Liars And Thieves

Chapter 54

AN: Just want to quickly say as the book is coming close to it's ending the chapters will be getting longer. This may have been noticed in the last chapter I wrote. I hope that doesn't bother anyone! :)

A few days have passed since John was broken out of prison and since then more arguments have occurred. Grace has been watching Micah closely, watching his every move without looking obvious. He's been hovering around Javier and Bill, most likely getting into theirs heads too. Micah knows by now she has told someone, he just can't be sure of who. The only people that know what happened is Arthur and Charles, she doesn't know who else she could tell. Perhaps she could warn Abigail and John so once things get crazy they can take Jack and leave, Sadie too but for now, it needs to be limited as possible.
With John's return, Grace has been resting her wound. It's been causing her pain for the past few days from doing so much in that one day. She pushed herself but John needed to be reunited with Abigail. 

"Grace! Grace, could you do us a favour?" Susan called out from by the wagon the women worked at. Grace nodded, moving away from her tree by the scout fire and walking over to join Susan, Mary-Beth and Tilly. 

"What's the problem?" She asked, looking at the three of them. Susan looked down at Tilly who was scooping up a heap of wet clothes, ones she had just washed. 

"I was hoping you could duck down to the river and get some clean water, the muck these boys run in," Susan grunted, looking over at Bill in particular. "I swear my girls have to clean vomit off of Bill's clothes everyday."

"I got it," Grace nodded, giving Tilly a returning grin as Tilly gave her a thankful look.

"I still think we should get them to wash their own clothes, Ms. Grimshaw," Mary-Beth proposed from where she sat while patching up a ripped shirt. "Why should we have to clean up after them after the mess they've put us in?"

"Ms. Gaskill, please," Susan began as she picked up the water bucket Tilly had washed the clothes in as Tilly walked around the back of the wagon to hang the clothes. "We take care of them and they take care of us," She handed the bucket to Grace, Grace taking it from her hands.

"Well I don't feel very safe anymore," Mary-Beth sighed, looking up from her work at Susan and Grace. Her eyes were full of worry. "I'm trying to stay positive, I am it's just... I can't look past what we've been through."

"Everything will be okay," Grace comforted, giving her a reassuring nod. She looked down at the murky brown water and cringed at the sight of it. "It always has been, this is nothing we can't handle." Susan gave Grace an appreciated look at attempting to keep Mary-Beth's head in the right place. Grace pardoned herself from the ladies and headed down the little trail that led to the river at the bottom of the campsite. The river welcomed her with the noise of gushing water as it hit rocks further up stream, the spray of the rushing water hitting her when she got closer. Grace always found nature to be beautiful and the little things like nature being itself relieved her from the world she was in. It cleared her mind to be alone and one with nature itself. She knelt down by the river's edge, fixing up her dark plaid skirt so it gave her knees comfort on the cold rocks. She pulled her rolled sleeves up a bit further, not wanting the shirt to get wet and make her cold. She poured the dirty water out, watching the murky brown water fall out with a splash. Over the splash, she didn't hear the coming footsteps of a person about to greet her.

"I think we need to have a talk," Micah's voice hissed down to her. Grace almost jumped, surprised he finally approached her. Grace didn't dare to look over her shoulder and up at him, instead she held the large water dish's handles in her hands, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed the timber.