[Jennifer Cloud 01.0] The Shoes Come First

by Janet Leigh

“I didn’t exactly ask for this to happen to me.” I sighed. “Can I get rid of it?”

  “Cripes.” Mr. Sexy pinched the bridge of his nose like he had a migraine headache coming on. “This has started off bad. We need to find a safe place to regroup, and I can try to help you understand.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Gertie said.

  “Well, an introduction might be a start,” I said, hands on my hips.

  “Oh right, I guess we didnae get aroond to discussing names before,” Mr. Sexy replied, with the corners of his mouth turning up in a sly smile.

  “Caiyan McGregor.” He held his hand out to me.

  OK, handshake, right. “No, I guess we ‘didnae get around to it before,’” I said mockingly. “I’m Jennifer Cloud, and this is my cousin Gertrude.”

  “Call me Gertie.” She shook his hand. “So, it’s ‘Cayenne,’ like the smokin’ hot pepper?” Gertie asked.

  A cocky grin spread across Caiyan’s face. “Well, it is spelled a little different, love, but if the shoe fits…”

  Geesh, what a conceited piece of work, I thought while mentally smacking myself over the head for allowing him to be my first sexual encounter.

  As we stood staring at each other, wondering what to do next, I felt a strange warm sensation around my neck. I reached up to touch my necklace, but it was gone.

  “Oh no! I lost my necklace,” I said, looking around the ground for it.

  “You cannae lose it,” Caiyan said, worry creases appearing between his eyebrows. “It disappeared from your neck because a brigand has taken it from one that belongs to you.”

  “It disappeared?” I asked. “What do you mean one that belongs to me?”

  “The necklace was taken from one of your ancestors. This is worse than I thought,” he said with a huff.

  “Worse than what?” Gertie asked.

  “Your necklace is a key. It is the reason ye are able to travel back in time.”

  “A key to what?” I asked.

  “The key to your vessel. You must have it in order to travel in your, um…outhouse.” Caiyan turned and looked down the hill at the small town.

  “Where are we?” I asked, and Gertie leaned in to hear.

  “It’s a secret for now.” He smirked, motioning for us to follow him. “We need to get somewhere safe, and then I will explain everything to you. Follow me.”

  We walked down the backside of the hill, and damn if there wasn’t a horse tied to a tree. What was up with this man and horses? It looked like Caiyan had been camping at the base of the hill. He picked up a knapsack and untied the horse, but instead of climbing aboard, he led the animal by the reins, and we walked. I couldn’t help but wonder what or whom we needed to be safe from. Looking around, I saw nothing but rocks and trees. Maybe we were in Indian times, and he was hiding from an attack. I didn’t think getting scalped would be a happy ending. I needed my key and some answers. This man had a lot of nerve being mad because I didn’t know about my gift. I couldn’t help it if my family had secrets they’d forgotten to share. I caught up with him, leaving Gertie trailing behind me.

  “What happened to the accent ye had the last time I met ye?” he asked me.

  “I guess we all have secrets, yeah?” I caught a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  Down about a quarter mile, we passed a small wooden sign that read, “Welcome to Presidio, Texas.” I racked my brain to recall Texas geography. Where was Presidio?

  Gertie piped up. “Some secret—the sign reads Presidio. Are we down by the Mexican border?”

  “Aye,” he grumbled. “We are in 1915.”

  Since Gertie was a history major, I imagined the wheels started turning inside her head.

  “Isn’t there some kind of trouble between Mexico and the United States in 1915?” she asked, cocking her head to the side like she was reading off an imaginary chalkboard. “I think I remember something about raids on the American people.” She put her hands on her hips. “Isn’t that right?”

  Caiyan stopped walking and looked her straight in the eye. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  Gertie paused her inquiry for the moment, and we continued walking.

  As we walked, Caiyan explained my key was specific to my vessel. I needed it to make my vessel take me back in time. Anyone who had the gift could use my key to drive my vessel. That was why we needed to keep the keys concealed. They would also need to identify my vessel to be able to summon it.

