by Jet MacLeod
“Disappoint him? What about me?” I asked.
“Ma’am?” he gulped.
“Are you going to disappoint me?” I questioned.
“I don’t see how I could, considering that I have done nothing to offend you, ma’am, that I can think of. I’ve brought your goods. I’ve shared a glass of your fine lemonade, but I really must be going,” he said trying to leave once again.
I cornered him at the door. With my hand on the door and his back flush with it, I had him exactly where I wanted him. He might have been just shy of six feet, but I wasn’t a short girl myself. I leaned up to him. I knew I was being forward but I wanted to burn myself upon him so he couldn’t think of anything else. I kissed him. His lips were soft.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, he managed to get the door open and out of the house. I was still standing there as I saw him bound into that buckboard, acknowledge Jed and ride off. I saw Jed look at me, arch an eyebrow, shake his head and go back to work. I couldn’t hear what he was mumbling, but I am sure that it had something to do with “the new whipping boy.” I smiled. I knew that he knew I had a new conquest.
*****
I rode my horse into town the next day, eager to talk with Loren about the young Mr. Reece Bradley. I had to figure out how I was going to convince Loren to let me have him. I mean, how do you convince the general store’s owner to let his help go, and not say anything about it?
I walked into Loren’s shop with a smirk on my face. I knew that I looked ridiculous in my trousers and shirt, but I didn’t care. I had been out riding the herds that morning and didn’t like changing into something more “appropriate.”
“Hello, Miss Rayne, what can I get you today?” Nancy asked from behind the counter.
“I would like to discuss something with Loren. Is he around?” I asked.
“Out back with Reece. Hold on, Rayne, and I’ll get him for you,” she answered.
I watched Nancy walk out the back door of the store. I decided to glance around a bit. I did need to go to the tailor’s soon and get some new dresses and trousers made for me. I decided to pick up some new Henley style shirts, for when I was riding, and some vests for me, when Loren came in with Nancy.
“What is it that I can do for you, Miss Rayne? I hope that you got everything you needed yesterday. You did, right?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, Loren, that isn’t it. I would like to discuss something with you,” I started and then asked him, “Is there somewhere that we can go and discuss this privately?”
He looked puzzled, but agreed. He pointed to his office in a small back room of the shop. He ushered me in, let me sit down, before he did as well, behind his hand-built plank wood desk. It was as warn as he was. It suited him perfectly.
“What can I do for you?” he asked again.
“Well, I am just going to be forward about it. I would like Reece to come work for me until after the Amarillo Round Up,” I stated.
“Well, I see. That really isn’t up to me, though, Miss Rayne. He works here as a driver for me. He only helps stock to ease my aging bones,” he answered.
“I understand,” I said.
“I mean, it would be up to him. I knew he works at the stables every Tuesday and Friday mucking out the stalls just to pay to keep his horse up. He works hard. What he makes from me, keeps a roof over his head at the saloon, some food in his belly, and the rest he puts in the bank. I don’t think he is planning on staying here long,” he explained.
“So, he is staying at the Shooting Star?” I asked to be sure I had it right.
“Yup, we didn’t have a room to rent, and the inn ain’t done yet for the stop-overs with train and all. He had to stay somewhere. The Johnstons’ didn’t have any extra rooms to let, either. I was sad to see him stay there, but he doesn’t seem to mind,” he added.
I was elated. He wasn’t seeing some whore. That meant I could have him.
“Well, do you know where I can find him?” I asked.
“Well, let me see,” he said, pulling out his pocket watch and checking the time, “It’s around four o’clock. He’s probably at the post office and then he’d go on his afternoon ride. Likes to go up to the pass and stare at the tracks, like he’s waiting on something or someone to come back to him.”
“He always does that?” I asked.
“Couple days a week. I guess he like the alone time,” he stated.
“Well, thanks, I’ll see if Juan’s little brothers want to come help you,” I said, getting up.
“I would like that. I could use the help. Little Carlos or even Stefan would be nice,” he said, “If there too small for you on the ranch, I could use them.”
“I’ll talk to Juan. I am sure he would be happy to get them some work and outta my hair. Thank you, Loren,” I said leaving.
I got my horse and rode down to the post office. His horse wasn’t out front and upon questioning the clerk, I found out that I had just missed him.
“He got on his pinto and headed west, down the tracks, like he does every Wednesday, Miss Rayne. Don’t know what he does out there, but that’s where you’ll find him,” the clerk told me, pointing down the tracks.
“Thanks, Jim,” I called back, mounting my horse again and riding down the tracks towards the setting sun and the unknown outside Junction City, Texas.
Chapter Two
Reece, The tracks outside of Junction City
I was walking with my pinto, Scout, along the tracks. It was habit. I was always looking westward, still hoping to see Tommy riding out of the horizon. It was a wish that I knew that I would never get, but still I had to hope.
