Chapter Four: Blackwater
Chapter Text
Chapter 4: Blackwater
"Ya know, I realize that you and Uncle Dutch are getting up in years, but I didn't think you guys had forgotten the difference between a city and a trading post." Hazel says as she shifts in the saddle next to Hosea, Dutch, Arthur, and John looking at the crowded street of the growing town that was nestled beside the lake.
"Shut up Hazel. It's been years since we were last through here; I guess it isn't all that surprising that it grew up." Hosea says as he surveys the town from the top of the hill. "But a bigger town means bigger pickings. You know the drill."
Hazel shrugs and clicks her tongue and Goliath starts trotting down the road, Arthur and John on either side of her, quickly separating when they reach a road straight into town. They had been camped outside town for a few days and it was finally time to do some scouting. Hazel was dressed in a fairly plain red dress and now she wondered if she was underdressed compared to the ladies she was passing as she made her way into town.
She hitches Goliath by the post office and strolls down the sidewalk. She can't keep her eyes from looking at the grand looking buildings, and a few blocks into town she collides with a solid body, a strong hand wraps around her wrist and stops her from landing on her backside. She shakes her blonde hair from her eyes and looks into a bright pair of green eyes with reddish hair that was sticking up in several directions. "Are you okay miss?" the man says pulling her upright.
"Yes, I am so sorry; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Hazel says brushing her hair from her face. She had refused to allow Miss Grimshaw to put it up.
"It's alright, are you hurt?"
"No, no I'm fine. Thank you though, for catching me," she holds her hand out with a smile, "My name is Hazel."
"Collin, pleasure to meet you Miss Hazel."
"Pleasure is all mine. Are you sure you're not hurt, I know we bumped pretty hard."
"I'm perfectly fine, I assure you, if I can't take a few bumps I'll need a new career, then I'd have no money for the best food in this town."
"Well I'm glad our little run in hasn't ruined you're plans. I couldn't live with myself if my day dreams cost a man his dinner."
"It's closer to lunch time actually, would you like to accompany me to lunch? The saloon has a decent fish fry this time of day."
"I'd love too, I'm new to town and the saloon is normally right in the middle of town, so if I can find that place I can probably find my way around anywhere."
"Or, I could take you on a grand tour of our fair city. Today is my day off so I can show you around if you would like, I've lived here my whole life, seen it sprout up before my eyes."
"I would like that, very much." Hazel says with a smile, slipping her arm through Collin's offered arm and walked with him down the sidewalk.
Collin pointed out various buildings and even pointed out some back alleys and let slip that there were a few misdeeds going on in backrooms of various businesses. There were a few that she tried to remember to make note of as they walked. Hazel also learned that Collin was a police officer and was only a few months into his first year. He was sweet, a little awkward, and seemed to be trying way too hard to impress her. The lunch was nice, but anything was better than the mess that Mr. Pearson always served. Afterwards he walked her along the water and talked about all the boats that came and went through the port, and then they ended up back at the post office and as the sun went down he kissed the back of her hand as she climbed onto Goliath and rode out of town.
Camp wasn't too far from town and she made it back fairly quick, when she hitched up she saw she was the last one back. Leaving Goliath to Javier who flashed her a smile as she hopped down. She waved at Sean who was playing cards with Lenny and Bill and she made her way over to where Dutch, Arthur, and her dad were all sitting around a map. "Hey," She says as she sits down on the chair next to her dad.
"Hey, you're new boyfriend looks nice; I step up from your old one." Dutch says blowing smoke from his cigar.
"I don't think you'd like him, him being a lawman and all."
"Excuse me?"
"Relax; he thinks I'm visiting town with my family because my uncle got his heart broken. Besides, he's only been with the locals for a few months; he's a baby, very harmless."
"No lawman is harmless to us Hazelnut."
"I promise I'll be careful around him, but in the meantime, I have a few leads for ya'll to follow up on. I can't since I was seen parading around town with the cutest newest addition to the police force. If I check in on them there will be a connection."
