Ch. 4: A Tarnished Reputation
Several years had passed, making it a long, hard journey. Jesse was in Tennessee with his new wife Zee, along with Frank to keep them company. The rest of the gang members had disbandoned, seeing no use to keep going once they realised that they had beaten the railroad. Bob and Comanche Tom had gone off to find gold, and little Jimmy Younger was dead; leaving Cole alone.
The last member of the James-Younger Gang dismounted by a small farm. He'd seen the father out in the fields a long ways from the house, and knew from the small-town gossip that the mother had died of malaria a couple years ago.
Cole walked along the dirtpath, and opened the rickety gate that was about to fall off it's hinges. He shoved his hands in his pockets, then took them out. As he walked up the stairs, Cole brushed the dirt off of his pants and straightened his shirt. Frowning at himself, he forced himself to stand still before knocking.
Sandy slid the loaf of bread into the oven, then looked up as she heard a sharp series of tapps on her front door.
Standing upright, she walked towards the door while casually brushing the flour off of her hands. Her hand slipped as she grabbed the knob, but she clasped it more firmly and turned.
Opening the door half-way, Sandy's mouth gaped open as she saw the weary, ragged-looking man standing on her front porch.
The door swung the rest of the way open on it's own, as if a gust of wind had blown it open; but it was a windless day.
Cole didn't say anything as he stared at the woman in front of him; the woman he had been wanting to see since the day he walked out of Liberty Bank.
He silently waited for her response to him; anger, sadness, comforting. Even if he wanted to say something to her, he doubted he could; waiting nervously on how she would welcome him back to Liberty. Her reaction all depended on if he would be living a new life from here on end, or go back to the boring farmlife that he had unfortunately known.
"Cole." she whispered.
"Sandy." he replied solemnly, trying his best to keep his face expressionless.
"You're back." she again whispered.
Cole simply nodded, afraid his voice might crack.
"For good?" she asked, scared to death at what his answer might be.
"Depends."
Her breath caught in her throat. "Depends on what, Cole?"
"Depends on if you'll be here with me. If not, I guess I'll go on down to Tennessee, seein as how there's nothin else here for me. Nothin but you." he added, shocking himself that he added that last part in before he could stop. Damn, he knew he shouldnt've started talking.
When Sandy didn't say anything, just stood there with that blasted shocked expression, Cole cleared his throat and bravely kept going. "Heck, I might go on down to Tennessee anyway. It'd be just my luck if we ended up neighbors wit Jesse and Zee. I don't think you'd mind though." This was as much as Cole had ever talked, and what he said didn't even sound like something he would say, even if he was drunk. But he said it. And now, he stood waiting some more, trying hard not to look embarassed.
"My father . . ." Sandy began, finally knocked out of her trance.
Angry, Cole interrupted. "Your father is dead, Sandy. I saw it in his eyes. He doesn't even know who you are anymore. Doesn't know anyone."
"But, still, I gotta take care of him." she protested weakly.
Cole let out a non-humorous chuckle. "Repay the favor huh? Is that how it is? Your old man beat the shit out of you, and you decide you have to take care of him?" Overcoming his embarassment, Cole stepped closer to Sandy. "You remember when we was little?" he questioned. "You came ah runnin to me with a fresh welt on your arm, and I was sportin a black eye, and we promised each other we'd get away from all this."
Cole was about to continue, when he abruptly stopped. Tears had started streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry Cole." she answered as he welcomed her into his embrace. "I didn't mean what I tried to say. I was just shocked . . . and scared . . .and it's just so hard to let go." she sniffled.
Now feeling bad, Cole tightened his arms around Sandy, and loving the excuse to hold her.
Finally stepping out of the embrace, Sandy looked up at Cole with a mischievious smile on her face. She sniffed one more time and asked, "So, are we goin to Tennessee or not?"
Cole grinned back, knowing that his bad-ass, womanizing reputation was tarnished forever. And he'd never admit it to anybody, but he kind of liked the sound of that.
Author's Note: And what an interesting side we see of Cole. I just love working with the silent, mysterious characters! They're so sexy. lol So, do you think that Cole really loves her or is he blinded by his loneliness? You tell me. lol No I'm not gonna ask for a report (although it would be great). I'm actually really proud of this story, and can't believe I got it done so quick. (I'm one of those author's who hardly ever update O.o) But please do review, because I'm really excited with this story, and want to see if you agree with me.
Now I know that there might not be a lot of "Cole lovers" out there (especially when I look at the other fanfics **sniffles** I feel so alone!) But even if you're not found of Cole, hopefully you enjoyed this.