Good evening everyone!

Sorry for the drawn out wait for this chapter; I've had a lot of personal distractions this past week!
Hopefully the chapter is worth the wait!

As always; enjoy!

Chapter Eight

"How much longer are we going to wait here?" Louisa whined to her mother. Rosie turned away from the conversation she was a part of to placate her child.

"Not too long, baby. We just need to wait for Carl and Bill to get back from town with Madsen and then he will take us the rest of the way." The young girl huffed as she placed her chin into the palms of her tiny hands.

Isabella was settled in the back of the stationary wagon with Louisa, whilst Rosie was engrossed in a spirited conversation with a young lady up front. They had been waiting at their current location for nearly an hour at Carl's behest. He had ridden into town with his brother, Bill to find Madsen, who was going to guide them the rest of the way to the new base.

The anticipation of arriving at their destination was beginning to overwhelm both Isabella and young Louisa. For three whole days they had been travelling with minimal stops for rest and food; it had really begun to affect everyone's emotional state and test their endurance.

"Well, I would like to stretch my legs, maybe I could take Louisa with me? I won't take her out of your sight." Isabella promised.

"Sure, thank you." Rosie replied.

Isabella crawled to the edge of the wagon and hopped down, turning back to help Louisa down too.

"Just before you go, I'd like you to meet Emily." Rosie indicated to the young, dark-skinned beauty she had been speaking with. Emily's deep, hazel eyes sparkled as she acknowledged Isabella. "Emily, this is Jasper's sister; Isabella."

"It's nice to meet you," Emily spoke softly. Isabella returned Emily's greeting, noting that she appeared to be close to her in age. Before they could speak any more, Louisa tugged impatiently on Isabella's skirts, wanting to go for their promised walk. Isabella smiled sheepishly at the other two ladies before taking Louisa's offered hand and following her.

As she walked, Isabella gripped the fabric of her blue skirt, raising it slightly so that she wouldn't stumble over the cascading material. She was still borrowing Rosie's clothes which were all a tad too long on her smaller frame.

Rosie's wagon was towards the rear of their convoy, with about four wagons between them and the front. Jasper and Jacob had both headed this way when Carl and Bill had left for town. Isabella could see them a short way away, surrounded by a few men that she had yet to be introduced to. Her palms became clammy as she realised Louisa was dragging her in that direction, probably to see her father who was also present among the group.

As they strolled past a covered wagon, she overheard the cackling of two women, on closer inspection she recognised them to be the ladies that she had followed from the saloon back in Reno. They stopped laughing as they spotted her approaching and glared at her until the canvas covering blocked her from their accusatory, death stares. Louisa was skipping a few paces ahead of her, thankfully completely oblivious to the unwanted attention Isabella was attracting.

Isabella wished she could retreat back to the comfort of the wagon, but refused to let the others witness how much the hostile gestures were affecting her. She was pleased with herself when they reached the ring of men at the front, having ignored the inquisitive and sceptical looks of some of the gang members. She tucked the loose curls of hair behind her ear and squared her shoulders as she kept her gaze fixed forward. Jasper was the first to spot them.

"Hello ladies." He greeted them, a few of the other men looked their way as they acknowledged their presence but did not pause their conversations. Louisa released Isabella's hand at last and pounced at her father, wrapping her arms around his legs since that was all she could reach. "How are ya doing?" Jasper asked.

"Okay, I just wanted to walk around a bit; my legs were starting to go numb." She said quietly, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"I guess I haven't introduced you to these guys yet." Jasper picked up on her uneasiness, he had always been a confident empath, especially when it came to his sister's emotions. "You've met Emmett and Jacob, then you've got Jared, Joquin and Erick and that lovely lady is Connie." He pointed to each individual as he stated their name.

"Who are you callin' a lady?" Connie barked. Isabella shrunk back a little as the outspoken and strong-willed Connie rounded on them, she was nearly a foot taller than Isbella herself.

