Chapter 37: A Memory

"I still can't believe you took down a bear, Lilly," Arthur said as he looked at her with wide eyes. They had their food mounted on and were on their way back to Colter. Arthur was in absolute awe of the 21-year-old Irish girl. He had already decided on making Lilly his woman, but how to go about it...

Lilly rolled her blue eyes in annoyance. "Fer chrissake, I had help. And let's not forget that ya finally got the hang of a bow, Arthur," she said.

"Yeah. Nice work, Arthur," said Charles with approval in his tone. "Should be enough meat here to keep us all fed for a few days."

"You found 'em," Arthur pointed out to Charles.

"I knew you'd be okay with that bow."

"It's easier when they ain't shootin' back."

Charles chuckled a little. "We've seen enough of that."

"Considerin' how things were lookin' a couple of days back, well maybe our luck is finally on the turn."

"Seems to me we should be puttin' our effort into gettin' off this mountain now."

"Soon. People are still wrak and you've seen how snowed in those wagons are...they ain't goin' nowhere until we get some more thaw."

"Hmm, you're probably right. And, even if we do get off here, what then? We'll still have a big price on our heads."

"This is a big country...we'll find somewhere to lie low. Dutch and Hosea will have a plan. Ain't that right, Lilly?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah," Lilly spurted out. "Sure thing."

Arthur looked back at Lilly. All that blood on her white hunting outfit was seriously a focal point. "You alright back there? You're unusually quiet."

"Of course I'm alright."

Charles and Arthur slowed down and so did she. "You sure?"

Lilly sighed in frustration. "Honestly, Arthur. How many bears do I need to kill for you to stop treatin' me like a little lady?"

Charles and Arthur laughed. "I'm sorry. You're just so quiet. Usually, you can't shut the hell up."

Lilly's eyes squinted at him. "Fuck you," she said playfully.

Arthur cackled and they picked up the pace. "That's my girl." Arthur brought his attention to Charles. "You noticed how Pearson's had a bottle in his hand ever since we flew Blackwater? We give the camp cook five minutes to grab the essentials and go, and he doesn't even bring a crumb of food!"

"Good that we caught all this food. We've only been up here a few days and have already picked up two more mouths to feed," Charles said.

"One more. We ain't feedin' the O'Driscoll a damn thing...except maybe that can of salted offal Pearson was kind enough to give us."

"Bleh! Salted offal?" Lilly blurted out. "What about the other one? Mrs. Adler?"

"She has a wild look in her eye," Charles explained.

"Of course. She lost her husband, her home, everything she had," Arthur said sadly.

"...I can relate," Lilly said.

Arthur looked at her and frowned. He remembered how wild she was as a child when they first met, and he could only imagine how she was before losing her entire family. Almost fifteen years and Arthur still had no idea how her family died. Lilly rarely brought up the subject.

"What do you mean you can relate?" Charles asked her.

"...I lost everythin' too." Lilly cleared her throat and made her horse go to gallop. "Let's go, horse."

Arthur watched her go ahead and he sighed. "Sorry, Charles. It's a touchy subject for her," Arthur whispered.

Charles looked at Arthur strangely. "Well, what happened?" Charles whispered back.

"That's the thing. I have no idea. All I know is that her parents, her sister and two brothers died when she was very young."

"How young?"

"Before she was seven, I'm guessin'. She never-"

"Hold up," Lilly shouted. "Bear up ahead." The two men stopped and looked at the grizzly bear. "We should find some other way around."

Arthur smiled at her. "Don't feel like takin' on another one today?"

Lilly eyeballed Arthur. "No."

"He's got a lot of meat on him."

"We've got enough here, no need to push our luck," Charles said. The horses started getting antsy. "He must be real hungry, stay well back. Spring storms like this are the worst for animals that sleep all winter."

The three gang members' mounts strolled through the snow slowly, then they cut off the trail and up a hill. Arthur's mount got a little spooked and Arthur tried to comfort him.

"It's alright, boy," Arthur said softly, patting the horse's neck. Once they got over the hill, the horses calmed down. "We ain't ever talked that much, you and me," Arthur said to Charles. "How long you been with us now? Five, six months?"

"Somethin' like that," Charles replied.

"Bet you didn't expect this," Arthur said with a chuckle.

"What?"

"Any of this. The Blackwater mess, bein' up here."

"Ah. Sooner or later a job's gonna go wrong. Nature of life."

"I just thought you might've moved on by now."

Charles eyed Arthur suspiciously. "You...want me to move on?"

"No," Arthur said enthusiastically. "No, not at all, I just...I know you can run it alone, no problem."

"I did that for a long time. I'm done with it. Always wonderin' if someone's gonna kill you in your sleep."

"I still wonder that most nights," Arthur snickered. He saw Lilly tense up and he frowned.

