AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Life and whatnot :( I hope you're all still around and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I don't own Faraday or Chris Pratt, which, honestly, is super depressing. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Chapter Two
"Ma- Ms. Millie," he twisted his hat in his hands, "Ms. Emma sent me. She said you could help her. Help all of us, really."
"With what?" I queried, curious enough to drop the gun back into the umbrella stand, "Matthew's funeral expenses? He was a good man; I wouldn't-"
"No," he shook his head adamantly, nostrils flaring, "with takin' back the town from Bogue."
It wasn't what I expected, no, and I slowly leaned the rifle inside the door, folding my arms over my chest as I silently appraised the young man before me. He seemed to be genuine in his goal and I jerked my head toward the inside of the house, unwilling to leave the sanctity of my home with the possibility of Bogue's men in the area.
Stepping back, I allowed him to enter, eyeing him warily as he removed his hat and dusted it off against his pant leg, staring about him in awe. I followed his gaze, disinterested; the grandeur of the house had gotten old quite quickly. Shutting the door, I gestured for him to follow me, a finger to my lips and a silent nod toward my slumbering daughter. Jax raised his head at the unexpected appearance of a strange man in his home, a low, rumbling growl escaping him, but a single snap of my fingers had him burrowing his face into the crook of Daisy's arm with a huff.
Teddy followed me as quietly as he could, gingerly settling himself at my polished table and shifting uncomfortably under Beth's hawkish glower. Clearing his throat, he announced in a whisper, "Ma'am, what- what do you think? Would you be willin' to help us out?"
"How?" I queried skeptically, "how could I help? I'm no fighter. I can't take on his men…"
Not that I couldn't kill a man; I had and I wouldn't hesitate to do so again if threatened, but I couldn't take on all of them with any skill. Shoving the barrel of a rifle into a man's chest or under his chin was easy enough, I'd found, but to fire in rapid succession, hitting each target, when they were armed, as well?
"That's not what we mean, Ms. Emma an' I," Teddy rebuffed quickly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly, eyes darting nervously about as though his thoughts had fallen to my past, as well, "we were thinkin' more along the lines o' finding some men, trained fighters, killers, who could come an' help us take the town back. Bogue's men are here to stay, even if he ain't. They won't be leavin' any time soon, not after today."
Realization dawned on me and I quirked a brow, head tipping to the side and querying leadingly, "With my money?"
"I- it wasn't… we don't want it for ourselves," Teddy raised his hands in surrender, "but if we had enough-"
"I understand that; I get it. And I'll help you." His surprise drew a sardonic smile from me and I shook my head, "I'm not as heartless as they make me seem, Teddy. How do you plan on finding these men? You can't put an advertisement in the paper; Bogue's men will be keeping a strict eye on everything going on in this town from here on out. You'll have to go find them yourself."
"That's the plan, Ms. Millie," he nodded resolutely, rising to his feet and reaching for my hand, shaking it fervently, "we're gonna go find the best of the best; there're plenty o' towns around. There's gotta be men out there willin' to take up our cause."
"Hopefully," I agreed, following his lead and guiding him to the door, "I'll go to the bank this afternoon, get the money. Will you be going alone?"
He rolled his eyes affectionately and scoffed, "Ms. Emma's goin', too. We don't have time to waste and they're not lettin' us move the… the bodies for a few days. She don't wanna wait that long. And the preacher says he'll make sure nothin' happens to Matthew 'til we're back."
"Sounds like you were planning on going with or without my aid," I commented, opening the door and following him out onto the whitewashed porch.
"It woulda been a lot harder without your help," he admitted sheepishly, worrying his hat between his hands, "we were gonna pool our resources, but- well your doin' us a great favor, Ms. Millie. We're in your debt."
I watched him go, drawing my lower lip between my teeth and chewing anxiously. The door behind me opened and I sighed, "Stay with Daisy, Beth. I need to go to the bank. Also… pack a few bags; we'll need them."
/
Several of Bogue's men milled about the streets, their weapons at their sides and drinks in their hands. Ignoring them as resolutely as I did the rest of the townsfolk, I strode toward the sprawling bank, head held high and eyes glued to the door.
"If it ain't Millie Evans!"
