Coal Black (Book 5)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Nagging Need for Revenge

Alice Turner traveled for three days with Cooper. They had made camp earlier each evening so they could fish for their supper. The days were pleasant as long as she didn't bring up his past or argue about which direction to travel. She let him take the lead every morning.

It was Monday night, and Cooper knew they were a good day's ride away from the old Walker farm. The closer they had gotten, the more homesteads they saw. It was getting harder to avoid the open road and not being seen as they stayed in the tree line of the woods.

That evening Cooper was restless, and Alice felt a wave of homesickness. She missed her bed and wondered how the boys were doing. She knew her father would be angry that she left. He would drink for several days and be a tyrant to be around during the day.

"How far away are we from the Walker farm?" asked Alice.

"We should be there by tomorrow night," said Cooper as he clean a pile of croppies for supper.

Alice sat silent, knowing he was hellbent ongoing to Redwood and carrying out his twisted plan of revenge. Her mind thought about when she would leave and ride to Redwood as she fileted the fish from the bones, wishing she had a table to work at the delicate process.

"I guess this is our last night together," said Alice.

"What do you mean? I thought we made a pretty good team."

"You are still determined to seek revenge, and I want no part of it. I told you I would leave and go on my own if you continued with this foolishness."

Cooper felt as if the woman could see through him as she called him out on his thoughts.

"You're just like your old man. You're after the money. Was that the plan from the start? To leave me when we got close and keep the reward money for yourself?"

His twisted words hurt to the core, but Alice was convinced she could change his mind.

"You stupid old fool. I don't need the money. But mark my words, I will leave if you continue your plan of revenge."

With disgust at her words, Cooper grabbed the full bucket of fish guts and walked to the river, throwing the guts out into the water. After washing the bucket clean in the river, he stared at the radiant colors of the sunset. Cooper didn't want her to leave, but the nagging feeling of revenge would not leave him alone. He had been free for over a week, and the thought of going back to jail or, worse, to Stillwater prison gave him a shudder.

When he returned to the campsite, she was preparing the fish to fry for their supper. They ate in silence as the fire crackled. After supper, Alice boiled water in the cook pot to clean the tin plates and knives. Cooper finished the whiskey in the bottle, knowing tomorrow night Red and Ivan would have some rot-gut moonshine to drink.

Alice had brought a box of her father's cigars, and he savored each one, only smoking a part each night, saving the rest for another night. He looked at the sunset; it was a beautiful view near the wide river. The thought of never being able to fish again became the strongest reason in his mind to forget the nonsense of traveling to Redwood.

The young woman went to bed after all the chores were finished for the evening. She turned her back to the fire, and tears ran out of her eyes. After tomorrow night, where would she go? Would these men turn them away? Could she stop Cooper when he is less than an hour away from the people he hates? The thought of leaving to travel by herself was unnerving, not having anyone but herself to protect her. These thoughts tumbled in her mind as she tried to sleep on the cold, hard ground.