Page 10

Sonny was on the phone, opening an account with the same feed store Emmit used to use, and putting in an order for bags of oats, and dry wood shavings for stall bedding. As soon as the call ended, he checked it off on his list of things to do. He’d already called the man Emmit ordered round bales and square bales from to put in an order when they began baling, and was looking up veterinarians in the area so he’d know who to call in an emergency, when his phone signaled a text.

It was Maggie! He read the message, and quickly replied.

I have food. All I want is you.

Moments later, he got his answer.

See you in a couple of hours or so.

After that, he forgot about vets, and horse feed and coyotes and put his breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, ran back to his bedroom to make the bed and then grabbed a dust mop and ran it over the floor in the front half of the house. He was wishing for some flowers to put into a vase to pretty up the place, when he realized Magnolia was the only flower needed to make his world perfect.

He’d just hung the dust mop back on the wall in the utility room when everything faded around him, and he was back in Bluejacket Hollow, standing on the creekbank closest to Charlie’s house, watching Julia wading in the water. He could see a man watching her from a distance, and it wasn’t anyone he knew.

He was already reaching for his phone before the vision began to fade. His heart was pounding as he pulled up Charlie’s number and called. It rang once, then twice, before he heard his brother’s voice.

“Hey, Sonny, how’s it going?” Charlie said.

“Where’s Julia?” Sonny asked.

Charlie’s heart skipped. “At home today. Some kind of teacher’s workshop. Why?”

“I had a vision. She’s wading water in the creek below your house, and there’s a man watching her from a distance. I don’t know if that’s happening now, or in the future, but tell Frannie to call her home. For me. Then let me know if she’s okay.”

“Oh God,” Charlie said. “There’s an escaped inmate in the area.”

The line went dead.

Sonny went numb—scared sick for his little niece. “The ancestors will keep her safe,” he whispered, and then sat down. Unable to focus on anything until he heard from Charlie again.

***

Charlie yelled at his boss as he was running out the door. “Family emergency. Gotta go,” and was calling Frances as he jumped in the truck and drove away. But to his horror, she didn’t answer. He wasn’t about to leave a message, so he disconnected, and the moment he slowed down to take a turn, he called her again. When she answered on the first ring, he breathed a quick sigh of relief.

“Hey honey.”

“Frannie, where’s Julia?”

“Playing outside. Why?”

“Can you see her?” he asked, as he took off out of the parking lot.

“Not this second. I’m in the laundry. I see I missed your first call. The dryer was making too much noise. What’s wrong?”

“Go look, baby, go look. And if you can’t see her, start calling her home. Hurry. Do it now!”

Frannie dropped the load of wet laundry back into the drum and stepped outside. Julia was nowhere in sight.

“I don’t see her. You’re scaring me, Charlie. What’s wrong?”

Charlie’s voice was shaking. “Sonny just called. He had a vision of Julia wading in the creek and a stranger watching her from the woods.”

Francine gasped. “Oh my God…the escaped prisoner!” she cried, and then started running toward the creek, screaming Julia’s name as she went. As she passed the woodpile, she grabbed the hatchet they used for chopping kindling, and kept on going.

Charlie could hear the fear in her voice, as he flew through town.

***

Frannie couldn’t see her daughter anywhere, but she kept shouting for her as she ran. She could feel the sun on the back of her head, and the thunder of her heartbeat as she ran. She had a death grip on the hatchet, and wasn’t afraid to use it.

Just as she reached the tree line above the creek, she heard a scream. It was Julia! She stumbled, then caught herself from falling and started shouting, “I’m coming, baby! Mama’s coming!”

Fear lent speed to her stride, and within moments, she was in the trees and running down the bank. She got a glimpse of Julia’s little red sandals in the grass, and then heard her screaming for help.

One quick glance downstream and she saw Julia running in the water, with a full-grown man in pursuit. She let out a scream of pure rage and raced down the side of the creekbank after them.

The man saw her from the corner of his eye, running parallel with him at the creek bank with a hatchet in her hand. Startled by her sudden appearance, he pivoted in the water and started toward the far bank, thinking she would go after her kid, and he could get away.

But he was wrong. The moment he turned his back to her, she leaped from the bank, hit him in the back with her full body weight, and took him down in the water.

***

Charlie drove through the yard without stopping, driving all the way across the pasture until he reached the trees, then got out on the run. He could hear screaming in the distance as he took off running. Without them, his life meant nothing.

He knew it was Julia who was screaming, but he couldn’t hear Frannie’s voice at all, and Julia’s voice was fading. Just as he reached the creek bank, he looked to his right and saw his wife running parallel with the man in the water, and his little girl still flying downstream.

