July 23, 1900

Tombstone. 

This morning I walked out of the orphanage really early ‘cause I couldn’t sleep. Jimmy was sitting on the swing and I grinned. “You’re up early,” I yawned. “Did they find her?” 

“I don tink dat man has her...he just lef here lookin fer her.” 

“He was here????” I started to tremble and said, “We have to tell someone!” 

“I know, les go tell Miss Pet !” he said and we ran down the street, passing the adults quickly. 

“Ya best not be lying to me. Hey kid!” the man ran after us. 

We ran into the hotel and I clung to Jimmy, scared. “What do we doooo?” 

“I dun no...gotsa tel somone.” 

“I don’t wanna go back out there.” 

“Les go down to stables, we hide there,” Jimmy said and jumped when he saw the man walk in. 

“You, girl. You seen another little brat like yerself with red hair runnin around?” The man asked me and snarled at Jimmy, but I shook my head vehemently. 

“Hey, you leev Natalie alone!” Jimmy yelled at him.

“Shut up boy, if you know whats good for you. If either of her see her, you tell her that he pa is lookin for her.” 

“I tell Miss Sheriff if you touch us!” Jimmy exclaimed. 

“Jimmy,” I put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I hate kids…” the man muttered and walked out, slamming the door open violently as he walked back out to the street. 

“Where’s Miss Pet or Mr Alex?” I cried as Jimmy tried to pull me with him. 

“Natalie, we cant stay here...come wit me to stables..we be safe there til we fine Miss Pet or Mr Alex.” 

We backed into Daisy’s stall and jumped hearing Poppy scream. “Jimmy, that’s Poppy!” 

“What was that!!” Jimmy exclaimed.

“Help!” Poppy yelled. 

“That’s Sabi’s sister!” I cried. 

“Oh gosh no! We go fine her NOW!” 

“No! Wait!” I stopped him. “Let’s try and find Mr Alex’s house.” 

Suddenly I lost Jimmy as he went to get Daisy ready and I looked around for him. Mr. Gerric came over to me and I told him, “There’s a mean man lookin’ for Sabi!! Says he’s her pa. Jimmy and I met him today.” 

“I am her pa,” Gerric said. 

“He was real scary. We’re trying to find Mr Alex but I lost Jimmy.” 

“I’m here now...show me where he is.” 

“I don’t know. He saw us at the hotel in Tombstone. Where is Mr Alex? Miss Pet wasn’t there either and now Jimmy’s lost!” 

“Probably with his wife,” Ger said. “He has to get through me first.” 

“Let’s go tell Mrs Aly. Well he was around the hotel and I ain’t goin back there.” 

“You go find Jimmy. I will find him.” 

Benson. 

I ran through Benson and called out to Alex when I saw him talking with Aly. I cried for Jimmy, looking around frantically as Alex called back to me. “What are you out there yelling for this early?” 

“I scared!” I shouted back. 

“We’re in the cafe! Come inside!” he called and I walked into the cafe. “Hey, what’s going on?” 

“He was... and Sabi’s... and Jimmy’s... and Mr Ger said... and you and Miss Pet weren’t... and he slammed…" 

“Wait, wait! Slow down. Take a breath.” 

“I knew it! I told them and they didn’t... and I knew it!” I said, unable to stop shaking. 

“Hold on,” Aly stood and moved over to me and lowered herself down to me.

“Nat, slow down,” Alex took my hand. “Take a deep breath then start at the beginning. It’s okay, Nat. You’re here with us and Aly’s a sheriff. You’re safe.” 

“But Sabi... Jimmy…” I cried more. 

“Ok, what about Sabi?” Aly asked. 

“That man is comin after her. I saw him. He had long hair like a girl. He asked if I’d seen a brat like me running around He said to tell her that her pa was lookin’ for her,” I said. 

“Where are Sabi and Jimmy now?” Aly asked. 

“Then he... he slammed the door as he ran out,” I told them. “I don’t know!!!” I cried against Alex. 

