Miss Morgan

Fifty-Six

July 1899
-John-

As I wake up, memories of last night flood my mind. Dutch fed Bronte to a goddamn alligator and it still feels like that was just a weird nightmare.

It's not that I disagreed with Dutch's decision to kill him. When I saw him with his gun pointed at Ivy's head, I wanted to kill that son of a bitch myself. But to see Dutch, a man I have always respected, who raised me thinking revenge is never worth it, drown a man and feed him to an alligator... it's just not the same man who raised me. It's like he's just killing because he enjoys it now.

I'll be the first to admit I wanted Bronte dead, but to be drowned and fed to a gator, that's a horrific way to go. It was a little shocking to watch.

I roll onto my back in bed to look at Ivy next to me and realize she's not here. Shit, I told her not to go work the bank with us today. I'm an ass... I know better than to tell her not to work a job, especially such a big one. It's just that seeing her held at gunpoint last night rattled me a bit and then watching Dutch feed the guy to a gator, I wasn't thinking straight. I should go downstairs and find her and apologize before we need to leave for the bank.

I throw on my button down shirt, jeans and boots, then head outside, stepping over a booze-blind Karen, passed out cold in the front room. Poor girl has been a mess since Sean died. I know there was something going on between them right before he died. I hope she'll be alright.

I walk out the double doors onto the muddy front lawn of Shady Belle, where I find Arthur and Abigail by the coffee pot. "You ready for this?" Arthur mutters to me.

"As I'll ever be." I shrug. "You seen Ivy?"

"She's not with you?" Arthur furrows his brow.

"No, we had a little disagreement last night and she left, never came to bed. I figured she was out here."

"Nah. I haven't seen her since last night." Arthur's eyes scan over the camp. "Her horse is here, maybe she's just standing watch somewhere."

"Hmm." I mumble as I grab a carbine repeater and walk to the brick wall at the edge of Shady Belle. I walk the perimeter of camp, worrying more with every passing second that I don't find her. I check the gazebo, the small shacks out back along the swamp, inside the house and I check with everyone I run into along the way, but no one's seen her. I fight the panic washing over me. She wouldn't run away, not before the bank.

I find Hosea drinking his coffee in the gazebo after doing one more round checking the perimeter of camp. "Hey, Hosea. You seen Ivy this morning?"

Hosea rubs his stubbly chin. "Come to think of it, no. Did you check the buildings out back?"

"Yeah, I've looked everywhere. She's not here." I explain.

"Is her horse here?" Hosea squints his eyes to try and look out at the horses.

"Yeah, both Ennis and that new one Arthur gave her."

"She can't be far then." Hosea shrugs.

"Can't find your woman, eh Marston?" Micah sneers. "Pretty convenient timing for her to disappear, wouldn't you say?"

"Don't talk to me." I shake my head. I refuse to let him get into my head about this right now.

"Maybe she found another gunslinger to sleep with." Micah snickers. "Seems she's pretty into those. Maybe I'll get my turn whenever she comes back. I prefer my women a little more feminine, but I'd still show her a good time."

"John..." Hosea warns me before I start a fight. "Micah, move along. Don't you have better things to do right now?"

Micah raised his hands in surrender and laughs as he slinks away.