Then as Charlie bolted forward, the man ceased his pursuit of Julia and turned to get to the other side of the creek. He was still running when he saw his wife leap off the creekbank and take the man down like a linebacker.

He didn’t know she had the kindling hatchet until they both came up for air, but the moment Francine found her footing, she swung the flat side of that hatchet against the man’s head like a baseball bat, dropping him back into the water, and he didn’t get up.

Frannie staggered from the force of the blow that she’d swung, then reached down and grabbed him by the collar and began trying to drag him out of the creek, when all of a sudden, Charlie was there.

She staggered from the release of his body weight as Charlie yanked the man up by his arm and flung him onto the creekbank like he weighed nothing, then shouted down the creek, “Julia! Julia! You’re safe, baby! You’re safe.”

The little girl heard her daddy’s voice, then stopped and turned just as Charlie took his wife in his arms, hugging her and kissing her, and running his hands up and down her arms, checking for wounds.

“My God, Frannie, you ran him down and saved our girl. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, no, get our baby. Get our baby,” she kept saying.

He looked back downstream. Julia was standing in the water, too terrified to move.

“We need to call the police,” he said.

“I dropped my phone somewhere on the bank.”

Charlie handed her his phone. “This is Creek Nation land. Call the Lighthorse Police,” he said, and took off downstream, while Frances climbed out of the water to make the call.

Charlie was focusing on the fact that his child was still alive, but terrified of what might have happened to her before they found her, and when he reached down to pick her up, she was shaking. Her skinny little legs were trembling. Her silky black hair was dripping wet, and her clothes were soaked and plastered to her body. He took off his shirt and wrapped her up in it, then picked her up like a baby, and when he did, she grabbed hold of the long braid in his hair like it was a life raft.

“I’ve got you, baby girl. Daddy’s got you,” he said, and carried her all the way back up the creek to where Frannie was waiting.

Francine had taken a seat beneath a tree with the hatchet across her lap. She knew that the unconscious man at her feet was still breathing steady. She hadn’t drawn blood, so he wasn’t in danger of bleeding to death, but she was afraid he would wake up.

Then Charlie came out of the creek and climbed the bank to where she was sitting. He put Julia in her lap and then dragged the unconscious man off to the side, took off his own belt, and used it to bind the man’s hands behind his back as they waited for the police to arrive.

The moment Charlie laid Julia in her lap, Frannie let go of the hatchet and cradled her daughter to her. There were questions she had to ask, and like Charlie, she was fearful of the answers. Her hands were gentle as she pulled back the shirt Charlie had wrapped her in, to look for wounds.

“Julia, did he hurt you? Did he touch you?” she asked.

Julia was still shaking, but the fear was gone. Mama and Daddy saved her.

“No, Mama, but he tore my shirt when he grabbed at me. I remembered ‘stranger danger’ and ran.”

“Thank God,” she whispered, then hugged her close. “You are so smart, and so brave. Mama and Daddy are so proud of you.”

Charlie sat down beside them, slid his arms around his wife and child, and knew if it hadn’t been for Sonny’s warning, this would have had a whole other ending.

“Did you get in touch with the Lighthorse Police?” he asked.

Frannie nodded. Tears were running down her face when she handed him his phone. “They should be here soon. You call Sonny now. You tell him that he just saved our baby’s life.”

***

Sonny was watching the clock, marking the timeline in his mind of how long it would take to get to the creek if they were running, and what they might find after they got there, and coming to terms with a scenario he didn’t want to consider. The passing minutes felt like hours, then finally, his phone rang. When he saw his brother’s name come up on caller ID, he answered.

“Tell me,” Sonny said.

Charlie took a deep breath. “She’s safe, and you were right. The escapee was chasing Julia through the creek when Frannie got there. You should have seen her, Sonny. She ran him down, tackled him in the water, then knocked him out with the flat side of a hatchet. Our ancestors would be proud. Julia only has a torn shirt. When he grabbed at her, all he got hold of was the sleeve. She tore out of his grasp and took off down the creek with him chasing her through the water. He’s still unconscious and tied up, and both my girls are in my arms. Lighthorse Police are on the way. We are so grateful. Your vision saved our baby’s life. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Just as you saved mine when you took me into your family. Love you all. Tell Julia I keep her ‘piece of sky’ rock on the table by my bed. It’s the last thing I see before I close my eyes, and the first thing I see each morning when I wake. We share blood, and distance doesn’t change that,” Sonny said. “Thank you for letting me know.”

