Please see Chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers.
"I imagine I would care a great deal about taking a human life. Putting down a rabid dog, however, well that is another matter quite entirely," she said in a whisper swallowing convulsively. A look of surprise flashed through the man's eyes before they closed forever.
Chapter 11
Torie stood silently beside the window in her room at the boarding house. Mr. Collins, the undertaker, had been called to Mary's house and would see to having Syke's body removed. Mary and Billy were downstairs, but Torie had wanted some time to herself. She looked out the window as the sun began to set and considered the day's events.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she mumbled a quiet, "Come in."
To her surprise it wasn't Mary coming to check on her for what seemed the hundredth time, it was Josiah. Looking up at the large man, she saw the concern in his pale blue eyes and it made her chest tighten. The former preacher held his arms open and Torie surprised herself by walking right into them. As he wrapped strong arms around her, Torie felt a few tears course down her cheek. Picking the girl up, Josiah moved to settle them both on the bed with Torie seated on his lap.
"Are you okay, pumpkin?"
Torie nodded. "Mary told you what happened?"
"She did."
With a heavy sigh, Torie wiped away the few stray tears, rather surprised by their presence. "I should feel bad shouldn't I? For killing a man?" she whispered.
"What do you feel?"
"Relief. I don't feel good or happy. I thought I would want to dance on his grave." Torie shook her head. "I just feel a sense of peace."
"Well, I think that makes sense, given what that man did to your mother and what he was threatening to do to Billy. His death was swift and more merciful than many would think he deserved. I have a feeling he probably hurt a lot of people."
"Does it make me some kind of monster, though, that I don't feel bad for killing him?"
Josiah tightened his arms around the girl, and shook his head. "Nathan and I rounded up Cain. He hadn't gotten very far with his little escape attempt." Josiah sat up, and shifting Torie slightly, pulled his gun from his holster and held it up. "If I let you have my gun and gave you leave, would you go shoot him where he stood in that jail cell?"
Torie looked at the gun thoughtfully, but finally shook her head. "I'd shoot him if he were trying to escape."
Josiah nodded and put his gun away. "If Chris and Vin come back with those other fella's that had a part in killing your mama, would you want to shoot them?"
Green eyes grew hard as Torie looked up to meet Josiah's gentle gaze. Part of her wanted to say yes, but another part was unsure. "At the very least I'd want to see them hang."
"Understandable," Josiah said, "But would you feel that you needed to do the killing?"
Torie shook her head. "No. I want them to pay for what they did and I still feel as if I could shoot them, but I'm willing to let the law take care of it."
Josiah smiled and gave the girl a hug. "Torie you're not a monster, sweetheart. Not even close. God's given you a strong sense of justice and he's made you tough enough to see that through. Just don't ever let your anger or a longing for revenge take over."
Torie laid her head on the man's chest with sense of contentment, listening to his steady heartbeat. After several minutes she asked, "Do you think Papa will understand?"
"Understand why you killed that man and how you feel about it?"
The girl nodded.
"He will." Josiah paused and tapped her nose before continuing, "Understand why you snuck out that window and took Mary's gun to go after those men by yourself? Now that, I don't think he'll be quite so understanding over."
"Do you think he'll…" Torie didn't even want to finish that question.
"Oh, yeah, you won't be sitting too easy for some time I'd say," Josiah chuckled.
The two continued to sit just like that for a long while, until Nathan came up to tell them supper was on the table and to check in on Torie.
"I'm fine, Nathan, but not hungry."
"You need to eat child," he said gently.
Josiah met the dark-skinned man's warm brown eyes and shook his head. "Missing one meal won't hurt her Nathan."
With a nod of understanding the healer acquiesced. "Buck, JD, and Ezra came back with the rest of those cowboys. Turns out they was just paid to cause a ruckus and then a little extra to help Cain escape. Billy's just fine, the blade just barely broke the skin," he explained. "No word from Chris or Vin yet, but I reckon they'll be back soon." With that, Nathan headed back downstairs to wait with Mary.
It was full dark when they heard horses approach. Torie jumped up from Josiah's lap and they headed downstairs and out the door. Chris and Vin were dismounting; they had three horses tied behind them, each with a man draped over the saddle. Torie paused long enough to realize that she recognized two of the three from the night her mother was killed.
