keeping her eyes averted as they dismounted and tied their horses' reins to the hitching post.
It took nearly two weeks for Ben to heal enough that Doctor Tibbens thought it was all right for him to get out of bed to meet with Marshal Lincoln. He was still in pain. He tried to hide the fact, but Morning Dove could see it in the strained lines on his face when he moved a certain way. It did not look as if going home, assuming Ben was not arrested for Walter’s lies, would happen anytime soon. It had taken three tries for Ben to climb onto Cash’s back. There was no way he could travel, however long it took to get back to Willow Creek in his condition.
Josiah Lincoln had been the Marshal in Silver Falls for as long as Morning Dove had been there. She had only said a few words to him over the years, mostly answering the questions he had about the bruises she always wore, thanks to Walter.
He nodded his head to them when he stepped back from the door, ushering them all inside.
Walter did not even wait for the door to shut before he blurted out, “I want him arrested, Marshal. He stole my wife and tried to kill me.”
Ben laughed at the accusation and turned one of the chairs sitting in front of the desk around and motioned for her to sit. “Not one part of that is true,” he said. “And you know it.”
Walter's face went a funny shade of red. “It is, I tell ya! He took her from my own yard and ran off with her.”
Marshal Lincoln told Ben to take the chair beside Morning Dove before he rounded his desk and grabbed his chair, pulling it to the front. He slid it toward Walter. “Sit, Walter. We’ll sort this out, so calm down.”
“Calm down?” he yelled. He raised his good arm and pointed at Ben. “That man stole my wife!”
Ben took her hand and squeezed until she met his gaze. He said nothing, but they had already talked about what they would say and her telling the Marshal what Walter had done was something Ben insisted she do. As much as she hated reliving those memories, she knew he was right.
Tightening her hold on his hand, she lifted her head. “Walter is not my husband, Marshal. He never has been.”
“That’s a lie, girl, and you know it!”
Marshal Lincoln threw a look Walter’s way. “Be quiet, Walter. You’ll get a chance to speak after I hear what it is she has to say.” He nodded at her and told her to go on with her story.
She inhaled a calming breath and toyed with the fringe on her dress. “Walter took me from my people when I was eleven.” She met the Marshal's gaze and straightened her spine. “He has never been my husband. He has kept me prisoner since the day he killed my family.”
Morning Dove recounted the events leading to her parents death. She avoided looking at Walter, but could see him out of the corner of her eye. Judging the color of his face, she would say he grew more livid with every word she said.
When she got to the part of the story where Walter had found her in Willow Creek, Marshal Lincoln’s attention went to Ben. “Is that where you got the marks on your neck?”
“Yes.” Ben threw a glare Walter’s way. “He hung me and left me for dead.”
“Lies!” Walter yelled. “All lies!”
“Walter, I won’t tell you again to calm down. Another outburst and I’ll lock you up and throw away the key.” He exhaled a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. “Go on, Morning Dove.”
She nodded and told him the rest. How Walter had forced her to come back to Silver Falls, how Ben had found her and of Walter and the men he had been with chasing them down, and the confrontation when they had caught up with them.
Walter was stone-faced, his jaw so tight she wondered if he would break his teeth. When she had finished, she sat back and avoided looking at Walter.
Marshal Lincoln stared at her for long minutes before turning to Ben. “Now you tell me what happened.”
When Walter went to protest again, Marshal Lincoln lifted his arm, raising his hand to silence him without a word, never taking his eyes off Ben. He nodded and said, “Go on.”
Ben told him everything, even down to how Morning Dove ended up in Willow Creek. By the time everything was said, Walter was pacing the floor.
When Marshal Lincoln told Walter to recount what happened, it was the most melodramatic retelling Morning Dove had ever heard. Over half of what he said was nothing but one lie after another. The only truth in his entire story was the fact she had run away with Aaron and left again when Ben came for her.