"She ain't no lady," Emmett laughed. "I mean, yer a girl but you ain't no lady." All of the men joined in as they laughed with Connie. Isabella was bewildered by the strange woman as she discreetly studied her from the corner of her eye. She appeared to be in her 30's with fine lines pulling at the edges of her eyes and lips, her unruly dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail so that her wide-brimmed, soft felt hat could sit comfortably on her head.

The one thing that really struck Isabella as strange, was Connie's apparent choice of attire; she had never witnessed a woman wearing trousers before. The fine, chestnut-brown cotton trousers clung to her legs, outlining the muscular curve of her calves as they disappeared inside her worn, leather boots. The belt that sat around her hips was embellished with a polished, silver buckle that was engraved with two pistols that were crossed at the barrel.

Isabella thought back to Mrs Adler in Placerville, when the lady had asked Isabella if she was one of those 'strange girls that wore trousers'; Isabella had believed the lady was insane for asking. But here stood a woman in men's clothing; and she seemed almost proud of that fact.

"Trousers are easier to run in," Connie supplied to Isabella with a shrug of her shoulders, when she caught her staring. "And ride a horse, they just make sense." Isabella nodded her head as if she agreed, but honestly, she couldn't imagine herself in a pair.

"Papa, there they are!" Young Louisa tugged on her father's hand, as she enthusiastically pointed towards the emerging figures of Carl, Bill and Madsen. Isabella squinted at the approaching men, she had not interacted with Carl or Bill at all on their journey aside from a few nasty stare's courtesy of Carl, and she was more than happy to keep it that way. As Jasper, Emmett and the others, including Connie stepped forward to greet the men Isabella began to pull back.

She gasped slightly as her eyes unintentionally met Madsen's, she swiftly diverted her eyes to the ground, before peering up through her lashes at the unnaturally, striking man. She noticed that his face remained expressionless as he gave her a dismissive once over, then redirected his attention to the mass of people in front of him.

"Mount up, we've got a couple of hours till we reach the camp and we still need to set up." Carl instructed. Everyone jumped into action, rushing back to their respective horse or wagon, Louisa quickly overtook Isabella as she sprinted back to her mother excitedly. The anticipation was tangible in the air, they were nearly there.

They maintained their current course for another hour or so before breaking off the main trail, which was no easy feat with the number of wagons in the convoy. As Isabella held onto the wooden edges tightly with Louisa in the rear, Rosie explained that privacy was necessary for them. Although no one in the surrounding towns should recognise them, it was better for everybody if they mainly kept to themselves and avoiding drawing to much attention.

As they moved in single-file the horse's flattened the tall, wild grass, a clear sign that no one had ventured out this way in a long time, if ever. The trees grew close together, the leaves creating a canopy above them of varying shades of vivid greens, earthy browns and flaming reds that gave the desired sense of seclusion, until they opened out to reveal a calm, lush green meadow.

Carl and Madsen, having been two of the first people to reach the clearing had already dismounted and were making their way to the centre where a plume of smoke was rising from a burning fire. A man was seated beside the fire with his back towards the gang, seemingly lost in thought as he had yet to acknowledge the newcomers.

"Remind me not to put you on look-out duties old friend." Carl called to the unsuspecting man who flinched as he suddenly became aware that he was no longer alone. As Isabella caught sight of the man's leathered face and thin, curvy moustache she couldn't control the warmth that flooded her.

Isabella had figured that Charles was the gang's informant back in Placerville, but she had not expected to see him again. She watched as he greeted everyone, nodding his head, shaking hands and patting some on the back with a kind familiarity.

As everyone began to fan out and begin the process of constructing the camp, Isabella noticed Charles scanning the faces of the people he had not said hello to yet, apparently searching for someone in particular. Isabella climbed down from the wagon and paused next to the horse that had carried them all the way from Reno. When Charles spotted Isabella, the wrinkles around his eyes deepened as his cheekbones lifted into a charming smile, in a matter of seconds he was stood before her.