  I was about to ask for more information about what happened to my key when I found myself entering a town that looked like every western movie I had ever seen. Dust kicked up around our feet as we ambled down the dirt road into the center of town. A few people were milling about and turned to glance at the newcomers. Some tipped their hats to say hello, then they proceeded on with their business. Buildings lined either side of the makeshift street. Most of the buildings were single story and contsructed of wood or stone. Occasionally there were taller buildings, like the saloon. I was able to identify this building not from watching Clint Eastwood movies, but because the sign above the door read “Saloon.” There was a general store in the middle of town. There were two men sitting on a bench outside the store. Above there head was a metal sign that advertised block ice for five cents.

  Caiyan led his horse up to a big trough in front of the store. The men gave admiring nods at Caiyan’s horse, as if he were a sports car. Caiyan tied him to a post, then turned to us and said, “Wait here; dinnae talk to anyone.”

  He went in, leaving Gertie and me hanging around the horse parking lot. There was an iron pump at the end of the trough. The big brown stallion looked at me like, “Hey, chick, are you gonna give me a drink or what?” I gave the handle a pump, and water began streaming out of the pipe and into the trough. I swear the horse winked at me and began to drink.

  “Amazing, how’d ya do that?” Gertie asked.

  “I just lifted the handle, and the water came out.”

  “Not that, how did you get the pants off that gorgeous hunk of man without even knowing his name?” Gertie said with a smirk.

  “I didn’t get his pants off,” I stammered.

  “Oh, yes you did. I know that look. Don’t even try to deny it. That’s the same look the heifers get when they return from the bull’s pen, a little shameful but completely satisfied.” She wagged a finger at me. “It’s so not like you at all, but I’m impressed.”

  “Actually, it was a kilt. OK, I admit it. When I was eighteen years old, I had my first real journey back in time. I didn’t know what was happening. Jake had just kissed me for the first time, and I ended up sitting in the outhouse. I had worn the necklace Aint Elma left me to my senior prom. The necklace started glowing. The next thing I knew, I was in Scotland, ‘the year of our Lord 1568,’” I said, mocking the accent and adding a few air quotes. “Caiyan was knocking some guy in the head with a big rock, and then there was the whole queen thing.”

  “He was knocking out gay people?” she asked, popping her gum.

  “No, queen, like all hail the queen and queen mother, you know?” Gertie nodded her head in agreement. Her eyes were wide with excitement.

  “Fifteen sixty-eight is the year Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Loch Leven. Do you think you saw her?”

  I did a shoulder shrug. Gertie bounced up and down with excitement. Placing her hand over her chest as if the idea of seeing a queen meant the world to her, she said, “Do you realize what important events we could see?” She grabbed my arm. “Jen, think of the people we could meet!”

  I thought about this for a moment. I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk my life to see someone I could look up on the Internet. I had already gone back in time twice, and both times I felt dazed and confused, not to mention that I got the breath knocked out of me. The horse swished his tail and continued to slurp up the water. Gertie reached up, wiping a bead of sweat that had trickled down the side of her face, and blew an enormous bubble.

  “Hey, where did you get t
he gum?”

  “I had gum in my mouth when we left. Back on subject,” Gertie directed. “So, when did you hook up with Caiyan?”

  “It started to rain, and I got really cold. We found a barn, and one thing led to another, then he was gone.”

  “You mean like poof?”

  “No, I mean like I fell asleep in the hay and he left me before I woke up.”

  “The cad.”

  “Exactly.”

  “How was it?”

  I was saved, because Caiyan appeared carrying a couple of bedrolls and a knapsack full of camping stuff. He told us there was no room at the inn, but we could camp about a mile outside town.

  “Camp? Oh my God! I don’t camp.” I had a vision of the last time I had gone camping. My Girl Scout troop had gone to the Ozarks, and I set my hair on fire trying to cook a s’more.

  Caiyan stared at me, and for the first time I realized his eyes were green—not just any green but a deep emerald green that made my heart do a backflip.

  “Can’t we just get back in our vessel thingy and go home tonight?” I asked helplessly.

  “Not without your key. I’ll explain but not here. Let’s go, I need to see a man aboot a horse.”