Rushing to his daughter with relief, Chris scooped her up off her feet and held her close. Torie returned his embrace, tears once again trailing down her cheeks. After several moments, Chris put her down and gave the girl a shake, his eyes turning hard. "Where were you?"
"I circled around and came back to town. Followed one of the men to Mary's."
Chris tried to calm himself. Torie was obviously okay. He looked at Josiah, then Mary, and then to Torie again. "And?"
"It was the man with the scarred face. He was looking for me. He threatened to hurt Billy. I shot him," she explained simply.
Closing his eyes, Chris pulled Torie back into his arms, as he tried to quell the anger within. He had hoped to spare his daughter any more tragedy. Still she was standing here unharmed and he would take that as a blessing and be thankful. "Billy?" he asked looking towards Mary, concern in his eyes.
"A small cut, but he's fine. He fell asleep inside," the woman answered, still drinking in the sight of Chris standing there unharmed, holding his daughter.
"And the others?" Chris demanded.
"Over at the jail," Nathan answered. "Cain might be a little worse for wear," Nathan shrugged. "But he'll live to stand trial. Everyone else is just fine."
For the first time in a long time, Chris felt himself truly relax. He could use a drink. Actually, he could use a few.
***
"Feelin' better?" Vin asked as he watched his friend sip at the whisky in his glass. The former bounty hunter's lanky form was stretched out on the steps of the boardinghouse, a glass of amber liquid in his own hand.
From his perch on the porch rail, Chris looked out at the stars, and heaved a sigh. "At this rate I'll be gray as Josiah in six months."
Vin chuckled. "I'm guessin' the worst is behind ya now. She's bound ta settle down a mite now thet her mama's killers are all caught or dead."
"You really think so?" Chris asked cocking an eyebrow at the sharpshooter.
"Well, sounds good an' I thought it might make ya feel better."
"I thought I'd lost her, today."
"No use in dwellin' on what mighta been, cowboy."
Another several minutes past before Vin broke the comfortable silence between the two. "Noticed there weren't no cryin' or carryin' on upstairs when ya put 'er to bed."
Chris smiled. "Told her we'd talk tomorrow," the gunman squinted as he looked up at the moon. "Guess that'd be today, now."
"Thought ya might be lettin' 'er off easy, givin' the situation an' all"
The gunfighter pinned his friend with an incredulous look. "I do that and I might as well be starting all over with her. I know this was especially hard on Torie, but what happens the next time something comes up? It isn't like we have a shortage of hold-ups, killings, and other trouble. It's hard enough keeping peace in this town without her trying to get in the middle of it."
"I 'as jest akin'," Vin said with a grin. He knew that punishing Torie was the last thing Chris wanted to do, especially after all she had been through. The younger peacekeeper had figured that his question would spur Chris to talk himself either into it or out of it so that they could both go get some sleep.
Finishing his drink, Chris gave Vin a nod. "I'm going bed."
***
Torie slept late the next morning. It was odd for her to wake up for the first time in more than seven months, and realize that the men who'd killed her mother had been brought to justice. It was over. Cain was in jail, but the judge would be in town in a day or two and the Texan would be appropriately dealt with. With a small smile, Torie hoped Judge Travis wouldn't ask about the prisoner's state of injury. Apparently her papa had not been the only one to physically express his dislike for the man. She supposed having tried to escape he had lost all rights to cry foul.
Getting out of bed, she stretched and moved to get dressed. It was well past breakfast time and she was famished. Just as she finished brushing her hair, there was a knock on the door. She smiled and offered a quiet, "Come in."
"Hungry?" Chris asked.
"And then some," she answered offering the man a huge grin.
Putting his arm around the girl, Chris led her down the stairs and out of the boardinghouse since they had already missed the morning meal the proprietress had served. The two ran into Mary on their way to the restaurant.
"Billy was looking for you," she informed Torie. "Maybe after your breakfast you can stop by. I was insanely busy getting the newspaper out this morning, and I think he's rather bored."
"Torie and I need to have a little talk after breakfast," Chris informed the woman, "But maybe a bit later."
"Alright," Mary said, understanding the look in Chris's eyes all too well and feeling sorry for the girl. "Maybe you could both come by for a late lunch?"
