Bitterroot Crossing

by Tess Oliver

  “You’ve got beautiful legs. Why are you hiding them?”

  “My legs are far from beautiful. It’s more obvious when I’m sitting; when I lay them out next to each other.” I could feel his gaze on the side of my face. I looked at him. He was incredibly handsome. His nearness made me nervous and when he lowered his eyes to my lips, I looked back down at the steps below. I had never really thought about kissing a boy before, but lately, being around Nick, the notion seemed to be popping into my head a lot.

  I needed to clear my mind of it quickly. He was probably nothing but heartbreak for a girl like me. “Nana made blackberry pie last night. Would you like a piece?”

  “Although I’m probably crazy for turning down some of your grandma’s baking, I just ate breakfast. How about a walk?” He glanced around the farm. “It seems pretty peaceful out there this morning.”

  Unfortunately it always seemed peaceful just before Zedekiah appeared. Still, the thought of a walk with Nick seemed too nice to pass up. “We could ride Mandy up the mountain. There’s a patch of wildflowers I’ve been meaning to harvest for Nana’s vase.”

  “Cool. I haven’t ridden a horse in a long time.”

  “Riding Mandy isn’t really like riding a horse. It’s more like riding a couch with legs.”

  “Still sounds fun. I haven’t ridden a moving couch lately either.”

  I stood and picked up my things. “I’ll just leave a note for Nana.” I ran into the kitchen, jotted down a note, and grabbed a basket for picking wildflowers. My stomach was jittery. Before I walked back out onto the porch, I stopped and took a couple of deep breaths. It was rare for me to be nervous about anything. I looked through the screen door at Nick’s broad-shouldered silhouette as he stood facing out to Mandy’s pasture. He was flawless. I stared down at my feet and decided I was anything but.

  We hopped on Mandy’s back. The horse seemed pleased with the notion of a walk at first, but the farther we moved away from her pasture, the harder I had to press her with my calves to get her to move. Nick balanced precariously behind me with his hands on his thighs. When the road got rocky, he placed his arm around my waist. His touch surprised me, and I nearly lost my balance.

  He released me. “Sorry, it’s just kind of a bumpy ride back here.”

  “No, really, it’s O.K. I just wasn’t expecting it.” What a nervous ninny I was this morning. “You better hang on to my waist, it gets even rougher up ahead.

  His arm snaked around me, and I had to catch my breath again without him noticing. At one point he pressed against me and I thought my heart might jump from my chest with the way it was beating.

  “This couch of yours needs some decent shock absorbers.”

  “Mandy isn’t really built for rough terrain. In fact, as far as she’s concerned, she’s only built for pasture grazing and napping.”

  Mandy’s front hoof slipped on a smooth chunk of granite and we lurched to the side. Nick’s grip on me tightened, and I found myself silently thanking my mare for being so clumsy.

  When we reached smooth terrain and he released his hold on my waist, I actually felt disappointed. I’d most likely imagined it but I could have sworn he let go reluctantly.

  I’d had to prod Mandy forward so much my legs were tired by the time we reached the patch of yellow wildflowers. We slid down and my stubborn horse immediately spun around and trotted back down toward her pasture.

  We both watched her massive hindquarters swing from side to side as she plodded back home. I shook my head. “It’s amazing how gracefully she can travel those rocks when she’s headed back to food.” I looked up at Nick. “I guess we’ll be walking back.”

  “Too bad,” he said. “I was looking forward to the ride down over the rocks.” The confident look in his eyes reminded me a lot of Zedekiah.

  The sky remained crystal blue and there was no hint of ghost in the air. I wandered through the patch with my basket on my arm and picked flowers.

  Nick followed behind. “How do I know which ones to pick? They all look the same.”

  “Pick the ones with the sturdiest stems. They stand up the longest in a vase of water.”

  I found a few choice ones and tugged them out of the ground. I twisted around to show him my example. He was bent over picking one of his own. He tugged hard dislodging most of the petals in his effort. The naked stem twirled in his fingers as he held it up and smiled. “It’s kind of bare now, but the stem is sturdy.”