  Remarkably Gertie had stayed quiet during this squabble, and as I glanced at her, she was grinning. I decided I knew how Mary and Joseph must have felt. Tonight we wouldn’t even get the barn. Dang.

  At the edge of town, there was a small stable in which a blacksmith was pounding on a piece of metal. He looked up as we entered his work area.

  “Hey there, what can I do for ya?” he said as he laid his mallet to the side.

  “Howdy. We need to purchase a horse,” Caiyan answered in a near-perfect Texas accent.

  “I think the Hobbses’ farm might have a few mares for sale. You from outta town?” He looked at us suspiciously.

  “Yes,” Caiyan said.

  “They live down at the end of the road there.” He pointed toward the road. “I have shoed many of their horses. Take better care of the horses than the kids.” We thanked the blacksmith and walked down the road with Caiyan leading the way.

  Chapter 8

  The term “down at the end of the road” was putting it lightly in my opinion. We had already walked at least a mile with no conversation and no sign of a house. Caiyan’s horse decided he needed to relieve himself, and Gertie and I were hopping over giant mounds of horse turds.

  “How does one horse poop so much?” Gertie asked.

  “Good grass, I guess,” I replied, giving Gertie a palms up.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, moving up front to walk with Caiyan.

  “Well, since there are now three of us, I need to get another horse.” This was again spoken in perfect Texan.

  “What happened to the Scottish accent?” I questioned.

  “I’m practicing. If you want to blend in, it is imperative you speak like the natives or as close as possible.” He shrugged. “I assumed you knew this based on your stellar performance last time we met.”

  I cringed. “So are you really from Scotland?”

  “Aye, lassie. Glasgow.”

  “Are you from the past?” Gertie inquired from behind us.

  “No. We are from the same time.”

  “What a relief!” Gertie responded. “I would have hated for Jen to shack up with a really old dude.”

  I stopped in my tracks.

  “Oops,” Gertie said.

  Caiyan lifted an eyebrow and eyed me with slight curiosity but proceeded on. We continued walking, leaving the town behind us.

  “Why am I dressed like Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, but you get to be Bonnie and Clyde?” Gertie complained.

  “The vessel determines your state of dress,” Caiyan said.

  “Well, I think I would have been a better Bonnie; Jennifer is all about style, and she wouldn’t be caught dead in those boots.”

  She was right; so far the “vessel” hadn’t a clue about my shoe preference. The first time it had given me ugly loafers and now, dull, brown, round-toed cowboy boots with fringe down the sides. I envisioned buying my feet a new pair of Christian Louboutin pumps when I returned. The reality was it would use up my entire savings, but it was a nice daydream.

  The road veered to the right, but Caiyan took a shortcut through the trees. The path narrowed and forced us into a single-file line. There was barely enough room for the horse to maneuver. I stayed in the front so I could speak to Caiyan. The horse followed, and Gertie brought up the rear.

  “How long have you been here?” I asked Caiyan.

  “I arrived yesterday.”

  “Where did you get your horse, or did you ride him back in time?” I asked sarcastically.

  “I won him in a card game last night while I was scouting for brigand,” Caiyan said, stroking the handsome beast on the neck.

  “What’s his name?” I asked.

  “Dan.”

  “What kind of horse name is that?” Gertie asked. “He should have a name like Trigger or Silver.”

  I swear that horse lifted his tail, let out a big fart, and smiled.

  “I think he heard you,” Caiyan replied with a grin.

  The Hobbses’ farmhouse was set back from the road. It was painted white and had a small porch. On the left was a pasture that housed a big longhorn steer chewing on some grass. He was a brownish-orange color and had long horns that curved into sharp points. As we walked past, he raised his head and looked at us like he was trying to decide what the heck we were doing here. I was trying to decide the same thing.

  “You are going to be a famous mascot one day,” I said to the steer. “Your head will be plastered all over our state.” The longhorn huffed and blew snot out his nose, then proceeded with his chewing. Caiyan looked at me and shook his head.

