The Ocean’s City

A week went by, and Dalton still hadn’t returned. I was knee-deep in a bucket of icy water early in the morning. Some men had gone into town after dinner to escape with the women and booze. Shocking enough, when the sun rose, they staggered their drunk feet back to the farm and rode out for work.

Fran had me already awake as they rode out. She promised the weather would be nice today as she made a mixed-shift table and sorted piles of clothes on the porch.

The suds increased with each step I made to squash the dirty clothes clean. Fran hummed as she took a piece of clothing and scrubbed it by hand on the washboard.

My tired body mingled with the memories of my dreams, giving me a heavy feeling of sorrow.

I dreamed of the first time in town with the gun show and the men chasing me. I dreamed of Ian saving me and Dalton’s disapproving look he gave me when it was all said and done. It must’ve been out of frustration that I dreamed this because it repeated over and over — over-analyzing every mistake.

I felt like I had finally found a crack in Dalton’s exterior, and if I could have picked at it enough, I would have had answers. But my stupid mistakes cost me. I shouldn’t have chased that man. I bet he wouldn’t have left me here if I hadn’t been injured.

The anger built in me as I thought more and more about it. I wanted to help find Dannie. I wanted to be free of the complete dark!

I didn’t realize I had stopped stepping on the clothes until Fran called me. I looked down at her. One hand froze on the washboard. The anger felt too much. Just looking at her face made me want to punch her.

Would she fight back or glitch like the others would so often do? Before I tempted myself to find out, I rushed out of the bucket and marched barefoot behind the house, where I kicked a bush.

It was a terrible idea. Desert plants were as tough as the environment they grew in. Thrones pierced my skin, drawing tiny specks of blood. I leaned over and screamed full force at the bush. As if it caused all of my problems.

Then, like a child having a tantrum, I stomped my foot on the ground. Pain rang through my head, making me think momentarily clearer without the anger clouding my thoughts as what I at first thought was a rock jammed under the tender part of my foot. Then I closed my lips and screamed, more frustrated as I realized it was a thorn instead.

The pain was driving me wild.

I could hear Fran throwing her stuff down and scurrying to me, but another voice spoke before she got to me.

“You are even fighting with bushes now, I see.”

I turned to see Jones standing at a distance behind me. How long was he there?

I shuddered to say something, but was too frustrated to form any words. He stood beside me, steadying me on the wall as I kneeled.

Fran squeaked as she turned the corner and caught sight of Jones. She quickly turned to avoid having to see him.

Jones smirked, clearly enjoying Fran’s reaction. Then his hand snatched my foot, raising it up to inspect. The warmth of his hand pulsated on my skin. I felt my cheeks blush, and he tenderly picked the thorn from my foot.

It brought me back to the ocean side where I had stepped on broken glass, and Dalton had tenderly taken care of me then. I couldn’t help but to relive and reevaluate that memory again. I thought of Dalton as the bad guy and the old man knocking on the glass door was my savior. I was wrong. Dalton, although short-tempered, seemed to come to me with love. Never mind the part where he took and kept me against my will. Dannie also seemed to accept her fate and fall in love with Hutson quite early. I thought she was the one not thinking clearly because she wasn’t trying to leave like me, but I got her killed. So, it brought me to the question. Was Dalton the good guy, or was he the least bad guy in my situation?

“These damn goat heads are everywhere. You need to be careful about walking barefoot.” Jones spoke, gazing up at me. His smile gave him wrinkles along his jaw that made him look breathtaking. What would I do if Dalton was here right now, pulling the thorns out of my foot?

I tore my blushed gaze from his and looked at the ring on my finger.

“What the hell?” Another familiar voice snapped. My heart fluttered. They finally came back for me! My head snapped up to Ian, standing and staring at us angrily.

Confused, I looked down at Jones, who was still tenderly holding my foot and gazing back at me. His tender expression snapped like a dried-out twig as he quickly realized how it must have looked to Ian and lurched himself away from me. His hands were in the air like Ian would pull his pistol on Jones.

Ian didn’t hesitate. He took four enormous strides before his fist collided with Jones’ jaw.

A startled scream escaped my lips, and my hands flew to cover my mouth. Jones took the hit and remained passive. Ian grabbed Jones by the shirt and swung him against the wall. “You fucking touch her again, and you’re dead meat. You hear me?” He asked in a deadly, barely constrained voice.

There was a sharp whistling sound in the wind.

Jones struggled against Ian as he fought the anger rising in his chest, begging him to fight back. He gave a sharp, curt nod and spoke in a ruffled voice. “I never meant to disrespect the lady.”

Ian let him go, not giving a damn about Jone’s excuses; instead, he quickly grabbed my arm and forced me to walk with him back into the house. I noted the dark clouds filling the sky. Was Dalton near?

He let me go the moment the door slammed shut. “What the hell were you doing with that man?” He fumed at me.

“Nothing, I-”

“You better hope it is nothing because when Dalton finds he—”

“Is he here?” I interrupted, with excitement fading as I realized Ian was planning to tell Dalton about Jones. Nothing happened, but who was he most likely to believe, his brother or the girl he kidnapped?

“Oh, don’t worry!” Ian screamed, and the windows shook with a bang as the storm picked up outside. I felt fear. Dalton must know already. “When he hears about this, he will drop everything to march over here.”

That’s when it hit me. The storm wasn’t because of Dalton being here. It was Ian. I always wondered but never asked, knowing no one would ever answer it, but now I knew. Ian has the same capacity as Dalton. They all did.