Jaw clenching, I felt my nostrils flare; though my steps never faltered, my heart thumped painfully in my chest. Eyes flitting to the left, I saw one of Bogue's scruffy men, whose name I never cared to learn, ambling toward me. His hand rested on his gun; though I doubted he meant it as a threat, I couldn't help but regard him warily.
"I'm sorry, Mr. ..."
"Well, you can just call me Andy, honey," he smirked, his round, grimy face covered in sweat, "where you off to so intently?"
"The bank," I replied tersely, "I would've thought that was obvious, but clearly I overestimated you."
His jaw dropped, his face hastily turning an unflattering shade of purple, and I cursed my sharp tongue. He was one of Bogue's men; he was not to be trifled with, stupid as he was. Belatedly, I offered him a tight smile, pardoning myself and hastening up the steps and into the bank.
Tossing a disconcerted glance over my shoulder, I hurried up to the counter, drawing Mr. Marshall's attention and concern.
"Ms. Millie," he commented, peering over my shoulder as Andy huffed and puffed outside, "you're not bringin' any trouble in here, are you?"
Eventually, when Teddy and Emma find men to scare off Bogue's, I thought, plastering a reassuring smile on my face, "No, no. I'm just here to make a withdrawal."
He nodded, a rather disbelieving frown coloring his weathered face, but he made for a slip of paper and pen, "The usual?"
"Um, no," I replied softly, leaning over the counter and glancing hastily around for any eavesdroppers, "I'd like to make a… larger… withdrawal."
He nodded, brows pitching in question, "How much then?"
That, I wasn't sure of. I had plenty of money in the bank, more than I could possibly ever need, but Teddy and I hadn't spoken of an amount. He hadn't requested any sum in particular, leaving it up to me to contribute what I was willing to part with. But what would it cost to hire a man, men, an army to take on Bogue and his men? More than anything Emma and Teddy could come up with on their own. More than any other townsfolk would be willing to part with, I imagined.
"All of it."
Marshall's pen slid across the receipt he'd been writing, ink marring the once clean parchment as he stared up at me in surprise. His beady black eyes widened considerably and he gaped, "All of it?"
"Yes," I replied confidently, lifting an unconcerned shoulder, "I'm going on a trip and I don't know how much I'll need. I'll put back whatever I don't use."
"Well, you… you need to leave at least a dollar to keep your account open, Ms. Millie," he stuttered, retrieving a new receipt and hesitantly jotting down the amount, "that alright with you?"
"It's fine," I waved a flippant hand. What was a dollar compared to the sum I was taking from his safe? Hopefully it didn't cause him any financial troubles, but I assumed Bogue's men littering the town would make enough troubles for us all for my withdrawal to be too much of a problem. "And please, keep this between us for as long as you can."
"I intend to, Ms. Millie," he replied with a huff, "if the rest o' the folk find out the bank's losing over half its money…"
He continued to mutter to himself as he disappeared into the back, opening the massive safe and retreating from view to retrieve my goods. Turning my back to the counter, I approached the slatted windows, peering out into the street where Andy continued to bluster on about my insult. This time, though, he had gathered a few of his companions, who all grunted and grumbled in agreement, eyes casting dangerous scowls toward the bank.
I couldn't leave with as much money as I was about to receive; whether or not Marshall would keep his word, I didn't know, but I wanted Bogue's men in the dark for as long as I could keep them there.
Relief flooded me as I caught sight of Emma making her way toward the bank, presumably to gather her own money for our hero fund. She gave the men a withering glare as she wove around them, ignoring their biting, callous comments about me.
She entered the bank and I latched onto her arm, startling her as I dragged her away from the door and out of potential earshot.
"Emma, I need you to do me a favor," I whispered, glancing toward the safe where Marshall still grumbled and stuffed my money into a bag, "I need you to take my money with you. These men are looking for trouble and I don't want them to see how much I come out of here with. They'll know if they see. I told Marshall I'm going on a trip, so I'll have to go, but if they realize it's not for that…"
"I understand," she nodded, gathering me in a tight hug, "thank you for doin' this. It means the world to me. I- Matthew would thank you, too, I know."
"I know," I offered her a grimacing smile, "take it to your home; I'll come fetch it later. We'll discuss how much you can take with you and, of course, take what you need for Matthew's funeral."
