Big Easy (Cowboy Craze)

by Sable Hunter

  “Oh, yes.” She brushed a damp lock of hair from her forehead. “I do.” She wanted to experience ecstasy with Easy. So much. She knew it would only be for the one time, but Jewel couldn’t deny herself this gift. Yes, she was aware of his ways, his weaknesses. She was also aware of his kind heart and protective instincts. If there were any chance of changing him, Jewel would grab onto Ezekiel Blackhawk and never let him go.

  But there wasn’t. She’d seen his palm. She’d read his heart.

  He was who he was – a good man who was unable to settle down. They existed, Easy was proof.

  A tiny voice within her mind told Jewel she ought to use one of her spells on Easy. Her mother had perfected several incantations powerful enough to thaw the hardest of hearts. Magical enough to change a man. Mysterious enough to put thoughts and feelings into a heart and mind that never would’ve harbored them otherwise.

  But Jewel didn’t want that.

  If she were to be loved, she wanted the love to be genuine, or she didn’t want to be loved at all.

  Of course, her mother would’ve argued that the love brought on by her conjurations was real. Jewel begged to differ.

  True love was born not only from attraction, but also from respect, commonality of purpose, and a sincere trust of another. In her heart, Jewel dreamed of a love springing not only from mutual desire, but also from friendship. She wanted a man who craved her company, her counsel, and her laughter as much as he craved her body and her touch.

  Yes, what Jewel wanted was definitely a tall order, and most likely why she wouldn’t be getting her wish anytime soon – if ever.

  “Good.” His satisfied agreement broke the chain of thoughts racing through her mind like lightning. “I’ll be counting the seconds until we’re together, treasure. Sleep tight.”

  “Good night, Easy.” As she replaced the phone on the nightstand, Jewel’s hand shook with emotion. “Oh, you’d best be careful, girl. You’re playing with fire,” she chided herself, realizing how easy it would be to lose her heart to this man.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Morning, sunshine.” Easy looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway. “Did I wake you?”

  Jewel blushed, remembering what they’d done together the night before. She shook her head, realizing she was experiencing the ‘morning after’ just from phone sex. “No, I’m up. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.”

  “Same here.” He chuckled. “I overslept. So, I’m putting the pedal to the metal. I’m supposed to meet a delivery of fence posts and barbwire at eight a.m.”

  “Drive safely. Not too fast.”

  Easy smiled, liking how she worried about him. “I’ll be good.” He slowed down to avoid an armadillo meandering across the road at a leisurely pace. “Remember, just as soon as I get off work, I’ll head home. I hope to be standing on your doorstep by six p.m.”

  “Okay, Easy.” Jewel couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be ready.”

  “Good deal. I’m going to let you go. I’ve got another call coming in.”

  “Bye.” As soon as Jewel hung up the phone, she twirled in place, looking forward to the day.

  After dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, she ventured into the living room. Not knowing what to expect, Jewel was relieved to see the little ghost girl sitting within the circle.

  “Morning, Eliza. How do you feel?”

  She turned to Jewel and blinked a few times, as if trying to remember what it was like to feel anything but loneliness. “Good.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Is there anything I can get you?” she asked as she padded to the kitchen for her morning dose of caffeine.

  “No. I want to go.”

  Contrition made Jewel’s heart contract. “I know. And you will.” One way or the other. She couldn’t keep the small child imprisoned this way. “As soon as we hear from Rudy’s mother, we’ll do something, I promise.” She dropped her voice to a near whisper. “Even if I have to call my own mother to do it.”

  While the coffee brewed, Jewel took an antique chalkboard from the wall. She’d neglected her habit for the last few days, but making a to-do list made her feel grounded. Gave her a sense of how to divide her time. After jotting down a few items, she rehung the board, then carried the phone and a steaming cup of brew over to join Eliza.

  If nothing else, this experience was going a long way in her empathy for those on the other side. Even more so than her encounters with Cotton, the time she spent with Eliza opened her eyes to the fact that people were just people – no matter on what side of the veil they resided. “Okay. I’m going to sit with you while I call Bernadette.” Pointing to the television, she asked, “Would you like to watch something? I bet I could find cartoons.”