"Hey there kid," he tipped his hat to her, she was pleasantly surprised when he pulled her into his arms in a welcoming embrace, which she happily returned. She hadn't realised how much she had missed her friend until now. "Heard you've been getting yerself into more trouble." He chuckled, his voice low and gravelly.

"You can say that again." Jasper suddenly appeared at their sides, his eyes twinkling as he teased his young sister. "How have you been Charles? It's been a while since I last saw you."

"Well, not that long if you count that disaster of a heist in Placerville, speaking of; how's the shoulder?"

"Mending," Jasper raised his left arm experimentally, grinning when he managed to lift it without wincing. "Doc patched me up good. Anyway, what brought you south? Fancied trying the nomad lifestyle for a bit?"

"I just decided I wanted a change of scenery, and well, here I am." He winked at Isabella, who giggled at the old man's antics. "For now, anyway."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to join us, for however long you plan on sticking around. Right, you," Jasper focused on Isabella. "Let's pick a decent spot and start building our tent, yer gonna have to share with me for now."

"Good luck with that," Isabella flinched, she had not detected Madsen who had silently appeared behind them. "Isabella doesn't build tents, do you?" Her cheeks warmed up at the disguised insult and the close proximity of his body to her; her hair fluttered as his breath washed over her heated skin.

His unfathomably deep, emerald eyes flashed with an unknown mischief. His full, sensual lips twitched as he smirked at her dazed expression; she had not noticed the brownish-yellow hue in his eyes before. She awkwardly cleared her throat as she stumbled backwards slightly. She could not quite put her finger on the cause; but Madsen had the ability to make her feel fragile and unbalanced.

"Well, she's going to learn today." Jasper added, unaware to the building tension between his sister and his friend. "I'll go and start unloading the wagon, come give me a hand?" Isabella turned to follow her brother when Madsen spoke.

"You better get used to building tents if yer planning on sticking around," he began. "We don't usually last too long in one place, especially when little girls don't do what they're told." His thick brows lowered over his eyes.

"Thank you."

"And-" He stopped, his eyes widening slightly in confusion. "What?" He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Thank you, for rescuing me. I don't think I thanked you before. And for rescuing Jasper too, he told me how you and Emmett saved him, without you two he would probably be dead; so, thank you." She clenched her hands together, suddenly feeling shy as she attempted to look anywhere but directly at him. The silence drew out uncomfortably, she nearly considered just turning away and running after Jasper when he finally replied.

"Despite trying to keep you two apart, I'm glad you got the reunion that you were after." Isabella could see in his eyes that he was being sincere with her. A responding smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but the stubborn man did no return it, instead he turned away without another word.

"Hey Bee? You gonna just stand there or are ya gonna help me?"

Together the siblings assembled their tent. Well, Jasper did, while Isabella attempted to help. Madsen hadn't been wrong when he had pointed out her lack of building skills, but Bella was adamant to prove her usefulness and assist her brother.

"You make it look so easy." Isabella sighed wistfully when they were finally done, she swept her hair from her face, using her mother's comb to hold it back. Placing her hands on her hips she surveyed the rest of the camp, noting that everyone else was pretty much done too.

"We've moved around a lot," Jasper shrugged nonchalantly.

"The last letter you sent to me," Isabella began. "You said you were moving south? Was that when you went to Reno?"

"Erm, no, when I last wrote to you, we were in Washington then we moved onto Oregon, then Reno."

"You've moved three times in the last-" Isabella paused as she counted back the months. "11 months?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, half of this camp are wanted people Bee, we don't really get to stick around anywhere for long."