Charlie glanced up. “Lighthorse are here. Gotta go.”

“Julia’s going to have nightmares. Ask Auntie for healing,” Sonny said.

“On it,” Charlie said, and the call ended.

Sonny sat within the silence of the house with his brother’s voice still echoing in his ears. Your vision saved our baby’s life.

He got up and walked out of the house into the sunshine and glanced up the driveway. He didn’t fully understand the visions. He couldn’t turn them on or off. They just happened when they happened. Maggie could appear at any time, and he needed to pull it together before she arrived.

He had never told anyone about what had happened to him when he woke up in ICU to the ghostly figure of a medicine man dressed in ancient buckskin standing at the foot of his bed. The old man waved an eagle feather through the sage smoking in his hand, then waved it over the bandages on Sonny’s chest and started speaking in their native tongue while Sonny watched. He could hear the drums and the singers, but he couldn’t see them.

He tried to stay awake, but he was sliding back into the sleep shadows and thought he was dreaming. Then, between one blink and another, the medicine man was gone, and all he could remember was something about being brought back to life with gifts he must not waste.

It wasn’t until after he’d healed and was living with Charlie and Frannie that he began having lucid dreams and realized he was spirit-walking, and participating in the dreams he was having.

After that, the dreams began happening in the daytime when he was fully awake. What he didn’t know for sure was whether what he was seeing was something from the past, something that was happening at that moment, or would happen in the future. But today, what he’d seen had saved his niece’s life, and he felt satisfied that he was following the path he’d been given.

He thought of all the things he could be doing, but he was too amped up to start another project, and anxious to see Maggie. She was the calm within his storm.

***

While Sonny waited for Maggie, Jane Mallory was at the jail, waiting to see her client, Wade Sutton. Considering the mess he was in, she actually was bringing a bit of good news.

She heard footsteps in the hall outside, then the door opened, and a guard brought Wade to the table and sat him down, still handcuffed, then gave Wade a look.

“Thank you, officer. This won’t take long.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be just outside the door. Knock when you’re ready to leave.”

As soon as they were alone, she started talking.

“One piece of good news. The charges regarding the gun in your possession have been dropped. Your witnesses came through with enough details that the man you won it from has been identified and arrested. You still have all of the theft and fraud charges against you, and nothing is going to change that.”

Wade’s relief was visible. “Thanks for believing me,” he said.

“I didn’t necessarily believe you, Mr. Sutton. But I do believe the evidence that was uncovered. Now we have another decision to make. You pled not guilty at your arraignment. Do you now wish to change your plea, or go to trial?”

“What happens if I choose trial?” he asked.

“Since you weren’t able to bond out, you’ll await a court date, which a judge will have to set, and it could be anywhere from a number of weeks to months. I also want you to tell me how you think you could beat the rap. You were caught by the law with the stolen property, and the man you illegally sold horses to has also been arrested. So, he’ll go to trial somewhere, and likely try to claim he didn’t know the horses weren’t yours, which won’t hold water because everyone in a hundred-mile radius knew Emmit Cooper was dead, and Kincaid also knew you didn’t own a pot to cook in when you were playing poker together, so neither of you will be able to clear yourselves or each other. That’s pretty much where you stand. I’ll do what you want, but no matter, neither of you will get off free of guilt.”

“What am I looking at?” he asked.

“A third-degree felony. Years ranging from ten to maybe twenty-five in prison, and likely fines. It will be up to the judge’s discretion. But you can’t do what you did and expect to be excused because you needed the money. The court will ask you why you didn’t just get a job. And if you say it’s because of the location where you live, then they’ll ask then why didn’t you just move? What are you going to say? Because I didn’t want to leave my drinking, poker-playing buddies, and I liked chasing women more than I cared about my own family?”

Wade glared at her. This was why he hadn’t wanted a damn woman for a lawyer. They always have an answer for everything. And then he remembered something.

“Did your kid have a good birthday?”

Jane blinked, surprised by the question. “Yes, he did, but he has an inoperable brain tumor, and we don’t know how many more birthdays he’s going to have, so we go a little overboard.”

Wade thought about Randy, and his eyes suddenly welled as the wasted years washed over him. No matter what happened to his son from this day forward, he would never know, or be a part of.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and for the first time, saw the shadows in her eyes, and the grim set to her jaw. “I’ll plead guilty and take my sentence from the court.”

“I’ll be in touch,” she said, and got up and walked out before he could see her cry. The unexpected empathy was her undoing.