"Do you think anyone was really watching you that closely?"
"All the single ladies, even a few with rings were twirling their hair at him. He's not a bad looking guy all things considered."
"That's enough, you've been gone all day and I know Susan needs help with the dinner dishes." Hosea says giving her a gentle nudge, "You can tell us all about your leads once she's done with you."
"Okay, okay." Hazel says with a roll of her eyes and soon she has a bucket full of soapy water and a stack of grimy dishes. Hazel knows that she has it better than most of the girls in camp since she isn't fully stuck on camp chores and can come and go much more than they can, so she does the dishes without complaint. She almost jumps out of her skin when arms wrap around her middle and a soft kiss is pressed against the side of her face.
"So rumor has it I'm being replaced by some city boy?"
"Nah, you're much better looking. I gotta finish these dishes Sean."
"I'm not stopping you; last I checked you didn't need your middle free to wash dishes."
"If I get yelled at because of you I'm going to drown you in this dirty water."
"You're always threatening me; maybe I should let that city boy have you."
"Shut up." Hazel says, flicking water over her shoulder and causing Sean to flinch back.
Sean stood at her back and listened to her as she spoke about her day, and when the dishes were finished they settled on the log by the main fire with most of camp and she told Hosea and Dutch about all the leads she found in town, Javier forces her guitar in her hands and he sits cross legged on the ground, Hazel sliding off the log and leaning against Sean's legs and the rest of the night is filled with various songs until the moon rests high in the sky.
A few weeks later
"Collin! Hey!" Hazel says as she runs across the street towards where Collin is standing outside the bank's door.
"Miss Hazel, it's so good to see you." Collin says sweeping his hat from his head and giving Hazel a huge smile. "What brings you all the way back into town so soon?"
"I have a small favor to ask, feel free to say no if you want."
"I would never say no to you, what can I help with?"
"I've never been on a boat before, and everyone just keeps talking about the ferries that pass in and out of the harbor all the time and I was really wanting to go on one, but I wasn't really wanting to go alone."
"I would love to go with you. When do you want to go?"
"There is one in a few hours, if not then there is one tomorrow."
"You are in luck; my shift is over in about half an hour. If you just hang tight we can get lunch and then I'll take you on your first ferry ride."
"Collin, I am so happy I bumped into you." Hazel presses up on her tip toes and presses a soft kiss to Collin's cheek. "See you at the restaurant officer." She says with a wink as she turns back to where Dutch was waiting across town.
Micah, the new annoyance that Dutch insisted was more helpful than he was actually proving himself to be, had heard some rumor about a loaded ferry that was coming into Blackwater in a few weeks and Dutch was using Hazel's new friendship with a talkative young lad with a crush to gain some information on what security might be like since they didn't have much to go on and if they posted in the harbor then they would be spotted fairly quickly.
Picking the ends of the dress she was one again wearing so it wouldn't get too dirty as she walked she passed the saloon and saw her father and Arthur in the window, also dressed to the nines, working at the real estate scam they had uncovered, Hazel gave a polite smile to her father who never broke his conversation. With Hazel making almost daily trips into town she couldn't be seen wearing the same dress all the time and her pants wouldn't work with the story she had in place, so she was on a rotation of all the dresses in camp she could wear and the last thing she wanted to do was damage them.
Dutch was leaning outside the stable, his newly purchased saddle gleaming on The Count's back and his old one wrapped in leather resting at his feet. "Hello my dear." He says as she comes closer.
"Hello Uncle, did you get what you needed?"
"Yes, it's a great improvement, the leather on this one," Dutch kicks at his old saddle, "was wearing quite thin. Are you going to stay in town or ride back to the house with me?"
"Oh I would like to stay in town if you would allow me; Collin agreed to take me on a ferry this evening."
"Your aunt will never forgive me if I let you stay in town alone."
"It's just for a little while, Collin says his shift is over in half an hour and that was before I walked all the way over here. I promise I will be back before too dark."
"Okay, you can stay, just be careful and stay out of trouble."
