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Chapter 9: Hosea

"You know, I ain't too sure about you comin' with to help get Sean back," Arthur said as he and Sam rode back to camp.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because you'll probably end up shootin' at people, killin' someone even. You ready for that?"

Sam hadn't considered that possibility. She slowed to a halt as her mouth went dry. "How do you know I've never killed anyone?"

Arthur jerked his head while he smiled. "Call it a hunch."

Sam squinted her eyes at him, then she sighed in defeat. "Fine. How else am I supposed to help, then?"

"How about we worry about that later? I need to get out of these clothes."

Sam let out a giggle. "Yes, you look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon."

Arthur's face scrunched up. "The what?"

Sam shook her head, giggling once again. "Nevermind."

The pair wandered into camp with their horses and dismounted. While Arthur went to go change, Sam tried to decide what to do around camp. Suddenly Hosea waved her over from a rock he was sitting on and she ambled over casually. He was in the middle of cleaning a big rifle.

"Mr. Matthews, how are you today?" she asked.

"Oh please, you've been with us almost three weeks now, Sam. Don't you think it's time you start callin' people by their first names?" he asked her.

Sam inclined her head and snickered. "Fair enough, Hosea. Fair enough." She glanced at the gun he was cleaning. "That's a nice gun you got there."

Hosea smiled at her. "Thanks. Speaking of guns, did Arthur finally teach you how to shoot?"

"Just this morning, yes."

"And how did you do?"

"I did pretty well."

"Good. You wanna go huntin'?"

Sam squinted her eyes and looked up the sky, thinking. "Mmm, sure, why not? What are we hunting?"

"I saw a huge bear. One of the biggest I ever saw. I reckon nearly a thousand pounds."

Sam's eyes went wide. "Holy fuck."

"Yeah," Hosea said with a laugh. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Well, where are we going to go hunt this monster?"

"Up near the Dakota River. Might take a day or two."

"Oh. That long, huh?" She wasn't so sure she wanted to be gone that long from camp, at least not yet.

"A day or two is long to you?" he asked.

"Well, no, but...I haven't been that long away from you guys yet, is all."

"Ah, you'll be fine. Oh, hey Arthur."

Sam smelled campfire smoke and pine and knew Arthur was right behind her. "Hey," he said. "Are you two up to somethin'?"

"Yes. We're goin' huntin'," Hosea said as he stood up with his gun.

Arthur looked at the gun and Hosea handed it to him. "For what? An elephant?"

"No. A bear. A big bear," Sam explained.

Arthur's mouth went agape. "Hosea, she just learned how to shoot. Now you want her to go bear huntin' with you? No, that's...I can't allow it."

Sam scoffed and crossed her arms. "You can't allow it? What are you, my father?"

Hosea laughed and Arthur glared at her. "Miss Burke, you can't just...it's a bear!"

"You don't have a problem with Hosea going!"

"He's an experienced hunter! You're not!"

Sam started raising her voice. "If he didn't think I could handle it, then why would he invite me?!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Hosea. "You invited her?!"

"Yes," said Hosea with confidence. "Accordin' to Bill and Tilly, Sam here knows how to handle herself under pressure."

"Yeah, she fought off a few men but this is a bear we're talkin' about!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Well, I think we'll be just fine. Come on, Hosea."

Sam went walking towards her horse but Arthur grabbed her by the arm and twirled her around. "You ain't goin'!"

Sam dislodged her arm from his grasp. "You're not the boss of me!"

"Sam, you ain't goin' and that's final!"

"Why don't you come with us if you're so concerned about her well being, Arthur?" Hosea asked him.

Sam looked taken aback. "Oh no, I'm not ridin' with Mr. Head Honcho here. I don't want him to come with us."

Arthur's face contorted into that of satisfaction. "I'm comin' with. And you're not the boss of me."

Sam scoffed as Arthur walked to his horse. "You need anything, Arthur?" Hosea asked him.

"I don't think so, I got all I need," Arthur said with a smile towards Sam.

Sam huffed in resignation and stormed over to her horse. She eyed a big black Shire and blinked. "Who's this?"