"Ha ha, I reckon you're okay...this suits me," Charles said. "Sure, I could fall in with another gang, but Dutch...you know...Dutch is different."

"Yep, that's my Da for ya," Lilly interjected.

"He treats me fair. Most of you do. And for a fella with a black father and an Indian mother, that ain't normally the case."

"Well, we need you now, more than ever. The both of you," Arthur said.

Lilly smiled at him. "Ah, you know me. I'm always ready to help out."

"Good," Charles said. "And how long have you been runnin' with these boys? Why ain't you run off?"

"Me?" Arthur asked. "Twenty years, somethin' like that. Since I was a boy."

"Twenty years?" Charles said with disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah, he taught me to read. John, too. Taught me a few other things, him and Hosea."

"And you, Lilly? How long have you been in the gang?"

Lilly hissed with an intake of breathe. "Oh, I'd say fourteen, almost fifteen years now. I was seven when they found me. Arthur, Hosea, and Dutch saved me...in more ways than they will ever know."

Arthur blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Lilly smirked at him. "Like I said, more ways than you will ever know."

Charles cleared his throat. "How's that new horse?"

"He's alright, he'll do for now," Arthur said. "I appreciate you lettin' me take Taima the other night."

"She's a strong one. It's been as hard on the horses as on the rest of us. I don't know what Dutch would if somethin' happened to The Count."

"Same with Bill and Brown Jack. He's a drunk, miserable bastard, but...he loves that horse."

Lilly frowned at Arthur. "I loved Holly. I miss her."

Arthur had forgotten all about that. "I'm sorry, Lilly."

"Me too," Charles said.

They finally arrived back in Colter and hitched up their horses. Lilly was about to grab her bear pelt but Arthur grabbed her arm. "Let me bring that in for you. Go get yourself cleaned up."

Their eyes locked and he saw Lilly's cheeks redden. She smiled at him devilishly. "Not gonna join me?"

Arthur bit his lip in excitement. "God dammit, woman..."

Lilly gave him a wink and turned around to see Dutch.

"Holy shit!" Dutch shouted. "Lilly! What the hell happened to you?"

"Killed a bear, Da," she replied casually as she strolled over to him. Arthur watched her ass and he resisted the urge to bite his knuckles. "Nasty fecker, too. Pushed a tree right over just to flush me out."

"You killed a bear? How?"

"With my smile, of course."

Dutch chuckled deeply. "That's my girl. Miss Grimshaw? My ruthless daughter requires a bath, if you'd be so kind to set one up!"

The thought of Lilly naked in a bath made Arthur feel warm and tingly. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Did you tell her yet?" Charles asked him.

"No, but I will soon."

"Good. Now let's get the meat to Pearson."

Arthur went and grabbed a deer off of his own horse. "Brought some food back, boys!" he yelled. "Oh, and thank you for showin' me how to use the bow properly."

"I only showed you a little. Takes a lifetime of practice to master."

Arthur and Charles brought in the first set of carcasses, then Arthur went back for the bear pelt while Charles grabbed the third deer. They walked back into the food shack and dropped them on the floor.

Mr. Pearson got up from his chair and blinked in shock. "You got a bear?!"

Arthur laughed. "No. That was Lilly. The pelt is shit but the meat should be good." Arthur noticed Uncle sitting in a chair with some alcohol. "What a surprise," he said, brushing off snow and walking to the fire pit, "to find the camp rat loiterin' around in the kitchen."

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Uncle asked with a hoarse voice. "I feel like we haven't spoken for days."

Charles stood next to Arthur as they warmed their hands by the fire. "I do my utmost to avoid you."

"Excuse me!" Mr. Pearson yelled. "You say Lilly took down this bear? By herself?"

"Well, she had help from some wolves."

Mr. Pearson's eyes widened. "What?"

Arthur laughed. "Nevermind. Just...just get the meat goin'."

"See you got on just fine."

"Charles and Lilly are a wonder."

Uncle looked over at the near pelt. "Hmm, maybe we could turn it into a bunch of little rugs."

Arthur chuckled. "And by we, you mean anyone other than you?"

"Must you be so grumpy, Arthur Morgan?"

"Yes. Now shoo, get lost."

Uncle got up with a grunt. "See you gents later," he said as he left.

Arthur continued on with his banter with Pearson after having a swig of Navy rum. After skinning some of the deer, Arthur left the shack and looked around the cold, abandoned mining town. He walked over to the shack he was staying in. Knowing full well how ruined her white jacket was, Arthur decided to give her one of his spare jackets. He picked out one similar to his except it was brown, not blue. He walked back outside towards the shack the tub was in. As he approached it, he decided how he was going to go about wooing her. He was about to knock when the door opened. His beautiful hunter was all nice and sparkly clean...and she looked cold.

"Lillian," he said.

"Arthur. Need somethin'?" she asked.

He handed her the dark brown coat. "Take a ride with me."