Dutch made his way back to his own tent in a hurry. Annabelle wasn’t usually something he enjoyed talking about. Often it only reminded him of what Colm O’Driscoll did to her. Even though he hadn’t seen the girl dead with his own eyes, the fact that she never returned to him and the sneer on Colm’s face was all the reassurance he needed. They say that time heals wounds, but the anger and rage Dutch held against the other man only festered and grew like an infected wound.
He took small his at Colm’s gang in revenged, despite preaching to the others that revenge was never the answer and that they had no time for it. Arthur was slowly catching on though, fully aware that Dutch was sinking deeper and deeper into the pit of revenge. As of late things had seemed to be going well. Annabelle was on the back of his mind, while the safety of his family took the forefront. Though brining her up to Mina had only served to remind him of his ulterior goal.
Arriving in his tent he almost shoved Molly out in a fit of rage. He just managed to catch himself before anything unkind could leave his lips. Instead, Dutch found his Evelyn Miller novel and sat down beside the woman to read. Something about Miller’s words calmed him; reminded him of who he was.
It wasn’t long before he grew bored of the words, he had already read a thousand times over. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he had been reading the same passage over and over. His subconscious was somewhere else, though he couldn’t pinpoint just what was bothering him. Setting the book aside he focused his attention on the work that was happening around camp, completely ignoring Molly’s cries for attention.
There was Mr. Pearson who was readying the days meal. Sean busied himself with making molitov cocktails; something he had found interest in not long after joining the gang. Lenny helped Karen move around some of the hay bales. And finally, his eyes landed on Susan, who was barking out directions to the other members. Most of the others shied away from the woman, though one brave soul approached her instead of ran.
Mina had always seemed to fascinate him ever since the day she joined. Not once did she back down from Susan’s onslaught. Instead, he was pretty sure that the two women had become friends. It had certainly struck his fancy to see the two interact. Susan didn’t exactly have a good reputation with a lot of the women that arrive in camp. But something about Mina almost seemed to calm her; which everyone was certainly thankful for.
Dutch’s eyes moved to Mina’s figure, trailing the length of her body from her head to her toes before making their way back up. He had to admit that she was a stunningly good-looking woman. And she had that same fierceness that he loved to see in a woman. Before Dutch could even really register what he was doing, he found his legs carrying him over to Mina’s side, calling out to get attention as he approached.
“What do ya say, you an’ I take a trip t’ Valentine tomorrow. Got some thing’s to pick up for the camp. I’d be honored to have you accompany me.”