The Outlaw's Daughter ( On Hold)

Chapter 11

The next few days flew by in a daze for Andy. She hadn't seen Wayne since he came into the infirmary. She awoke to a sharp knock on her bedroom door. "Andy? its Sunday. Mr. Collins and I would like to invite you to church with us." Andy opened her eyes and stretched, her ribs still hurt, but she had thought that she might be getting better. She crawled out of bed and went to the closet. what did she have that was suitable for Sunday. Searching the closet, her eyes fell on the yellow dress of Emily's. It might do. She undressed from her night dress and slipped into the pale yellow dress, her dark curls falling around her shoulders. Rose knocked on the door once more. "Come in." Andy yelled. Rose opened the door, surprise showing in her quiet uttering  "Oh my." "Do you think this will be okay?" She asked Rose as she grabbed the corners and splayed the dress in front of her. "You look lovely!" Rose assured her. "I brought some ribbons for your hair." With the help of Rose, she was soon ready for the Morning Services. Her hair rested on her shoulder and a  matching yellow ribbon tied her curls in the back. Rose was beaming with joy. Having Andy around was like having Emily back, the thought brought a pained smile to her lips. On more than one occasion she had wished that she and Matthew had had more children. Andy helped to fill the void Rose was feeling.

The ladies hurried down the stairs to join an impatient Doctor Collins, who had been ready to go for the past twenty minutes. Descending the stairs, they caught the attention of the Doctor. "You ladies look quite lovely." He said in greeting. He opened the door and ushered the women through. The Collins' and Andy walked swiftly down the walk to the church building. The morning was a beautiful one. The air had a mild bite to it, and Andy wished she would have grabbed a shawl.

 This was Andy's first social outing and she wondered how well the community would receive her. The brisk pace set by Doctor Collins closed the distance to the church faster than Andy had hoped. Families took their turns entering into the small building. Andy watched as the children played on the fence in front of the church. The older boys would climb on top of the fence and pretend to ride their horses, while the younger kids would climb through and under the cross braces of the fence. She enjoyed the sight of the happy children. Soon they were engulfed by the multitude entering the church. Matthew would greet each family he passed and briefly introduce them to his house guest. Andy would nod respectively. The noise was soon too great for her to hear what the Doctor was saying, but she knew to smile when he gestured her direction. Doctor Collins lead the way to an empty pew, and ushered the women into it, then took a seat himself. How glad Andy was to be out of the swarm of people. She began to look about her surroundings. The church was modest in design, as it lacked all things that didn't boast of functionality. A small window above the pulpit let the sunlight through to the congregation. In the warmer weather, the doors to the church stayed open during the service. As Andy seemed the only one chilled, the doors remained open. The pews seemed mostly uniform in their build. Some looked to be of newer construction, as they didn't have the worn places many of the others had. Years of use showing through the worn smooth edges. A tap on her shoulder brought her back from her day dreaming, she looked up to find the sheriff. "Might I sit with you Miss?" He asked her so kindly she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. She and Rose slid over to make room for Wayne to share their pew. 

The pastor made his way to the front of the church and began his sermon. Andy hadn't been to a church in a long time. Not since her mother's passing. The words the preacher spoke were unfamiliar, and she tried to listen. At the end of the message, the preacher invited all to stand and sing a couple hymns from the hymnal. The piano played and the congregation joined together in song. Andy tried to follow along, but ended up just listening to the words instead. The pastor dismissed the congregation and instantaneously, the roar of many voices continued again. "Wayne, I do hope you still plan on joining us for dinner." Rose invited. "I sure do Rosie." He accepted.

Doctor Collins lead his dinner party out of the church, Followed by Rosie, Andy, and then Wayne. along the way Doctor Collins stopped many times to shake hands, and Rosie embraced many of the women. Andy and Wayne were stopped by a gentleman when he asked, "Wayne is this your new gal? I hadn't known you were back to courting." "I'm sorry to disappoint you sir." He said with a grin, "but this is the Collins guest. we are off now to have dinner." The gentleman pat Wayne on the shoulder and continued greeting people he knew. Once outside, Wayne had spotted John and had asked Andy to join him. "Good afternoon." He said to his deputy. "I'd like you to meet Andy. She smiled as he introduced her. "Hello Andy, this is my wife Sarah, and daughter Joy." Andy smiled and shook the hand of Sarah. Joy couldn't have been older than Five and begged her mother to let her go play. They all watched Joy run after she had been given the okay. She was happy the Collins' had invited her to Church.  "where are you from Andy?" Sarah asked her kindly. Andy hadn't been 'From' anywhere in a long time. she thought briefly on a fitting answer and decided on her home town. She hadn't been there in years. "I'm from Clear Water." Andy replied. she didn't know how far that was, but she could imagine quite a ways, when she watched Sarah's Jaw drop and John's eyes get wide, even Wayne turned to look at her then. "Well that's quite a ways!" exclaimed Sarah, " What brings you this far?" Andy quickly thought up a lie. "I was visiting... um... relatives." Wayne caught sight of the disappearing Collins' couple and dismissed him and Andy from the conversation. "I'm afraid we will be late for our lunch plans if we do not go now.  Wayne waved good-bye as he and Andy left to join the Collins' for lunch.

Wayne opened the door and ushered Andy in before him. Rose went about to set the table and bring the pots to the table. Before leaving for church, Rose had thrown a pork roast on to cook. Andy helped to finish placing things on the table and took her seat across from Rose. Mr. Collins in his seat, and Wayne sat opposite of him. After Wayne quickly said grace, They began their meal. "What did you think of the service?" Dr. Collins asked Wayne. "Reverend always puts together a nice sermon." Wayne commended. "I agree. " replied Dr. Collins. The men exchanged opinions as Andy sat enjoying the day. It was peaceful not being in hiding all of the time. She ate quickly and then started on the dishes. Andy was determined to pull her weight around the Collins' household, and she was already convincing herself that she was getting better. as she washed the Dishes, Wayne came to join her. "I'll dry." She smiled as he picked up the towel and began his work. As fast as Wayne would put a dish away, Rose would come and put it in its correct home. Andy laughed at his frustration when he called to Rose. "They're just dishes!" "Just dishes, with their proper place!" Rose replied. He and Rose had a close relationship, and Andy enjoyed the Family like atmosphere Wayne and the Collins' created. 

"I must be off to the office, we have a prisoner for awhile now, and I must attend to him." Wayne put his towel down on the back of his chair to dry. "I'll stop by again later." Wayne said his good-byes and left to attend his sheriff duties. He went down to the saloon and picked up the lunch special, a bowl of soup and a corn muffin. arriving at the jail, he slid the tray under the bars to the prisoner and went to do paperwork. A telegram had come for him from Sheriff Bennett. It read:

 " Sheriff Martin, I have received your last telegram. Carson Johnson was spotted heading this way, on a trail I can only assume was bound for Mexico. Small heard of cattle and a few riders. Will keep an eye out for further activity. Best wishes, Sheriff Bennett."

Wayne was glad to know that Carson had set a quick pace to Mexico. he hoped he would stay there a while and give him and the surrounding towns a break. But then, he was also ready to catch the murderous cattle thief and give him the justice he so deserved. A rope and a tall tree. Thoughts of Carson caused Wayne's blood to boil, and he couldn't do his work with so much anger, he decided to saddle his horse and ride out to his ranch. He had some things he could do out there, and he needed the ride to blow off steam.