“Did he hurt you?” Alex asked and I shook my head. “That was good you came to find us.” 

“Alex, stay close to her. Let’s go into town and I’ll look around, ok?” Aly asked. 

“But I lost Jimmy! I don’t wanna go back there.” 

“We’ll find him,” Aly promised. 

“Miss Aly… He was... By the... hotel. And on the way here..” 

“I know you don’t but if someone is hurt, we need Mr.Alex, and I need you to be brave right now, ok?” 

“Mr Ger… Mr Ger said he was gonna have to go through him to get Sabi. Cause he’s her pa. Not that other man.” 

“Nat, where did you last see Jimmy?” Alex asked. 

“Um…” I sniffed. 

“I’m going into Tombstone to have a look around,” Aly said. 

“That’s a good idea,” Alex nodded. “Aly, do you want us to go with you?”

“You two should come. Nat I need Mr Alex in case someone is hurt, stay close to him, ok?” she nodded. “Yes I do, I need both of you.” 

“We’ll be with you, Nat,” Alex nodded and took my hand. 

Tombstone. 

We walked back to town and found Jimmy running over. “Did you find her?” he asked, grabbing me tight. 

“Nu uh but I found Mr and Mrs Alex,” I shook my head. 

“I ok Mr Alex...its dat man,” Jimmy said. 

“He were by the hotel…” I told Alex. 

“He sho up at da orphanage this mornin,” Jimmy said. 

“Stay here I’ll go have a look,” Aly insisted. 

“I’m glad you came and found us,” Alex smiled. 

“Me an Natalie were at the stables when we heard Poppy scream for help,” Jimmy said. 

“Yeah I just took her home some man was after her,” said a man on the horse. 

“Is Poppy okay?” Alex asked. 

“I sorry we ruined your breakfast,” I looked at Alex. 

“We no fine her, don no,” Jimmy said. 

“You took Poppy home?” I looked at the man on the horse. 

“Yes, she’s a friend of mine.” 

“It wasn’t this man. It was a different man with longer hair,” I told Aly as she walked over. 

“I found her hiding in Black Diamond.” 

“I know, Nat. I saw the man we’re looking for yesterday,” Alex said. “Thank you for taking her home.” 

“Now he’s after Poppy too,” I said. 

“That’s who I’m lookin’ for,” The man said. 

“Do you know anything about this man, sir?” Alex asked. 

“Just what Poppy told me,” he said. “I’m sure she will be back when she calms down a little.” 

We were relieved that Poppy was home and I told Alex that we had left Miss Trin a note about it and he said, “Good, Nat.” 

“See, told you we wouldn’t get in trouble,” I looked at Jimmy. 

“Why did you think you’d get in trouble?” Alex asked. 

“We wen dere last nigh alone,” Jimmy said. 

“To that scary place. But we had each other And Jimmy had his slingshot,” I said. 

“What scary place?” Alex asked. 

“The place with the ducks. Where Mis Trin lives And no one else. Mr. Alex…” 

“Yes Nat?” 

“He looked right at me He yelled at Jimmy.” 

“I bet he did.” 

“Uh huh, he tol me I better hugh if I new what good fer me. I tole him leev Nat alone in the hotel,” Jimmy said. 

“That’s awfully brave of you,” Alex smiled at Jimmy. “Just be careful around him. Men like that do unexpected things and I don’t want him to hurt you.” 

“I don like dat man Mr Alex, he bad I jus no it.” 

“Sabi!” I ran to her when I saw her coming over. “Sabi are you ok?” 

“Yeps I am fine, why?” she asked. 

“SABI!” Jimmy jumped for joy. 

“Miss Aly! We found her!” I shouted excitedly. 

“Whats goin on?” Sabi asked. “That guy that chased me was back?” 

“I told him I hadn’t seen you,” I nodded and looked down. “Which was kinda true.” 

“He chased me all the way from Black Diamond last night.” 

“He chased you last night too?” Alex asked and looked at Aly to see if she’d find anything but she said the hotel was empty. 

