Chapter Twenty-Two: A Heartbroke Injun, a Weed Bouquet and A Broken Leg

"A wedding? Honestly? You wanna waste time gettin' married instead of hitting the road?" Frankie demanded as she stared at Charlotte and Silas with shock and irritation.

She glanced around the kitchen where everyone was currently eating the pork and gravy that Charlotte had cooked for them that morning and waited for someone else to argue.

"I don't see it as a waste of time." Charlotte stated in her quiet, meek voice that drove Frankie crazy.

"Neither do I. I'll stand witness." Colt spoke up before taking a sip of his steaming coffee. "I don't see any reason to rush off from here. We can stay a few days or a week or so... as long as the supplies hold out."

"You all go ahead and do what you need to do then but I'm moving on." Frankie said as she stood from her chair and swiped some crumbs off her shirt.

"We are?" Comanche questioned with a slight raise of his brow. Frankie swallowed and shook her head, not meeting his gaze.

"No, not we, me. I. Singular. Alone. I'm leaving."

The dining room fell silent as Comanche got to his feet, his movement slow and fluid. Without even looking her way he left the room, stopping just outside the door.

His voice was low when he spoke and he kept his back to everyone in the room. "You will come speak to me now."

Frankie sighed. She'd like to tell him to kiss her ass seeing as how he was ordering her around but she couldn't. While she'd never admit it out loud, her heart was hurting a little at the knowledge that she'd be leaving Comanche behind. He was good at helping her forget and she was going to miss that... she refused to acknowledge, even to herself, that she was going to miss him for any other reason.

She spared a glance at Colt but the man wasn't paying any attention to anything other than the pork and gravy on his plate. Frankie had hoped he'd offer supplies but clearly she was going to have to ask if she wanted them.

"Colt, I'll need some supplies...."

"Paleface, come with me now." Comanche growled from the doorway and Frankie realized that he was now looking at her. His dark eyes were flashing with temper and muscles were jumping in his tense chiseled jaw. He had placed a thin white cotton shirt on but left most of the buttons undone so his broad copper chest was still clearly visible. Frankie wished it wasn't. It would be much easier to walk away from him if she couldn't see what she was giving up.

"Alright then, injun." She muttered as Comanche turned quickly and strode from the room, leaving her scrambling to keep up. "Slow the hell down." She grumbled and Comanche came to such an abrupt halt in the sitting room that Frankie ran directly into his back and barely had time to right herself before he turned on her.

"What have I done?" he whispered harshly and Frankie could see the pain in his dark eyes. She cursed his soul to hell and clenched her fists beside her thighs.

"Damn you, Comanche, I told you I wasn't lookin' to get tied down and you said okay. Don't you act as if I'm surprisin' you now that I'm ready to move on!"

"You can walk away from me so easily?" Comanche demanded, his jaw tightening so drastically that Frankie worried his bones would pop.

"Comanche, you weren't never anything other than a distraction and I told you that from the beginning." Frankie informed him, ignoring the nagging gnawing sensation in her gut that told her she might not be being completely honest. "Now I know you wanna stay here with these folks, I ain't got no urge to settle in with them, so I believe we've reached the end of our ride together."

"What happens the next time you need to forget?" Comanche asked, his voice low and quiet, laced with pain.

Frankie avoided his gaze, but she could feel those dark eyes on her. Watching her; seeing inside of her and waiting for her answer.

"I'll find a new way." She replied, forcing herself to sound cold and indifferent. This wasn't fair of him to do to her. She had told him in the beginning that this was just for fun. Just a distraction. This had never been a serious relationship between them. She had told him she wasn't looking to get tied down and he had agreed with her.

She was supposed to change her way of thinking simply because the man had changed his mind? She hated to tell the damn injun but life just didn't work that way.

Without another word, Comanche turned and walked away from her, heading through the foyer and out the door. Frankie felt an ache in the pit of her stomach but quickly pushed the feeling away. It was better this way. Getting attached only led to pain. It was best to simply cut your losses and run.

Frankie also chose to ignore the disappointment she felt in realizing he was going to let her walk away.

She let out a growl when she realized that her head seemed to house two separate people. One who wanted freedom and one who wanted Comanche. Deciding that the side that wanted to settle down with Comanche needed a swift kick in the ass, Frankie strode back into the kitchen.