  Eliza’s countenance brightened. “Yes.”

  Placing the cup and the phone on the floor, Jewel jumped up to fetch the remote. “I think I get Cartoon Network.”

  A few seconds later, Eliza was all smiles as the Berenstain Bears frolicked on the screen.

  While the tiny spirit giggled happily, Jewel sipped her coffee and gave Bernadette a call. She was anxious to know if Rudy’s night was more peaceful. She also hoped the woman hadn’t blown this off, just grateful to have passed her problem onto someone else.

  Three rings later, she answered, “Yes, this is Bernadette.”

  “Hey, Jewel here. How was your night?”

  “Pretty good. Rudy didn’t seem to have any…experiences. He did ask about the little girl.”

  “He did?” Jewel saw this as a good sign. “Were you able to find out anything?”

  “Yes, I think so. I’m also waiting on more information.”

  Jewel hated to push it, but this was important. “What did you find?”

  “Well, the house we live in is old. It belonged to my grandparents. My dad says the place was probably built right after World War II. Mom told me to go up in the attic and look for an old bureau, a chest of drawers. She said the antique had been here as long as she could remember.”

  “Did you?” Jewel was feeling impatient. “Did you find anything?”

  “Maybe. I found some vintage baby shoes and a faded photograph of a woman and a little girl.” Bernadette hesitated. “Honestly, Jewel, this stuff is giving me the creeps. The child in the old photo looks a lot like the person you described to me.”

  “Don’t get creeped out, as far as hauntings go – this one is down-right charming.” Jewel couldn’t help her mind going back to what she’d witnessed at Laurel Plantation. The memory of those poor souls writhing in agony would always be with her. “Anything else?”

  “Going by their dress, the people in the picture could be from the late 40’s or early 50’s. My brother is at the library now, checking to see if he can find any newspaper articles about a child dying in the house during that time.”

  “Good. Sounds reasonable.”

  “What do you plan to do?”

  “Depending on what you find, I’m hoping to summon the mother and facilitate a family reunion.”

  * * *

  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Easy surveyed the fence line. “You’re right. This is going to be a bugaboo. Some posts will be set in gumbo clay, the others in a swampy bog.”

  “Yes, sir.” Wesley Holt nodded as he supervised the ten men who were digging post holes and stringing barbed wire. “We’ll get it done, though. This ain’t no job for a stepper.”

  Easy laughed at the man’s confidence. “I’m glad to hear you say that.” He mounted his horse and pointed east. “I’ll ride on a little further and mark the boundary for you.”

  “Okey-doke. Keep your eye open, I heard tell of a good size panther being spotted in these parts.”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it. We’ve got a lot of work to do to clear the brush for cattle.” Easy surveyed the outlying area. “Anything could live in this thicket, couldn’t it?”

  “Could and does.” Wesley stuffed his left hand in his front pocket. “Gators, panthers, bears, snakes as big
as my bicep.” He raised his right arm in the air.

  Easy shuddered. “I’m not fond of snakes. At all.”

  Wesley laughed. “Well, you’re in the wrong state, brother.”

  “I’ll just have to keep my eyes open and my boots on,” Easy muttered as he took a sip of water from his canteen.

  “You know, I’ve lived in these parts all my life,” Wesley observed in a solemn, quiet voice. “My grandfather used to tell us tales his grandfather told him.”

  “What about? Ghosts? The rougarou?” Easy was speaking only in half jest. After his time with Jewel, his skepticism meter had taken a serious dip.

  “Well, that too.” Wesley spit into the tall grass. “What I’m talking about is this piece of ground.” He pointed his finger in a circular motion. “My grandpappy said that when his grandfather came to this spot some hundred and fifty years ago, the ground was strewn with bones. Bleached white human bones.”

  A chill ran down Easy’s spine. “Hell. What do you think of that?”

  Wesley shrugged. “There’s tales of Indians who lived in these parts. They ate human flesh.”

