Chapter Five

Trey covered his pounding head with his pillow. He had no recollection of last night’s events or what had possessed him to go out on the balcony in the middle of the night. A broken whiskey bottle on the floor told him that he had downed the whole thing. No wonder he didn’t remember anything.

Needless to say, he had been quite surprised to find himself out on the balcony this morning, and even more shocked to see Millie out there with him. She obviously didn’t have much sleep during the night and yet her appearance hadn’t been in the least bit of disarray.

He tried to keep himself from thinking, as it hurt his head too much. The constant throbbing caused him to press the pillow harder to his face. One would think he was trying to suffocate himself. A knock on the door made his head throb even more.

“Come in” He said, annoyed.

It was Clayton. “You have a visitor, Mr. Shannon”.

“If it’s Adam, Wes, or Jed, tell ‘em…” Trey sighed. It could be important. “Send whoever it is in”.

“It’s me, Boss” Adam’s voice said.

Trey removed the pillow from his face. “What now?”

“There’s a problem” Adam seemed hesitant.

“Well?”

“The money’s gone,” Adam blurted.

“G-gone?” Trey sat straight up, feeling like his head was splitting in two.

“I have no idea where it is. I hid it where you said to, but it’s gone now. Not a trace of who took it or anything” Adam explained.

“I knew I should have put it in the safe with the rest of the money,” Trey groaned. “Where’s the other two?”

“They’re outside” Adam replied.

Trey huffed and stood, holding his head. A draft of chilly wind from the window reminded him to replace his shirt.

“Did you see anyone suspicious around?” he asked Adam.

“Nope. Not a soul ’cept us” Adam seemed awfully nonchalant about the whole thing, and Trey wondered at that.

“Well, let’s get out o’ here” Trey buttoned the top button of his shirt and grabbed his gun from the back of the straight-backed chair he kept in his room for that purpose.

*****

Millie started carrying Quinn downstairs and ran into Trey, Clayton, and another man she had seen around before at the end of the hall.

Trey looked as irritable as a wet hen, and Clayton took on a more annoyed expression.

“You’re too sick to be goin’ out, Shannon,” the latter said.

“I’m finer ’n a frog hair, Clayton” Trey growled as he slapped on his dark brown Stetson and began his pounding decent down the stairs.

Clayton looked at her and rolled his eyes. “That boy’ll kill himself”.

Serves him right for drinking himself into a stupor

. Millie thought.

The man with Trey followed him and Clayton followed suit. Millie shifted Quinn in her arms and wondered where the men were going in such a hurry. She followed farther behind and stopped at the platform at the bottom of the stairs. If Trey was leaving for longer than a day, he might want to say good-bye to Quinn.

The three men stopped at the front door and exchanged a few muffled words. Trey looked up and saw her.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he asked irritably.

Millie stopped just short of telling him what for, and took Quinn to the kitchen until they left.

What right does he have of speaking to me that way? I outta beat his brains out, the blumid idiot. It isn’t my fault he got drunk and is probably having the nastiest headache he’s known in his life.

After the sound of the horse’s hooves faded away, Millie met Clayton out in the foyer. He smiled at her.

“You’ll have to excuse him, Miss Millie. He’s not having a good day,” he said.

Millie smiled at him. The condition of Trey’s day wasn’t her problem.

“I’m taking Quinn outside for a minute or two. It’s warmed up a little and I think the fresh air will do him good,” she said.

Clayton nodded.

Millie opened the door and saw four riders heading west, the only sound being the hoof beats of their mounts. She carried Quinn to the side yard where a grassy spot under a tree provided a shaded area and sat him down. Quinn looked around and touched the grass lightly. He seemed a little frightened to be outside, and it occurred to Millie that he might not have been outside before. His father was obviously a busy man and didn’t have time for such things. Millie tousled the boy’s curly blonde hair and planned to change his view of the outdoors. Quinn looked up at her with his blue, expressive eyes and Millie’s heart melted. She studied the boy, and compared his features. He didn’t have his father’s eyes or hair, but Quinn’s nose was definitely a look-alike of his father’s. Quinn too, had square jaw that wasn’t as strongly set as his father’s, but the resemblance was there.

In the midst of her thinking, it dawned on her that most children were speaking a little eat Quinn’s age, or at least trying. She hadn’t heard Quinn utter a single word since she had been at the plantation. Filing the thought in the back of her mind to ask Trey about later, Millie directed her attention back on Quinn.

*****

“She’s good with him” Mariah commented to Clayton as they both watched Millie play with Quinn in the side yard.

“I agree” Clayton smiled.

“Mr. Shannon needs a girl like her around. She can shoot those daggers out of her eyes as anyone I know when she has a mind to. Thing is, she rarely has a mind to. I still can’t believe she let Mr. Shannon snap at her like that,” Mariah said, wadding her dishtowel in her hand.

“I could tell she wanted to say something to him. Her redhead was starting to show” Clayton leaned on the windowpane.

Millie tickled Quinn’s feet, and the child’s musical laughter could be heard from their place in the house.