"Will do, thank you so much." Hazel smiles at Dutch before turning back and heading to the small restraint that Collin had introduced her to last week that had amazing tea and lemon cakes. Hazel hears the stableman comment on how "lovely his niece was" and "how kind their small family is" the poor man. In a few short weeks the Van der Linde gang had wrapped the straight members of this town tight around their fingers and they would have no idea what hit them before it was too late. But at least all the scores they were after should mainly impact the corrupt, as was supposed to be their code, but that seemed a bit lacks as time went on.
Sitting at the table and sipping on some sweet tea and reading at the newspaper she had purchased the bell over the door rang and Hazel looked up and smiled at Collin as he walked in. He was no longer in his uniform and had settled from some jeans and a button shirt, looking much more casual yet still obviously trying to look like he wasn't trying. Hazel felt a little guilt as he kissed her hand as he sat down and offered to pay for her lunch again.
They ate and Hazel asked Collin about his day, trying to learn a bit more about the police in the town, their training, how organized they were, any weak links or the like she could find out the better. Hazel giggled and twirled her hair, grateful for all the times she hid behind wagons and spied on Abigail and how she used to flirt with all the men in camp before Jack, nothing better than learning from a pro. Soon they had a small box of lemon cakes to go and they linked arms as they walked to the pier and again Collin pulled out his wallet to pay for their trip.
The ferry was red and was just going around the small group of islands on Flat Iron Lake and back, there were several couples and families, a few musicians, and a few poker tables. It was an entertainment ferry, but it would still work. They sat at the back of the ferry by the large wheel and shared the lemon cakes before Hazel leaned over the edge and looked out over the shore. "It's so peaceful. I've always loved the water."
"So have I, when I was younger we lived a little closer to Tall Tress and part of the lake dips towards the shore in this big U shape and my sister and I would always swim there in the summer. As soon as our chores were done we'd race each other down and stay until Pa would come after us with a switch since we had ignored their calls for dinner for so long."
"Before my mother died my family took a trip to Michigan, my father wanted to fish the mythical fish that supposedly lived in the Great Lakes, we spent a month there. My parents, my uncle and aunt, and brothers, it was so much fun. We rented this tiny fishing boat and stayed on the Lake a whole day. My poor father didn't catch anything bigger than a bass. He was so disappointed."
"I wish I could have met your family back then, before everything happened." Collin says gently taking her hand and squeezing her fingers. "I know it might not seem like it, but not all towns are full of outlaws and lawmen that don't care."
"It's just a little hard to forget you know. I mean, right now, everything is peaceful, but what's to stop some thugs getting on a boat in the harbor and shooting everything up?" Hazel looked down at her hands, pretending to be ashamed of her 'outburst' and slowly looked towards her companion. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get upset."
"It's okay, I understand. But you don't have to worry so much about outlaws on boats. Most of the entertainment ferries have privet security, hired out by the main company. There are always at least 6 on each ferry, even more on the bigger ones. Sometimes these ferries get borrowed to move supplies and whatnot, and then it's the hired guards as well as Blackwater officers. So the more valuables on a boat the more guards." Collin turned and gently caressed her face, "and nothing is more valuable then you, so I promise you are completely safe from all harm."
Hazel felt her face blossom into a huge smile at the sweet and yet very cheesy line she had just been handed. His bright eyes just adding to the gnawing feeling of guilt she was feeling. She was using this boy, pretending so much at his expense. And the guilt sometimes to a back seat to the confusion she felt as well. Sean had always confused her heart, even years later, and Collin made it worse. Is this what it was supposed to be like falling in love? Butterflies and bashful smiles? There had never been any of that with Sean, there had been adrenaline and fist time jitters, but none of it was like what she was feeling right now.
This very moment, when she took a step closer to Collin and tilted her head up to meet Collin's lips as he lowered his head. They connected and a jolt that she had also never felt went through her whole body. One of Collin's hands stayed at the back of her head while the other gripped her waist and Hazel wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a longer kiss than she was expecting for their first kiss, but it was still very nice and she felt a little breathless as they pulled apart. "I hope that was okay?" he asked brushing her hair behind her ear.
