Chapter 7

'Your family?' The girl nodded between sobs, holding onto his vest with everything she had as he held her back. Slowly she started to calm down, hiccuping and gasping for breath as she rested against him in exhaustion. He waited until she'd stopped crying then grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her, his other arm still wrapped protectively around her. 'Dry your eyes and blow your nose.' She nodded, doing as he instructed. 'I hope you haven't ripped out your stitches again.'

'I'm sorry Adam.' She mumbled, her head still resting against his chest. 'I don't want you thinking I'm weak or crazy or-'

'I don't think you are any of the above. I think you've tried to be strong for too long with no one to turn to or help you and it's caught up with you. Would I be right?' The girl nodded. 'There is no weakness in that Missie, we weren't meant to carry burdens by ourselves. We're only human, we're not invincible. Now-' His voice was softer, gentler again. 'How about you start at the beginning?'

'You really want me to go back there?' She sniffled. 'It ain't pretty Adam.'

'I think I need to know everything I can to help get this issue with the law resolved Missie. You've got two choices. Either sit back and stay silent and take the chance of them hanging you or tell me what happened and we'll figure something out.'

'I'm scared Adam.'

'I know, I know you are but your only chance is telling me the truth. The whole truth. Will you tell me so I can help you?'

She thought for a moment. She knew Adam was right but it hurt even thinking of the memories. What was worse though? Telling him about her past or facing the hangman? She knew she was innocent, she'd never done anything wrong and the only things she had done were purely in defence of her family. Look where that'd got her though. They were all dead and she was being blamed. 'Alright.' She finally gave in. 'Alright. I'll tell you.'

He smiled, relieved and he brushed a stray tear off her cheek as she looked up at him. 'Good girl.'

'I'll warn you though, it ain't pretty. I ain't never had a family or a home like yours.' She sniffed then took a deep breath. 'I was born in Boston to Maybel Cuthers and Michael Donnington, I was a bastard child. My Ma worked at a dancing hall as a dancing girl and sometimes she made extra money for giving particular men special 'attention' as I heard it put in later years by some old holier than thou churchgoing women. My Ma when she found out she was with me she didn't think that the man who fathered me would care, but he did. He came back and they were married a month before I was born.'

'Well, at least he did come back.'

She shook her head. 'You don't understand Adam, we'd have been better off without him. He was a gambling man, good at it too and a drinker, he could outdrink any man in a saloon and still walk home on his own two feet.' She bit her lip, pausing for a moment. 'I was about three when it started, the beatings I mean. I know he was beating Ma before I remember but I was around three when he started beating me. He came home one night so drunk if you'd have wrung his clothes out you'd have gotten a keg of whiskey. He beat Ma bad, knocked her out too. I was hiding under the bed in my room, I could hear her screaming then nothing-'

Her eyes seemed to see right through him as she continued, Adam rubbing her back gently to reassure her he was there.

'There were footsteps at the door, it opened and he came in. He found me hiding under the bed-' She began to cry softly again, feeling the man hold her tighter as he rubbed her head with his chin. She regained composure of herself though before it got out of hand, talking a moment to gather her thoughts before she continued. 'I won't go into detail. That night still plays through my mind like a nightmare. It was the first time I'd ever experienced it but it certainly wasn't the last. I've got the scars to prove it. It wasn't just his hands either, he'd use whatever he could get his hands on, even bull whips. Some nights he'd beat Ma and leave me, other nights it was the other way around and sometimes it was the both of us. Ma found out she was pregnant again not long after, he never beat her while she was pregnant, he considered himself too much a man to do that.' She scoffed. 'Twin girls were born when I was almost four, Milly and May. I don't remember much of what else happened, Ma'd go to work, there was an old lady who came during the day to take care of us. He'd go to work too, at lunchtime and not get back till after midnight sometimes.'

'Your Ma was still working as a dancing girl?'

'There's not much choice when you can't read or write for a girl like Ma. It was either that or you know the alternative as her full time job.'

He sighed. 'I believe I know what you mean.'

'Yeah. At least after she was married she didn't have to take male clients of that kind anymore. They didn't want her for that after she had me. My Ma worked hard, it was her money putting food on the table. While my Ma and us kids lived in the gutter he lived high and mighty. Smooth talker, always dressed in fine suits while we're in rags.'