Poppy came over and she and Sabi hugged each other, talking about the mean man. We were relieved that everyone was okay even though the man had asked about a red-haired brat to Poppy too. Sabi insisted that he wasn’t their dad and we told her that she wasn’t a brat. Jimmy told them about what happened to us at the hotel and how he hated kids. Alex and Aly promised no one would take us and she told us to not go anywhere alone. 

“My pa usa hav a name fer men like dat,” Jimmy said then. 

“Jimmy, you don’t need to share that name with the girls ok?” Aly told him. 

“I’m sure he did. I’ve got a few names for them too, just not to say out loud,” Alex looked at him. 

“I was going to ask him his name but the he grrrrd and I got scared and ran,” Poppy said. 

“Why, all he called them was fish poo,” Jimmy said. 

“I was gonna too but he ran out and slammed the door. Real loud,” I said. 

“Daddy’s going to be real mad,” Poppy said. 

“What did he look like? I mean was he like all white? Or like a native guy?” Sabi asked. 

“Oh I bet he is, Ger always gets a temper when people mess with his loved ones. I don’t blame him,” Aly said. 

“That guy that chased me was a native lookin guy,” Sabi said. “But dressed like a white guy.” 

“Mr Alex is bass turds a bad name?” Jimmy asked Alex softly. 

“He was kinda indian like,” I nodded to Sabi. 

“I don’t think he was native but you couldn’t tell for the dirt,” Poppy said. 

“That don’t sound like a nice one,” Aly said. 

“But maybe it was dirt,” I said. 

“His hair was long though,” Poppy said. 

“That’s not the worst thing you could say, but try not to call that man names. It will make him mad,” Alex laughed. 

“You don’t suppose he really is my daddy do ya?” Sabi asked. 

“Yup you don’t wanna make a man angry that is already angry, he’ll just get meaner,” Aly agreed. 

“He went to the cantina and was throwing things,” Poppy said. 

“It is possible. Especially since you didn’t ever meet your daddy,” Alex looked over at Sabi. “Sometimes adults lie to kids because they think it will be easier for them.” 

“Sabrina even if he’s your daddy that doesn’t make you any less lovable!” Aly promised. 

“Aly is right about that,” he nodded. 

“Mr Alex my ma always say it bad to lie..it say so in Bible,” Jimmy said. 

“It is bad to lie. I don’t like to lie even to kids when the truth will scare them. But sometimes it is okay to lie,” Alex told him. “Like to that bad man.” 

“Miss Pet and Mr Ben did,” I said. “They wouldn’t tell me somethin was wrong. But I could tell. That’s why we went to Miss Trin’s cos she’d believe me.” 

“I am skeered Aunt Aly. What am I gonna do if he gets me?” Sabi asked. 

“Miss Trin is a very good person to go to. She does a good job finding liars by finding the truth out!” Aly said and Alex nodded in agreement. “So she kinda has a knack for people that lie.” 

“She is a lie detective,” Jimmy chuckled. 

“Sabrina,” Aly looked at her. “I’m gonna do everything I can to not let him get you, and so is your Pa, and Mr. Alex, and miss Trin. You’ve got lots of people that love ya. If he gets ya, we won’t stop lookin’ until we have you back safely. But you gotta do what I say about not goin places without another kid or adult,” Aly said. 

“You’ve got a lot of people looking out for you here,” Alex said. 

“It’s harder for someone to take two kids instead of one.” 

“I won’t, Aunt Aly, I promise,” Sabi looked up with huge eyes. 

“Yes, Aly’s right about that. Don’t be anywhere alone,” Alex nodded. 

“Good girl,” Aly smiled. “So let’s take some time and have fun and forget about that bad man. Sabrina you want to do wheelbarrow with me?” 

We talked about candy and I went to read at the library. 

*** 

Tonight, I walked outside the orphanage wearing jeans and Millard looked over at me and asked, “How come you’r dressed like that?”