"It was perfect." She said with a smile. For the first time since she met the man she wasn't lying. The kiss was perfect; it was also causing knots of guilt and nerves to roll in her belly.
The rest of the ride was spent with them making soft small talk and the sun was going down when they made it back to town and Collin insisted she stay in town that night and now ride to her "house" this late at night. So she let him walk her back to the hotel and even though Hazel wouldn't let him pay for her room, he did lay money down for breakfast since he was escorting a stage out of town in the morning and he would be back in town in two days. He kissed her at the base of the stairs and said his goodbyes.
Hazel went up the stairs and since she was tugging at her hair she ran head first into another solid chest, but the voice that made fun of her was a familiar one. "So, are you gonna dump Sean for pretty boy?"
"No Arthur, I'm not dumping Sean." Hazel says tugging her hair all the way down.
"I don't think sharing is practical in this situation."
"Will you stop, it's not like that. Are you staying in town tonight?"
"Yeah, gotta meet Mr. Fancy Pants tomorrow at 8, better if I don't look like I've slept in the dirt." Arthur says motioning her into his room. Her father was sitting in a chair with his feet soaking in a pan of water. "Hosea's delicate feet can't handle fancy shoes. He's got some blisters on his heels."
"My poor dad." Hazel presses a kiss to the top of Hosea's hair before kicking her own shoes off. Her room was right across the hall so she was just going to carry them back. "So, what have you been up too?"
"Oh no, we're not the ones smooching lawmen in the doorway, you talk." Arthur says with a smirk as Hazel turns red and Hosea's eyes snap to his daughter.
"Why are you always kissing boys I don't like?" He asks running his hand through his hair.
"Ok, first of all, you don't even know Collin, so you don't know if you don't like him. And second, it's just for the job. I swear. He's been a lot more forward with information since we shifted from friends to the direction of something else. I've known him less than a month and he doesn't even know the real me. He thinks I'm on some random goose chase so my heart broken father can get away from the memory of my dead mother and that we're here until he gets bored. So you can all relax."
"We just don't want you getting hurt in this; we don't want you to pour so much into something that's not real for Dutch's job. Don't forget to keep that barrier up." Hosea says as he grabs Hazel's hand and kisses the back of it. "This is the first time you've ever gotten this involved, the first is hard."
"Good thing I learned from the best then." Hazel says looking at her dad. "I mean, one of us had to be like you, heavens know it isn't John and Arthur might be good at the act he doesn't like to put on a flashy show."
"I don't want to kiss policemen." Arthur grunts from where he has propped himself up on his bed, his socked feet propped up on the baseboard of the bed and his journal in his hand.
"I don't think any of them want to kiss you either, so no worries there. Anyway, Collin's out of town until Monday so I'll be at Miss Grimshaw's mercy until then. How long are you going to stay in town?"
"Until tomorrow night. Have a meeting at the main office as they call it in the morning and a lunch in the afternoon."
"Father and son act?"
"Something like that. We should have it all well in hand by the time that ferry comes in that Dutch is so gung-ho about."
"Maybe when I tell him about the security just on the entertainment boats maybe he will change his mind. I don't like it. I've been all over town and I haven't heard a thing about a loaded ferry and I've heard plenty."
"That was also before you started walking around on the arm of Blackwater's finest. They're gonna watch what they say around you. Let's just let the next few days play out and the cards fall where they will."
The following morning Hazel ate the breakfast that Collin had bought for her and she watched as Arthur and her dad shook hands with a few fancy dressed men and walk down the street. Hazel went to the stable and paid the man for a few treats and thanked him for watching Goliath and she pulled herself up in the saddle and rode fast and hard out of town. She cut out towards the plains and once she was a good distance from camp and tugged her skirts up to her thighs and shoved her nice shoes into the saddle bag and dug her bare feet into Goliath's sides and pushed him as fast as he could go.