“She needs to show it a lot more. The last thing this world needs is another woman resigned to whatever a man tells her, cause they’ll steer her wrong. And don’t think I didn’t see that look in Wes’ eye when he saw her the first time. That boy is bringin’ trouble” Mariah threw her dishtowel over her shoulder and walked back toward the kitchen where she spent most of her time.

Clayton sighed and watched Millie and Quinn. For some reason, he felt this fatherly urge to protect the young nursemaid from whatever his employer’s men thought of her.

“C’mon Clayton. There’s leftover pie from last night and you’re gonna get it outta the way” Mariah called.

Clayton smiled. “Yes, dear”.

*****

Millie stood as the sun was lowering in the horizon and picked up Quinn to carry him in the house. He was dirty and would need a bath tonight. As she started walking toward the house, a young man out at the barn caught her eye.

He must be the stable boy.

She figured she might as well introduce herself to him.

She adjusted Quinn on her hip and walked toward the barn. The big red structure looked like one you would find on any of the finest horse ranches in the area.

The stable boy looked up from the beautiful Shire he was grooming and smiled at her.

“Well, you must be the new hire I’ve heard so much about” He said.

“I’m Millie” Millie held her hand out.

“I’m Price” he took his glove off and shook her hand.

He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

“Nice to meet you” Millie smiled.

“Hope you’re not looking for the head honcho. He’s gone” Price replaced his glove.

“Oh, I know that. Did he tell you where he was going?” Millie asked.

“No, you kiddin’? He don’t tell me nothing” Price said.

“Doesn’t seem like he tells anyone nothing,” Millie said, feeling Quinn slowly drifting to sleep in her arms.

“He doesn’t” Price said. There was obviously some sort of anger in his voice.

“It was nice meeting you” Millie smiled. “This little guy needs a bath and he’s about to fall asleep as it is”.

“So I see,” Price grinned.

Millie turned for the house and gently shook Quinn awake again.

*****

Trey pushed his roan up a hill and met up with Wes and Jed.

“Did ya’ll find anything?” he asked them in a sigh.

“Nope. Not a trace of anyone” Jed said. “I find it strange. Anyone who could steal that money had to have been privy to our plans, don’t you think?”

“That’s exactly what I think. Now, did any of you tell anyone about this job?” Trey asked as Adam rode up.

“Nope”

“No”

“Not a one”

Trey groaned. “Well, I guess we better call it a night. Meet me at the cabin in the morning”

He turned his horse around and kicked it harder than forcing it into a run merited. He gently rubbed the animal’s neck in an apology.

In all his efforts to remain calm, he could feel the soft leather of the reins he held cutting into his hand from his squeezing. He suspected that either Wes or Adam had taken part in taking the money. Wes would do it for spite, but Adam was smart. He knew how to hide his tracks and how to point all evidence to someone else. But Trey trusted Jed. He was the most honest of them all, and had always had his back. He couldn’t say that much about the other two. His head had stopped hurting for the most part but his mood hadn’t improved at all. He would find out who took that money.

*****

Millie poured the last kettle of warm water in the tub for Quinn’s bath. She figured he was due for one anyway. Growing up, she had to take a bath every Saturday and sometimes one in the middle of the week.

Taking Quinn from his place in a chair, she undressed him and slowly lowered him into the warm water. He made a face to the warmth, but soon got used to it.

Millie made a few bubbles for him to play with while she lathered his hair with soap. Smiling, she made his hair stand up on end and took a hand held mirror she had brought to the kitchen with her and held it up so Quinn could see himself. Quinn giggled and patted his hair.

Before bath time was done, Quinn’s eyes began to droop closed again and he grew limp. Millie made quick work of drying him off and dressing him in clean clothes. Quinn snuggled against her as she carried him upstairs to the nursery. She had always loved the feeling of a sleeping child in her arms, so she hated putting him to bed. Lowering him into the crib, she watched as Quinn quickly adjusted to the change and fell back asleep. Sighing, she covered him with a thin blanket and opened the door to her room. In the top drawer of her dresser were her three favorite books. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. She grabbed the one on top, Jane Eyre, and went downstairs. Clayton and Mariah were talking in the kitchen, and Jess had already retired to her room.

She walked into the parlor and sat on the settee closest to the roaring fire. The comforting warmth of the flames were just what she needed after a long day. Cracking open the novel in her hand, she entered into the world of a young woman in a harsh world where mean and terrible people made up her circle of acquaintances. For the next while, she was so lost in the world of Jane and the brooding Mr. Rochester that she didn’t even notice the dark windows or the lateness of the hour until the front door opened. She looked up and saw Trey entering the house, so she returned to her book, hoping he would go on to bed and not notice her. After a few moments, she turned the page and looked up just enough to see him standing in front of her.

“What are ya doin’?” He asked, surprisingly civil, yet his face said he was still cranky.

Millie dog-eared the page she was on and closed the book, showing him the front. “Reading”.

Trey nodded and sat in an overstuffed chair across from her. There was something on his mind. When he made no movement for conversation, Millie stared at the fire and sighed, crushing her book to her chest.