***

Sonny was still waiting for Maggie when Dancer came up to the corral on his own. Sonny walked out to the barn, grabbed an apple treat from the bag, and the dandy brush from a shelf, then opened the gate to the corral.

Dancer tossed his head and sauntered in like he owned the place, nosing for the treat he could smell in Sonny’s hand.

“Just because you saved my ass, you want another treat?” Sonny said, smiling as the horse took the treat from his palm, then stood like a king waiting to be dressed.

Sonny scratched the spot between his ears, then began brushing the stiff bristles of the dandy brush through the tangled mane, then down the side of his neck, slowly working his way from head to tail on one side, before switching to the other side and repeating the process, lulling Dancer to the point that he’d dropped his head slightly in total relaxation.

By the time Sonny finished, he had grass seed and horsehair on his shirt and jeans from the ever-present wind blowing it all back in his face. He took off his shirt to shake it out, then tossed it over the fence into the grass and without giving Dancer an option, once again, grabbed him by the mane and in one smooth leap, landed on his back.

When Dancer tossed his head, Sonny laughed, then fisted his hands in the horse’s long black mane and rode him out of the corral, and took off through the pasture, riding south at a lope, with the wind at their backs, and the sun beaming down on their heads.

***

Maggie had to walk home to get her car before she could run errands. As soon as she got home, she changed clothes, then drove to Belker’s.

The parking lot was fairly crowded, but she soon found a parking spot, walked into the store, and immediately wrinkled her nose. The little skunk had certainly left his calling card. Despite the circulating air from the central cooling system, and air fresheners open and sitting about, the scent still lingered. It was enough impetus for her to begin shopping in haste.

The scent hadn’t deterred shoppers, though. The store was busy with customers, and everybody there was talking about the power outage, the attempted robbery, and Sonny Bluejacket letting the air out of the thieves’ tires, and getting a skunk into their getaway car without being sprayed. She’d predicted this story would become legend in this little community, and it was already well on its way.

After getting everything she’d come for, she checked out and hurried back to the Rose. Pearl had moved from her bed to the sofa, and was stretched out with an ice pack on her forehead, and an open beer at her elbow.

“I’m back,” Maggie said, and began unloading what she’d purchased into the refrigerator and the pantry.

“Did you have enough money?” Pearl asked.

Maggie nodded, and pulled out the change, along with the grocery receipt. “I did, with some left over. I’m leaving it on your counter. Rocky Road ice cream is in your freezer. Cream for your coffee is in the fridge, and I got two kinds of barbeque from the deli, a rotisserie chicken, and two kinds of those salads you like.”

Pearl was suddenly interested, and shifted her ice pack. “The tabouli and the pasta salad with peas?”

“Yes, ma’am, and smoked pork ribs and brisket and that spicy barbeque sauce to go with them. There’s also a container of potato salad and a new box of cereal. I also brought up three pieces of pie from the Rose earlier. Chocolate, coconut cream, and a dish of peach cobbler.”

“Thank you, baby girl. You are a lifesaver,” Pearl said.

Maggie eyed the beer. “You’re still taking pain meds.”

Pearl snorted. “Don’t make me choose. Pain meds bother my stomach. Beer does not.”

Maggie frowned. “Fine, but I’m just saying…you already fell up the stairs when the lights went out. Too many of those beers and you’ll fall down the stairs and put your own lights out.”

Pearl laughed, and then groaned. “Still hurts to laugh, but whatever girl, I hear you. Now go on home. Get some rest. Go see that pretty man. Give him a hug for me.”

Maggie grinned. “I’m not telling you where I’m going. I’ll leave all that to your imagination. It’ll give you something to think about besides how much you hurt. I love you. Promise you’ll call if you need me.”

“I promise,” Pearl said. “Oh…go ahead and set the security alarm when you leave.”

Maggie hurried downstairs, set the alarm, and then slipped out the back, anxious to be on her way to Sunset. The first mile came and went, and then the second passed without seeing anything but grass and the ever-present turkey buzzards high in the sky. She was coming up to the place where the Sutton trailer used to set when she saw a horse and rider in the pasture, coming toward her.

It was Sonny, riding bareback on the Appaloosa with the southern wind behind them, playing fast and loose with his hair and the horse’s mane.

Seeing Sonny riding bareback at that speed was heart-stopping, and she couldn’t decide whether she was scared for him, or in awe.

He waved when he saw her, then turned the horse around and started back to the ranch. That’s when she realized there was no bridle or halter on the horse. All that kept him off the ground were those long legs locked around Dancer’s belly, and a handful of horse’s mane.

Maggie gasped. “Oh, my God. Oh, Emmit, if only you could see this! Just look at them go.”

