by Sy Walker
“I had business in town,” he said as he walked towards her, a suspicious smile on his face.
“Town?” she asked in disbelief. It was true that she did not know her husband well, but he had always been very honest about his feelings about going in to town.
“Yes, don't act so shocked. I go to town, just not often,” he said, clearly annoyed by the delay her questioning was causing.
“Alright,” she said as she began to bend down to lift the basket and return to her work.
“This is for you,” he said, opening his jacket and pulling from it a wriggling ball of fur and thrusting it in to her arms.
“What in the world,” she asked, so stunned that it took her mind a moment to comprehend exactly what was happening. “A puppy!” she gasped as she realized exactly what he had done. There, in her arms was a little brown puppy with the sweetest eyes she had ever seen. She lifted him up to get a better look at him and he licked her cheek, permanently endearing him to her. Had she not fallen in love with him on sight; that did the trick. Watching the pure joy that spread across her face made Terrance’s heart skip a beat and it shook him to his core.
“Yes, I thought you might like to have him around the place,” he stammered, taking a step back from her.
“Oh thank you! He is precious. Thank you so much,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a hug before she even realized what she had done. When she stepped away again, she was blushing deeply.
“It was nothing,” he said as he turned and walked to the barn. Lacy was not at all sure what to think, but she was beginning to feel like she had a husband and not just a business partner and it made her feel more hopeful than she ever had before.
Keeping the puppy close, she went in to the house and gave him some water and some scraps of meat she had been planning to take to the hogs. The thought of having such a sweet animal of her own again made her so happy that she found herself giggling with joy like a school girl.
Chapter 4
A few days later, while Terrance was at the mine, Lacy was sitting outside churning butter when she was a man approaching. She knew in an instant that it was not Terrance by the way that he carried himself, but he was also a tall man with dark hair, though his green eyes had none of the appeal of Terrance’s and they reminded her of the eyes of a snake, cold.
“Howdy mam,” he said, tipping his hat to her. Though it was traditionally a sign of respect, it felt more like a mocking gesture to her. Still, she rose to greet him.
“Hello, what can I do for you sir,” she asked, not letting her guard down.
“Is this Josiah Merchant’s place?” he asked her, his eyes locked on her to read any signs of deception. All she felt, though, was confusion.
“No sir, by husband's name is Terrance Jordan,” she said honestly, but he did not seem to be hearing her.
“I think we are talking about the same man. Want I can't figure out is how he got himself a sweet little wife like you,” he said, looking her up and down as though she was a piece of meat. No man had ever dared to look at her in such a way and it made her skin crawl. Knowing that she was there completely alone with this man, made her want to run in to the house and lock the door. Still, his nature told her that he was a predator. The last thing that you should do when being stalked by a predator was to run so she stood her ground, her eyes locked on his.
“Is there a message you would like me to give him?” she asked boldly.
“You just tell him at I am coming for what is mine,” he said, still leering at her.
“Who should I tell him the message is from?” she asked, eager for him to finish his business and leave.
“Oh he will know. He had a nice little place here and a good life from the looks of it, even a woman of his own. I would hate to take it all away from him, but I will tear it all to the ground if he does not give me what is mine. Do you understand the message?” he asked, looking as though he would gladly have killed her right then had he not needed her to deliver his message.
“Yes, I think I do,” she said, doing her best to keep any sign of fear from her face. She kept her head high and her shoulders square and he nodded at her, as though he was acknowledging the great effort it was taking her to keep her composure.
“I will be seeing you real soon. Don't you worry, those scars don't bother me none,” he sneered, winking at her as he turned and walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, she gathered the puppy up in her arms and went in to the house and locked the door behind her.
That evening, when Terrance returned, he was shocked that their front door was locked when he tried to open it. Lacy heard him try to enter and she ran to the door and threw it open. Without even thinking, she threw herself in to his arms. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what was happening.
“Terry, I am so glad your home,” she whispered.
“What's happened?” he asked, knowing from her expression that something was really wrong.
“A strange man came here and asked about you,” she explained.
“What sort of man?” he asked, though he already knew exactly what was happening. It was the thing that he had feared the most since he found his peace there in the mountains.
“He didn't mean anything good by coming here. He was wearing a gun belt and he had a third tucked in the back of his britches,” she observed, still shaken up by their encounter.
“Did he give you his name?” he asked, his muscles tense as he waited for her answer.
“He said to tell you he would be coming for what's his. He said if I gave you that message, you would know who he was,” she answered, clearly anxious to better understand the danger that they were facing.