  We laughed.

  He reached for another one, this time with more success. The petals remained. Unfortunately so did the brown spider that had attached itself to it. He dropped it fast and wiped his hands on his pants. “I really hate spiders. I think I’ll let you pick and I’ll watch. You look much cuter doing it anyhow.” He grabbed one more flower and propped himself on a giant boulder. He twirled it between his thumb and forefinger then began removing its petals one by one. “She loves me, she loves me, she loves me,” he chanted as he discarded each yellow petal.

  I smiled over at him. “I thought it was she loves me, she loves me not.”

  He shrugged. “I figured why tempt fate.”

  I bent over to pick more flowers and wondered if he was thinking about Tina while he was pulling off the petals. I hoped not.

  “So what kind of stuff do you like to do, Jessie?” He threw the empty stem onto the ground and propped himself up on his elbows.

  “The usual stuff, I guess. I like reading books and needlepoint.” I smiled at him. “Of course you could have guessed that. Oh, I love canning season when Nana and I make apricot preserves and strawberry jam. And pickles, when we get a good crop.”

  He sat up straight and the sunlight glinted off his silver hoop earrings. He was breathtaking sitting there on that rock. “That’s not exactly usual stuff, but I like that you’re so different.”

  I wasn’t sure how to take his comment. I looked down at my odd shoes and the basket in my hands filled with silly, half-wilted wildflowers. A shadow fell over me and I looked up. He was standing directly in front of me. He brushed a strand of hair off my face and the sensation of him running his finger over my skin made me nearly drop my basket.

  “That came out wrong,” he said. His dark lashes fluttered down as he stared at my lips for a moment then his gaze caught mine again. “You’re not just different, you’re amazing.”

  I looked away before I embarrassed myself with the heat rising in my cheeks.

  “Most girls eat up compliments. You shy away from them.” He bent over, picked up a clump of less than perfect flowers, and handed to them to me. “Like I said, amazing.”

  My heart could not seem to catch up to my breath. “We’d better finish here before Nana comes looking for us,” I said completely flustered by his attention. I moved farther away to finish picking flowers and slow down my breathing. Nick lay back down on the surface of the rock with his hands crossed behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles.

  By the time I’d filled my basket, he looked close to sleeping. I removed a flower from the basket and tickled his nose with it. His long lashes fluttered open. He sat up lazily. “I was dreaming about your Nana’s pie.”

  “Just what a girl wants to hear,” I said.

  He hopped down from the rock and took hold of my basket. “You were there too, of course, eating pie with me.”

  “Good to know. Let’s head back down and I’ll cut you a slice.”

  We were not halfway down the path when a tremble ran through me. Nick sensed something too. Suddenly a small, menacing cloud floated directly above us. Within seconds, a downpour of bitter tasting, icy rain fell on our heads. My newly picked delicate wildflowers were crushed beneath the weight of the drops.

  Nick stopped and held out his arms. “If she gets sick and dies of pneumonia, it’ll be your fault, you jerk.” The cloud moved abruptly away from me and even though he was standing beside me, the rain poured down only on Nick. “Don’t expect an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner,” Nick y
elled to the sky.

  I grabbed Nick’s hand. “Let’s get you inside before you catch cold.” We raced down the path. It was hard for me to keep up with his long legs, but he pulled me along. By the time we reached the porch steps, Nick was completely drenched. Even wet, he looked incredibly handsome.

  I yanked open the back door and we went inside. Nick was shivering as if he’d fallen in an icy river. “I’ll get you a towel.”

  Nana stepped into the kitchen and stared at the boy dripping pools of grayish water on her kitchen floor.

  “Don’t ask.” I pushed past her and ran to the linen closet.

  Chapter 15

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been this wet in my entire life.” I scrubbed the towel through my hair once more then pressed it to my face and took a deep whiff. “Man, even your towels smell delicious.”

  “Nana puts lavender in the rinse water,” Jessie said as she placed a plate with a slice of pie in front of me.” She placed her hand on my arm for a moment. Her touch sent its usual jolt of electricity through me. “Your skin is like ice.” She left and returned with a blanket, which she dropped over my shoulders.