The breeze was a calm one, rolling across the prairie. The sight was peaceful but it still hurt my heart to know that I wouldn’t be able to take him home. I could only hope that his brother could forgive me.
I heard her before I saw her. She was riding her horse wide open. At first thought she was just a rider for the mail or following the tracks to Dallas. I didn’t realize it was her until she pulled up short in front of me.
I don’t know how I knew it was her the way she was dressed. The hat hid her incredible green eyes. I think it was the flowing mane of ebony behind her. I had never known anyone with such sable hair and such fierce green eyes that undressed you when they looked you over. She had a power, this one did. She could make a man do her bidding.
The trousers and the cotton shirt were the only things that made me second guess my self.
“Hello, Miss Rayne,” I said as she dismounted and started to walk with me.
“Hello, Reece. Whatcha doing out her?” she asked me.
“Waiting on a ghost,” I said quietly and then asked, “Is there something I can do for you, Miss Rayne that you would come all the way out her to get me? Did something happen to Loren, ma’am?”
“Well, no, Loren is fine. I have a proposition for you, though,” she started.
“I am sorry. I can’t,” I quickly answered.
“You haven’t let me finish,” she stated.
“I know. But, Miss Rayne, I am not someone you would like on your ranch. I am a loner. I don’t work well with others and I like my solitude. That is why I took the job with Loren as his buckboard driver. I am afraid I can’t help,” I lied. I wanted to go. I missed the horses and cattle, but I was trying to get back home, too.
“I see. Well, then, I guess I should go. Good day then, Reece,” she told me.
“Wait,” I started, “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, if I did.”
“You didn’t offend me,” she stated coming closer to me.
God, she smelled good. And, her eyes like emeralds…what was I thinking? I couldn’t do this. She was beautiful, but this was wrong. I couldn’t touch her.
“What is it?” she asked me.
“Just bad memories, Miss Rayne,” I told her, stepping away, “Now what was it that you had to ask me? There was something that you wanted me to do for you?”
“Yes, I’ve seen how you are with horses. I wa
s wondering if you wanted to come and work on the ranch for me. I am going to need some competent help with the rodeo in Dallas in a few weeks. My better hands will be taking some of the cattle down for auction, along with some of the horses. I need some help that I can trust to help me, while they’re gone. I was just wondering if you wanted to help,” she explained.
“I am not sure. There is Mr. Loren and Mr. Matthew I would have to deal with first. I don’t have a lot, just my horse, Scout, and some clothes,” I said.
“I understand. That is all you will need to work for me,” she stated.
“But, my horse, will you let me board it and care for it on the ranch?” I asked.
“Of course, because you would need it for your duties. It would be part of your payment. Plus a fair mount to keep you fed, get you some new clothes, and whatever else you’ll need from your weekly wages,” she explained.
“I am still not sure I am what you are looking for, Miss Rayne,” I told her.
“I am,” she said readjusting her hat, “If you want the job, you know where to find me. I’ll be waiting, Reece, and I don’t like to wait long.”
This woman was persistent.
“I’ll let you know,” I stated.
“You do that,” she added, mounting her horse, “I hope you make the right choice.”
She rode off in the same direction that she came in. I was flabbergasted. She was direct in her approach. I would never have done such a thing back in Meridian, but then again, this wasn’t Meridian and I was a long way from Mississippi.
I don’t know what I was thinking, but then I have to admit to myself that when she is around me that it becomes hard to think clearly. That woman had a way about her and damn anyone that got in her way. She was beautiful. I could only wonder what she was doing to me. She made me think of the things that I shouldn’t, but I kind of liked it. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I knew that I would have to do something for my own sanity.
*****
“Reecey, darling, come on now, Mr. Palmer asked you a question,” my father said.
“I am sorry, Dadda,” I told him and then asked Mr. Palmer to repeat his question.
“I asked Miss Reecey, if you would like to go to Texas with me, as my wife,” he said.
I saw my father’s eyes light up. Texas was a good ways away from Mississippi, but it was good farm country. I wanted to get out of here at any cost. I didn’t care what if took. I just was sick of “high society” here.
“I would be delighted, Mr. Palmer, if my father allows it,” I answered dutifully.
To be honest, Palmer was the only man who courted me. My father was getting old and feared that his head strong daughter would never find a man to wed. He jumped at the chance with Palmer and we both knew it. Palmer was a retired Union Army Officer and was going to make his due in Texas. My father saw it as an opportunity to make sure that I would be okay. He hated to admit it, but his health had been failing since Mother passed.
Mr. Palmer and my father continued discussions of the wedding and the like well into the night. I tired of such things easily and excused myself to the stables to go check on my stallion, Tornado.
I was a happy as a child. No worries until after the war. But, then my father made sure that I would be taken care of in case anything should ever have happened to him.
*****
I shook my head from the memories. I wasn’t the same person I was back then. I was grown now. I could think for myself and all I wanted was to make enough money to pay for Scout’s and my passage back to Amarillo and my ranch.
