Redemption - Book lll

Justice in Pike's Basin

"What're we going to do with him, Arthur?" Minnie asked her husband as they sat in the washtub together after washing themselves of the filth from the day prior, as well as the early-morning cattle drive. 

"I'm not sure. I'm not his nursemaid or his father. He's old enough to make his own decisions, but I'm afraid he doesn't have the wisdom to know better."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Arthur," She explained, watching Arthur begin to massage her foot from the other side of the tub. "I'd hate to get back home and see Abigail tear his head off." 

Arthur chuckled, "Would it be mean if I would like to see that?" 

"Yes it would, Arthur." She giggled, watching him massage her foot with his large hands from the opposite end of the clawfoot tub. 

He breathed in heavily, looking at the scars on Minnie's face from many fights - the day when both Minnie and Abigail got trampled by Micah's men in the river being the most recent. He couldn't let that happen again, nor would he put her into the position for it to happen again. "I love you, darlin'." 

She smiled at him at the sudden formation of words, "I love you too, Arthur. What's goin' through that mind of yours?" 

He huffed, "I just didn't think we'd be havin' to do this again is all. All the runnin', fightin' for our family, our ranch, everything."

"I guess the life never really just gets put into the past. There's always someone who has to bring it all back up." She scoffed. 

"I know, darlin'. You'd think we'd at least have a break for a chance in a decent life." 

"We will. Eventually, we will." 

"I guess for the time bein' we gotta make it count, huh?" He smirked. 

Minnie nodded, moving in the tub to now be straddling his lap, moving a piece of wet hair away from his eye and tucking it behind his ear, "For the time bein', we make it count. We'll find Bill and be on the road back home." 

"Sounds good to me, darlin'." 

»»-------------¤-------------««

With the former outlaws back in Armadillo, Minnie had informed Arthur that she would be in the saloon getting a drink while Arthur and John would go talk to Marshal Johnson to see if he had come up with any new details regarding Bill Williamson.

Sipping on her whiskey, she kept to herself, ignoring the couple standing next to her. That was, until she heard how the man spoke to the woman. "Order me a beer. It better be on this counter by the time I get back from outside." 

"O-Okay." The woman nodded. Minnie could tell she was a sex worker, but it still didn't matter - this was a woman who clearly had emotions for the man she was with and he was treating her with disrespect, which is not what Minnie liked to see. 

She watched him walk away, leaving the woman to stand alone at the bar. Minnie scoffed, sipping her whiskey, "Fucking men." 

"E-Excuse me?" 

"Lady, all life is, is perspective. And you don't have any."