Traveler trilogy Book 2, updates every Friday!
Five years after killing Levi Cornwall, Arthur Morgan is happy. He has a wife who loves him, an honest job he enjoys, and two beautiful children named Sadie and Hiram. All of it is turned on its head, h...
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"I wish I could stay like this forever and never leave," Jenny said softly, nuzzling deeper into Mac's chest. "I hate having to keep this a secret, and how short our time always seems."
They lay inside Mac's tent near Bolger Glade as they had done at least twice over the two weeks since Jenny had been to Caliga Hall with Arthur. Mac usually came to see her about once a week, and they were the times she looked forward to the most. She felt whole and safe in his arms, which was a rare thing for her these days.
"I know, sweetheart," said Mac quietly, kissing the top of her head. "Trust me, I know. If I could have you with me as often as I wanted, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Seein' you makes me the happiest I been in a long while."
"Every time I close my eyes, I see Micah," she whispered fearfully. "I'm worried he'll come after me again, Mac. My peace of mind is gone, and I only seem to truly find it when I'm with you."
"I can't fathom how you must feel," said Mac quietly, stroking her face as she looked at him. "I've never been in a situation like that, where all my dignity and agency were stripped away under threat of death. It's awful, and I'm so sorry it happened to you." He shook his head. "Men who do that to folk are a special breed of evil. Even with all the evil I done, it ain't never occurred to me to..." His voice trailed off. Sometimes, there simply were no words.
"I know you killed people like me," said Jenny. "You never talk about it, but I know you fought Indians, same as Bill and my father. I know the things they had to do. I know my father did it because he enjoyed it, and that Bill was just following orders. But we never talked about why you did it."
"Same as Bill, I guess," said Mac with a sigh. "I was just following orders. I was a famous gunslinger by then because of some of the outlaws I killed in duels, but I wasn't the one in charge. Other folk were pullin' my strings, and I did what they told me to do. Didn't take no pleasure in it, though. I tried resisting the more awful things, but after I refused to kill an old Kiowa woman at a camp we raided, they told me they'd hang me if I was insubordinate again."
He took a long breath, as if the memory made him very weary. "But I never raped any of them. Some of the men I rode with did, but it always disgusted me. As if killin' innocent people weren't enough, those bastards had to make sure their last moments alive were pure terror. It always sickened me."
"They didn't see us as people," said Jenny. "That's why men do such awful things. To such evil men, womenfolk are nothing but livestock. Cattle for them to do whatever they please with. It's how my mother and I were treated by my father until she was dead and I'd killed him for it."
"How did you kill him?" Mac asked curiously.
"I don't like to talk about it," she answered. In her mind, she could still hear her father's screams, his frantic banging on wood, and a roar that drowned out everything else. It was one of the worst memories she possessed. "Maybe I'll tell you someday," she said at last, "But not now."
