Boundless

Chapter 6

The next day, I went to the river on the pretense of getting my handkerchief back. I didn't like the thought of him having something of mine. I hadn't told Jenny of my encounter with Sam, though I knew it would make her day. For some reason, I wanted to figure him out before I told her. Then, there was the selfish part of me that wanted to keep him to myself for just a while longer.

I neared the tree and rounded the trunk. Nothing. I sighed and stared at the ground for a second then searched up and down the riverbank. Again, there was nothing.

"Looking for someone?" A voice asked causing me to jump. The branches above me rustled and Sam Hull dropped to the ground along with some leaves. I stepped back as his boots had come dangerously close to my face.

"You were in a tree."

"Yes, I had to find a new hiding place. Someone discovered the last one."

"Looks like you're going to have to get another."  

"Looks like it."

We stood there staring at each other for a moment, willing the other person to say something. I was able to get a better look at his face. "The posters," I said then stopped. "They drew your nose wrong," I clarified. The posters didn't do him justice was what I really wanted to say.

"They do that sometimes," he shrugged. "One we saw said Nate was twelve. Then there are the people of Bannack who want 'Samson Hull'."

"You take all that trouble robbing them and they can't even get your name right?"

"Ingratitude is what it is," he grinned at me.

It struck me then that I was laughing with a known criminal about a crime he'd committed. I sobered. "The real reason I came was for my handkerchief."

"Oh, right." He began searching his pockets. When he didn't find it in there, he climbed back up in the tree.

"So how does a criminal like yourself wind up in Lawrence, Kansas?" I asked right as a monogrammed cloth floated down between the branches.

"The same way we all do," he said without elaboration.

I waited until Sam was back on the ground before asking. "When are you leaving?"

"Anxious for me to leave so soon?" he teased.

"Oh! No, I was....just wondering."

He looked at me and shrugged. "I don't know, it depends on how many people know I'm here."

I knew he wasn't accusing me but I said quickly, "I haven't told anyone. Not even my sister."

"That's good; from my experience, sisters are always conducive to trouble." He said it fondly, making me wonder if he was thinking of a sister of his own.

I let him believe what he wanted about Jenny, he might misinterpret my meaning if I explained the real reason for my silence. So, instead of answering him, I asked, "Where are your brothers?" I had always assumed gangs traveled together otherwise risking their right to be called a 'gang'.

Sam's smile never faltered as he said, "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"And you don't give me enough answers."

He laughed, "I like you, Rebecca Colson."

“The jury's still out on you."

"Maybe next time I'll try to convince you otherwise, but, for now, I have an appointment to keep." He pulled a hat from his tree and slid it onto his head.

I watched him climb up the bank and turn around. "See you tomorrow, Rebecca!"

I stood there for a while after he left thinking about how my favorite place would never be the same. I decided that the change was happy rather than sad. This change had given me a secret to keep, the likes of which I'd never kept before.