“Cause I don’t wanna get my dress dirty,” I shrugged. 

“Huh? Well it ain’t right for no girls to be on pants.” 

“Miss Trin and Miss Paisley don’t always wear dresses.” 

“Yeah, they do.” 

“Not always. Sides... what if I’m fishin and… Then my dress ain’t clean for school or church.” 

We heard shooting and yelling, and we ran inside, and I said, “It sounded like Mr Ben.” 

“So?” 

“He said he only shooted bad people.” 

I told him about the bad man goin’ after Poppy and Sabi and how they wre okay now. We went to see if the guns were gone and he told me to scream if I got killed. I frowned, hearing him, and then heard music playing at a saloon nearby and walked in to see a bunch of people dancing. They all welcomed me and I sat beside Miss Angi as I sipped some lemonade. When Ben Stolen walked in, I whispered to miss Angi and told him he was shooting before. 

She whispered back, “Sweetie, you are at a dance in jeans? Is something wrong with your dress?” 

“I wanted to make sure it was clean for church and school, Miss Angi,” I told her. “I only have one dress, Miss Angi. I don’t want it to get ruined.” 

“We’ll work on that, dear,” she promised and I looked down, embarrassed. 

“It’s alright, we can fix it,” Angi put a hand on my shoulder. 

“What subjects do you like best?” Trent asked me. 

“Reading,” I looked over at him and he nodded. When I saw Mr. Ben choosing to dance with miss Lacey, I stood up and quickly set the lemonade on the counter. Miss Angi asked if I was okay but I ran out of the saloon. 

I heard Angi come out of the saloon and asked me, “You alright, sweetie?” 

“He..” I started. “He shot... someone… I dunno who. But I heard Ben shouting and then guns and… Mill and I ran into the orphanij He told me he don’t shoot people that aren’t bad people.” 

“That happens a lot .... if you gotta run from everyone with a gun, you’ll never leave home,” Angi told me. 

“I thought maybe that man was in town. That man who’s goin’ after Sabi. He talked to me and Jimmy today. We told Miss Aly about it.” 

“You need to talk to law or her parents.” 

“We did Miss Angi.” 

“Good good, Miss Aly will be able to do somethin’.” 

“But…” 

“Good thinkin’.” 

“But Miss Angi.. He was real mean. Told Jimmy to hush. Then slammed the door when he left the hotel.” 

“Then why tell the matron of the orphanage? Honey, I can’t do anything about mean people.” 

“Mr Alex and Miss Pet weren’t there like every other mornin’. But I thought…” I looked down. “Never mind.” 

“There’s plenty in town, a few that make me wanna pack my bags and leave.” 

“I’m just gonna go.. read or somethin’,” I said and wandered off. 

“Alrighty.” 

I wandered off to the orphanage and Angi asked if we could walk to the orphanage together. When we were inside, I told her, “Miss Angi? I know Sabi ain’t your problem… But I just… He was mean to me and Jimmy too.” 

“Have a seat dear,” she said and pulled out a slice of pie from the ice box and brought it to me at the table. 

“Am I in trouble?” I looked down. “I sorry Miss Angi.” 

“Natalie, you ain’t in trouble. But you are old enough to know, there are bad people in this world They say mean things, and they do hurtful things. Sometimes, even people that you thought you could trust with your heart.” 

“Miss Angi I should tell you about somethin?” I asked and she nodded. “Before I was sent away on that awful train…” I said but then stopped when I saw a boy walked in. His name was Seth and he came to get some pie. Millard came in then too and we all ate pie together. 

When I finished my pie I washed my dishes and she asked, “You want to talk in my office?” 

We went into her office and I sat at the desk, looking down as I pulled my knees up under my chin. “Before I went on that awful train…” I started. “Miss Ashley was gonna be my mommy. She was real nice. Went to church with me. Didn’t wear a gun. She…” I started to well up. “She wasn’t married. She was a sheriff person like Miss Aly but she had no family But they saw we were so close and said it’d be okay… Cause she was the best sheriff ever and she didn’t wear a gun much. Cos she had a partner guy that did that part. She was good at the paperwork like Miss Trin. But... one day… She got shotted. Cos her partner wasn’t around. And these bad men were after her. But Miss Angi.. She didn’t know I were hidin’ behind the building. I saw it all…” I cried. 

