Big Easy (Cowboy Craze)

by Sable Hunter

  Plop!

  Easy stopped, looking around. Now, he was hearing things out here. Logic told him it was a frog – or a snake. Grimacing, he hurried on. “I do not like snakes.”

  “Gotcha!”

  Hearing Jewel once more, Easy hooked a right at the next offshoot of the boardwalk. A few steps later, he could see her sitting cross-legged at the end of a dock, holding a raised cane pole with a fish dangling off the end. By the time he joined her, she’d removed the fish and placed it in a small cooler.

  Without any preliminaries, Easy just said what was on his mind.

  “Why didn’t you tell me the house was haunted?”

  Jewel didn’t react or answer his abrupt question. “I always thought Native Americans could move stealthily. You sounded like a herd of buffalo.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me the house was haunted?”

  Standing up, Jewel wound the fishing line around the pole, securing the hook behind the still wet bobber. She faced him, her face blank of emotion. “Hey, Easy, the house you rented has a resident spirit. If I’d told you that last night, what would you have said in return?”

  Easy thought a moment. “I’d have said something smartass. Like, only a pussy believes in ghosts, or I ain’t afraid of nothin’ – bring it on!”

  This made Jewel laugh and Easy forgot what he was thinking about for a moment. Only a guttural ga-rump sound emerging from the nearby black waters brought him back to reality. “What was that?”

  “An alligator.” Jewel picked up her cooler. “I’m heading back. Are you coming with me?”

  He looked out over the murky waters of the bayou, trying to spot the eyes and snout of a gator. After seeing nothing, he gave up. “Yea, I guess.” Falling in step behind her, his eyes gravitated to how good her shapely bottom looked encased in soft blue jeans. “So, you chose not to tell me about the ghost?”

  “Right. You wouldn’t have believed me.” She shrugged and her top slipped down to reveal one creamy shoulder. “Besides, Cotton doesn’t always make himself known.”

  “Cotton?”

  “Yea, Cotton Briggs is his name. What did he do last night?”

  Giving a name to the thing that caused all the ruckus made Easy feel funny. “I heard footsteps in the hall and there was a lot of bumping and banging.”

  “You didn’t see anything?”

  “See?” Easy made a face. “No, I didn’t see anything. Thank goodness.”

  “Actually, you did. When you first arrived and you thought you saw someone in the house.”

  “Damn. I didn’t think of that.” He frowned, considering the implications of this new revelation. “How do you know this ghost is named Cotton Briggs?”

  Lifting her face as a ray of sunshine filtered down through the cypress trees, Jewel let herself enjoy the warmth on her skin. She didn’t answer Easy right away. Being honest about things like this wasn’t always the smartest thing to do. “I guess I can tell you. Since you gave your money in good faith, I suppose you have a right to know.” His opinion of her would probably disintegrate further. Even when they believed in such things, being faced with someone with her supposed abilities brought out the mean in some folks. Still…she wasn’t trying to impress him.

  “Yea, I’d say I had a right to know.” He inhaled sharply and stopped to take a splinter out of his finger.

  “What did you do?” She heard his intake of breath and turned to find him sucking on the end of his finger. “Splinter?” Holding out her hand, Jewel demanded, “Let me see.”

  Taking his hand in hers, Jewel looked closely and carefully removed the piece of wood from his skin. Once it was gone, she brought his finger to her lips for a quick kiss. “Don’t run your hand on the rails. I learned that the hard way.” Dropping his hand, she resumed her journey, leaving Easy standing where she’d left him.

  Momentarily stunned by her unexpected action, he was forced to delay moving until the surge of electricity rushing through his body ebbed.

  Not hearing any following footfalls, Jewel glanced over her shoulder. “Coming?”

  Coming? “Almost,” he muttered before starting off. He’d gone just a few steps when the words burst from his lips, “You kissed me,” he said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

  Jewel’s eyes widened, but she didn’t slow down. In fact, she sped up a little, as if to outrun his assertion. “No, I didn’t. That wasn’t a kiss.”