The teenager lifter her head high and let the wind sweep fast by on her skin and through her hair. She always loved the more open spaces they sometimes found themselves at. Her and Dutch had ridden for hours when they were in the desert, they would race past the cacti and desert scavengers until the moon was high in the sky and camp was hours away.
Hazel didn't agree with Dutch's philosophy as much as Arthur, but she wasn't as against it as John, she was just stuck in the middle like always. But Hazel would always agree with his desire for freedom. The ladies in Blackwater would never allow themselves to ride fast across the land this way, or if they did want to they never would. Too constricted with societal norms to really act like they wanted or too afraid of the judgment of their peers if they did so. But how free was Hazel really? She wouldn't be able to stay out here forever, she had to get back to camp and pick up the slack of her chores she had left behind.
But right now, she was going to run Goliath to the nearest river and they were going to relax in the wild.
A few hours later found a tired but joyful 18 year old ride her horse back into camp. Noticing that The Count was gone she had time to kill before having to tell Dutch about what she had learned. She hopped off the black horse and pressed a kiss to his forehead before she stripped him of his saddle and blanket. He hadn't been fully dry when she had put the saddle back on him, but she had ran out of free time, so the saddle now had to air out and Goliath's back was slick with water and sweat and he was in desperate need of a brushing to get all the knots from his tail, he was also in need of a few treats for how hard he had allowed Hazel to push him.
Once she was happy that Goliath was all set and good to go she walked to her tent and quickly replaced the dress for her pants and shirt, tossing her hair in a knot at the top of her head she snapped a suspender in place as she walked towards where the girls were all gathered together doing random things. "Hey, look who finally graced us with her beautiful face!"
"Hey Jenny, got some shirts to send my way?" Hazel says sitting next to the blonde woman who she had grown fairly close to in the short time she had been riding with them.
"Do I ever. You gotta tell me since you've been here the longest-,"
"That would actually be Arthur. "
"You know what I mean. Has John always been this rough on his clothes?"
"Always, his shirts were what I used to practice on because there was almost no way to make them worse than they already were."
"I had an older and younger brother growing up, and Michael would always be this neat prissy pants, but Alex and I were always dirtier than a pig in poop. Mama would scold us something fierce all the time. She started making me do the mending more I think as a way to try and get me to stop being so rough with my things. Didn't really work, but I'm grateful I know how to sew."
"Especially when you sewed Lenny and Sean up in that tent!" Karen giggled as she scrubbed at the washboard between her knees.
"Or Micah's pant legs together." Tilly added, giggling at the flashback of Micah falling red faced and screaming over on his cot as he tried to pull his legs fully apart, but being unable to.
"Or the ends of Javier's shirt." Abigail snorted into her coffee. Javier had lost the last bar of soap down a river and Jenny was annoyed since they were nowhere near a town and soap was a main to make from scratch and really none of them really knew how to do it. So Jenny had taken Javier's favorites white shirt and sewn the ends of the sleeves together and again the whole camp heard some interesting swears in Spanish and English as his hand was stopped in the long white sleeve.
"Why are we not clever enough to come up with ideas like that?" Mary Beth said tossing her ball of yarn into the basket.
"Your heads always in the clouds little miss bookworm, you and Lenny should start dating, but then you'd both be buried in books that nothing fun would happen."
"Hey! I am not boring Karen!" Mary-Beth says, tossing her finished socks at Karen's head. "I just like to read, it's a great way to pass time."
"So is drinking and you can actually interact with people."
"Okay, new topic." Hazel interjected, Mary-Beth and Karen got along great, but neither was practically understanding of the other's favorite past times, the polar opposites that they were.
"Yes, why don't you tell us about that handsome ginger you've been smooching in town?" Karen says crossing her arms.
"His name is Collin and his hair is more brown actually, just gotta catch it in the right light."
"And from what I've been hearing and the rest of us have been seeing, you and him have spent a lot of time in various types of light." Tilly says with a sly smile.
"I literally ran into him by accident and he just so happens to be full of helpful insider information. It's no different than when we act like house maids or bimbos on jobs. It's just an act and it don't mean nothing." Hazel defended herself.