  I pulled the blanket tighter around me. “That ghost is really starting to bug me. But I definitely know why he has it out for me.”

  Jessie sat down. Sunlight drifted through the lacy kitchen curtains and across her face. I had to slow my breathing. “You do? Is it because you’re his descendant?”

  “No,” I said and couldn’t stop my gaze from trailing down her face to her lips. “It has nothing to do with that.”

  Jessie blushed and seemed to fidget under my gaze. I returned my attention to the pie plate. “Sorry, it’s just that you are so beautiful. Your nearness . . . .” Sensing my words were making her uncomfortable, I stopped. Although it was probably more for me than her. I’d never wanted to kiss a girl so badly in my life.

  Jessie’s grandma stepped into the kitchen softening the tension instantly. “That Zedekiah needs to be put to rest once and for all. He was nothing but trouble in life, and now’s he equally troublesome in death. We need to figure out how to send the whole bunch off to eternity for good.” She headed to the back door. “I’m getting the locket. We need to open that damn thing.”

  “Nana, be careful. Zedekiah seems to be keeping a watchful eye on our place.”

  “Don’t you worry; I know how to outsmart that rotten smelling ghoul.” The screen door opened and shut with a bang.

  Jessie smiled. “Nana never says damn. She’s definitely angry. And determined.”

  “Can’t really blame her, can you? I think Zedekiah’s lingering spirit has caused you and your family a lot of trouble. More than anyone else it seems.” Jasper came and laid his giant head in my lap obviously hoping for a piece of pie. Hesitantly, I sacrificed the last piece of flaky crust to him.

  “Jasper is not very practiced in the art of subtlety.” Jessie stood. “I’ll cut you another slice.”

  “No, please, as much as it kills me to turn down seconds, I would feel like a pig.”

  She stood over the pie with knife in hand. “How about a sliver?”

  “O.K. a sliver, but a fat sliver.”

  She returned with another slice and sat down.

  “Your mom kept you at home because of Zedekiah, didn’t she? I know the story about how he chased your parents out of town.”

  Jessie nodded and took a piece of crust off my pie. I loved the way she took bites off my plate. “It was before I was born. From what my mom told me, Zedekiah made life so miserable for them, they packed their stuff and left.”

  “Why was he picking on them?”

  Jessie’s green eyes widened. “Didn’t you know? My father was related to Jack Bridger. Bridger was his great uncle. He even had the same straw yellow hair as Jack Bridger. My dad was the last Bridger descendant left in Bitterroot, and Zedekiah was determined to rid the town of him.”

  “Why’d your mom come back?”

  “My dad was a terrible husband. My mom had nowhere else to go. She was pregnant with me and she missed her own mother. So she came back.” Jessie glanced out the window. “Hope Nana’s alright.”

  “Do you want me to go check on her?”

  “No, you’re finally getting dry.”

  Seconds later, Jessie’s grandma returned. She fished the velvet box out of her apron pocket and placed it in the middle of the table then sat down too. We all stared at it in silence for a minute as if we expected it to do something interesting.

  “What about the microwave?” I asked.

  “The what?” They both answered simultaneously. I surveyed the kitchen and realized they had no microwave.

  “Never mind. It would probably just cause a fire anyway. Microwaves and metal things don’t mix.”

  They both stared at me like I was talking science fiction gibberish, which to them, I guess I was.

  Jessie opened the box and lifted out the locket. She placed it on the table then picked up the tiny satin pillow it had rested on. She turned it over in her palm then glanced at the box. “I wonder if there is a key or something that will open it.”

  “But there isn’t any keyhole,” I said.

  Jessie picked up the box and lifted up the cardboard bottom. There was a small compartment underneath. She reached in and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper that had been folded several times. “It looks like someone has written a note on it.” Her fingers unfolded it carefully so as not to tear the brittle paper. “The writing is sort of scribbly but I think I can make it out.” She squinted at the note. “R. Fill the locket with your true love. The contents will either shatter my heart completely or save it from despair. Z.”