  “What do you call it? A lick?”

  He was catching up to her. Picking up her pace a bit more, Jewel argued, “No, it wasn’t a lick. Or a kiss. It was instinctual nurturing.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “About Cotton Briggs…” Jewel jumped off the boardwalk onto the path toward her house. Funny, the subject of the ghost now seemed like the safest topic. “He drowned in Bayou Lafourche in 1903. Poor man jumped in to save a couple of small boys, but he couldn’t swim very well. He managed to get them to safety, but he didn’t make it.”

  “How do you know this?” Easy caught up with her. “Let me carry the cooler.”

  “I got it,” she protested, but relinquished her hold when he continued to try and wrest it from her grasp. “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and worked to keep a few inches of distance between them. Once or twice, their hips bumped and Jewel didn’t like the way it made her feel. Vulnerable. “I know all about Cotton because he told me.”

  “He’s appeared to you and you’ve carried on a conversation with the guy.”

  “In a way.” Jewel could hear the doubt in his voice. “You’re still skeptical?”

  “Well, yea.”

  “Even after what you say you heard last night?”

  The brighter the day grew, the farther away the events of the night felt. “Well, there might be another explanation. A logical explanation.” Even as he challenged his own memory, he remembered Benjen’s experiences with the mysterious light and admitted to himself that there were things in this world he didn’t understand.

  “Yes,” she agreed. “The logical explanation is that Cotton Briggs is haunting the house you’re staying in.” When he didn’t immediately respond, she sighed. “So, I guess you want out of the lease.”

  The thought surprised Easy. “No, not necessarily. I didn’t say that.” Yea, he’d spent a miserable night, but that didn’t mean he was ready to tuck tail and run. “Tell me more about this ghost. Is he dangerous?”

  Stepping carefully over the uneven flagstone path, Jewel came to her fish cleaning station, a rustic lean-to shed equipped with a wooden waist-high table and a sink with running water. “No, he’s not dangerous. He was a good guy. He’s just reacting to a strange man moving into his house.” Opening the cooler, she extracted the four fish she’d caught. “This is not my favorite part.”

  “I’ll do it for you.” Easy stepped up to clean the fish. “So, what is Cotton still doing here if he died over a hundred years ago? Why hasn’t he moved on?”

  Jewel pulled a stool near to the table. Watching Ezekiel move as he labored with the fish, his forearms flexing, his strong chest muscles clearly visible beneath the thin T-shirt he wore like a second skin – was a pleasure. Frankly, she felt a little lightheaded. Things seemed to be slipping beyond her control. Since he was cleaning the fish, she’d have to invite him to share them. After that – she promised herself – she’d endeavor to put distance between them. The man was just too tempting for comfort. “Moved on? I’ve learned that’s really a misnomer. Spirits have the ability to come and go at will. Rarely are they bound to a place. I don’t know about you, but I find that comforting, I don’t want to be stuck in one spot. I plan on exploring the world when I’m dead.”

  Easy chuckled as he fileted the fish. “Why don’t you explore the world while you’re alive?”

  Jewel didn’t have much of an answer. “Circumstances.” She stood to gather the filets and dispose of the throwaway portion of the fish.

  “Okay.” Easy decided to leave the subject a
lone – for now. “Am I the first renter Cotton has had to deal with?”

  “Yes.” She put the portions into a plastic bag, then returned them to the cooler. “Plus, he prefers women.”

  “Ha!” Easy laughed heartily. “I can relate. Maybe Cotton and I can find some common ground.”

  “Maybe.” Jewel pointed to the cooler. “Since you’ve done most of the work, come on up and I’ll fry a mess of fish and potatoes. You can make the salad.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Easy picked up the cooler, feeling entirely pleased with himself. Trailing Jewel toward the house, he couldn’t help but appreciate the way her long hair swung over the delectable swell of her backside. As far as Easy was concerned, things were going swimmingly.

  Once inside, he pitched in with preparations. Other than making the salad, he took care of dredging the catfish filets in cornmeal. He also cut up some home fries.