"So you're not denying the smooching?" Mary-Beth asks, her voice full of wonder, while Hazel felt the tips of her ears burn.
"Oh my lord it's true! You've been swapping spit with a lawman!" Karen exclaimed with a huge smile. "I cannot wait to tell Sean!"
"Karen Jones don't you dare!"
"Girls!" a harsh voice sounded over the camp towards where they girls were gathered, "If you lot were any louder we'd have the whole army on us in a heartbeat, stop fooling around and get to work."
They all quickly looked down at their laps as the matriarch of the gang stormed past them. They waited until she was on the other side of the camp again with a mortar in her hands before they made eye contact with each other and burst out laughing again.
A few hours later Dutch came riding back into camp, closely followed by Micah and Hazel wanted to roll her eyes. Micah might as well crawl up Dutch's butt and build a house there since he seemed to always be sucking up the man. It put Hazel on edge and annoyed her to death. But as bad as Micah was Dutch was annoying her too with how much he put up with it. Yeah, the tubby blonde had saved Dutch's life somewhere, but that didn't mean that Dutch owed him much past a nice thank you, maybe a nice whiskey.
"Down hermana." Javier says patting her shoulder as she glared at the man who she was going to have to deal with in a few minutes. "He sees you starting he's going to get the wrong idea."
"I wasn't staring, I was glaring. Big difference."
"Still involves you looking at him for a long period of time. Relax."
"Come on, even you can't say you like him all the much."
"I didn't say I did, I'm also not fond of Mac and Davey but were still family, so at least try to not be so hostile."
"You just don't like Mac and Davey because they drink all the good liquor."
"You know me so well, listen there are some cattle that Sean and Lenny have had their eyes on for the last few days, they're being moved from some big ranch, not too far from here. Lenny and Sean want to fence them and they asked me to join them, but I'm hitting a homestead with Bill, wanna take my spot?"
"Sure, I'm not due back in Blackwater until Monday. I have time to get up to some trouble."
"No trouble Hazelnut." Dutch's says walking up to them, putting an arm around her shoulders, "Javier please excuse us, we got some planning to do for that ferry." Javier nods and continues on his walk as Dutch steers Hazel towards his tent. Micah is nowhere in sight and Hazel feels her shoulders relax at not seeing him.
"So, tell me why you didn't come home last night and what you found out on your little date." He says as he lights a cigar and sits on the edge of his bed.
"Boat ride took longer than I thought so I got a room at the hotel. Saw dad and Arthur, I was fine."
"Just you in that room I hope."
"Really?" Hazel says crossing her arms, "Collin is a gentleman, more than almost any man I've ever met. He's probably the type to wait until the wedding night."
"I just don't want you to burry yourself in this, it's easy to get swept up and let the acting mix with reality."
"Why is everyone giving me this warning? Yes, Collin is a nice and handsome man, but in case you all have forgotten, I'm with Sean. Have been for years. Why would I give up what I have with Sean for a short term fantasy with a lawman? Do you wanna hear about the guards or not?"
"Okay, just making sure, I know the issues you've had with Sean in the past. And yes, tell me about the guards.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Hazel telling Dutch all that Collin had told her about the guards and how security increased the more valuable the goods, how they were hired guns instead of government or city boys. How the docks were crowded and how they were sectioned off. Dutch whipped out a map and she marked off the blocks and labeled each one. Then she told him what she knew about the Blackwater police, how they seemed to run their routs, how fast they responded to various disturbances on each side of town, all the inside information Collin had let slip during their conversations. Dutch had his sights on this boat; it was odd, planning a boat robbery instead of the bank. Hazel thought the bank would be way easier, but apparently the boat had a bigger haul, or that's what Dutch had been told.
Half way through it Hosea and Arthur came back into camp and Dutch asked Hazel to go so he could talk with Hosea about everything.