Adam snorted. He knew the type, there'd been more than one occasion a cheating cardsharp had been run out of town. 'Look harmless as doves, bite like rattlers.'

'Exactly.' She sighed. 'The first brother arrived when I was six, the second at eight. Even back then, I promised myself that they'd never have a hand laid on them. I was their eldest sibling, I had a duty to care for them.' She looked down, away from his face to stare out the window. 'They never had a hand laid on them, I made sure of it. I took it for them, I wasn't going to let him hurt them. If something was broken I'd take the blame for it to save them. I never minded, I only wanted to protect them. You know what I mean Adam, with you being the eldest and all.'

'Oh I do know-' He knew perfectly what she meant, having dealt with getting his younger brothers out of many scraps over the years. He looked down at her, admiration for her growing but at the same time a seething distaste for the scoundrel who'd put her in that position in the first place. 'I do.'

'We had to move from Boston when I was seven, we jumped on a ship and headed for the California gold mines. He earnt a killing out there, gambing away from the miners the small fortunes they made. We moved around a lot, from town to town, always living in the slums as Ma worked as a dancing girl. Things got better when I was around nine. We moved to a ranching town, there was this man there who took an interest in Ma. A good interest too. He had a small but good horse ranch and home, he was kind and gentle. He didn't like how Ma got treated, by her employers or her husband. My father's luck ran out, he met his match at gambling and lost everything he had. I wish I could say I was sorry but I wasn't. He made an attempt at robbing the local bank and three men were shot and one killed in cold blood. They wanted to hang him but the widow of the man argued life in prison for him was a worse punishment than death. Ma wasn't sad to see him go, neither was I. The others were still too young to understand what had happened, Ma told them he had to go away on a trip.'

The girl started coughing and he rubbed her back gently till she finished. 'Why don't you take a breather and have a drink?'

She nodded and he helped her back onto the pillows. 'Thank you Adam.' He helped her drink another full glass, the girl savouring every last drop. He placed the glass back on the table, taking hold of her hand. She didn't flinch this time, her trust in him slowly growing. 'As I was saying, my father was put in prison and Ma divorced him. Edward Denning, the ranching man, offered his hand to Ma in marriage and she accepted. He gave her an opportunity she'd never had before, as a proper wife and mother in a decent house on beautiful land. I called him Pa since he was better than the man who is my father. He took care of us, he really did. For the first time we had plenty of food and clothing and Ma didn't need to work in the halls anymore. Though Ma was no longer one of those women people still didn't like us. Ma tried putting us in school, we were teased and in more fights then I care to remember and she gave up. I got pretty good at fighting, I had the best right hook in the school. I can still give a good punch too.'

'Well, you won't be doing much of that until you heal up.'

'No, I guess not. Pa taught me and my sisters how to work on the ranch, the boys were too little but they loved it. He taught me to ride and break horses, I can break a wild stallion in three days and I have. I learnt to shoot and hunt and track, everything I know he taught me. They were great, those times.'

'What changed? It sounds like you had a pretty good life there.'

'Pa had a dream of coming out here, getting a bigger spread. Land was expensive in California where we lived, you can buy ten acres here for the price of one back there. He decided to sell up the ranch and move here. That's how we found ourselves on that damn trail.'

The girl bowed her head, her the expression on her face changing from one of sorrow to blank soberarity. 'Just take your time.' He encouraged her gently. 'You're doing good.'

Missie took a deep breath then continued. 'All was well until we were ambushed in the trail by a group of riders. There were too many of them, my Ma and Pa told us to stay in the wagon, I was to protect my sibblings but I couldn't. I couldn't Adam, there were too many of them.' Her voice was on the verge of breaking, tears running down her cheeks. 'They killed Ma and Pa then came for us. I was a good shot, I killed three of them but it wasn't enough. When I ran out of ammunition-' She bowed her head, feeling Adam squeeze her hand gently. 'They came to the wagon and took us out one by one, holding me back as they shot my siblings, right down to baby Rose who was only six months old.' Her grief turned to anger as she looked back at Adam. 'I was supposed to protect them, it was my duty Adam. I was the oldest, they were under my care. I was to protect them and all I could do was watch as they were murdered.'