  Jewel acknowledged his assistance. “Obviously, you’re no stranger to the kitchen.”

  “No, ma’am. After my mom passed, we all pitched in. There were five of us, four boys and our dad. We lost him a few years back.”

  Jewel could detect the same sorrow in his voice that she’d read in his palm. Shaking her head, she forced herself to let it go. She didn’t need to keep forging a bond between them. After this meal, she didn’t intend to keep socializing with the sexy cowboy. “I guess you’ll be keeping long hours at Belle Chasse.”

  “Yea, probably. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ll be pulling out for work before sunup tomorrow.” He grabbed a metal spatula to turn the fish over in the hot grease. “I hope to get a little more sleep tonight.”

  While setting the table, Jewel kept cutting glances toward Easy. She wished he didn’t look so at home in her kitchen. “I’ll tell you what. When we finish here, I’ll go with you and we’ll have a little talk with Cotton.”

  “Oh, that sounds weird.” Easy grabbed a paper towel to cover a plate before dishing up the potatoes on top of it.

  “Dead or alive, he’s a person. That’s what you do to people when you want something from them.” She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of ketchup and a jar of tartar sauce. “You talk to them.”

  “Oh? Is that how it works?” Bringing two glasses of tea to the table, he gave her a sexy mischievous grin. “If you want something, you just…talk?”

  Jewel gave him her version of the evil eye. “I’m sure it works differently with you, Mr. Sexy Pants. You just give women that hot look of yours and they fall at your feet.”

  Catching her gaze, he locked eyes with hers. “Is this the look?”

  The simmering, seductive expression on his face was almost Jewel’s undoing. “Yes. Stop. Doesn’t work with me.” She quickly crossed herself as if she were warding off a vampire.

  “Oh, really? Is that why you did all this?” He mimicked her motions, laughter on his lips. “You’re funny.”

  “Hmmm.” She chunked a piece of potato at his plate. “Yea, and you’re equally hilarious.”

  Tasting the fish, he licked his lips. “This is damn good.”

  “It is,” she agreed, letting out a long breath. “I enjoy catching my own meal at times.”

  “We raise cattle. You’d think we would eat our own beef, but we don’t.” Easy gave her a wink. “My brother Benjen refuses to eat anyone he knows.”

  Jewel giggled. “I can understand that.” She waggled a piece of fish at him. “It’s not like I knew this guy personally.”

  Easy ate a few bites, seemingly in deep concentration. When he broke his silence, it was to ask, “So, you think I’m sexy?”

  “Did I say that?” She scoffed and he chuckled. Trying to regain control of the conversation, she redirected the topic back to the ghost. “I’ll explain to Cotton who you are and you can say hello. Tell him you’re not trying to usurp his territory.”

  “What territory? The house?” Easy asked as he claimed another portion of fish and fries.

  “No. Me.”

  Her answer caused his hand to freeze with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. “You? The ghost is in love with you?”

  “He thinks he is, but he was attached to mother too. He considers this whole area and both houses to be his domain. I’m convinced he’s so attached to the place because we can see him and interact with him. No one wants to be ignored.” She dipped her last fry in ketchup and ate it slowly. “Anyway, I can assure you he’s harmless. Last night was part of his campaign to get you to leave. Just let him know it isn’t going to work. He’ll calm down and you won’t even know he’s there.”

  Easy finished up his meal, considering what she’d said. “I think I’ve alluded to my brother, Benjen. He’s like our father, more connected to the spiritual side of things than I am. So, I don’t discount what you say, I just never knew I was…tuned in.” He cut her a glance and smiled. “Although, if all of that hullabaloo last night was a ghost, I picked up on those signals pretty clearly.”

  “You’re probably more sensitive than you realize.”

  Looking down, she missed the totally turned-on expression on his face. “Sensitive.” Some places more than others. “Yea. I’d say so.” Easy swallowed and shifted in his seat. His jeans were getting a mite tight in the crotch area. How weird that he’d thought this woman less than dazzling at first glance. Now, each time he looked at her, he fell more securely under her spell. “Whoa!” His mouth formed a startled O shape. What if…?

