Anna went to mount his horse, then paused as she looked down at him again. “Ah, shit,” she said. “I can’t leave him like this.”
She approached the base of the stone formation, picked a small flower, and stuck it in Clinch’s ass crack with the bloom facing upward. “That’s better,” she said. She mounted his horse and raced back toward Old Stump.
Edward was one of many local businessmen nailing signs to the front doors of their establishments reading CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. No one was taking any chances with the gang of outlaws in town.
Ruth approached him as he was pounding away at the final nail. “Eddie?” she said, her tone indicating a subject of importance.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Eddie, I’ve been thinking. With Clinch Leatherwood in town, and with everyone so scared, I… it’s got me wondering.”
“What is it?” he said, giving her his full attention.
“Well, any of us could die tomorrow. I mean, we don’t know what’s gonna happen. And… I think we should have sex.”
His full attention doubled. “What?”
“I think we should have sex tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Let’s.”
“I mean, under the circumstances, God will forgive us,” she said, looking to him for affirmation.
He gave it to her. “I think so. We’ll make sure there’s a Bible in the room so God can watch. Then He can be a part of it. Ahhh, I’m getting excited now!”
Albert was hastily packing his bag when he heard the hoofbeats. His breath stopped as he hurried to the window, expecting to see Clinch and his gang descending on the farm. But when he peered out through the uneven ripples in the glass, he saw Anna galloping toward the cabin. He couldn’t decide whether that was better or worse. He did not want to see her, now or ever again.
Albert went back to packing. He heard her knock on the door, but he did not respond.
“Albert!” she called out, uncharacteristic alarm in her normally rock-steady voice. “Albert, are you in there?” When he still didn’t answer, she let herself in. “Albert! You’ve gotta get out of here!” she exclaimed.
He did not look up to make eye contact with her. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“No I mean, you have to leave now! Clinch is gonna be looking for you!”
Albert continued stuffing clothing, books, and cans of food into the bag. “Yeah, I’m leaving. I’m going to San Francisco. Which is what I should have done weeks ago.”
She looked at him mournfully. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, so am I.”
Anna floundered a bit as she searched for something to say next. “What about your dad?”
“I asked him if he wanted to come, and he said no. He’s up on the hill burying himself next to Mom.”
She waited a beat, then spoke again. “Look… I never meant to mislead y—”
“Oh, Anna, don’t even waste my time with that,” he shot back, whirling to face her directly. “You had a million opportunities to tell me. And you fucking lied.”
“I didn’t lie,” she insisted with a pleading tone. “I just made the choice to keep certain things to myself. I honestly, truly thought it was for the best. I would never lie to you.”
Albert was privately insulted by her attempt to sell such a Jesuitical interpretation of the word. A lie of omission remained a lie. Nonetheless, he chose not to engage. “I don’t care,” he said flatly, and went back to his packing.
“Look, I couldn’t tell you. It was for your own safety.”
“Oh, bullshit.”
“That, and… I liked you. A lot,” she said with undeniable sincerity. “I didn’t want to scare you away. I… never thought I’d meet someone like you.”
“Oh, what, someone who hasn’t killed people? Yeah, I guess that’s pretty hard to find. That’s why women are always saying, ‘Ugh, why are all the non-murderers taken?’ ”
“It’s not my fault, okay? We were married when I was nine!”
Albert lowered his wall just enough to release a momentary burst of genuine astonishment. “What? Nine? Jesus Christ, how does that even happen? Was there a ceremony?”
“Yeah, my parents were there, a couple of neighbors. I didn’t wanna wind up one of those fifteen-year-old spinsters.”
“Well, you know… I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said, more to himself than to her. “Every girl I fall in love with ends up disappointing me.” He finished his packing and closed the bag.
“You… you love me?”
“Don’t worry, I’m over it. You can go now.”
For the first time since Albert had met her, Anna lost her shit. “All right! Yes, I lied! Fine! What should I have said? Oh hi, I’m Anna—I’ve been fucking a killer since I was ten!”
“Oh, he waited a year. What a gentleman.”
“Well, late nine, I rounded up. Look, I’m done with him! I knocked him out and stuck a daisy in his asshole.”
“What?”
“That’s how much you mean to me.”
Albert slung his bag over his shoulder. He was tired. Tired of the conversation, and tired of inviting pain into his life. “You know what? I loved a girl who doesn’t even exist. I loved Anna Barnes, not Anna Leatherwood. Hell, is your name even Anna? Or is it something terrible like Gwendolyn?”
“No. It’s Anna. I’m the girl you loved. That was the real me—possibly for the first time in my life. I suppose, when I really think about it, you’re the first person I haven’t lied to. Look, I never thought I deserved a good guy. But I do. I love you. Just give me one more chance. Please. We can get out of here—we’ll go to San Francisco together. Start a life. All I want is to be with you.”
Albert said nothing as he looked into her eyes, searching for some clue to whether she could be trusted. She was as beautiful as ever, and he wanted very much to say yes, to run off with her that very instant. But he remembered the pain of losing Louise. He’d trusted a woman with his heart, and she had betrayed that trust when he was at his most exposed. He never wanted to feel that kind of raw, numbing misery again. And if that meant never again opening his heart to love, well, then, that was a price he was willing to pay. He deflected her hazel-eyed gaze back at her with a hardened look of his own. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m not gonna get fucked over again.”
Before she could respond, however, the sheep began to bleat loudly from the corral. Albert went to the window and looked out. He couldn’t see anything at first, but when he squinted he could make out a dust cloud in the distance, indicating the approach of a group of horses. “Someone’s coming,” he said.
“It’s Clinch.” Anna knew.
They both knew. And this time there would surely be no talk. He would kill them on sight.
Albert grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the door. “Go on, get out of here. There’s a trail out back that leads to the ridge. Go.”
“What are you gonna do? Albert, he’ll kill you!”
“Don’t worry about me, just go! Now!” He pushed her roughly but not unkindly through the doorway and out into the yard. She quickly mounted her horse, then hesitated, staring back at him. They shared a momentary glance, both realizing that this could be the last time they would ever see each other. Anna kicked her horse, spurring him into an immediate hard gallop. And then she was gone.
Clinch and his men roared like thunder onto Albert’s farm. The already disorganized sheep flock scattered even more as they fled the onslaught of outlaw hooves. The men dismounted and burst into the cabin, ransacking everything in sight as they searched for their quarry.
After several fruitless moments, Lewis turned to his boss. “He’s not here, Clinch.”