"I'm going to be leaving now, Colt." She said and the man nodded and pushed himself to his feet.

"You and Comanche will need some supplies....."

"He's staying with you." Frankie cut in quickly. "I'll be going alone."

Colt looked surprised but then he nodded. "Sure."

"Colt, you can't give her supplies!" Katherine argued as she stood up quickly. "We need the supplies we have! It's her choice to go off on her own."

Frankie was about to put the blond twit in her place but Colt spoke up before she could. "She saved my life, Katherine, and we have more than enough to spare."

"I think leaving is a mistake." Charlotte stated as she shifted the tiny babe in her arms.

"Well I don't reckon I recall asking you what you thought. What would you know about independence? You got you a big strong man to take care of you while you whimper and cry and hide behind him. Pathetic." Frankie shot back.

"I don't see why insults are necessary." Silas spoke up, fixing Frankie with a warning gaze. For a so called peace loving, Christian man, Silas sure did seem awful eager to fight anyone who had anything bad to say about his little soft woman.

"Katherine, go into the kitchen and put enough food for three or four days in a sack." He said and while Katherine still didn't seem as if she liked the idea, she nodded and walked out the back door of the dining room. Colt turned his attention to Frankie. "Follow me and I'll get the rest of your supplies." Frankie followed after him feeling awkward with all the eyes watching her leave.

"Don't you have an opinion about me leaving?" she asked Colt as they stepped into the sitting room and he grabbed a jar of kerosene and handed it to her.

"You are a grown woman, Frankie, and don't need to hear what anyone else thinks about your decisions."

Frankie nodded and grabbed the sack she'd packed her old belongings into that morning, along with a clean change of clothes.

Colt grabbed some ammunition for her forty-four revolver and handed it to her and Frankie smiled gratefully as she dropped it into the sack.

"There's some extra blankets in the cart in the barn and you should grab you one. There's also some cut up firewood in there and you should grab a bundle of it too. It still gets pretty cold once the sun goes down."

"I don't need to be told how to take care of myself." Frankie assured Colt and Colt rubbed at his bearded cheek.

"Call them little Colt pearls of wisdom." He replied and Frankie found herself laughing with amusement.

"Well I'll be damned. You remember Frankie's little gems of wisdom that I gave to ya that night?"

"Yes ma'am." Colt replied with a nod. Frankie laughed again and laid her hand on his arm. The slamming of a door had her jumping and turning and she saw the flash of Comanche's dark hair through the cracks of the boards on the windows.

Colt cleared his throat and pulled away from her before heading back toward the kitchen. "I'll see what's taking Katherine so long with that food."

***

Comanche sat in the barn loft and watched his mate, his one true love, ride off into the woods. Never had there been a stubborn, hard-headed, pain in the ass that was her equal.

Comanche's heart felt as if it had been ripped up and spat upon and then tossed back at him with a laugh. Comanche had lived the largest part of his life feeling nothing and training himself to need no one. Life had taught him that people were ripped away far too easily.. What he hadn't prepared himself for was to have someone he loved simply ride away from him as if he didn't even matter.

"Aren't you going to chase her?" Comanche turned to see Silas standing in the doorway of the barn. Comanche shook his head and moved away from the window, unwilling to have this man watch him pining for someone who cared so little.

"No. She made her choice. I will not force her hand."

"Did you tell her that you love her?"

"You would do well to mind your own business, negro." Though the final word was spoken without venom.

Silas's eyes sparked with amusement and Comanche's eyes narrowed as the other man spoke. "And you, savage, would do well to tell the woman how you feel. Life was too short for wasting time before hell came to earth. Now wasting time is complete foolishness."

Comanche shook his head and rubbed his face with his hand. Silas was a good man but a nosy one. He liked to offer his opinions about everything and it was a habit that already annoyed Comanche even though he'd known the man for less than two full days. It did not bode well for the future of their relationship.

"Do not trouble yourself with my troubles." Comanche stated with a tip of his head and Silas studied him a moment before nodding.

"Alright then, Comanche. I only came out here because Miss Charlotte wanted me to ask if you wanted to come in and stand as witness."