  To the right of the house and set back catty-corner was a big red barn. A couple of young boys were shoveling hay into a wagon. They spied us walking up the dirt road. One of them came forward, pitchfork in hand.

  “Can I help you with somethin’?” he asked.

  “We are in need of another horse. Is your father here?” Caiyan asked.

  “Do ya hear that, Junior?” he said to the other boy, who was younger but bore a strong resemblance to the older boy.

  “Yep, I heard it,” Junior said with a big wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek. He spit a big brown glob out of his mouth, and it landed next to my boot.

  “Eeeyeew,” I said, making a disgusted face and taking a step away from the boy.

  “Well,” said the first boy, “if you wants a horse, you gotta talk to Mamma, ‘cause the only father we gots around these parts is the one at the church. Junior, go tell Mamma we gots comp’ny.”

  Junior headed off toward the house, and the teenager stood eyeing us like we were from child protective services. He was about Gertie’s height, gangly but solid from all the manual labor I imagined he did on the farm. He had hair the color of straw that poked out from under his cowboy hat and a sprinkle of freckles across his nose. His teeth went every which way, and he wore a pair of overalls that had a hole in one knee.

  A few minutes passed, and we heard the screen door slam. Out came a woman with Junior at her heels. She was short and stout. Her housedress had small flowers all over it, and she carried a tin can in the crook of her arm. Behind her trailed three redheaded little girls. The oldest girl looked to be about ten, and she was carrying a toddler in a cloth diaper.

  “I’m Mattie Hobbs.” She introduced herself and spat into her tin can. One of the youngest girls was hanging on to her leg. “What can I do fer you folks?” she asked with a big wad of chew in her jowl. At least this explained where Junior learned to spit.

  “The blacksmith in town told us you might have a horse for sale,” Caiyan said.

  “I’ve got a few I might part with. How much you got to spend?” she asked.

  “We haven’t any money, but we are willing to trade.”

  “No m
oney?” the first boy said. “That’s horseshit.”

  “Clyde, you watch yer mouth, ya hear me, or I’ll give you something to think about,” Mamma Hobbs ordered. “Whatcha got to trade?”

  “I have a really nice pocket watch, real gold,” Caiyan said, producing the watch.

  Mrs. Hobbs took the watch and turned it over in her chubby hand.

  “Clyde, go get that gray mare for the man.”

  Clyde gave a quick, snaggletoothed grin and set off to get the horse. I had that queasy feeling in my stomach I get when something’s not quite right.

  “Where you folks from?” Mrs. Hobbs asked.

  “Up north,” said Caiyan.

  “Mhm,” she said. “We sure are getting lots of you visitors from up north. Just the other day a man came and bought three of my best horses. Said he was from up north, but he talked differ’nt than you.”

  “What did he look like?” Caiyan asked.

  “Oh, ‘bout yer height, dark hair, nice fella. Gave all the kids candy sticks. He was a smooth talker, yes sirree. I don’t norm’ly trust those kinda men, seein’ as I had one and he was good fer nothin’ but knockin’ me up with younguns and gettin’ hisself killed.”

  Clyde came around with a big gray mare. When she saw Dan, she flared her nostrils and bared her teeth. Her coat was a pearl gray, but her flank was a deeper gray color, with white spots sprinkled across her buttocks and down her legs.

  “This here’s Gypsy. She don’t like you to get on her, but once you’re there, she don’t mind.”

  Caiyan eyed the horse, then brought Gertie and me into a huddle.

  “I know this is a dumb question, because I assume you would have told me before we walked all the way here, but can you ride a horse?” Caiyan asked Gertie.

  “Of course we can,” Gertie said matter-of-factly. “We’re Texas girls.” She gave me a thumbs-up. I kept my mouth shut because Caiyan had already seen my expertise on a horse.

  Caiyan told Mattie Hobbs the sale was a go, and the boys brought Gypsy over to Gertie. She looked up at the enormous horse, hiked up her dress, and reached for the reins.

  “Now, you hold still until I get up there,” she commanded the horse. Gertie started to swing her leg up, and the horse did a slight two-step, swung her head around, and gave Gert a little nip on the rear.