“Stay in the house,” he ordered. “I am going to check around and make sure he is gone.”
“Alright,” she said, though she wanted nothing more than for him to stay in the house with her. She hated the thought of him facing off with the hateful man she had met today.
“Do not open that door for any soul accept me, no matter what,” he said sternly.
“Yes, of course,” she said, locking the door behind him as he left.
He was gone for what felt like hours. She just kept waiting for the man to return and break down the door, but no one came. She and the puppy, who she had named Ralph, sat huddled on her bed waiting for Terrance to return. When he finally did, she felt as though she was finally able to breathe again.
“Did you find anything?” she asked as she began to prepare a pot of coffee for him.
“No, everything is clear,” he said, coming to stand behind her in their small kitchen. The closeness of him made her feel safe and she wished she was bold enough to tell him that.
“Are you alright,” she asked, turning to face him.
“Yes, but I am the one who should be asking you that,” he said with a sad smile, raising his hand to gently brush a stray hair from her cheek.
“Who is Josiah Merchant?” she asked, though she was fearful that the question would ruin the sweet moment that they were sharing.
“What did he tell you?” he asked in a quiet voice that was barely above a whisper.
“Nothing besides that my scars didn't bother him,” she said, shivering at the memory.
“I will never let him get close to you again, I promise you that,” he said, literally shaking with rage at the thought of such words being spoken to his sweet wife.
“Who is Josiah Merchant?” she asked again, though she already suspected that she knew the answer.
“I was,” he said honestly.
“What does that mean?” she asked gently, placing her hand upon his. He was so relieved that she did not step away from him or look horrified at his confession that he had been another man before he was her husband.
“When I was a younger man, the bank foreclosed on my family's homestead. I watched it slowly kill my father. My mother outlived him by a few years, trying to make a go of it as a seamstress to put food on
our table. My little sister died of scarlet fever when she was just 8 because we could not afford to take her to the doctor. That was the final nail in Momma’s coffin. She had a heart attack a week later. It was not until that happened that I vowed my vengeance on the bank for what happened to my family,” he explained. There was a hardness in his eyes that she had never seen before and she realized that, for the first time, she was seeing Josiah Merchant.
“I am so sorry,” she said, wrapping her arms around him to comfort him. He had never imagined that his sweet, religious wife would ever draw closer to him if she knew the truth of his past. Instead of recoiling, she was embracing him, all of him. He laid his cheek on top of her head and tried to memorize the feeling of her in his arms. She smelled of cinnamon and cloves and he could think of nothing that felt more like home that the feeling of her arms around him.
“I don't want your pity,” he said quietly. “I took my vengeance in blood. I robbed banks in seven states and I rode with the meanest group of outlaws this land has ever seen. I was an angry young man and the only time I felt anything at all was when I felt like I was getting revenge for them. I did not care who I hurt in the process.”
“Oh Terrance,” she said, with nothing but empathy in her eyes. He could not understand how he had gotten lucky enough, what good dead he had done in his life, to allow him to deserve such a wife as her.
“It was all I knew and it was all I cared about,” he continued, suddenly needing to tell her his entire story. For the first time since he lost his family, he wanted someone to really know him and he knew that that person was Lacy. She was his heart now and he needed to keep her safe, no matter the cost.
“What changed?” she asked him, staring gently in to his eyes.
“We were riding off from the law and we rode through the town where our farm was. I rode to it. I knew it was a mistake but I couldn't help myself. I stood there, on the land where I was born and it was like I could feel them all, all my family, telling me I was doing wrong. I knew right then I needed to leave it all behind. I needed to live a good life, an honest one, to honor them. I just kept in riding,” he said, the dreamy look in his eyes telling her that his mind had returned to that moment, reliving his choice to turn his life around.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, trying to imagine what it would feel like for her to once again be at her family’s homestead after having lost them all. She was not sure how anyone could handle such a thing, but instead of getting angrier at the world he had used that moment to reconnect with his true self.
“I had the money from our last job with me. I thought of using it to buy this place but I couldn't stomach building my new life on blood money but I couldn't give it to the rest of them either. I buried it as soon as I got this place. It's my reminder of the life I left behind. As long as I can keep from touching it, I know I'm doing right by my family,” he said, looking at her meaningfully.
“And that's why he's come,” she said, realizing how real the danger facing them was.
“If one of them is here, he isn't alone,” Terrance explained to her. He trusted her too much to hide anything from her.
“Are we in danger?” she asked him, though she did not look scared. Instead, she looked resolved to defend their life together and he felt even more respect for her than he had thought possible.
