Chapter 7 #3
Releasing Tumbleweed from the lead rope, she explores the area with Frostbite. I ask Nina, “So what do you think of that garden and pen area?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “This whole place is an oddity. People living underground and them putting a cage around their gardens and animals, I think it has something to do with whatever power I keep sensing beneath the earth. They’re hiding something, and we can’t decide until we know what it is.”
I nod, inhaling a deep breath. The tall grass out in the prairie covers the land surrounding the town. It’s just tall grass and sky for miles. “It’s not just secrets here in town we gotta figure out, but whatever’s out there too.”
“Yeah,” she says with a somber tone. “I’m not sure I want to know what’s out there.”
Garrett’s shouting something, drawing my attention to where he and Davie are trying to corner that mare. I tell Nina, “I’ll be right back.”
I rest my arms up on the top rail of the corral fence and watch the two men. When they finally get the bridle over its head, they quickly back off, letting the horse get used to the head equipment.
“You breaking that horse in?” I ask.
Garrett tells Davie something I can’t hear before walking over to me. The corner of his mouth curls up into a welcoming smile, stirring a pleasant warmth in my belly.
“Nah. She’s broken already, just not keen on her new home yet.”
“Where’d she come from?” Curiosity has me wondering not only about the horse, but more about who this man is.
He reaches the fence and comes right up to it, propping an elbow mere inches from where my arms rest. “Let’s just say I won her in a poker game.”
“Sheriff, I swear Maureen said you weren’t a gambling man.”
He briefly looks away before softly chuckling and saying, “There’s a lot about me, ma’am, you don’t know.”
“I reckon you’re right. But I’d like for us to be friends, as long as you keep that cheeky tongue in check.”
This has him laughing. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try, ma’am.”
Lowering my arms from the railing, I say, “First, you don’t have to call me ‘ma’am.’ I’d actually prefer if you don’t. It makes me sound old, and though I’m not a youth, I don’t feel like a ma’am.”
“My apologies. I thought I’d overheard you saying you were married last night, during supper.”
Now it’s my turn to smile big. “Eavesdrop much?” I ask.
He takes off his sunrider hat and runs a hand through his pale brown hair. “No, ma’am—sorry, no, I happened to be in the kitchen.”
“Ah, well.” My gaze drifts from him to the black mare. “I was married. But he was taken from me.” After a brief silence, I looked at him again. “Now, it’s me and my sister tending to the farm.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. Though it was four years ago. And fairly early in our marriage.” Then I quickly add, as if my words could be misinterpreted, “That doesn’t mean we didn’t love one another.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t dare to assume you weren’t. Can I ask what happened?” He slipped his hat back onto his head, the wide brim casting a shadow over the top part of his face.
Shaking off the momentary lapse of embarrassment, I explain, “I don’t know what happened.
I’d been visiting my parents, who live about an hour south of our farm, and when I came back…
well, there was blood and the local sheriff explained Levi had been killed in a random act of violence.
Wrong place at the wrong time, kind of situation.
They buried my husband out in the field, and so all I’d left of him was his gravestone. ”
“That’s horrible. No one should have to come home to that kind of news.”
“No. They shouldn’t.”
“So, what would you like me to call you?” he asks, his kind smile returning.
“Oh, I guess I’d forgotten to introduce myself to you last night.
” I hold out a hand, and he takes it, shaking it gently.
He doesn’t shy away from a firm grip, giving me the same respect I assume as if he were to shake a man’s hand.
Or maybe he just wants to hold my hand and not let go.
Either way, the contact has my stomach fluttering again.
“Rebecca Rose Ellington. But everyone calls me Bex.”
“Well, then I shall call you Bex too. Is Ellington your maiden name or married name?”
“So many questions. Am I under investigation for something, Sheriff?”
This makes him laugh. “Now look who’s being cheeky. And no.” His voice gets deeper, and he explains, “I’m hoping to get to know you better, that’s all. You and your sister.” He steps back and looks over to where Nina is brushing Frostbite. “Especially if you’re planning on moving to town.”
“Oh, we haven’t made any final decisions regarding moving out here, not yet.”
His smile falters, and then he locks his gaze onto mine.
“Good. Don’t make any hasty decisions without knowing exactly what you’re getting yourselves into.
Even if that means staying an extra few days.
Just please know what you’re getting into before committing.
” He swallows, and the bulge in his throat bobs.
“It may seem like a simple life out here, but it ain’t.
There’s nothing easy about living out here in Graveyard Territory. ”
There’s a heavy weight to his advice, and I don’t ignore it. He’s being honest without divulging whatever it is he fears.
“They’re ready for you, Garrett!” Davie calls from the threshold of the open barndoors.
Garrett inhales a deep breath, and then says, “You should say goodbye to your sister. We won’t be back until tomorrow.”
I nod and push off the fence and make my way over to Nina.
Let’s hope we don’t run into any of these evil dangers Maureen and Garrett keep insisting will get us if we go outside after dark.
And if we do, will I be able to call on my dustslinging powers to fight?
Or will I be one of those poor souls who ends up dead out in Graveyard Territory, another body for the earth to claim.
I think we’re instinctively born to fight for our lives.
The fear most people have is losing or dying because of inadequate strength or an inability to defend themselves. I know I do. But what if I had strength and power, like Maureen said? And all I need is to learn how to wield it and how to fight back. Would that be enough for me to embrace this life?
I think it just might be.