Adam's blood ran cold. He couldn't imagine what the girl went through, how would he feel if he watched his brothers be killed right in front of him? The girl broke down crying again and he took her into his arms. It was no wonder she was the way she was, seeing her whole family murdered in cold blood. 'It's alright, it's alright Missie.'

'It'll never-never b-b alright.' She sobbed. 'I was to-to look a-after them and I-I c-couldn't.'

'Missie, I know you did everything you could have done. There was nothing more.'

'My b-best wasn't e-enough Adam.'

'Missie, listen to me.' He pushed her away from him, making her look up into his eyes. 'It is not your fault. It's not your fault.' He repeated softly. 'The blame lies solely on the people who did this horrendous crime, not on you.' The girl nodded after a moment, calming down again. 'Did you get a good look at who did it?'

'No, they were wearing masks.' She put her head down on his chest again, gaining strength listening to his heartbeat. 'When-when they finished with them the man who had killed them turned to me and took his mask off.' She shivered violently, not feeling Adam placing his chin on top of her head again to comfort her. 'It was my father Adam, my father. Before he went to jail when my Ma asked for the divorce he promised he'd find her and kill her and every single one of her children if she went through with the divorce. Ma didn't back down, she wouldn't let him intimidate her again. He followed through with it Adam, he killed his own children and wife in cold blooded murder for revenge.'

My god. He was angry, seethingly angry at her tale but he didn't show it to her. What kind of monster went and killed his own children? Beating a child was one thing, killing them was an entirely different kettle of fish. He couldn't imagine a father murdering his own children for revenge, he knew his Pa would give his life to save his children yet what this monster had done to his own family- It was no wonder Missie was like a timid deer. She'd been through worse hell then he'd imagined. She was right when she said her story wasn't pretty. 'What happened to you after?'

'My father gave me the beating of my life, stripped me bare right in front of all his men and beat me to show them just how strong he was. I could barely move when he was finished, he threw my clothes back on me and tied me up in their camp. I could hear his men talking about what they would do to me, my father was going to let me be the camp-' She choked on the word. 'Whore. He was going to give me to his men as a prize for killing my family.'

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, it went to another level. 'Missie, I'm so sorry.'

'They didn't get the chance for that Adam, I made sure of it.' She replied with a hiss of venom in her voice. 'I got the hell out of there, Pa taught me well about making escapes and such. He prepared me and my sibblings in case one of us was ever kidnapped with skills to get out of situations. I left while they were drunk and made my way back to the wagon to check on my family.' Her voice broke and she waited for a moment before she dared to continue. 'My Ma was still alive when I got back there Adam, she'd seen the whole thing. She held on till I got back, she knew I'd go back and she waited. She died in my arms.'

Was it any wonder the girl had broken down crying earlier with this burden she'd been carrying. You poor thing. He rubbed her back gently, hoping that she got some comfort from his presence. The thought crossed his mind briefly that she might be making it up but as he held her in his arms he knew without a doubt what she was saying was the truth. The girl had seen things no child should ever have had to experience. 'What happened then?'

'Well I wanted to bury them but I couldn't, I just couldn't lose the time. They were out looking for me. I grabbed the dress I was wearing when you found me and my knife and ran. It took them two days to find me, when they did they shot me in the back and left me for dead. I was in a bad way, I couldn't get it out but I used an Indian poultice to heal it and I've been running since.'

'And found your way here.'

She nodded. 'Slowly. I went where the food was. Berries, rabbits, fish. I made do with what I had and my know how. Then that darn wolf started trailing me, I thought I'd be safe in the forest for the night up a tree but well, you know what happened then.'

'My apologies about that, I should have put some warning of some kind there. I set the traps trying to catch it, that wolf took down near thirty head of cattle in two weeks.'

She raised her eyebrows. 'I'm glad I didn't know that before I fought that monster.'

'Just remind me not to get you angry, I saw what you did to it.'