“No, I will not let anything happen to you,” he said, pulling her tighter in his arms. They stood there in silence, holding each other when the sounds of hoof steps range through the quiet homestead.
“Do you hear that?” she asked, looking up at him as she spoke.
“Yes, get in your bedroom. I will handle this,” he said, looking murderous as he grabbed his shotgun and walked out the door. She grabbed the puppy and did as he told her because she trusted him completely, no matter how scared she was for his safety.
It took everything in Terrance to leave Lacy’s side. He wanted to keep her close to him so that he could know for certain that she was safe and protected, not to mention the calm that her presence brought to him. Still, he knew that it was safer for them all if Baron did not see her. Baron had always escalated more quickly when females were around and he could not expose Lacy to that.
As soon as he left the house, he was met by Baron, the leader of his old gang and his former close friend, and three others who use to ride with them. They were all still astride their mounts, but Terrance was not afraid of any of them. At one time, they had all been afraid of him. No man is more terrifying than one fueled by anger and grief. Though he had put that in his past, his new found feeling for Lacy made him feel as though there was nothing that he would not do to keep her safe.
“Josiah,” Baron said, his face twisted in a nasty smirk.
“Baron,” he said, bracing himself for whatever was to come.
“You have something that is ours and we want it back,” Baron said without getting off his horse. His expression shifted from a smirk to a scowl and Terrance knew that he was in for a battle.
“It isn't mine and it isn't yours,” he said, his hand on his shotgun ready to raise it at the slightest hint they were going to move towards the house.
“Oh it is ours and I will spill your blood and the blood of that pretty little wife of yours to get it back,” he growled.
“Don't you speak about her and don't you dare go near her again,” Terrance snarled, instantly realizing that he had betrayed too much of his feel for her through his anger.
“Do you care about the poor little thing?” Baron asked, cocking his head with intrigue. “Here I was thinking she was just a part of your little cover here. That surely makes things interesting. You have until tomorrow at midnight. Boys, show him how serious we are,” he said, gesturing to the men behind him. With that, they rode around him towards the house, pulling bottles of oil from their jackets with rags hanging out of them and lighting them on fire.
Terrance was quick enough to shoot the bottle out of one man’s hand, but the man furthest from him was able to launch his through the window of Lacy’s room. With that, Baron and his men road away while Terrance sprinted in to the house to save his wife from the flames that threatened to finish the job that they had started when she was a young girl.
He barreled through the door and burst in to her room. He whipped the jacket off of his back and used it to stomp out the flames before turning to see his wife curled up in the corner, clutching the scared puppy to her chest.
“Lacy,” he gasped, sweeping her up in his arms as she let the wriggling puppy escape her grasp.
“Terry, oh Terry,” she said, burying her head in his chest and letting her tears fall.
“Are you alright,” he asked, his hands running over her arms and back as though he was trying to assure himself that she was really unharmed.
“I'm fine,” she said, beginning to calm down.
“I am so sorry. That must have been awful. You are shaking,” he said as he ran his hand through her hair to calm her.
“It's just the smell of the fire,” she explained, holding tighter to him.
“I love you,” he blurted out, too raw from the fear of losing her to keep his feelings to himself any longer.
“You love me?” she asked in awe, her mouth hanging open in shock.
“I never thought I could love anyone after my family died but I do. I love you Lacy. Having you in my life has healed something inside of me. I thought I put my rage away when I left the gang but I know now that all I did was bury that side of myself. It is having you in my life that has made me feel like it is worth living again. I need you to know that. No matter what happens, I need you to know that and to know that I will never let them hurt you,” he said, kissing the top of her head and holding her close.
“I love you too,” she said, placing her hand on his cheek as she spoke, so mesmerized by the thought that the man that she had come to love so dearly loved her in return.
“Really?” he asked, lifting her up in his arms and spinning her aroun
d joyfully. It seemed to odd to have such a perfect moment in the midst of such chaos, but he was so grateful for her that he could not contain the emotion.
“Yes, since the day that you brought home the puppy. It was the first time that I realized the kind of man you truly are. I have never felt so safe in my life, not since the fire. I love you and I trust you to keep us both safe,” she answered.
“I do not know what I ever did to deserve such an angel as you,” he said as she smiled down at her.
“I am so grateful to the Lord for bringing you in to my life,” she said, lacing her fingers through his hair and drinking in the sight of the love on his face.
“It is going to be alright. I have to go out after them. It is the only way, but I swear to you that I will be back,” he said, though he looked like he would rather be shot dead than leave her alone.