I could hear the train coming in and decided that it was time to get back to town. I mounted Scout and started at a slow trot back to Junction City. It was going to be a long night and there was a hint of much needed rain on the eastern horizon.
As I made my way back into town, I saw her horse tied up outside of Mrs. Del Mar’s house. They were on the front porch talking. I could see young Stefan and Carlos looking at her. They seemed excited. They all waved to me as I rode passed. I smiled and tipped my hat to them.
I rode up to the hitching post at the Shooting Star, dismounted and hitched Scout up. I looked back at Rayne standing there in those clothes talking to Mrs. Del Mar. I shook my head. That woman had gotten to me like no ever could. I could only wonder what it meant, but I didn’t have the courage to find out.
I walked in the saloon to be greeted by Samuel Gooding, the bartender and owner. He knew that if push came to shove, that I would have his back or the girls’ backs. He smiled and put a clean shot glass on the bar.
“Now, Reece, what would Miss Whittacre want with you?” he suggested pouring me a shot of whiskey.
“Why do you ask?” I questioned him smugly.
“She’s been riding ‘round asking about you all day. She seemed mighty glad when Loren told her you were only staying here because you couldn’t get a room anywhere’s else. So I ask again, what does that little filly want with you?” Sam said, refilling the shot.
“She wants me to go work for her on the ranch,” I explained.
“Is that all?” he inquired, laughing.
I could only look at him. I knew what he was thinking but I didn’t want to think about it. I tapped the bar again and he poured me another shot. I sucked it down. That one burned liked liquid courage, but it wasn’t completely working, yet.
I stumbled away from the bar and up the stairs to my room.
Once inside, I stripped out my vest. I put my hat on the small bureau that was afforded to me. I poured some water into the basin and washed my face and hands. I was tired. The memories took their toll on my mind today.
I decided that it was time for bed. I wasn’t needed until sun up at Loren’s. I wasn’t sure what I going to do about Miss Rayne. She had a tempting offer, but I wasn’t sure that it was the right thing for me to do.
She awoke things in me. She stirred my soul with the hint of wildness in her eyes. I would only get hurt if I did go work for her. I could never be whatever it was that she wanted me to be. I was a woman in man’s clothes. She would never understand.
I lay back on the bed, ran a hand through my hair and sighed. I was lost and delirious. I couldn’t keep this up too much longer. I was trying to be like all the gentlemen that had once graced my door back in Mississippi and for some reason that made me a wanted man in Texas. Could the cowboys really be this uncivilized that they couldn’t treat a woman properly? I was unsure of that answer and if frightened me.
*****
I lay there on the bed in the saloon in the early morning light wondering if I should take up Rayne on her offer. It would mean more money and I could be back in Amarillo sooner. I only had a few dollars to my name now as it was. Working on the ranch, I could earn a share of the profits from a rodeo or round up. It would be just enough to get home.
I pulled my small thin book of Shakespeare’s Sonnets out or my saddle bags that were astride my saddle on the only chair in my room. I sat back on the bed and began to thumb through it looking for the ones that I loved the most. These were the only things I had left of my father and of Mississippi now.
Sometimes when I read them, I feel like I am back in Meridian with my Dadda. I could hear him reading them to me. His voice booming with power and emotion. I flipped through it to my favorite one. It was number eighteen.
I stood in my most dramatic pose and began to speak the words aloud:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often in his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By chance, or by nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But they eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Not shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.[1]”
The words still moved me. But, now instead of thinking of my husband when I read those words, a strange thing happened. I thought about Miss Rayne. I thought about the beauty that her raven hair and emerald eyes possessed. I thought about her perfect smile and the way her mouth curled in that carnal smirk that she gave me right before she kissed me.
Was it wrong of me to want to kiss her again? Could I think such a thing? I looked into the small mirror that I was afforded in my room. I looked at my visage staring back at me and I saw a stranger.
“What are you doing, Reece?” I asked myself.
I leaned back and washed my face, again in the basin. I ran a hand through my hair. I still missed the long locks that I had shorn pretty badly with the knife that Tommy had been carrying.
I didn’t want to think about that, not now. It was bad enough that I dreamt about it at night. I didn’t want to start thinking about it in the middle of the day. It wasn’t a picture that I wanted to carry around in my head. I looked back in the mirror and decided I needed another drink.
*****
“Pour me another one, Sam,” I said, dropping the shot glass back on to the bar.
“I think you’ve had enough, kid,” he told me.
“Just one more, and then I am going to bed, Sam, I promise,” I told him.
“One,” he said, pouring it.
I tossed a coin in payment to him, which he caught mid-air. He smiled at me. He, then, grabbed a rag and started to wipe down the bar. I guess he was amused by me. He never said much to me in the time that I had been staying at the Shooting Star, but when he did, he usually had a reason. He was still smiling when I slammed the empty shot glass down on the bar.
“One shot of courage, huh, kid?” he asked.