  Jessie looked up at us with round green eyes. “It’s from him. Zedekiah gave Rebecca the locket.”

  I lifted the necklace from the table. “Now I’m dying to know what’s inside. I guess he was waiting for her to choose her true love. Maybe that’s why he hates the locket. He’s afraid to finally know the truth.”

  After several failed attempts with a butter knife, a nail file, soapy water and even Mandy’s hoof pick, we gave up trying to open the necklace.

  Jessie took one last stab at it with one of her needles, but the needle tip slipped over the locket and came dangerously close to her grandma’s face. “I suppose we should give it a rest before one of us loses an eye.” She sighed sweetly and dropped the necklace back into the box.

  “It’s almost as if something magical is holding it together,” I said.

  “Or,” Jessie said, “something that’s not of this world.” She snapped shut the box lid. “Nana, hide it somewhere inside the house. Zedekiah can’t get in here. And it’s not safe for you to be carrying it across the yard.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I’ve kept it out there ever since I knew it had a connection to Zedekiah. A locket like that has some evil surrounding it for sure.”

  “Or the opposite, Nana. It seems to have more to do with love than with evil. I’m sure we can find a place for it inside.”

  I stood and carried my plate to the sink. “I need to get home and change into drier clothes before work.” Jessie stood too. She gave me a look of concern.

  “I’ll be fine, Jess. I’m a fast runner. Besides, maybe he’s out of tricks after this morning.”

  “Perhaps I should walk with you.”

  I took her hand, the heat of it warmed my fingers instantly. We stepped outside onto the porch. “As inviting as it sounds to have you walk with me, I think it’s better if I go alone. Otherwise, I’d worry the rest of the day whether you got home safely or not.”

  “You’d worry the rest of the day?” There was that adorable smile. I had to jump down the porch steps now or risk kissing her.

  “The rest of the day, Jessie.” I let go of her hand but could still feel the sensation of her touching me. I hopped to the bottom step and looked back up at her. “You know, if school’s back in session on Friday and they don’t cancel it, there’s going to be a da
nce. Would you like to go with me?”

  Her smile nearly made me fall off the last step. “I’d like that.” Then sadness fell across her face as she looked down at her feet. “But I can’t dance.”

  “Perfect. Neither can I.” I waved and ran off at full speed hoping to make it down the mountain without trouble.

  At some point it should have occurred to me that running full speed down a steep mountain trail might not give me the control I’d need to come to a quick stop. In fact it hadn’t occurred to me all until a rotted, moss-covered log rolled into my path. There was no way I was going to able to pull on the brakes in time, so I jumped it. I amazed myself by landing on both feet with barely having to slow my pace.

  I ran a few more steps feeling ridiculously proud of myself for not falling prey to one of Zedekiah’s pranks when a large rock rolled into my path. Before my mind could let my feet know to jump, I flipped over it, rolled about ten feet down the path, and stopped against the trunk

  of a tree. Everything hurt and I was pretty sure I’d left several layers of skin somewhere back in the dirt. It took me a second to push to sitting. “Zedekiah, you fucking --” Before I could finish my sentiment, my arms were yanked above my head and I was pulled to my feet. “Ouch, you jackasses, you’ve already bruised my ribs.”

  There was a low laugh followed by the bitter stench of ghost breath. I looked up at the icy fingers holding my wrists. They belonged to Axel who was dangling from a tree branch. I wriggled hard to get out of his grasp, but Butcher slithered across the ground like a snake and grabbed hold of my ankles. Their frigid hold on me was starting to cut into my skin as if I was bound with rope soaked in dry ice. It was so cold, it burned my flesh. I winced at the pain.

  Steamer stood in front of me with his arms crossed.

  “Look, you can tell Zedekiah, he’s not going scare me away from Jessie.”

  Crow appeared from behind the tree. “Hear that, Steamer? The boss wants this boy to stay away from the girl.” They all sent a look to each other like friends with a secret. I could only imagine what other stunts these dirt bags were planning.