“Something on your mind, Trey?” she asked.

Trey put his head in his hands and sighed. He shook his head. “I’m fine. I think I’ll just go to bed” He stood and rolled the tension out of his neck. “You should probably do the same”.

Millie nodded.

“You know, if you ever run out of books to read, you can always borrow one out of my study. As you saw there are plenty,” Trey told her.

Millie looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you”.

Trey left and went upstairs, so Millie continued reading. For the life of her, she couldn’t concentrate on the story she was so enchanted with a moment before. Sighing in frustration with herself, she closed the book again and stood. She might as well go on to bed. She was still tired from her lack of sleep the night before, and didn’t want to oversleep again.

*****

Trey collapsed onto his bed and groaned. He had come so close to telling Millie all about his line of work. That would have proved disastrous. The last thing he needed was an emotional or mental attraction to this woman. She was there for Quinn, not to help bear his burdens.

Besides, it wasn’t like he needed to tell anyone. This was his fight, and he’d fight it alone. He had been fighting his own fights for years, and he wasn’t changing that now.

But as he stood in front of her before she knew he was there, something stirred inside of him that he didn’t recognize. She looked so beautiful sitting there. Her head had rested in her hand as she focused on what she was reading. Her eyebrows had pulled close together and a few strands of hair hung in front of her face. The fire reflected off the deep hues of her dark red hair.

Karen had loved to read, too. Before Quinn was born, he would find her so many times sitting on the hearth reading a book, with several more in a stack beside her. So many good memories. So many things he never wanted to forget about Karen or their brief marriage.

“I still can’t believe you’re gone,” he said into the air. “I can’t believe I was so stupid”. He punched the pillow beside him. Why was his life falling apart? Gradually over the past few years, his world had been chipping away until it was barely held together. Barely surviving.

In the morning, he went down to breakfast and met Clayton in the hall.

“Anyone come by this morning?” Trey asked. Maybe one of the guys had found something.

“No, sir” Clayton said. “But I was told to tell you that your Shire and quarter horse need a good run. They’re getting restless”.

Trey nodded. He could use a good ride this morning.

“Good morning, Miss Williams” Clayton smiled and looked to a point somewhere directly behind Trey’s shoulder.

Trey turned and smiled at Millie, who carried Quinn on her hip.

“Come and eat a’ fore it gets cold!” Mariah’s voice called.

Millie held out Quinn to Trey, and he gladly took him. Quinn squirmed as Trey carried him downstairs and into the kitchen.

*****

Millie sat beside Quinn at the breakfast table, making sure he ate his food and didn’t wear it.

“Millie, do you ride much?” Trey asked her.

Millie looked up at him. “Some”.

“How’d you like to go for a ride after breakfast? I have a couple horses who need to be ran around a bit, and I can’t ride two at once” Trey said.

“I’d like that” Millie answered quickly. She loved horses, especially when she could ride them.

After breakfast, Millie went upstairs and donned her only split skirt and a dark blue blouse. She had left Quinn in Mariah’s care until she returned, and was looking forward to a few free minutes to herself. Well, mostly to herself. Trey’s company after yesterday morning’s incident didn’t exactly give her thrills, but she could cope with that.

Trey had the horses saddled and ready when she emerged from the house. He was atop a beautiful dark brown quarter horse with a rippling black mane. He handed her the reins of a gorgeous Shire pony, the same one she had seen Price grooming the last evening.

“This one is beautiful! What’s her name?” Millie asked.

“His name is Hank” Trey smiled.

“Awe, hi Hank” Millie smiled and rubbed the horse’s blaze on its nose.

“And this here’s Graceful. She’s kind of a spirited one” Trey rubbed his horse’s neck.

“She’s pretty” Millie smiled.

“Well, mount up and we’ll be headin’ thatta way” Trey pointed east.

Millie tried putting her foot in the stirrup, but after nearly falling over, she got her foot solidly in the triangular leather piece. Only that was the easy part. The stirrup was so high up she couldn’t pull herself up into the saddle.

“Trey, do ya reckon you could’ve put this stirrup any higher?” she asked sarcastically.

Trey chuckled. “Clayton!”

Clayton came out of the house and smiled at them.

“Can you help her?” Trey grinned.

Clayton walked over to Millie and laced his hands together. Millie put her foot in them and Clayton boosted her up. Hard. She threw her leg over the saddle but the force of Clayton’s boost sent her farther over than she anticipated, and she completely missed the saddle, hitting the ground with a thud. Clayton ran to her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be so light,” he said.

Trey had dismounted and helped her stand.

“You’re right, Clayton” he said. “She is pretty light”.

Millie slapped his hands away and stood. “I’ll do it on my own”.

She grabbed the saddle horn and pulled up with as much strength as she could muster.

She pulled herself up halfway until she was draped over the saddle. Then, somewhat ungracefully, she pulled her left leg over the saddle and righted herself… The hair that had escaped her braid brushed across her face as she smiled triumphantly at the men below. Trey was still grinning as he adjusted his hat and remounted Graceful.

“Ready?” he asked.

Millie nodded.