The Man and The Outlaw

Chapter Eleven

There was awful silence in the room as Clara finished her story. Mae had dissolved into tears somewhere in the middle of it and Loren was hugging her close with his good arm, staring at Clara as though she were someone new to him. Walker hadn't moved since he'd replanted himself in his chair as Clara had begun to talk. He sat stone-faced and listening, only seeming to breathe when the tale had been completed.
"Clara, I...I had no idea," he murmured when the silence had gone on for too long. He looked pained and guilty at convincing her to talk.
"You were right," Clara told him. "You all deserved to know. Todd's after revenge because of what I did and I'm really sorry you had to get caught up in the middle of it."
If she was being completely honest, she felt better having it out and done with than she had when she was one of two who knew about it. She was grateful to Walker for giving her the courage to speak. She wanted to tell him this, but it didn't feel like the right time.
"I'll kill that guy," Loren snarled. "What kind of man does that?"
"No kind of man at all," Walker replied sternly.
"Do you think he'll try again? To kidnap you, I mean." Mae swallowed hard and wiped away the few remaining tears on her face.
It took no time for Clara to answer.
"Yes, I think he will."
There was no doubt that Todd had been waiting for the opportunity to get back at her. What had happened tonight with the riders had only been the beginning. She knew in her heart that he would stop at nothing to make her pay for what she'd done to him. She would not allow her friends to be put in that situation again.
The hour had grown late, and they were all exhausted from the night's events. Loren and Mae both wrapped Clara in hugs (Loren with his one good arm) before disappearing to bed. Clara had kept her cool throughout the retelling of her worst night, but as each of them hugged her and she felt love and sympathy flowing from them to her, her throat grew tight, and tears stung at her eyes. Walker hung back, unsure how to approach her. Clara took the opportunity to thank him for supporting her and giving her the courage to do the thing she hadn't known she so desperately needed to do.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," he told her when she was done expressing her gratitude. "You're a tough one, Clara. A lot of folks go through what you have or something similar, they just crumble, become things they never wanted to be, never imagined they could be. You, heck, you're strong. You didn't let it destroy you."
"Thanks Walker," she said, blushing furiously.
He got up and took her hand again, holding it gently. Their eyes locked and his were sharp and determined. She wanted to stare into them for the rest of time.
"I'll see you all the way to the end of this Clara, to Riverport and Valdez, to the justice you deserve. I promise you that," he told her and then added, "Todd Pryor will never get his hands on you, not if I can help it."
"I believe you," she replied, "and thank you. You really proved your guts tonight taking that shot to save Mae's life. I'm glad we pulled you over on The Trail like we did."
She meant it. But still there was a heaviness in her heart that she had put all their lives in danger. She had not meant to put them in the crosshairs of Todd, but she didn't think it was yet too late to get them out again. Even as she told Walker goodnight, she was formulating a plan to slip away. She would've loved to have their help, but she couldn't put them at risk again.
She slept very little and crept from her room while it was still dark outside. She'd packed all her things up before going to bed and slung her bag over her shoulder as she tip-toed out of her room. Walker snored quietly; his hat laid over his face so that she couldn't quite make him out in the darkness. She eased the front door open, holding her breath, and stepped gingerly out onto the front porch, pulling the door closed while holding tightly to the handle so it wouldn't click too loudly. When she turned around to face the yard, she jumped. Loren was seated on the porch in the same chair she had found him in when they'd first arrived, and Mae had forbidden his entrance.
"Mornin'," he muttered to her, his eyes cast out over the front lawn and the horses in their small paddock. His right arm was still in a sling, and he sipped coffee from a steaming mug in his good hand.
"How's that arm?" she asked, plopping herself down in the chair next to him again, letting her bag fall as discreetly to the porch as she could. She wasn't surprised that he was awake and waiting for her. They'd known each other for a long time. There wasn't much they could sneak past one another.
Loren grimaced and took another sip from his mug. "Let's just say there's more'n coffee in here and leave it at that."
She smirked and then averted her glance to a place on the horizon where the sun would be peeking over at them within the hour. She felt that all too familiar sensation of guilt bulging in her stomach.
"I'm really sorry, Lore," she told him. "I never meant for anybody to get hurt, least of all you."
He tipped his mug at her and shrugged with his one arm. "I knew what I was signing up for." Then, after a pause, "That why you're taking off without me?"
Clara looked soberly at him as he continued to stare at the horses and the slowly lightening sky.
"Guess I ain't as slick as I thought, huh?"
He shook his head, smiling faintly. Then, finally, he turned to face her, his eyes shining from the early morning and the addition in his coffee cup.
"You can't do this by yourself, Clara," he told her plainly.
She locked eyes with him defiantly, almost indignantly.
"And why not? That outlaw doesn't even know I'm coming, and I handled Todd on my own before. I can do it again," she retorted.
"Yeah, and if you'd held onto that for too much longer, it might've eaten you alive." Loren readjusted his arm in the sling with a grunt. "It's not about taking care of that no good waste of space."
"Then what?"
"You need someone to look out for you. You haven't been the same since your dad died and I get it, but if you get lost in this game of chase, and tangle with Valdez, he might not give you the chance to get found again. I don't want to see you killed, Clara, and your daddy wouldn't either."
She knew that he was talking sense, a vengeful, ruthless man and an outlaw on her tail made for a loaded situation, but she had too much pride to relent so easily. Loren sensed her resistance.
"Just give me a few days to heal up and we'll get Valdez together, maybe knock Todd Pryor into a hole he can't get out of while we're at it," he offered. She smiled gently and put her hand out to pat his good arm.
"I can't wait and risk missing my chance at him, Lore," she told him. "Besides, that arm's going to take more than a couple of days and that thick head of yours needs at least a week."
"My head's fine," he retorted but his voice lacked conviction and he sipped once again at his coffee.
"Sure, it is," she chuckled, leaning over to put her arm around him gently, careful not to jostle his bad shoulder. "Besides, you left Mae for me once and you almost lost her. I'll be darned if I let you do it again."
It was his turn to smirk, and he patted her leg like an older brother would do. He could see that she would not be dissuaded no matter how much he might beg. She could see in his eyes when he'd given up trying to convince her.
"At least take Walker with you, okay? He volunteered for the job and he's a better shot than either of us could ever dream to be. He'll have your back."
Clara got to her feet and walked towards the front of the porch, leaning on the porch railing, her back to Loren. Something nagged at her.
"Do you trust him?" she asked carefully, feeling as if the words alone betrayed him and all the help he'd given her and her friends.
"He hasn't done anything but help us, Clara."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Loren paused for a moment, lost in thought, and then nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. Don't you?"
She thought about all she knew of Walker, his empty home life and his late mother. She remembered how fearless he'd been in the gunfight, so confident that his choice in taking his shot was right, worth the risk to save Mae's life. He hadn't backed down then and he had stood by her when she didn't think she could face what Todd had done to her. He hadn't balked once at anything they'd done.
"Well?" Loren's voice brought her back.
"Yeah," she turned around to face him again. "I guess I do."