"Well, maybe if you stopped robbing and murdering-"

"Come on Bee, don't start please." Jasper placed the books he was holding on to the table just inside their tent before turning to address Bella. He bent his knees slightly so that he could meet her eyes and clasped her small hands in his much larger, rough hands. "I don't expect you to understand, you've only been here a few days after all, but we don't do the things we do because we enjoy it. We just need to get enough money and then we can move on and make a new life for ourselves."

"But I offered you money to leave-"

"No. I won't turn my back on this gang, we will make enough money so that everyone can live a better life. We don't leave anybody behind in this family, just like I won't leave you behind ever again." Isabella stared into her brother's eyes, wishing she could see things the way he did so that she might understand. Jasper sighed heavily, wanting to remove the doubt he could see in his sister's eyes he used his hold on her hands to pull her into a brief hug, before ruffling her hair playfully.

As the tense atmosphere broke, Bella became aware of everyone gradually moving towards the centre of the meadow. The green space which had been vacant only a few hours prior, was now occupied with multiple tents of varying sizes and shades of beige. To the right of the camp someone had hammered some posts into the ground to use as hitching posts for the horses who were all resting after their long journey.

Jasper tugged on Bella's hand, leading her towards the mass of people. As she reluctantly followed he glanced over his shoulder to give her a reassuring smile, which she failed to return.

When they finally reached the center, Isabella detected the tinkling sound of music, searching for the source she found a phonograph positioned on a small table outside of the largest tent. Carl was seated beside it, with a stunning woman draped across his lap, the two were gazing at each other adoringly as she whispered to him. Isabella swiftly looked away, not wanting to be caught ogling the pair.

Instead she focused on the circle of people settled around the bright, burning fire; she recognised most of them. There was Emmett, with Rosie and Louisa; the men she had been introduced to earlier; Joquin, Jared and Erick who were chatting animatedly with Charles. Emily was seated with Jacob and Connie; the latter was shuffling a deck of cards absentmindedly. However, there were still a few faces that Isabella had yet to put a name to.

Jasper, reading the question on her face, began pointing people out to her.

"That's Josie and Marie," Isabella avoided staring at the two women for too long, having already figured out that they were not very fond of her. "That's Esme." He pointed to the lady perched on Carl's knees. "The man over there, preparing our dinner is Leroy, he's the chef round here. If you don't like his food, keep it to yerself."

"Why is that?" Isabella wondered.

"Cause if you complain about the food, you become the chef." Isabella was proud of herself as she managed to control her startled reaction to Madsen's sudden appearance as he stepped out from the shadows to stand with them. Did he enjoy creeping up on people? She wondered. Jasper snorted in agreement before continuing.

"You also have Dawson and his son Miguel with Doc. And that man talking to Bill, that's Tyler." Isabella's eyebrows rose in confusion as she picked up on the disdain in Jasper's voice as he revealed the last man's name. Tyler was clean-shaven with his hair perfectly slicked back; he appeared to be fairly normal. Jasper acknowledged the curious expression on Isabella's face and hurried to justify his tone of voice.

"He's a loan shark, Carl keeps him around because he brings in the green, but- well I don't like his line of work and I don't particularly agree with his methods."

"His methods?" Isabella asked.

"He means me," Madsen interjected. Jasper's eyebrows drew down over his eyes, his mouth opening as if he was about to disagree. Isabella glanced between the two men, waiting for one of them to elaborate but Jasper quickly changed the subject.

"Where's Clay and George? I haven't seen them yet?"

"They disappeared the day after we got here, said they were heading into Crestview to have a look around and I haven't heard from them since. Carl wants me to go and look for them tomorrow."

"Those two are always up to no good." Jasper muttered.

Without warning a piercing, shrill whistle disrupted the peaceful sunset. Everyone adjusted their position until they could face the culprit; Carl. He had detached the auburn-haired female from his lap and was now on his feet towering over everybody. As he let the silence drag on, he scanned the crowd of faces before him, Isabella forced herself to remain motionless as his eyes flashed over her.