'Don't corner me in a matter of life or death and you'll be just fine.' She tried to make a joke but there was truth to it. She felt like a caged animal, like she was going crazy. Adam, at least Adam was someone she could trust. She knew that now. She felt safe with him. She sighed, looking up at him. 'There you have it. The exciting adventurers of Missie Denning. Should turn it into a book, people go crazy for what they believe to be fiction.'

'Missie-' He placed his hand on her cheek, making her look up at him. 'I'm so sorry this happened to you but I promise you, you're safe here. Nothing will happen to you here, you can trust us.'

'I trust you Adam.' She replied softly. 'You've been so good to me. Thank you.' She looked up into his eyes, her eyes watering. 'But you're protecting a fugitive. I don't want you getting in trouble because of me.'

'Oh don't you worry about me, I can take care of myself.' Her concern for him was touching, it really was. 'You just worry about getting better. Have you got any other family?'

Missie shook her head. 'I've got no one. Ma's parents died when Ma was my age, Pa had a father who was still alive but I never met him and don't know where he is. I'm not even looking for my father's family, that'd be my death sentence. He knows I'm alive somewhere otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of getting wanted posters around. He wants me dead, he doesn't like unfinished business.'

'Is that what you are to him?'

'Now I am, yes. He couldn't ever stand the thought of someone getting the best of him.' She sighed, her mind switching from emotions and memories to survival mode. 'It'd have been better if I had died, I wouldn't be putting you and your family in danger. I've got the law and him on my back now. I've put you in a very precarious situation.'

'Like I said Missie, we can take care of ourselves.' He thought for a moment, comparing the story from the Sheriff to the one the girl had just revealed. 'You ever been to Sacramento?'

'Nope. Why?'

'Just wondering is all.' He glanced towards the window, seeing the light fading outside. 'You best get some rest, dinner will be ready soon.'

'Alright-' He helped her lie down again, the girl catching his hand as he went to leave. 'Thank you Adam, for believing me.'

'How'd it go?'

Adam glanced up at the voice, his Pa looking at him from where he sat beside the fire watching Hoss and Joe playing checkers. 'Missie's sleeping now, she needs the rest.' He took a seat across from them, his brothers looking at him as he went to reply. 'Got her whole life story out of her right up to her getting caught in a wolf trap.'

'Well, let's hear it then.'

'It ain't a good one. You know me, I'm not the kind of person that gets shaken by anything but that girl's been through hell.' He shook his head as he paused for a moment. 'Its no surprise she's been so scared, she's really been through hell.'

'What do you mean?' Hoss questioned.

'She was born in Boston to unmarried parents, mother was a dance hall woman, father a cardsharp. He married her mother before she was born, started beating her when she was three. He beat her mother before that, Missie knows it happened but she was too young to know when it started. Her mother had twin girls just before she turned four, a boy when she was six and another at eight. Moved from Boston to California when she was seven, moved around a lot until her father lost everything gambling and tried to rob a bank. He killed a man, injured others and was sent to jail for life.'

Ben raised his eyebrows. 'She's had it rough then.'

'You think that's bad, that's nothing.'

'How much worse could it get?' Joe asked. 'I mean, with the scars she's got-'

'I'm getting to it. An Edward Denning married her mother after she divorced Missie's father, he took them in and looked after them. They decided to come out here looking for a bigger ranch and were ambushed. Missie was the only one to make it out alive. Her father was the one who murdered her family.'

'Her father?' Ben questioned in a tone of disbelief and anger. 'He killed his own wife and their children?'

'In cold blooded murder as revenge for the divorce.' He replied soberly. 'He took Missie hostage, beat her in front of the men he has running with him and was planning on turning her over to them for their enjoyment. She got away, went back to the wagon and found her Ma still alive. She died in her arms. She took off, they found her two days later and shot her on the back then she ended up here.'

'Land sakes.'

'That's a downright horrible thing for a girl to live with.' Hoss exclaimed in horror. 'And her father's still out there.'

'And looking for her.'

'Well he'll not get his hands on her, I can promise her that.' Ben's blood was boiling. 'He'll never lay so much as a hair on her again.'

'What about the law though?' Joe questioned. 'They're out looking for her, what are we going to do about that?'

'We'll take care of that. I'll go to Virginia City tomorrow and speak to Roy then we take it from there.'