  “I remember Philip telling us about that. He’s found a few Indian mounds on the property. We intend to protect those sites while we use the rest of the plantation for crops and cattle.”

  “Hmmm, I remember my grandpa saying there was a world of those mounds. Twenty-two of them, if I remember right.”

  “Wow.” He studied the ground beneath his feet. “Makes you think, doesn’t it?” Urging his horse forward, Easy took off. “I’ll be back around to check on you and your crew in an hour or two.”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  As he rode, Easy made note of the places where they’d need to veer off the property line to take into account the topography of the land itself. Riding close to trees and bushes, he hung red ribbon to mark the way. Picking his path, he kept his eye out for signs of the wildlife Wesley spoke about. All in all, keeping his mind on his business wasn’t the simplest of propositions. With very little provocation, his thoughts could easily stray to Jewel and the evening he looked forward to having with her.

  Easy was familiar with this sense of anticipation, the thrill of discovery, the sure promise of pleasure to come. The only thing different this time was the intensity of his preoccupation with the particular woman he desired. Before, he focused on the act itself – his craving for sex, his hunger to find release - the amusement of a pretty new face. After all, Ezekiel Blackhawk was a player, a man with a healthy sexual appetite. He didn’t mean to brag, but he could deliver. Giving a woman supreme satisfaction was his life’s calling. Yet…this time, Easy’s normally insatiable need for sex was completely overshadowed by his growing enchantment with Jewel Baptiste. Oddly enough, as eager as he was to get her into his bed, he looked forward to spending time with her just as much.

  How crazy was that? Easy smiled, baffled at his own uncharacteristic feelings.

  Within an hour, he’d hung eight markers and covered about a mile of boggy pastureland. This terrain was so different than what he was used to that Easy marveled at Philip’s confidence he could transform this marshy wasteland into a fertile place to raise cattle. He didn’t waste too much time pondering the question however, he knew the McCoys had a plan and Belle Chasse had a past history of being a money-making enterprise.

  Shifting in the saddle, Easy waved his hand through a cloud of mosquitoes, grateful he’d sprayed himself liberally with a repellant before leaving the work trailer that morning. “Goddamn pesky little bloodsuckers,” he grumbled, slapping the exposed skin of his neck as he felt a needle-like prick. Sure enough, his palm came back with a spot of blood on it about the size of a field pea.

  “Easy? Is that you I hear taking the Lord’s name in vain?”

  Hearing Philip’s voice, Easy turned his horse off the trail and struck out over a stretch of higher ground dotted with palmettos and sawgrass. “Philip! Where are you, man?”

  “This way!”

  Following his boss’s call, Easy let his mount strike a gallop as they neared a copse of cypress trees. “You are well and truly camouflaged.”

  “I’m hiding from the mosquitos,” Philip observed wryly as he stood next to a pile of rusty iron.

  “They found me, little sumbitches,” Easy muttered as he swung a leg over the saddle and dropped to the ground. “What’s this pile of rubble?”

  “Pieces of a pumpjack.” He held up a slim, tubular length of steel with a black handle on the top. “I’m taking soil samples.”

  “You think there may be contaminants?” Easy knew they’d drilled in the area years ago.

  “I don’t know. I thought I’d do some preliminary testing before we go any further.” Philip nodded to Easy’s saddle where a few more red ribbon markers hung like parade decorations against his horse’s neck. “I see you’ve been marking the fence line. Are the men making good time?”

  “I think so. Wesley is a hard worker. He knows this part of the country well.”

  Philip nodded. “I’ve worked and raised cattle in Texas and Montana and I can sure tell you it takes a special kind of cowpoke in this part of the world. A cowboy in South Louisiana is just as likely to herd by airboat as they are by a horse or a four-wheeler. Here, we graze our herd in canebrakes and gooey marshes instead of the high plains you’re used to in Texas. Even the cattle we’ll buy will be different. We’ll focus on a Brahman mix. Heat-tolerant and bug-resistant, that’s what we need. You’ll appreciate the vicissitude of the breeds when you come across these beasts, standing up to their necks in the marsh like water buffalo. Despite appearances, there’s good reason to ranch this region, it’s some of the most fertile land in the country. Rich soil flows down the Mississippi, feeding the grassland.” Philip walked to his Jeep to deposit his findings in a Yeti cooler. “Yep, it’s a great place to raise cattle – when it’s not hurricane season,” he joked.