"She wants me?" Comanche asked with a frown.

"Yes." Silas replied. "You saved our daughter and you seem a good man."

"I am a copper skinned savage. Not the type that most folks want to have as witness to ceremonies." Comanche countered and Silas chuckled.

"Yep and I'm a poor colored man and a former slave to boot but Miss Charlotte don't seem to trouble herself with facts such as those. Will you come on in or do I have to disappoint her?"

Comanche sighed and nodded. He'd rather stay here alone for a while and think on the loss of Frankie, though she did not deserve his time. He had already given her so much of it. He had saved her life countless times just as she had saved his. She had given him her body and he had given her his heart and now he had lost both those things.

His heart wasn't broken in his chest, it was broken in her hands. She had ridden away with it and Comanche knew he would never get it back. Not unless she brought it back and given her stubborn nature, he wasn't too hopeful for that.

"I do not want to disappoint Charlotte." Comanche admitted as he came down off the loft. "She may decide to not let me share in the meals she cooks."

"Miss Charlotte is a real good cook." Silas agreed with a nod as he patted his belly.

"You are a good man, Silas. Albeit a nosy one." Comanche stated as they walked out of the barn and into the sunshine, both of them scanning for flesh eaters... something that they did without even thinking about their action. Gone were the days when anyone could simply stroll around without vigilance.

"I've been told that a time or two." Silas laughed. "But I don't see it as nosiness. I've lived a lot in my years and I try to help my friends when I can. I'd want them to do the same for me."

"Friends? We're friends?"

"Of course we are." Silas patted his back and Comanche stiffened, unsure what to make of the brotherly contact. Because of his skin color, most people did not trust Comanche enough to call him a friend and even fewer risked physical contact for fear his savage would rub off. Maybe Silas wasn't as annoying as Comanche had first thought.

***

Charlotte could not remember a time when her stomach had been tied in so many nervous knots. She stood in the upstairs hall dressed in a brown wool skirt and a white blouse with long sleeves and a high neck. She had pulled all her hair up on her head, leaving only a few loose tendrils to curl around her ears and cheeks.

While they couldn't have a true ceremony, she and Silas were going to stand together in the sitting room and share their own vows in front of their new companions and they were going to declare themselves husband and wife before God.

Charlotte still was not entirely sure what Silas saw in her or why the man would want to tie himself to a widowed woman with such a small child but she was eternally grateful that he did. She knew that Silas would be a good husband and an amazing father. He had already proven that with his unfailing devotion over the last month.

"Ma'am?" Colt's voice snapped Charlotte from her thoughts and she looked up to see him walking down the hall toward her. "Everybody's downstairs now." He added.

"Thank you." Charlotte replied, her voice shaking just a little.

"I was nervous too." Colt said comfortingly and he slid his hand from behind his back to reveal a bouquet that was more green weeds than flowers. "It was the best I could come up with."

Charlotte smiled brightly and felt a tear fill the corner of her eye as she took the bouquet and breathed in the scent of the clover. "Thank you." She whispered and then she studied his bearded face. "You're married?"

Pain so deep it stole even Charlotte's breath entered his dark blue eyes. "I was." There was a finality in his tone that made it clear the topic was not open for further discussion. He cleared his throat and held out his arm. "You ready?"

"You're going to walk me down?" Charlotte asked with surprise.

"From what I've seen of weddings the woman is usually walked down the aisle isn't she, ma'am?"

Charlotte smiled again, felt some of her nerves melt away and looped her arm through Colt's. He patted her hand comfortingly before leading her to the staircase.

***

"Shit, Evie, there ain't no food to eat." Ox grumbled as he tore through the saddlebags and sacks.

"I'm starving, Ox. We haven't eaten since yesterday morning and it's already closing in on the evening." Evangeline complained. "And I know that if I'm this hungry then you must be worse."

"I'm just fine, Evie. Don't you worry 'bout me none." Ox assured, even as his stomach let out a terrible growl and clenched painfully. He laid a hand over it and willed it settle down as he glanced around the forest.

Weeks they'd been traveling and while Ox knew they had to be getting close to their Aunt Rachel's, he honestly had no real idea where the place was at. He had only been there one other time and he had been ten. That had been seventeen years ago.