"My friends," he begun, his voice was deep and hypnotic, commanding the attention of everyone present. "I want to thank you for your patience and determination, not just over the past few days but the last few months. We have been through a lot together over the years in our goal to discover our new home." Carl paused as he took a swig of his drink, a couple of people raised their own bottles and cups in his direction, agreeing with his statement. Old man Carl Clayton slowly began to circle around the back of the circle, eyeing each person as he passed them.

"I asked you to put your faith in me and you did. We have fought for this gang's survival and made sacrifices of our own and we are nearly there my friends. You trusted me to lead you, and a good leader is nothing without a blazing team, so we will continue to do what we do best and work together to create the life that we want." He reached out to clasp Emmett's shoulder fondly whilst smiling at Jared who was seated opposite them.

"For tonight though, we will holster our pistols, hitch the horses and have a damn good time." The men around the fire cheered and raised their drinks once again. Isabella who had been transfixed by Carl, flinched as Jasper loudly voiced his unity with his fellow outlaws. From under her lashes she observed Madsen who had procured a drink of his own, he had not been very vocal throughout Carls speech like the others, but she could see the fire that had been ignited within him through his eyes.

Isabella had to give it to the gang leader; he knew how to motivate and lift the spirits of his followers, and they swallowed his words up like a baby bird being fed by its mother.

"Come on, let's go grab a seat." Jasper lightly grasped her elbow and led her over to a vacant spot between Rosie and Jacob, leaving Madsen alone to search for his own seat. As Isabella lowered herself to the ground, she smoothed her hands over the detailed blue material of her skirt that fanned out around her.

"Here, I managed to save these from the saloon," Isabella watched as Charles randomly handed out a few large bottles of whiskey, Emmett eagerly accepted one and began filling up the cups that appeared in front of him. The music grew louder as did the general chatter as the sun faded away behind the mountains; Isabella could feel herself drowning in the pleasant and relaxed atmosphere.

She had had a better than average upbringing, but in all her life she had never experienced something so intimate and with so many strangers. She watched Jasper as he spoke with Emmett, smiling to herself at the joy she witnessed in his expressions and movement; she had never seen him so carefree and happy before.

Within a few minutes of them being seated, bowls of stew were distributed around until everyone had a meal to enjoy. Isabella was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful, rich taste of the food. After Jasper's earlier comment about the chef, she had been a tad nervous about what to expect. And after consuming only tinned, dry goods for the past week, the hot grub was more than satisfying.

"Okay, okay, I've got one for you." Rosie started boldly. "Although I don't know if you can handle this one." Isabella tuned into the conversation, interested in what Rosie wanted to share with them. She placed her now empty bowl on the ground by her feet so that she could angle her body towards the others.

"A cowboy rides into town and shoots an artist. The sheriff asks him, "Why did you do that?" The cowboy says, "I thought he was going to draw." Isabella found herself chuckling along with the rest as Rosie smiled, satisfied with their reactions.

"Oh darlin', that was awful." Emmett grinned as he wrapped his arms around his wife and placed a tender kiss on the side of her forehead.

"Do you want some?" A cup was thrust into Isabella's line of vision. Her eyes wandered from the liquid, to the big-knuckled fingers offering the cup, to the clear, russet-coloured skin of the man's forearm until she was staring into Jacob's warm, honey-coloured eyes.

Isabella hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip as she considered accepting the drink; she could almost hear Mrs Jenny and her mother reprimanding her already.

"You don't have to," Jacob began to retract his hand, Isabella quickly reached out and snatched the cup from his hand. She grinned sheepishly as Jacob winked at her before taking a sip of his own drink. Just like the first time she had tasted the drink back in Charles saloon, the liquid burned as it passed her lips.

"Hey Black, don't you start corrupting my sister." Jasper warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sullivan."

"Hey Bella?" The girl in question turned to the small voice behind her.

"Yes Louisa?"

"Would you dance with me?"

