Out Of Time

Reunited

This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

After getting changed into a maroon colored button shirt, black pants, and brown boots, Sam was able to get some stew and coffee in her belly.  She told almost the entire camp about how she kicked Bronte's ass and escaped right after the party, how she rode through the whole night all the way to Clemens Point only to find them not there, then searching high and low for them until ending up at Shady Belle.  She had to ask one of the boys to return the Arabian for her and get back her necklace.  Charles had come back at some point before that and was more than happy to run that errand for her.

By the time Charles got back with her necklace, Sam was told about Sean dying.  This knowledge actually made her cry.  Oh, poor Sean.  He was always good for a laugh.  Sam wondered how Karen was taking it.  When she approached Karen, the woman had a bottle in her hand.  She was quite drunk.  Sam decided to join in with her and they both shared the bottle.

"So...what happened, exactly?" Sam asked.

Karen took a drink if whiskey.  "That job in Rhodes, after Arthur was fully recovered?  It ended up being a trap.  Sean was sniped by someone on a roof."

Sam placed her hand on Karen's shoulder.  "Oh Karen, I'm so, so sorry.  He was a good man."

Karen sniffled and wiped her eyes.  "I loved him, you know."

"I know."

Karen suddenly burst into tears.  "I never told him that I did.  He was always telling me how much he loved me, but I never said it back."

Sam went and wrapped her arms around her friend.  "I'm sure he knew anyway, Karen."

Karen shook her head as she dug her face into Sam's chest.  Sam was considerably taller than the women in camp, so it wasn't a surprise that a hug would make a woman go to her chest.  The feeling of a woman on her chest felt weird but she held Karen anyway.  Karen just cried and cried, drunk off her ass and everything.  Perhaps the drink was making Karen more emotional.  It didn't stop the tears from falling down Sam's face.  Karen ended up crying until she almost passed out and Sam helped her to her sleeping area.  She covered Karen up with a blanket and stroked the drunk woman's hair.  Poor, poor Karen.

Sam walked away with some whiskey left in the bottle and decided to give Orion a visit.  She had missed him a lot.  She began to groom him with a horse brush when Kieran walked up to her.

"Miss Burke?" he asked.

Sam gave Kieran a smile.  "Hey there.  What's up?"

Kieran started fidgeting.  "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For...you and Jack gettin' kidnapped.  I saw those Braithwaite boys take you and Jack and I...I couldn't do anythin'."

Sam frowned and put her hands on his shoulders.  "Hey, there was nothing you could do.  You probably would have gotten killed if you tried to stop them.  But I hear you're the one who told Hosea it was the Braithwaited, right?"

"Well, yes."

"If it hadn't been for you, they probably wouldn't have found us.  So don't feel bad.  You...you did right by us, Kieran."

Kieran nodded, but he kept his head down.  "I still wish I coulda done more."

Sam sighed and shook him a little.  "Kieran, look at me."  Kieran looked up at her with regretful look in his eyes.  "You did the right thing, okay?"

Kieran nodded with a smile.  "Thank you, Miss Burke."

Sam rolled her eyes and let go of him.  "You can call me Sam, you know."