Native Outlaw

Chapter I, November 1869

I watched my grandpa hang his bloody brass knuckles up by the wooden door. He made his way to the gun safe and put the house riffle away. My grandpa stood there for a long time, hands on his hips and the gun safe standing wide open. He started to tap his foot on the rotting floorboards, and he sighed. Turning around to face me with the truth he'd been keeping from me my whole life.

~ * ~

My grandpa turned to face me, looking worried for a split second but it soon hardened into an expression I knew all too well. I always knew something was different about him. He was harder, sterner than a lot of men I have had the chance of meeting. My grandpa was a man of few words, yet when it was story time the words flowed out of his mouth like a smooth river. He wasn't like the other men in this town, he was always polite and to women especially but he didn't sit and chat with the townsfolk. He liked to keep to himself, and as the stale crisp air filled into the front room from the open door, it all made sense.

He walked slowly over to his chair and motioned for me to come sit in his lap. I was nine at the time, and my bare feet pattered over the cold wood floors. I flung into his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs tucking underneath me. He was quiet for a long time stroking my long dark hair over and over again. I sat quietly, giving him time to get his thoughts together. He grumbled a few times until finally he looked at me. Even though his face was still hard, his dark onyx eyes were calm, like the calm after a storm. He seemed somewhat at peace with whatever he was about to tell me. My grandpas strong callused hand stopped mid stroke, but lingered on my head.

"Now you know you can't speak a word about this. " it was in the form of a question but it came out like a strong warning. His eyes bored into mine. I remember being confused by this line. But I knew if I wanted him to continue I needed to seem like I could handle it.

"Yes. " I looked around at the five dead men in our front sitting room. All lifeless and their limbs bent at odd angles.

"You look at me. Don't look at that, look at me. " he called back my attention. He sighed.

" There was only a matter of time before you saw something like this. I knew I couldn't hide it from you and your brother forever. Ky has somewhat a clue, but it does not matter now that he's gone and took off. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe though. You're my little girl, okay?" His eyes blazed with devotion , his face still hard. "This is my life, and now that you know, it's yours too. And as much as I hate that, it's the best I can do. I can teach you, protect you, and prepare you, but keeping you in the dark will probably be more dangerous in the long run. " the words came out slow like he was scared of my reaction to them. The only thing I could feel though was excitement. The corners of my mouth tugged up into my half smile and I tried to suppress it before he saw. I couldn't contain it though and he caught it. A mix of anger and awe at my reaction flashed in his eyes.

"I'm not too worried about you though, you've always been...one for mischief...It's late, in the morning we will talk more." I hopped off his lap and nodded my head. I walked down the long hallway that led to my bedroom but I didn't go in. Instead I turned around and hid behind the corner. I watched as my grandpa looted the five men of their coins and guns. He pilled them on top of each other and went out into the frosty night to go get one of the horses and wagons. When he came back inside he had his back to me, bending down to pick up one of the men.

"Jane, get to sleep. " I jumped a little inside and quickly hurried to my room, got under the covers and dozed off into a sleep full of colorful dreams, all inspired by the nights events.

~ * ~

The next morning I woke up to a hazy light coming through my window. There was a fresh layer of snow outside, and my feet felt like blocks of ice. I looked over at my bedside table at the photo that lay there without a frame. It was torn at the edges, and the photo of my mother and father was slowly fading away. It's the only picture we have of them. They died when I was very young, and I don't know much about them other than the fact that my dad was a member of the Navajo tribe and my mom a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe. Which is a very rare and strange mix. I haven't ever really asked how they met. anything to do with my parents is a touchy subject to everyone who knew them. 

I decide to get up even though I will be even colder once I do. However, suddenly I remember last night and shoot up from my bed like a spring to run and find my grandpa.

I find him in the kitchen making us breakfast,
His back facing me and his long-unbraided hair hanging down his back. The bacon cracks and pops in the skillet over the fire. The warmth slowly thaws me out from the cold night in my room. I know he knows I'm here behind him, he always does and he always will.

"Go sit at the table." He says in a calm voice. I think he feels better now that I know. I go and sit, my feet almost touching the wood floors but not quite. I drum my finger nails on the wooden table as I wait for him to finish making our breakfast and join me. It took him a few minutes to get our food onto plates and then he walked over to the table with one plate in each hand. He sat mine in front of me, and then went around to sit on his side.

"It was 1834 and I was 20 winters old. I was still living with my tribe, and I was always doing things I wasn't supposed to do. I got into a little trouble with the law, which was rare in that time for the law to step in because there hardly was a so called law. But I was stupid. It was the domino effect, one thing led to another, and soon I was one of the most wanted outlaws there was. Hell, I'm still wanted at 54 years old. I slept in my friends houses from town to town, always running and always hiding. I had 2,000 dollars to my name and that will break a lot of ties if you know what I mean. Soon I had no place to go so I fled to New Mexico and laid low for a couple of years. After I came out of hiding there was a few bounty hunters after me but not many because word got around that I'd done got shot and killed. I had to kill all of them that got in my way." He pauses for a second, and his face becomes softer, his eyes lightening. "Then one day after I wandered into this town here, I was in Dills general store, and I saw your grandma. I remembered her from among my people back home.
Her long black hair tied in two braids over her shoulders and she looked at me with eyes dark as night.They sure we're pretty. From that moment we were inseparable and I had to tell her everything. She stayed with me though, and from time to time a new bounty hunter would come in and I would have to kill them quietly as to not draw attention to our "regular life" as you would call it. We had your dad shortly after and it was harder to hide it from him. He found out later. I've still got a bounty over my head, and that's what you witnessed last night. If one man gets away he could go tell the authorities that I am in fact still alive and it would start all over again. I know you're  strong and you would be fine but I just want to keep you safe. You're all I've got kid."  I listened carefully, but what I didn't know at the time is; not all of this was truth.

I sat quietly for a second just taking everything in. Seeing the story unfold and play out in my head like I was there myself. Guns and chases. Living on the edge. Everything I want.  I picked up a piece of bacon and chewed on the end of it.

"So now I'm the only other person that knows everything?" I ask secretly pleased. He sees it on my face and let's a small smile out of his iron faced cave.

"Yes, but it's our little secret. " there was amusement in his voice but with a hint of warning.

"So what does this mean for me grandpa? You're talkin like me knowing will change everything." I ask contemplating.

"Well now, there has always been the risk that they might try to take you so they can get to me. I'm gonna have to train you, and teach you what happens in this business. That is if you want a part in it.." He looked down at me across the table with a playful look about him, yet his eyebrows were mashed together in worry. It seemed to me that I didn't have a choice.

"Of course I do! Are you kiddin? What do I do?" I ask getting excited. My grandpa just chuckles quietly and shakes his head before he takes a swig of his drink.

"You gotta be patient. You're really young and right now I can only teach you so much. But soon, if you want to, you could be unstoppable." He finishes his last sentence in almost a whisper. I sit quietly for the rest of breakfast. Eating my bacon and scrambled eggs slowly and finishing my drink last. The day though, passes in a blur. By the time my head hits the pillow that night my eyes are wide open and no signs of sleep make my lids heavy. I stare at the ceiling, thinking of the future and if I really wanted this.