Chapter Sixteen
Six Months Later
Mattie stood at the corral watching the mare that she had bought to bred with Challenger. She was an exquisite piece of horseflesh with a large eyes and a noble head. Her color was one that Mattie had not seen in a long time. It was a pale yellow color and dapples. Her mane was dark. Mattie couldn't be more pleased with the horse she had picked from Buck's old herd.
Mattie sighed and turned to the western sky. It was full of pink, red, and orange. There was also dark blue speeding up toward the evening rainbow. She ran her fingers through her hair as she went around to the front porch. She sat down and watched as the town was closing up for the night. Her life had been in such a whirlwind the last few months that she hadn't noticed how the town was recovering from the storms.
"Hello, Mattie," the shopkeeper yelled with a wave.
Mattie smiled and waved back. The town had been buzzing for a long time about what happened with Buck and the James Gang. However, no one knew the real story but Mattie. She watched the town as a young couple came out from the hotel. They looked so happy, and she couldn't help but envy them. She had that happiness once. Now, it was gone. She missed Frank everyday, and each day was getting harder. She stood slowly and walked inside.
The house was warm and cold at the same time. The emptiness of it was something that Mattie couldn't and didn't want to get used to it. She walked into the kitchen and started a fire. Another dinner alone. She started peeling some potatoes and noticed how quit the mare was. She moved toward the window and noticed the horses were standing on side of the corral.
"What is going on?" Mattie asked the walls, grabbing her pistol.
She walked out on the back porch and saw that the horses were looking at something. She turned to see what it was but didn't see anything. It was probably some deer or other forest animal. Then it let out a loud whine that came only from another horse.
"Who's there?" Mattie called out.
The underbrush started to move and a figure stepped out. In the late light, it was hard to see the man's face. But ,the frame looked very familiar. She knew those broad shoulders, the hard chest, and the light hair. She lowered her pistol, feeling something in her jump, actually everything in her jump. There was no way that it could be who she wanted it to be.
"Hello there, beautiful," the man said.
Mattie knew that voice. She felt the pistol slip from her hand as she ran to him. She jumped into the arms that she knew would catch her. She felt the arms wrap around her a pick her up. She pushed the hat back and saw that it was Frank standing there. She ran her fingers through her hair as he kissed her lips and neck.
"I have missed you, Mattie," Frank said almost breathlessly. "I have thought about you everyday, every hour, and every second."
Mattie laughed a little. She felt tears streaming down her face, but for once in a long time, the tears were of happiness. She held onto him for what seemed like hours.
"I love you, Mattie," Frank whispered into her ear. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Mattie could only nod. She couldn't believe that this was real. She had dreamed about this many nights. She had wanted this to happen ever since she had watched him ride away. She held onto to him and kissed him. Then she let go.
"I love you too, Frank," she said.
Frank thought about asking her to marry him, but it would wait. He had the whole night to spend with Mattie and figure out where to go from here. Then, he had the rest of his life to be the only thing he had ever loved.