"I-I don't know how to dance." Isabella tried her best not to react to the sadness that overtook Louisa's features, her little shoulders fell forward in defeat.

"I smell a liar." Jasper poked at Bella. "I remember all those lessons mother forced you into taking. I bet those didn't stop while I was gone either." Isabella blushed as she was called out; she had in fact taken lessons for the past nine years but her confidence had not grown to match her skill unfortunately. It also didn't help that she felt completely out of her element surrounded by so many strangers, who all continued to shoot inquisitive looks in her direction when they thought she was not paying them any mind.

"Never fear, Louisa, I'll dance with you." Jasper sprung to his feet and bowed to the tiny girl before seizing her hands and spinning her off her feet. Bella placed her hand over her mouth in an attempt to contain the laughter that bubbled up through her chest. If she closed her eyes and focused; she could transport herself back in time to when Jasper danced with her like that in their drawing room.

Isabella had been eight years old when her mother had decided to teach her the Foxtrot, Waltz and Swing movements. She had been a rather stubborn child and had refused at first, it was only when Jasper had offered to be her partner that she had warmed to the idea.

Isabella gently swayed to the music from her spot on the ground, as she watched a few more people join in; Jacob paired up with Emily, Emmett with Rosie and even Carl was dancing with Esme.

What an odd situation she had found herself in, Isabella thought to herself. Only a month ago, she had discovered that her brother was a wanted man, and not only that, but he was part of a notorious gang! Yet, here she was, the happiest she had felt in what seemed a long time.

"Now that everyone is half way to being drunk and has stopped staring at you, will you dance?" Isabella peered up at Charles, his moustache twitched as he grinned down at her knowingly. Isabella's eyes flickered around the camp noticing that Charles was indeed right in his observation.

Throwing caution to the wind she accepted his hand and pulled herself upright.

"Now, I've got years of experience, and I don't want to embarrass you so we'll just keep it nice and simple, okay?" Isabella threw her head back with laughter at the older man's obvious lie, but agreed anyway, allowing him to lead her over to where the other dancers were messily twirling around.

Jasper had scooped Louisa up, resting her against his good shoulder as he rocked her back and forth. As they spun, Bella noticed that Louisa was dead to the world, her little mouth had gone slack and her arms were hanging limply over Jasper's shoulders.

As Isabella allowed herself to relax and lose herself in the familiar movement, she was blissfully unaware that one of the Clayton's was still scrutinising her every move with rapt attention. Madsen scratched his fingers across the scruff that was growing on his chin and upper lip in exasperation. He angrily drew a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, inhaling the tobacco greedily, he wished it was her scent- No. He didn't. He shook his head roughly, banishing the irresponsible thoughts form his mind.

It had been easy to brush aside his initial attraction to the girl when he had believed he was shipping her off to Bridgers Fort, but now that she was here to stay? Madsen gritted his teeth and clenched and relaxed his free hand repeatedly.

She was barely even a woman, no shape, no life experience, her eyes still held some of her childhood innocence, she was Sullivan's little sister, he didn't need any distractions. He silently rattled off every reason why he should avoid Isabella, slowly building a wall of resistance until he felt it was strong enough to withstand her influences.

Back over by the fire, Isabella spun one final time with Charles, before declaring that she was exhausted.

"Well, sleep well kid." Charles saluted to her before returning to his spot by the fire and retrieving his own large bottle of whiskey. Isabella searched around for Jasper, wanting to let him know that she planned on retiring for the night when she instead met Madsen's cold, stormy eyes. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing in bewilderment at the obvious aggression that was rolling in waves from his body.

The desire to curl up into a tiny ball nearly overtook Isabella, but she fought against the urge. Instead giving in to her flee instinct as she hurried away from the scene and the green-eyed monster, wondering what she had done to enrage him so much.

As I said, I hope it was worth the wait!
Let me know what you thought and give the story a follow if you want to follow along for the ride!