The Outlaws Daughter

Chapter 8

Of course she had to prepare the food, because why not? She was the woman, obviously it was her responsibility to look after the men.

"You're muttering up a storm over here." Caleb's voice surprised her and she looked up at him in annoyance.

"Just because I am a woman, it doesn't mean I have to clean up after you. I've been forced to serve men like you my whole life." She snapped at him.

"In what ways did you service men like me?" He asked with a smug smirk as his eyes travelled over her.

Her face grew bright red, knowing what he had suggested. "Not like that." Sabrina said quickly.

"Pity." He shifted to help her cook the strips of venison. The other men were outside, sitting around a fire as the rest of the deer was turned into smoked jerky strips.

"So, Uncle mentioned you were the youngest of the group." She remarked to him as the meat sizzled away on the hot skillet.

"I'm twenty five, the others are thirty and above." He remarked as he lent against the bench and folded his arms across his broad chest.

"Why did you choose this life?" Sabrina asked in confusion as she studied his bearded face.

"Maybe this was my lot in life?" Caleb said with a shrug.

"We can change our fate." She said while shaking her head in disbelief, there was always an opportunity to walk away from being an outlaw.

"I don't think we can. We all have a different purpose in life." He told her.

"So your lot in life is to rob and kill people?" Sabrina asked with a scoff.

"We don't kill women or children, unlike Rylan Black and your father." Caleb remarked at that, "There are others worse than us." He added.

"I know." She cringed at the mention of Rylan and instantly fell silent.

"I assume you wish to leave this life?" He asked her after a moments pause.

"I plan on disappearing." She admitted as she moved to dish the food out, it wasn't much, not without any vegetables or gravy but it was better than eating jerky or salted meat strips.

"To settle down and start a family?" Caleb asked with a half laugh as he picked up the tin plates to help her carry them outside to the men.

"To just be normal, for once." She admitted as she followed him out and handed the two plates to Ben and Lewis who muttered their thanks to her.

"Well you better make sure that your husband knows how to shoot." Caleb remarked to her as he followed her back inside to help with the remaining three bowls.

"I have no doubt of that, if I ever trust myself to marry someone." Sabrina explained while picking up her dish. "Did you ever fall in love?" She asked him.

"I don't believe in love." Caleb answered as he strode out and she hurried to follow him.

"Thank you for cooking, Sprout." Jesse told her when she sunk down beside him on his bedroll.

"You are welcome." She said with a tired smile as she looked around at the men who were quietly eating on their own bedrolls. "Are you all sleeping out here?" She asked in confusion.

"Yes, so you get the inn all to yourself." Jesse explained to her.

"Oh...uh.....thank you." Sabrina muttered at that, feeling slightly terrified to stay in the abandoned eerie inn all by herself.