Delighted by the race back to the ranch, she accelerated and drove the rest of the way with Sonny and Dancer running parallel to her car.

The moment she pulled up in his yard she grabbed her phone and got out running, climbed up on the third rung of the corral and began filming him as he rode up.

He threw back his head and laughed at the sheer joy of the ride, let go of Dancer’s mane and slid off.

Dancer snorted, then began grazing his way back to the herd.

“How did you do that?” she said, as he climbed over the corral and landed at her feet.

He bent down to pick up the shirt he’d tossed earlier. “He let me, so I did,” Sonny said.

But she didn’t hear his answer. She was staring at the scars on his chest and the tattoo on his chest. Turquoise-colored geometric triangles connected in such a way that made her think of a butterfly, an iron butterfly. She was remembering the way the air had shifted around her when she’d seen him walking into the Yellow Rose.

His heart sank when he saw her staring, and wondered if the scars would be a turnoff. “Sorry. I didn’t think. I’m so used to the sight of them that I forget how others might react.”

“Oh Sonny, it’s not the scars. It’s that tattoo.” Her hand was shaking as she reached toward it, needing to touch, yet half-expecting it to fly away.

He caught her hand and held it to his chest. “My rendition of a butterfly. It’s a reminder to me of my second chance at life.”

She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I had a dream the night before you showed up at the Yellow Rose. In the dream I was lying in the grass and covered in butterflies. All over my body. In my hair. On my face. There were so many I could feel the air shifting from the flutter of their wings. I was waiting for them to take flight, when I woke up, and for a moment, it felt like I’d taken flight with them. That evening, you got off the bus and walked into the Rose. When I saw you, I felt the same flutter of wings against my face. Now I see this, and I don’t know what all this means.”

A chill ran up Sonny’s spine as he watched the changing expressions of awe and disbelief coming and going on her face. Now the instant connection he’d felt with her made sense. The ancestors led them to each other, and both of their lives were about to change.

“The Old Ones did it,” he said.

Maggie’s heart began to pound. “Old Ones?”

“My ancestors. Spirits who sometimes guide me to what I need to know.”

“Like angels?”

He shrugged. “I think of them as ancestors from the thousands of years behind me. The people in whose steps we walk. Does all this frighten you?”

There were tears in her eyes. “I don’t even know who I come from. I don’t know anything about me. And here you are, loved by your family and aware and guided by centuries of people who came before you. I’m not scared, but I’ve never felt more alone.”

He put his arms around her and pulled her close, rocking her in his arms where they stood.

“My beautiful Magnolia, I thought I came here for Emmit, when all along, it was you.” He tilted her chin until their gazes locked. “I look into those blue eyes and see forever. If you can learn to love me, I swear on all I am that you will never be alone again.”

She slid her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and gave herself up to the kiss. As she did, the wind began to circle around them, bringing with it the scents of woodsmoke and sage.

Sonny heard the drums, and the distant sound of singers chanting to the drumbeat. Just like the vision he’d had in ICU.

Then he felt Maggie’s hands in his hair, holding on to him in the same way he’d grasped Dancer’s mane. The heat between them was rising with the wind, and it was only going to get hotter.

“In the house,” he mumbled, then swung her off her feet and into his arms.

He put her down the moment they were inside. When he paused to lock the door, she disappeared. He was taking off his clothes as he followed her to the bedroom, and found her already barefoot with her jeans in a puddle around her feet. She was in the act of pulling her T-shirt over her head when he kicked off his boots and took off everything he was wearing.

The drums were louder in his head, the singers singing at a screaming pitch as she stood naked before him. The first step he took toward her, she dropped onto the bed behind her.

There was nothing in his head but being inside her, and when she reached for him, as if asking him to save her, he slid inside her and saved himself instead.

The drumming stopped the moment they became one. The singers were gone. The Old Ones were gone. They’d set them on the path. It was up to Sonny and Magnolia to follow it.

“Oh wait…protection,” he muttered.

She whispered against his ear. “Already am. Don’t stop.”

So, he didn’t. He just buried his face in the curve of her neck and took her on the wildest ride she’d ever known.

Seconds turned to minutes, coiling the imminent climax within them with every thrust, with every gasp, with every moan, until the blood rush came and swept them both away.

When Sonny could bring himself to breathe and think at the same time, he raised up on both elbows and looked down at her face.

“Mine,” he said.

Her hand was on the butterfly, feeling the pounding heartbeat against her palm. “Mine,” she whispered.

He grew hard inside her again.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust until she lost her mind.