The sun was setting lower in the sky and all of camp was back that night. Most were too tired to do much, various tiny scores, Charles had been hunting, and John and Abigail had finished their daily fight not too long ago and were sulking on opposite ends of the camp. Hazel was lying in her tent, her head resting on Sean's chest as he snored in her ear. He and Lenny had been posing as ranch hands on some small ranch called McFarlane's Ranch and they were dirty and very tired. Her dad had always said honest work was tough work.
Hazel gave herself the same talk she had given Dutch and her father. She was in love with Sean, Sean was a part of the life that she loved, Sean knew all about who she really was, and Sean was safe and familiar. She would play her part until the job was done and when they left Blackwater she would leave Collin and all her feelings behind.
Over the next few weeks Dutch planned his boat, Hosea planned his scam, and life in camp ran like it always did. Hazel was ready for it to be Saturday since it would find the gang on their way further west far away from West Elizabeth. Right now she was splitting her time between Collin in Blackwater and her life in camp. She felt herself stretched a little thin, but at least she was too busy to worry much about the upcoming job.
Dutch's big plan was to have most of the camp pose as passengers and the rest would be waiting in various locations around the town. Dutch and Mac would show up several minutes apart from each other and then Micah would show up then the others would show up as couples, Javier with Karen, and John with Jenny. Bill, Charles, Lenny, Mac, Hazel and Sean would be in the docks or around town. Dutch, Micah, and Javier would secure the money and split it between the three of them, then they would each take different roads out of town and back to camp while the rest of the gang would stay back in town to make sure there was no immediate danger.
Hosea wasn't fond of the whole idea, it put too many of them in town at once and left too few back at camp. Arthur and Hosea would be in town at the same time out of necessity for their scam as they were signing papers to take over ownership of half the company. But Dutch was confident that they could pull it off. The day before Hazel pulled the dress she was borrowing from Karen over her head and asking Miss Grimshaw to help put her hair up. After a month and a half Collin decided she needed to meet his mother. Hazel felt sick at the thought. She had tried to talk him out of it, telling him that her heartbroken uncle was growing restless at their new home and they would probably be leaving soon to join her mother's family towards Canada. But he had insisted that they should at least have lunch and enjoy the beautiful day. It's was also Collin's only day off this week, and that also made Hazel nervous, not wanting Collin on duty when the ferry job went down. It was like the two roles she was playing were getting ready to smash head first into each other. And she was sure that when they did it would be a disaster.
She mounted Goliath and waved at Bill as he stood guard and made her way back to town. They were meeting at the park and Hazel knew she was going to be late. She pulled Goliath into a slow trot and hitched him to the post across the road, Collin was easy to spot, his red hair always seeming to stand out like a bright beacon in the gray background of the town. He was standing next to an older couple and there was another lady who was holding the hand of a little boy who looked like he would much rather be playing in the nice park they were all standing in. Hazel brushed her dress down and quickly walked over to the group.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, my horse threw a shoe." She says as she walks into Collin's embrace as he opened his arms towards her.
"It's alright; it's only a few minutes, happened to the rest of us." He pressed a kiss to her cheek as they pulled away and then he motioned at his parents. "Mom, dad, this is Hazel, Hazel these are my parents, Clara and Heston McCourt."
"It's nice to meet you." Hazel says with a smile, glad she wasn't showing how nervous she actually was.
"It's very nice to meet the lady who has caught my Collin's eye. I was so worried he would never find a nice girl." Clara says pulling Hazel into a light hug.
"More like I ran right into his line of sight. If he wasn't so sturdy I would have knocked him over when I ran into him."
"And this is my sister Heidi and her son Will." Collin says, his ears turning red at his mother's words and the laughs that Hazel's comment had brought.
"Pleasure to meet you Hazel. I have to agree with my mother, we were all out of hope for poor Collin here. When I was 20 I was married with this rascal on the way." Heidi says ruffling Will's hair, the young man grousing at the action.
"Well I'm only 18 so I guess as long as one of us is under 20 it all evens out."