"Oh, I've been meaning to offload this big Shire horse for awhile now. Unruly bastard!" Hosea shouted.

Arthur patted the horse's back rump. "Where'd you get him?" Arthur asked.

"Some big, loud-mouthed bastard tried to rob me when I was out riding so I...well, you know how it is."

"I see."

Sam looked over at the horse, instantly wanting it for her own but she wasn't about to ask. She walked over to it and pet its neck, being rewarded with a soft neigh. "Aww, he's cute."

"You want him?" Hosea asked. "Arthur said you need a decent horse."

"Oh I...I couldn't, Hosea. You've been meaning to sell him, haven't you?"

"Why don't you try him out for a bit? See how you two get along?"

Sam nodded. "Okay, sure." She ran over to her horse, unsaddled him, and walked back to the black Shire and saddled him up. During that time it took to do so, Arthur and Hosea talked about Arthur's old horse Boadicea and how he hadn't replaced her yet. They talked about going to Valentine on the way so Arthur could take a look at the stable horses and find himself a new horse too. As Sam mounted up, she dug into her saddle bag and pulled out a carrot, giving it to the horse she was on. The horse took it with a knicker and Sam smiled happily. "I think he likes me already."

"Alright, let's head into town. No bar fights, please. I heard about that."

"I'll do my best," Arthur said.

"We're headin' out! Might be gone a couple of days!" Hosea shouted out to the camp as they rode out.

As the three rode out, Hosea and Arthur had a discussin that Sam wasn't paying much attention to. She was too busy seething about Arthur and his big dumb mouth. "You ain't goin', I can't allow it, he says," she mumbled under her breath. "Fucking asshole."

Arthur looked over at her. "What's that?" he asked with a grin.

"None of your fucking business!" she snapped.

The black Shire neighed loudly in agitation and Sam pat his neck to soothe him. "Don't let that big bastard get the better of you there, Sam," Hosea commented.

"Naw, he's fine. I think he was agreeing with me."

Hosea and Arthur laughed at her. They soon arrived at the stables in Valentine. "Well, Arthur, go buy yourself a horse," said Hosea.

"Okay," Arthur said.

"I'm going off to the general store...get a few things to lure that bear out with. Meet you back here in a bit. Sam, you coming?"

"Sure," she said, following Hosea to the store. They both went inside while Hosea looked for supplies. "So, Sam, I've been meaning to ask you something. About where you're from."

Sam hesitated for a moment as she looked through the store. "Uh huh? Go ahead."

"Now, you say you're from Minnesota, right? What parts?"

"Minneapolis."

"Huh. A city girl. I see, Hosea said as he grabbed a can of berries. "And yet you're a natural with the hunting. You said your Uncle Frank taught you how to use a bow?"

"Yes. He tried getting me to actually kill animals at the time, but I was just a kid so I was a bit...squeamish about it."

"Uh huh. And you're not now."

"No." Sam was starting to become suspicious of all the questions. "I'm sorry, you said you had a question about where I'm from?"

"Well, more about your family, I guess. How you were raised. It just seems to me that a woman raised in the city who has adapted so naturally to our lifestyle...well, it seems a bit of a stretch, is all."

Sam eyeballed Hosea who was doing the exact same thing to her. "What can I say? I'm good at adapting."

"Uh huh. Somethin' you learned from your parents, I take it?"

"Just my mom. My dad died before I was born."

"I'm sorry. How'd he die?"

Sam had to think of something. Her father had died on a Navy ship in the Persian Gulf when Iraq had attacked it with missiles. No, she had to think of something else to tell Hosea. Perhaps something to do with the Civil War? "Well, he was a soldier, you see, and well...he got in a fight with some people. They murdered him."

"I'm sorry, Sam. That's...that's really something. And your mother?"

"She died a few years ago from cancer."

"Cancer? What's cancer?"

Shit. How was she going to explain this? "Just a really nasty, painful disease that makes you grow tumors in your body."

"Oh, you must mean leukemia," Hosea said with a snap of his fingers. "Nasty business, that is."

Sam sighed quietly with relief. Maybe now he'd stop with all the questions. "Yes, it was."