  Easy came forward to see what equipment his boss was using to do the soil testing. “As I understand it in this part of the world, a hurricane is a matter of when – not if.”

  “You’re right about that, Easy.” Philip laughed as he shut the top of the cooler. “I guess you have to weigh the risk with the potential for profit.” He swiped a hand through the air. “As much as I love Highlands – this is my home. My mother instilled in me a love of this land from the time I could take my first steps. It’s my hope to reinforce the dikes in the local levee system to control the flooding.”

  “You’ve got a big job ahead of you, certainly.” Easy checked his watch, calculating what remained to be done with the hours left in his work day. For sure, he didn’t want to be late for his date. “I have confidence that with your foresight, our continued labor, and a good deal of the McCoy money – your plans will become reality.”

  Philip didn’t argue. “You’re right about all of that, this won’t be a cheap endeavor.” He sighed. “But ah, it’ll be worth it.” A faraway look came to his eye. “I wish you coulda seen this place, Easy. How it looked back in the day. Grand…yet like home. Every inch of the estate was productive. My mother’s family had lived here since the 1820’s, the old place withstanding everything from fires, floods, even the Civil war…until Katrina.” With a sigh, he threw up his hands. “I didn’t promise Mother I’d rebuild it, I couldn’t. She died in Katrina.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Still, I’d like to think she knows I’m doing it for her.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she does.” Easy wasn’t spouting empty words he thought would comfort Philip. Somehow, he really believed what he was saying. And if he did – what about his own… Afraid, Easy cut that thought off in the quick.

  Philip began to speak, bringing Easy out of his daze. “I hope she knows – somehow. Anyway, when I heard you riding by, I wanted to tell you I’m leaving to mail these samples to the lab. I probably won’t make it back before quitting time.”

  “All right. Any special instructions for me? Anything you need me to do before I leave
today – other than continue on with the fencing?”

  “Nope.” Philip shook his head. “I’ve got about two more samples to take and I’ll be on my way. I just didn’t want you and Jed to get back up to the trailer and think I might still be out here somewhere.” He grinned at Easy. “I would have left a note, but since I heard you cussing these gallinippers, I thought I’d just deliver the message in person.”

  “Gallinipper? I’ve never heard that term.”

  Philip chuckled. “These monster mosquitoes take a gallon with every nip – almost.”

  “Apt description.” Climbing back onto his horse, Easy raised his hand. “Have a good trip.”

  Leaving his boss behind, Easy continued on his ride, angling back to find the path once more. He’d gone no more than a few hundred yards before he heard a loud noise. “What the…?” Pulling on the reins, he brought his horse to a stop. Taking off his hat, Easy cocked his head to see if he could tell what he’d heard.

  “Dammitt! Help!”

  “Philip.” Pulling on the reins, Easy turned his mount around and galloped back full throttle. “Philip!”

  Retracing the path he’d just taken, Easy rode into the clearing, jumping from his horse before it came to a full stop. What he saw in front of him made his jaw drop and his heart shudder in his chest.

  With arms raised at his sides, Philip seemed to be balancing on one leg, spouting some of the most creative profanity he’d ever heard. Trying to ascertain what was happening, Easy’s eyes swept the scene. He saw two things – one of Philip’s legs was caught in a trap of some kind and he was facing the spade-shaped head and black coils of a deadly cottonmouth water moccasin.

  “Good God,” he whispered in a prayer like tone. To add to his shock, a young woman with long brown hair came hurrying over, tossing a basket to the ground. Before Easy could move more than a few steps – or decide what to do next – the slight girl moved close and stomped her foot, attempting to get the serpents attention.

  Easy didn’t know what to do. Rushing forward might make the snake strike either of the people involved. He searched the ground for a rock but saw nothing available.