"You're birthday is in a few weeks, so maybe it's good that everyone is meeting now." Collin says as he motions the group down the sidewalk, lacing his arm with Hazel they head towards the nicer restaurant in town.
The conversation was light and enjoyable and not as awkward as Hazel had been fearing. They were a lovely family, so different than hers, and so different than how Dutch had always said most people were like. Hazel felt a stinging at her eyes when the meal drew to an end and they said their goodbyes. After tomorrow Hazel would never see them again, she would probably not be allowed back in Blackwater for several years.
It was late afternoon and Hazel talked Collin into riding outside of town with her. The road far away from town into the heart of the plains and she found a high spot and they set up a small camp, Hazel showing more of her true self as they rolled out the bedrolls under the forming stars of the sky.
"I had such a great time with you today, thank you for meeting my parents so soon. I normally would expose you to them so fast but they were getting impatient to meet you, but I know they love you as much as….I mean….."
Hazel felt her belly tighten at his words and she bit her lip, trying not to make this whole thing worse than it was already going to be. But as she looked into his eyes she leaned towards him and captured his lips in a soft kiss. "I loved meeting your family. My family will never be the sit down to dinner type. It was a nice change. I'm just glad I didn't make a fool of myself in front of them."
"You were amazing, please don't ever forget that."
"I'm very glad I met you, I just hope…" Hazel sighs and sits up and crosses her arms. "Listen, whatever happens, all of this….everything that we've done….it means more to me than you can even imagine. Thank you." Hazel wiped a tear from her eyes as Collin sat up and wrapped his arms around her.
"You don't have to go ya know. If you're uncle decides he needs to go, you don't have to go with him. I'd love to have you stay here. Maybe we can give this a real try. I love you Hazel."
Hazel felt her chest tighten as she wrapped her arms around him in return and buried her head in his chest and whispered as loud as she dared, almost afraid that her words would travel on the wind and all the camp that laid a few miles to the east of where they were would hear her confession. "I love you too."
They spent most of the night cuddled under the stars and wrapped tight in each other's arms until the wind across the plains became too cold and they rode back into town, only they both sat on Goliath's back, Collin's arms wrapped around her middle as his Saddler trotted beside them. They parted ways outside the hotel, and once Collin was out of sight Hazel kicked Goliath hard in the side and galloped away from town.
She hoped and prayed that everything tomorrow went off without a hitch, if Collin ever realized who she really was, who she was really a part of.
She got back to camp very late and she knew she would be so tired tomorrow since she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Sean was in her tent and it just hurt her chest even more, so after she changed out of her dress she walked over to her father's tent and lifted the flap. He slept on a bedroll on the ground since the hardness was better on his back and she got down on her knees and crawled next her father's side. Hosea startled in his sleep at the sound and the feel of another person in his tent and reached his hand towards his gun. "It's just me daddy." Hazel whispers lying down beside him. Hosea reaches his arm around and wraps his arm around his daughter.
"You okay?"
"No, but it is okay if we don't talk about it right now. I just need you, you always make everything ok." Hazel tries to keep the sadness from her voice and snuggles deeper against her father's side. Hosea kicks part of his blanket over his upset daughter and kisses the top of her head.
"Everything will be okay baby, no matter what it is. Just close your eyes and everything will look better in a day or two.
Note:
So that whole Collin thing did not go the way I was originally planned, but that is where my brain took it. I do really like her seeing both sides. Since she literally lived no other life than the one with group I kinda enjoyed exposing her to the normal people that are in the world. Life isn't the black and white philosophy that I always felt Dutch liked to teach.
I was in a debate on if I wanted to actually write the ferry job but I ultimately decided not to. This is why this chapter is short. The next chapter will start a few days after the job.
As I have said previously I have my own theories about why the job went bad and I knew I would write the job out to match my theory and I didn't want to do that since I know one thing most RDR fans have in common is speculating on how that job went down.
I want to thank everyone for the favoring and thank everyone for reading this story.
Special thanks to Sandovalr77 for the comment, it really brighten my whole day!
Next chapter starts the actual game! Huzzah!