"And then you came down here after she died, or did you wait a bit?"

Shit. "I...waited a bit before coming down here."

"Uh huh. Were you alone or did you come here with other people?"

Sam sighed again, this time in slight frustration. "Hosea, if it's all the same to you, I'd much rather not get into that part."

"I understand," Hosea said, eyeing her a little skeptically. He paid for his berries and fish then he smiled at her. "Well, let's go meet up with Arthur."

As Hosea walked past, Sam followed with a pit in her stomach. She didn't like lying to Hosea or the rest of the gang, but she couldn't very well tell them the truth now, could she? They'd think she was nuts. Sam and Hosea exited the store and mounted on their horses, waiting for Arthur to get done at the stables. Soon, he walked out with a horse that had a white crescent on its forehead.

"Looks like a nice animal you got there. You happy?" Hosea inquired.

"Guess we'll see," Arthur replied as he mounted on his new horse.

"Alright, let's get goin'. We got quite a ride ahead of us," Hosea said while they headed out.

"Lead the way. So, did you two have a nice time at the store?"

"Sure," Hosea said abruptly. "You have a nice time picking out a horse?"

"Yes." Arthur glanced at Sam thoughtfully. "How's that horse workin' for you?"

"Fine," she said flatly.

Arthur sighed. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes."

Arthur chuckled. "Oh come on, now. Why?"

"Maybe because you tried to boss me around like I'm some kid, but you can't be more than a few years older than me. Besides, it's not like I'm part of the gang. I don't take orders from you."

"Maybe so, but you're still my responsibility, Miss Burke."

Sam blinked at him a few times in confusion. "Your responsibility?"

"I found you, all alone and cold in Colter, so yes, I feel like you are my responsibility. I had no idea I had my work cut out for me when we crossed paths, however."

Sam started laughing bitterly. "Why, Mr. Morgan, am I a lost little lamb to you? A damsel in distress that is just asking to be rescued from the trials and tribulations of life?"

Arthur shook his head and smiled at her. "Ma'am, a damsel in distress you ain't, but you is lost. I'm just tryin' to make sure you find your way back home...wherever and whenever that may be."

There was something about the phrasing of his words that struck a chord within Sam and she looked at him with wonder in her eyes, but he gave nothing away in his own. "Well, I appreciate that, but I don't need a babysitter."

Arthur released a loud laugh. "You're as stubborn as a mule."

"So are you."

Hosea started laughing. "You two crack me up."

Both Sam and Arthur looked at the old man curiously. "Why?" they both said.

"Because you both fight like you're married."

Sam laughed. "I doubt a wife would willingly punch her husband in the nuts, Hosea."

"You'd be surprised." Sam giggled and the three spent a good portion of the day talking about things here and there, like things between John and Arthur as well as the lake the three were headed to, though Sam kind of kept to herself as she listened to them banter away. As the day progressed well into the early evening and they made their way into the mountains, Sam looked at her environment, in awe of the beauty that surrounded her. She looked down to her left to see a big lake. "That's the lake there. Good, we made it. Let's loop around the other side."

"I should really be heading back over to Great Plains to see about Sean," Arthur said all of a sudden.

"It's bounty hunters who've got him?"

"So Trelawny says...Javier and Charles have gone with him to scope it out."

"Pretty dangerous going anywhere near Blackwater."

"Right, but...if he's alive, we gotta try."

"Of course."

"Can I ask you guys something?" Sam interrupted.

"Sure," Arthur said.

"What exactly happened in Blackwater?"

The two men looked at each other knowingly. "Well, Arthur and I were trying to run a scam while Micah and Dutch were looking into a boat heist. Things went wrong on the boat, Dutch shot a girl, the law got on them and all hell broke loose. That's it in a nutshell," Hosea answered.

"Dutch shot a girl? That...doesn't really sound like something he would do...right?"

"No, it's not," Hosea said plainly. "Not really sure why it happened, either." Something scurried along the path in front of them. "Look there, rabbits. Maybe we should catch one to cook."

