Redemption - Book lll

Women and Cattle

The following morning, John awoke an hour earlier to catch up with Bonnie, his new curiosity getting the better of him. He wouldn't say that he was attracted to her in a sexual way, but he was attracted to her by her positive and stern attitude. Knowing that Arthur and Minnie would give him a death glare, he decided to get up earlier that morning, avoiding the heavy sleep that he awoke from after a hard ride back from Armadillo the night before. 

"Mr. Marston, I've been hearing about your plans." Bonnie chuckled, sipping from her tin of coffee, shaking her foot as her knee was crossed over her thigh as she enjoyed the warm morning sun. 

"Oh, have you?" 

"Yes, from Leigh Johnson. To settle here and build a life for yourself." 

"Erm, I'm afraid those aren't my plans. You see, I already have a life. Well, I had one and I'm tryin' to reclaim it. Or maybe, what you can say is that I had two and I'm tryin' to end one of them so that the other can survive."

"Oh, how you love to talk in riddles, Mr. Marston," She snickered. "Do you do that, I wonder as a substitute for having anything interesting to say?"

"Probably?" 

"Ugh! Call me Bonnie, you fool! Call me Bonnie." She sighed. 

"Why?"

"Because maybe I don't like being addressed as a woman who is married when all I'm looking for is a man to settle with. So for the time being, I want to be addressed by my first name as it's a given of my marital status." 

John sighed, knowing where Bonnie was going with a hopeful conversation. He couldn't lie and agree that she would be a great housewife and ranch hand, but he knew the consequences regardless. As much as he hated when Abigail would ride his tail on getting things done, he was thankful for it as it showed that she really did care about the well-being of their family. If not, he would've been surely dead by now as he was nowhere close to being the one to look after himself. 

Scratching the back of his neck, the air around them became stuffy and awkward as John didn't know how to continue such a conversation. "Ms. MacFarlane, I'm married. I have a son. I had a daughter, but she died. Years before that, I rode in a gang. We robbed banks, trains, held people ransom. We killed people we didn't like. Bill Williamson was in that gang. Now, if Arthur and I don't capture my former brother in arms, great harm will come to our families. Now, I don't suppose any of this falls of any interest to you, I hope it explains why I wasn't so eager to talk about it. And to add to that, I'm just... I'm just not the type of man you want to be takin' home to mom and pa." He explained, shooting down Bonnie's hopes of a potential relationship with the outlaw, now knowing his current status. 

"No, I do understand. I had no idea. You poor man."

"Even in this new country, memories don't seem to fade. My father was an illiterate Scot born on the boat into New York. He never saw his homeland, but to hear him talk about it you'd only imagine he only ever ate haggis and wore a kilt. And he hated the English for what they had done to his great grandparents that he'd never met. People don't forget. Nothing gets forgiven."

"That's true. Especially when it comes to money. And you know, even now, after all his labors, my father's debts are still terrible. I worry every day about us losing the ranch. It would kill him."