The Outlaw

Chapter Fifteen

Ethan had been hoping to see Caroline at dinner but found that she was not at the table when he walked in and sat down with the rest of the men. She had cooked the meal but Mitchell did not allow her to serve the men because she had once purposely dumped the steaming hot contents of Franks' bowl of stew on his lap and Mitchell had barely been able to stop the man before he put a bullet in her.

Ethan was even more pissed that night when he realized that Franks and Blue were keeping watch at the top of the fort and he wasn't able to sneak into the main house to find Caroline. He could only imagine what his father was doing to her behind those walls and it made his blood freeze and boil all at the same time.

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Mitchell was in Caroline's room at dawn the next morning though he'd only been a gone from her room for a few hours. He was staring at her as she brushed her long dark hair in the small tin mirror. He had taken away her glass mirror after she had broken it and very nearly sliced Franks throat.

"Time to go, little Caroline." he said and he looked her up and down with his icy blue eyes as she stood and she nearly gagged. "I like that skirt and blouse. It looks very nice on you." he said.

"Save your compliments for someone who doesn't hate you." she replied coldly.

"One day you will learn to love me." Mitchell replied pushing a long strand of her hair behind her ear.

"One day maybe you'll wake up from your delusions. You killed my mother, father, my brothers, my sister and you are responsible for what happened to Ethan…. One day you will die, Mitchell, and it will be me that kills you." Mitchell just laughed at this.

"Let's go on outside, little Caroline." he said.

"What no ropes or chains today?" she asked. He shook his head as he led her outside.

"If you are foolish enough to run the men have been advised that shooting your arms and legs is perfectly fine. You won't die but you won't make it far."

"How very kind of you." Caroline replied dryly. Mitchell handed her a straw hat when they walked out into the sunrise and though she would have liked to have thrown it back at him she knew she needed it so she put it on her head.

The six men riding with them were already saddled and ready to go. Caroline again found her eyes drawn to the stranger named Kid. He had that bandana over his face again today and his hat pulled low. He wore a gun belt with double holsters and a rifle on his back along with knives and a lasso hooked to his belt. She was again struck by just how much it felt like she was looking at Ethan. But no this was not Ethan because she had killed Ethan a month ago. This was just another damn outlaw who would probably be no different than the rest.

Caroline climbed up on her white mare and then looked at Mitchell as he climbed into the saddle of his large roan mare.

"You could just let me stay here while you go have some fun." she said to him. He laughed harshly.

"Yes and I bet you'll promise me that you'll be right here waiting for me like a good little girl when I get back." Caroline smiled a big fake smile.

"Of course." she lied. Mitchell just shook his head and then signaled for everyone to ride out.

"Let's go, boys. Pikes Basin is a good two day ride away."

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It was a little past noon and Ethan had been watching Caroline all day. He knew she had not had a thing to drink and she was starting to look a little weak in the saddle. The summer sun was beating down on all of them and everyone was covered in sweat and dust.

Ethan could see Mitchell about one hundred feet ahead of Caroline and he seemed to be very interested in the conversation he was having with Franks. Ethan couldn't stand to see Caroline suffering and so he rode up along side of her without Mitchell noticing.

"Hi there, Kid." Caroline said without looking at him. "They tell me you can't talk but I didn't know you couldn't hear…. Mitchell told all the men to stay away from me. He won't hesitate to put you in your place if he sees you riding next to me." Ethan grabbed his canteen from his saddlebags and held it out for her. She looked at it for several long seconds as if considering whether or not it was poisoned and then took it from his hand.

"Thank you." she said and took a long drink. She tried to hand it back but he shook his head and pushed it toward her mouth again. She narrowed her green eyes and looked over at him. Ethan pulled his hat lower to hide his eyes. He didn't want her to recognize him right out here in front of everyone because she was bound to give him away.

"You remind me of someone I used to know." Caroline said finally as she took another drink. "He always made sure I had plenty to drink too." Then she laughed lightly.

"Guess I can tell you pretty much whatever I want and not worry about you telling a soul, can't I?" she asked looking over at him. He shrugged and smiled though she couldn't see it behind his bandana.

"He was my fiance'." She said feeling the pain fresh in her heart as if it had only been yesterday that she'd lost Ethan. She didn't really know why she was telling Kid this… She guessed it was because he reminded her of Ethan, she needed someone to talk to and she knew he couldn't tell on her. "I loved him with all my heart even though we only knew each other for a month. He always made sure to take care of me and my little sister though he received beatings for it every time when his father was around and I used to beg him to stay away from me to save himself the pain." Caroline smiled faintly when she remembered how he had simply shrugged and told her she was worth any pain his father could inflict on him.

"Kind of ironic that he did everything he ever could to take care of me and I ended up being the one that killed him. I stood there in the rain and put a bullet in his head while he stood there and looked at me with nothing but love and trust….. Don't think I'm a monster though, Kid." she added quickly. "I didn't want to kill him. Your new boss is a bit of a son of a bitch and he made me kill Ethan to save my sister and then he killed my sister anyway…. I have every intention of killing him real soon and I'm hoping you'll stay out of my way. You seem like a decent guy and I'd hate to have to kill you too."

Ethan wanted to comfort her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that she was not a murderer. Tell her that he was alive and breathing and still her man in every single way. He looked at Mitchell and Franks in front of them. He knew he could easily kill both of them before they had time to draw from his position behind them but that left Blue to his left, Tommy to Caroline's right and Doomer riding beside Grayson behind them. There was no way Ethan could get them all before they took him down or got Caroline in the process. He would have to wait.

The two of them rode in silence beside each other for several more moments before Caroline finally handed him back his canteen.

"You better get away from me, Kid. I wasn't joking when I said he'd shoot you for talking to me." Ethan shrugged but the look she gave him told him she wouldn't take no for an answer so he let his horse fall behind hers.