"We'd like that," Chris said offering Mary a smile and a rather intense look that made the woman blush.
"See you then."
As Torie watched Mary move down the boardwalk she looked up at Chris. "So I guess that means I'm in trouble then, huh?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I want a very large breakfast. One that will take me a long, long time to eat," she muttered as they walked into the restaurant.
Despite her best stalling tactics the meal was done far too quickly for Torie. Chris directed her back to the boardinghouse and up to her room. Torie took a seat on her bed while Chris grabbed the desk chair turning it around to straddle as he faced his daughter.
"I had to shoot him," Torie said before Chris could even get started. "He would have killed Billy and probably Mary, too."
"I know. That's not what we're going to talk about."
"You know that I might very well have saved the life of your future wife?" Torie demanded.
Chris's eyes narrowed and the glare he leveled at her had Torie clamping her mouth tightly shut. "I am proud of your bravery, but I'm none too pleased that you put yourself into that situation to begin with," Chris said in a voice that sent a chill up Torie's spine. "You want to tell me what you were thinking? Stealing Mary's gun and climbing out that window to take off after those men?"
Torie's gaze dropped to the floor. "I was just borrowing the gun," she whispered.
"You aren't even supposed to touch one. Thought I'd already made that clear," he replied with a steely edge to his voice.
"It was just…those men…Papa, I couldn't let it go," she stated, her eyes pleading for him to understand.
Chris sighed and stood, moving the chair aside as he wrapped his arms around his little girl. She readily accepted his comfort, throwing her arms about his waist. After a few moments she looked up.
"I won't do it again, Papa."
"No, you won't," he answered sternly as he took a seat on her bed. He deftly unfastened and lowered her trousers pulling Torie over his lap. Really he should use his belt, but he decided to give the girl a break, given the extreme turmoil of facing her mother's killers. He still intended to deliver a strong message, however.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! "No more climbing out windows. PERIOD." His hand fell rhythmically on the thin cotton of her drawers.
"No taking off without telling people!" SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
"Ow! Papa!" Torie tried to wiggle away as the barrage of solid swats continued.
"You don't take things that don't belong to you!" SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! "You don't touch guns unless I'm with you and say it's okay."
"I'm sorry!"
He moved his attention to the under curve of her bottom and brought his hand down firmly on the girl's sit spot several times. "You don't put yourself in harm's way, Torie!"
The swats paused and the girl sobbed over her fathers lap. Unfortunately for Torie, Chris wasn't quite finished. He reached over and picked up her wooden hairbrush from off of the bedside table, then tugged her drawers down below her reddened bottom. "We've talked about every single one of these things before, little girl. I'm hoping this helps you remember a bit better." With that he brought the hairbrush down ten times on her already burning backside. Tossing the brush aside, Chris gently tugged up her drawers and trousers, before pulling Torie onto his lap. She cried herself out against his chest as he ran a comforting hand through her curly hair, and murmured soft endearments to calm her down.
"I am sorry, Papa."
"I forgive you, but how about you stay out of trouble for a spell?"
"Sounds good to me," she replied wiping away her tears.
"I am proud of you, Torie."
She blushed. "I'm just glad it's all over."
"Me too."
Torie stood up and cocked her head sideways. "You know, I think Mama would have liked Mary."
"Do you now?"
The girl nodded. "Maybe you should ask her to go on a picnic."
"Torie," Chris said coming to his feet, "What's between Mary and me is our business, not yours."
"I know, but at this rate Billy and I will be full grown before the two of you hook up and both of us would really like a little baby brother or sister."
"Torie," Chris growled aiming a light swat at the girl.
"Ouch!"
He leveled a glare at his daughter and she sighed. "Fine, I'll mind my own business."
He gave a nod. "I'm gonna go check in on the guys at the jail. You stay out of trouble and I'll see you at Mary's for lunch."
"I love you, Papa," she answered quietly.
Chris turned back and leaning forward placed a kiss on Torie's forehead, noticing that her green eyes no longer held the edge of perpetual anger that they had when she arrived. Little did he know that his own eyes had softened ever so slightly as well since the Marshall had delivered Torie to Four Corners so many weeks ago.
"I love you too, angel."
THE END