Hosea watched his daughter storm out of camp, racing away on her horse. At first he felt guilty, but his guilt was soon replaced with jealousy when he watched Charles chase after her.
"You okay, Hosea?" He turned at the sound of Dutch's voice, and the gang leader appeared at his side. Hosea didn't reply, however, and instead he continued to stare off into the trees. Dutch sighed at his silence and nudged his friend's arm lightly.
"She will come around, you know. You're her daddy, after all," he said gently. Hosea pursed his lips at that; "And I walked out on her when she was just a kid. She ain't gonna forgive me for that," he replied softly.
Dutch let out a huff, blowing out smoke from his cigar. "Give her some time, then...she's a fiery one, I'll give you that - real feisty, and got people turnin' heads," he told him.
Hosea just hummed, his gaze dropping to the ground. "I...I think I'll call it a night. See ya in the morning, Dutch...."
~~~~
"So you were goin' it alone since you was 13?" Helen asked in awe. After riding with Charles in silence for what felt to be an hour or two, she had finally decided to stop for a rest.
The two were sitting together comfortably under a tree. "My mother was kidnapped by the army and my father became a drunk. I knew I couldn't stay with him anymore, so I left," Charles explained with a shrug.
Helen nodded once he finished; "That was pretty brave of you, for a kid," she commented. She then chuckled lightly when a thought came to her mind. "I remember the bravest thing I ever done...was fendin' off a big ol' grizzly back in O'Creagh's Run. Huge, scary lookin' thing, and there I was with my little bow and arrow - 12 years old and I was fightin' a bear."
Charles laughed as well, a sound that made Helen feel at ease. She smiled to herself, looking down; "My mom gave me a good talkin' to, but I saw the look in her eye - she was proud," she whispered.
Helen looked up to see Charles was already watching her, and she hoped her awkward blush wasn't visible. "She...she got real sick, my mom, and she wasn't young, neither...no doctor could help her, no matter where I went," she confessed.
Charles sighed, a look of sympathy in his eyes; "Sometimes it's comforting to think that when a person dies, they are no longer suffering," he told her. Helen gazed at him thoughtfully, a smile on her face that he mimicked. "That is comforting...thank you, Charlie."
He furrowed his brows at that but still smiled. "Why do you call me that?" Helen merely sent him a wink, then grinned when it made him blush. "Because I can."
YOU ARE READING
Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