He had thought for sure they'd be there by now but here they sat in the middle of the woods, a few feet off a dusty trail with no food, no oil and barely any ammunition left for their guns. If Ox was being honest he was running out of hope as well. It seemed that instead of seeing less of those monsters they were beginning to see more and he had a terrible suspicion that they weren't going to find Aunt Rachel alive and well.

"Ox, we have to find something tomorrow." Evangeline said from where she sat on a moss covered fallen log. "A town, a house, something. We're going to starve to death out here."

Ox nodded, he knew she was right.

"You have your gun?" he asked and she nodded and lifted her skirt to show him the hand of it sticking out of her ankle boot. "Alright then, Evie, I'm gonna go walk around and gather up some wood, maybe I can even find something to eat. I'll stay within shouting distance. You go ahead and try to get a fire started. There's matches......" Ox looked around at their belongings scattered on the forest floor and stooped to scoop up the pack of matches. He opened it and cursed. "Shit. One match."

"One is all I need to start a fire." Evangeline assured him. "I've gotten rather good at fire starting."

Ox tossed the matches to her and felt his heart hurt. His beautiful sister was not faring well. She looked pale, tired, worn down. Dark circles surrounded her green eyes and she'd lost all the color in her cheeks. Her clothes, a worn wool skirt and stained pink blouse were filthy and torn from all their time making their way through forests the last couple of weeks.

Evangeline was not built for this kind of life. She was made for elegance, not fighting tooth and nail for survival. Ox was desperate to find her an easier way of life somewhere. She needed a nice roof over her head and three hot meals a day and Ox was going to see to it that his sister had that again. .... He simply wasn't sure how he was going to see to it.

"Be careful, Ox." Evangeline said quietly as she pushed herself to her feet with a wince.

"Are you okay?" Ox asked quickly and she nodded, holding up her hand to stop him from coming closer.

"Just sore, Ox."

Ox knew she meant her legs. Evangeline had gotten her own horse but Ox had been unable to find a sidesaddle, even though he had looked hard for one. Riding the horse astride for hours upon hours so many days had caused Evangeline a great deal of pain, though he knew she was trying hard to hide the discomfort. That was one reason he had called a stop to their travels a little earlier than usual today.

"Shit, Evie, I'm sorry about all this." Ox whimpered as he pulled off his hat and clutched it between his hands. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you."

Evangeline smiled reassuring and laid her hand on his thick forearm. "You are, Ox. None of this is your fault and no one would be able to take care of me as good as you are. Now go find us some firewood for the night while I get us a fire started."

Ox nodded and walked off into the woods. He knew Evangeline was lying about him taking care of her but he'd let her lie because it was what he needed to hear. He wished he'd been born a smart man. He figured a smart man would have been able to find a sidesaddle and would have found a quicker way to get to safety than this constant wandering.

Ox gathered up firewood under his arm and kept a look out for anything to eat. He saw several squirrels he could have shot but he didn't want to draw any flesh eaters by firing his gun. But he could always set a trap or two and hopefully have something to eat for the morning.

Finally happy that he'd had a good idea, Ox sat down his bundle of wood and set to work on his trap.

***

Evangeline was miserable. The burning, searing pain between her thighs was nearly unbearable and when added to the ache in her muscles from holding onto the horse and the throb in her core from constant pounding against the saddle and Evangeline was beginning to think that death might not be so bad.

She and Ox were starving. They were thirsty. They were wore down and exhausted. She knew Ox was feeling guilty since he saw it as his responsibility to take care of her and honestly Evangeline was getting tired of trying to make him feel better.

Truth was he might have kept her safe from the flesh eaters but they were both going to die of exposure and hunger if he didn't' get them to a town or Aunt Rachel's soon. Evangeline had no idea how to find her way through the woods, she'd never had the need to learn and she had assumed Ox would have an idea on how to get where they needed to go.... She'd been wrong. He was just as clueless about getting around out here as she was.

They were just a couple of spoiled, rich folks with no idea how to keep themselves alive... and it was going to cost them their lives.

Evangeline whimpered as she gathered up tiny twigs and dried leaves from the forest floor. She arranged them in a pile and lit their final match, touching it to the leaves which caught flame quickly.

