Miss Morgan

Eighteen

⚠️trigger warning- SA⚠️

November 1894
-Ivy-

I'm heartbroken. I didn't want to believe Abigail when she said she was pregnant but her belly just keeps growing. Every day I see her my heart breaks all over again. I tried talking to John and as much as we want to be together, Abigail always interferes.

I've started taking Sean with me on jobs. He's a hothead but at least he's entertaining. Usually. Sometimes Mac comes with us and when the three of us work a robbery, it almost always turns violent and chaotic. But that's what I need right now. I can't sit around camp twiddling my thumbs, hoping Abigail comes to her senses. Instead I go out drinking and robbing with the two biggest hotheads I know.

I sit out by the campfire, drinking whiskey and sketching pictures of Sparrow into my notebook.
We moved camp to a spot outside of Tucson for the winter and the afternoon sun feels warm on my face.

"Ivy!" Mary Gillis greets me with Arthur in tow. She brought her kid brother with her this time. "You remember Jamie?"

"Not really." I answer without looking up from my drawing. I do remember him, I just don't care to give her the satisfaction.

"Well, he's gonna be staying with us for a while, maybe you could show him around camp and get him settled in?" Mary asks me.

"I'm busy, you show him around." I grumble at her. She only brought him here because John and I split up. Even if there was no John, I would still have no interest in being with Jamie Gillis.

Mary scoffs and walks away with Arthur, but she leaves Jamie with me and I already want to shove forks in my ears before he even starts talking.

"It's been a long time." Jamie mutters.

"Mhmm." I murmur back.

"Have you gone into Tucson yet? I could show you around if you'd like. It's easy to get lost there."

"I haven't but I'm pretty good at finding my way around." I'm being so rude, it almost makes me laugh.

"Do you still like riding horses?"

"I sorta have to." I shrug.

"Arthur taught me how to ride a horse."

"Me too." I lie. It was actually more Hosea that taught me but I want this conversation to be over.

"What are you drawing?" He asks me. I wish I could draw more macabre and unsettling things than Sparrow. I show Jamie my pathetic drawing.

"What's your horse's name?" God this kid is annoying.

"Sparrow."

"Cool name." He mutters and finally falls silent. Now if only he'd just go away.

"Ivy, can you run to the post office and get our mail?" Susan calls out to me.

"Take Jamie with you." Arthur barks out at me and if I rolled my eyes any harder they would have fallen out of my skull.

"Come on, then." I stand up and throw my journal in my saddlebag before I climb up on Sparrow's back. Jamie rides along behind me on one of our spare horses. I don't say anything to him the whole ride to town but he sure talks my ears off.

We hitch up outside the post office and I grab a few letters addressed to Tacitus Kilgore and throw them in my saddlebag. Then when I leave I head straight to the saloon.

"Shouldn't we get back to camp?" Jamie asks nervously.

"Nah, I need a drink." I answer. "You can head back if you want."