"On it," Sam said while she pulled out her bow. The two men slowed with her as she notched an arrow and fired at a rabbit, a small squeal escaping the creature as the arrow killed it. Sam dropped off the Shire horse to grab it and held it up. "Oooh, right in the face. That bear better watch out for me."

While Sam skinned the rabbit, Arthur looked at her as if in awe. "You really are something's else, Miss Burke."

"Hmph. I could say the same for you." Just then, Sam heard a roar in the distance and it sent shivers down her spine. "Was that our guy?"

"Maybe, but he's a few miles off from the sound of that noise. Sounds rend to echo throughout the mountains here. Alright, it's gettin' late. Reckon we should camp here," Hosea explained.

"Sure," Arthur replied. Arthur went and got a fire going while Sam started setting up her tent. By the time everything had been prepared and laid out, night had fallen. "I'm famished."

"Cook that rabbit, then. They're delicious on an open fire like this," Hosea said in a casual tone.

Hosea sat on a stool rubbing his hands together as Arthur started cooking. Sam sat her behind on the ground, steadying her arms on her knees as she watched Arthur cook. The lights playing on Arthur's features made him look animated as the light from the flames danced on his face. It was almost hypnotizing. Arthur placed a piece if cooked rabbit and handed it to Sam, and she took it, thanking him for it. He nodded and offered the next piece to Hosea.

"You want some of this?" Arthur asked.

"No, I'm fine. I don't like eating this late," Hosea answered.

"Okay, after all that," he said while eating.

"Alright, well," Hosea stood up and stretched, "we better get some rest. I wanna be up at first light to find this monster." Hosea went and laid down on his little area and Arthur and Sam looked at one another as they ate.

"He better be worth all this drama," Arthur whispered to Sam.

Sam giggled with a nod. "I hope so."

As they finished eating, Hosea started snoring softly and Sam stood up. "Well, I suppose I better uh...get some sleep."

"Miss Burke?"

"Yes?"

Arthur sighed as he looked at her. "I'd like to talk to you about somethin' before you go scurryin' off into your tent."

Sam's eyebrows scrunched in on themselves. "I'm not scurrying off. I'm tired."

"No, you're not tired. You just don't want to talk to me."

"Well, that's besides the point." Arthur eyeballed her with a grin, and Sam threw up her hands in defeat. "What is it?"

"I just wanna say that...well, I know we fight often and get at each other's throats, but please believe me when I say that I'm only lookin' out for you. I know...city girls tend to be a bit...naive about the wilderness, so I'm not-"

"So you're saying I'm being stupid about the dangers we're facing out here? Well why don't you just hop into my fucking tent and hold me close so poor little city girl me doesn't get all scared at all the fucking noises of the night?"

Arthur looked taken aback, then he started laughing quietly. "That's not what I meant at all."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I only meant you're inexperienced." Arthur stood up and approached her, making Sam's breath hitch at his close proximity.

"Well how am I supposed to get experience if you act like I'm unable to handle any of it?"

"I just don't think you should be jumpin' into things, is all. Goin' from hittin' a few bottles to huntin' a bear is a big jump."

He did have a point. Sam surmised in her excitement that perhaps she had been too hasty, but again, her pride was a strong emotion for her and it often got in her way of reasoning. One of the many flaws she had. But moreso, she wanted to prove to him that she wasn't weak. "But I want to take down a bear. That would be...kinda cool if I did."

"Cool, huh? Is that another Minnesotan sayin'?"

"You could say that," she said with a smirk.

Arthur chuckled and grasped his gun belt. "Well, can you promise me you'll be careful?"

"I can. But you're here, so...what could possibly go wrong with you here to look out for me?"

Sam looked down as she felt him grasp her hands. "Lots of things," he said softly, staring down at her knuckles.

Sam's heart throbbed at his touch and they made eye contact. She swallowed hard while she gazed into his eyes, yet her own kept drifting to his mouth. They started to close in when they were interrupted by a loud snore from Hosea. They both backed away, both acting awkward all of a sudden. "Well, I should..." Sam started.

"Yes, me too. Good night, Miss Burke."

"Good night, Mr. Morgan." And with that, Sam turned and crawled into her tent to go to sleep.