Evangeline was proud of how well she'd learned to start a fire as she blew gently at the glowing flames and continued to feed them twigs, building them bigger and stronger.

The flames grew to a strong height and Evangeline sat several larger bits of woods on top of them and settled back on her heels, wishing her body could be pain free for just a moment. One single second of blissful pain-free existence would be a moment spent in heaven.

A twig snapped to her right and Evangeline immediately pulled her gun from her boot and whirled around, scanning the woods.

"Ox?" she asked in a voice barely more than a whisper. There was no response and Evangeline caught a glimpse of movement, a flash of hair and a moan...

A flesh eater!

Acting on instinct alone, Evangeline pulled the trigger on her tiny thirty-eight and heard the flesh eater let out a cry of pain from behind the dense brush and cover. Evangeline didn't know where she had hit the monster at and she wasn't about to go into those thick bushes and find out.

Instead she kept her gun drawn and kept her eyes and ears both alert for any other signs of flesh eaters.

"Evie! Shit, Evie, answer me!" Ox's frightened voice called out and Evangeline heard his big boots crashing through the woods toward her.

"I'm okay, Ox!" Evie replied quickly, her voice shaking. "It was a flesh eater! I shot it but I don't know if I killed it."

"Where is it?" Ox questioned as he came into view and Evangeline pointed toward the bushes.

"Over there."

Ox nodded and headed toward the bushes with his forty-five drawn and aimed steady. Evangeline's stomach was tied in knots as she watched her brother push his broad frame through the dense tangle of brush and then Ox called out and fell to his knees.

"What is it?!" Evangeline all but screamed.

Ox came back out of the bushes with a woman held in his arms. She was skinny and armed to the teeth with weapons. Her dark hair was full of leaves and her eyes were closed, her face drawn. Evangeline could see the dark blood soaking her shirt, just above her waist.

"Shit, Evie, this is a real person!"

"I shot a person?" Evangeline gasped. "A woman?" Bile rose in her throat and she heaved, though nothing was in her stomach to spill out on the grass.

Ox said nothing, instead he laid the woman down on the grass and dried up leaves and lifted her shirt. Evangeline breathed a small sigh of relief when she realized her bullet had done little more than graze the woman's side.

Suddenly the woman moaned and before Ox or Evangeline could react, she had her gun drawn and her dark eyes were wide and jumping back and forth between them.

"Just who the devil are you?" she demanded.

"My name's Ox and this here is my sister Evangeline. She didn't mean to shoot you, she thought you was a flesh eater."

"I really did. I'm so sorry." Evangeline replied as she wrung her hands. The woman sighed and lowered her gun.

"My horse spooked and threw me. I busted up my leg real bad and was trying to make my way back to some folks I know but it was slow going and my ankle kept swelling. I smelled the smoke from your campfire...."

"I heard you moaning and I saw how strangely you were moving... I just shot at the bushes. I did not mean to hurt you!"

"No harm done. It's my leg that hurts me most and that wasn't your fault." The woman assured her.

"What's your name?" Ox asked as he stood straight and rubbed the back of his neck. The woman's eyes widened and Evangeline knew it was Ox's size that shocked her. It shocked most people when they first saw him.

"Uh.. Frankie.. My name's Frankie."

"You said you were heading back toward some people you know... where are they?" Evangeline asked, hoping that this was the break she and her brother had so desperately needed.

"A couple of miles that way." The woman replied, pointing into the woods, though Evangeline had no idea what direction that way was since she had never learned to tell her directions in the woods. "We found a house with lots of supplies and plenty of rooms for all of us... Y'all help me get back there and I'm sure they would find a place for you."

"What do you think, Evie?" Ox asked, looking down at her. Evangeline knew that he no longer trusted his own judgment after what had happened with Thompson, Clint and Lita back in that town.

"I don't see that we have any choice but to trust her." Evangeline replied with a sigh.

"'Course ya can trust me. Y'all look like you're just about on your last leg."

"We're hungry." Ox replied as his stomach rumbled loudly.

Frankie grinned. "Well you're in luck, big guy, there's a woman in our group that lives to play homemaker. She'll take real good care of that stomach of yours."