“Those men they… They saw me. Thought I was gonna tell on em. There were ravens that came. Flew over miss Ashley. Her partner came… shotted the men down to pertect me. Then he took me back to the orphanij… Whenever I hear guns now… I miss Miss Ashley. I almost had a mommy. I was almost out of that awful place.” 

“Well, it seems you are out of that place,” Miss Angi told me. 

“Then they just... they didn’t know what to do with me… And they put me on that train. So now when I hear those banging I get scared cos I think what if they… Like that time. And when I see ravens. Like that guy at the hotel. Even though Miss Pet reminded me of the good ravens in the Bible.” 

“Well, Natalie, that’s a fact of life here. Only solution if it bothers you that much is put you back on the train to a less ... uncivilized town.” 

“But Miss Angi… How do I… How do I not get scared of it?” 

“There ain’t no way. If you are scared, you are scared. And sadly those are things that happen here. Ain’t nothing wrong with being scared.” 

“Seems like there is.” 

“We are all scared of something. But if you are that scared of everything here, seems only solution is to move you away from here somewhere you might feel safer.” 

“You don’t want me here either?” I looked at her. 

“You only been here a week, if you are fretting this much already, well, you ain’t gonna be happy.” 

“I’ll send a telegraph to Mrs. Irelund, and we can see if there is a better placement. I don’t reckon any child needs to be miserable all the time,” Angi sighed. “Ain’t fair to you.” 

“I don’t wanna go nowhere else. I can be strong.” 

“But you are scared of everything here.” 

“I’ll get better, I promise.” 

“I don’t want you to be cryin’ and miserable. Ain’t fair to you.”

“I just gotta get used to it. Mr Alex said it was okay to be afraid cause it makes us smarter. Like when those guns came out I knew to come inside… I didn’t think about it I just came in. I just thought… I thought you should know what happened. Cos at the other place the lady wanted to know everything.” 

Someone knocked on the door and asked if they could talk to her but she called back that now wasn’t a good time. 

“I don’t wanna hide nothin’ from you,” I told her. “I don’t like secrets. So I thought if I told you maybe... maybe it won’t be in my mind anymore. And I can just... read and stuff. I really like it here and I like Jimmy and Mr Alex and Mrs Aly and Miss Trin And Miss Paisley. I don’t wanna leave.” 

“You are spending time with a DOVE?” Angi looked aghast and shook her head. 

“Not a lot… I just say hi to her in front of the hotel. Cause she’s usually there when I go to breakfast. And she gave me that bear. That’s all. I promise.” 

“Just wrong is what that is. You know why she gives you gifts?” 

“Just the one!! And it helped me sleep.” 

“Because she sees no potential in your future. She thinks when you grow up you’ll join her takin’ off your clothes.” 

“I hardly even talk to her.” 

“If that’s the future you want, then you are headed the right direction.” 

“I spend most o’ my time with Mr Alex and Mis Trin and Mrs Aly and Jimmy. Jimmy is workin’ at the stables and I’m gonna start helpin’ him.” 

“A girl that reads has a lot of potential. You wanna waste it takin’ slimy dollars from dirty miners to do the unthinkable, you keep spendin’ time with that Paisley and the rest of the Doves.” 

“And I help in the library too! I put stuff in order! And if I find somethin’ I like I read it, then put it back where I found it.” 

“Natalie, I have some paperwork to attend to. And you have given me a lot to think about. I believe while it is quiet, it might be a good time to try to sleep.” 

I stood and looked at her. “I don’t wanna leave. I wanna stay here and make more friends,” I said and walked out of the office. I saw Mill in the main room but I went back to my bed without a word.