  “So, what’s your background? What tribe?”

  Her offhand question surprised him a little, throwing his brain completely off topic. He was used to folks either ignoring his skin color or making some type of snide remark. “Apache. Does that bother you?” Yea he was a tad defensive.

  “Are you kidding?” Jewel laughed, but she was a little taken aback by his question. “I’m the last person who could ever judge anyone else. For starters, I’m Creole, which is a mixed-race people. I have multiple bloodlines flowing through my veins. Like you, I’m part Native American, as well as French and African. But, around here that’s normal.” She leaned closer to him. “If you want to experience prejudice, try being something no one else understands, something they’re a little afraid of.” She waved her hand nervously. “You’d think my community would be accepting of people like me. After all, the state is known for its eclectic and supernatural flair. Consider how we celebrate people like Anne Rice and Marie Laveau.”

  “What do you mean? Folks give you a hard time?” He didn’t like the idea very much.

  “Some people do.” Especially after the fiasco with her mother. Whatever good reputation they once possessed was in tatters. “There are those who feel a need to know what I can tell them. Some hide the fact they come for a reading. Some go to church in the morning and come see me in the afternoon. There are those who see no evil in my gift and don’t particularly care what others think. And there are some who are scared to death of what I do, afraid they’ll split hell wide open if they darken my door.”

  Easy tapped the tip of his forefinger on the table. “As I told you before, like my father before him, my brother considers himself to be a shaman. I’m sure there are similarities in what you do.”

  “You lost your father.”

  Her soft statement of a fact she shouldn’t have known caused a chill to run down his spine. “Yea.” And that was all he had to say about that. Move on to a safer angle. “My family consists of three brothers, two of which are happily married now. Ranching is our business. We’ve managed to be modestly successful. Daniel, Benjen, and Sam are all proficient in one area or another. Educated. Dedicated.” He lifted one shoulder and nailed her with a challenging gaze. “Me? I’m the family screwup.”

  Jewel could feel pain coming off of him in waves. “I’ve seen your palm. Basically, I’ve seen your soul. You hold yourself back, but you’re not a screwup. If you were, why would Philip McCoy give you a job with so much responsibility?”

  “Yea, I’ve been wondering the same thing.” He
stood up. “Could I get some coffee?” What she’d said about seeing his soul made him feel exposed. Vulnerable. Easy didn’t know if he liked it or not.

  “Sure. There should be a cup left. I don’t have one of those fancy coffeemakers, just an old-fashioned drip pot.” She could tell she’d gone too far. “Look, I apologize. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I know there’s much more to you than what I could discern from a quick reading.”

  “I don’t know if there is or not, to tell you the truth.” Easy didn’t have many illusions about himself. “I know my strengths and I know my weaknesses.” He poured himself a cup of Joe. “Damn, talk about strong.” The brew was pure Louisiana chicory – black, strong, and thick as cane syrup. “If I let this cool, it might gel right up.”

  “Sorry. I was raised on the stuff.” She rose and picked up their dishes. “I just despise a cup of coffee where I can see the bottom of the cup. Not much better than drinking hot water.”

  “Let me help you.” He took a sip of the coffee, stuck his tongue out and laughed, then placed the cup on the counter to assist her in filling the dishwasher. “No, you hit quite a few nails on the head. That’s one reason I’m here instead of in Texas.” Opening the cabinet doors beneath her sink, he found a dishwasher pod. After handing it to Jewel, he watched her pop it into the proper compartment, before punching the buttons to start the cycle. “I’m finding myself…I guess you could say.”

  “You couldn’t find yourself at home?” Standing this close to Ezekiel, she could feel a tangible heat emanating from his body. The warmth felt so good; Jewel had to force herself to move away a few inches.

  “No. Honestly, I kept losing pieces of myself. I guess I got tired of disappointing my family.”