She began to protest, but Marshall returned, hefting the bag onto the counter with a grunt. It was sizable, that was certain. Emma's eyes widened and I ignored her, making for the counter and asking for a separate, smaller bag, "Mr. Marshall, I implore you to keep this to yourself. Emma shall be taking this, with my permission, for the moment. See to it that this stays between us."
He nodded, lips pursed in agitation; honestly, I was his best customer, his own money source if truth be told, and he would do what he could to appease me.
Shoving some of the gold coins into the smaller velvet bag, I grinned at Emma and reminded her, "I'll be at your home in an hour if that suits you."
Wordlessly, she nodded and I strode from the bank, eyes falling onto Andy and his posse. Maintaining my most indifferent facade, I made to brush past them, but McCall grabbed my arm and queried sweetly, "Where ya goin', Ms. Millie? What took you so long in there?"
"I was making arrangements," I replied cautiously, renting my elbow from his grasp and smoothing out my dress, "I'll be away for a while; I just needed to withdraw what I needed and inform Mr. Marshall of my plan."
His narrowed blue eyes fell to the bag in my hand and without warning, he ripped it from my hold. Opening it despite my frustrated protests, he examined the contents, whistling lowly, "Long trip?
"It's a long way to New York, Mr. McCall," I retorted hotly, snatching the sack and holding it tightly to my chest, "now if you'll excuse me…"
Though Andy and his comrades hissed vile things, McCall plastered a warm, gentlemanly smile across his bearded face, "Can I escort you home, then? It must get awful lonesome up there at night. If you want-"
"Mr. McCall, thank you for your generous offer, but I'm perfectly content on my own," I nearly growled, hiking up my skirts and stalking down the dusty road. Though the others stayed back at a wave of his hand, he followed, his long legs closing the distance between us too quickly for my liking. "Really. I'm fine. Your presence isn't needed."
Or wanted.
McCall allowed a short laugh to escape his lips, twisting them into a wry grin before raising his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright. But remember what I said; my offer stands. I know you're gonna say yes soon enough."
My lip curled and I was grateful that my back was to him; if he had seen, I was certain he wouldn't have allowed me to leave. As it was, I hastily made my way to the farmhouse, jogging up the steps and calling for Beth. I winced, eyes flying to the couch, but Daisy was nowhere to be seen, the blanket discarded on the floor.
Fear struck me and I called for them both, praying that McCall hadn't sent anyone up to the house while I was distracted at the bank. Shoulders slumping, I threw my head back in relief as Beth called from the second floor, "Ms. Millie? We're up here!"
She came bustling down the wide, white steps, dusting off her apron and querying, "Did everything go well? Do you have the money?"
"Yes, but I ran into some of Bogue's men," I replied, reaching behind my head and undoing my falling bun, raking a hand through my thick hair, "I've told them all I'm going on a trip; that's why I needed the money. Emma has most of it now, but… to keep them from suspecting, I'm going to have to go. We will; Daisy and I. I'd appreciate it if you could stay; keep up appearances."
Beth sighed but smiled softly, "I figured you meant the two of you. You're all packed. I wasn't sure how long you would be gone, but there's enough in there for a few days at least. And don't worry about a thing, dear; I've got it all sorted here. Jax and I will watch the place."
Wrapping her in a tight, grateful hug, I pressed a kiss to her wrinkled cheek, "Thank you, Beth. Truly, you are my rock."
She swatted at me, eyes bright and wet, "Now, where will you go?"
/
Daisy questioned me the entire trip, bouncing excitedly in the seat beside me as the wagon rattled down the narrow way to Emma's home. Where were we going? Would we be going alone? How long would the trip take? Would we see bears? Buffalo?
I answered her as best I could, distractedly glancing over my shoulder a time or two; it wouldn't do to be seen approaching Emma's. If we were going away for a while, why would we need to stop and see the new widow?
Emma hurried from her modest home, brows furrowed in question, "So where are you off to?"
Lifting my chin, I announced firmly, "Wherever you're going."
/
Okay, I promise Faraday will be in the next chapter! Which I'm suuuper excited for! Please review, let me know what you think!
Sam0728: Thanks! I'm so glad you think so!
Maemc: thank you! I hope you like this chapter too!
Guest: haha mehbeh! More will be revealed soon, especially when she meets Faraday.
Cheshires-Ace: Thank you so much!