Bitterroot Crossing (12 page)

    I was in pain and really pissed-off. “Amazing how it takes four of you goons to restrain one mortal kid like me. You guys must not have been too tough when you were live outlaws tearing up the town. I’ll bet they had a wanted poster made just for you guys that said, dead or alive, they’re still wimps.”

    Axel swung me out by the arms then slammed me back against the solid tree trunk. My head smacked it with a thud. I guess I’d pushed my luck with that last remark. “I don’t know what a wimp is but it doesn’t sound like no compliment.”

    Every inch of me hurt, and I could no longer feel my hands or feet. I wondered momentarily if it was possible to get frostbite from a ghost. “Look, I think we’re even now. I sprayed you with the fire extinguisher, and you’ve burned down my dad’s garage and beat the crap out of me. We’re square, as far as I can tell. Now, if you’re done with me, I’ve got to get to work.”

    “Release him before he starts to cry,” Steamer said. “We don’t want to be responsible for making a Crush weep. Don’t want to anger the boss.”

    “Yeah, like the
boss
didn’t set you up to this,” I muttered under my breath. That jerk really took jealousy to a whole new level. My hands came down first. They felt like noodles until I rubbed some life back into them. I stomped my feet up and down to warm them up. My ribs ached and my head throbbed.

    An unnatural wind rustled a group of trees behind Steamer’s head.

    “That’s probably your leader right now to see if you’ve finished me off for good.”

    Steamer twirled around so fast some of his vapor trailed behind him leaving a distorted image of him lingering in the air. Then he vanished along with the others.

    I was standing alone in the middle of the path with my feet and hands just now regaining normal feeling. The trees moved again. “Oh come on, Gramps. Your goons already did a number on me. Hell, for the crap I just took from them I should have at least kissed her, but I didn’t.” I added quickly. My mouth was starting to outpace my body. In fact lifting lumber sounded really hellish at this point. “All we did was pick wildflowers. That’s all. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to walk down this mountain, hit the main road, and go to work.” I walked a few paces and stopped. “And stay away from my family or should I say your family. You boob.” The last part I said to myself deciding I didn’t want to be a tree ornament again. I walked down the hill.  

Chapter 16

    Now that people had seen me for several days, the staring and mumbling behind hands had stopped. Although I could have also sworn most of the kids were walking a wide berth around me as if to avoid me completely. Tina and I had not even crossed paths, thankfully. No doubt this all had something to do with Zedekiah’s unseemly appearance in the cafeteria. The down side was that I’d spoken to no one all day. Nick, my one true friend, had not attended math. I hadn’t seen him once.

    At the end of the day, I walked out of the school building, chiding myself for being incredibly disappointed in not seeing Nick all day. But before I reached the sidewalk, he caught up with me.

    He looked slightly hunched forward like his stomach pained him. “Hey, Jessie, haven’t seen you all day.”

    “I didn’t see you in math.”

    “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling too great so I slept late. Then my dad stripped me of my covers and told me to get to school.”

    “Are you hurt? You look like you’re in some pain.”

    He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Anyhow, I’ll be ready for the dance tomorrow night,” he paused, “that is if you still want to go.”

    “I do.” Last night, I‘d gone to bed ridiculously excited about going to a school dance. I’d never been to anything remotely like it before. Unfortunately, things that seemed incredible at night often looked less marvelous by morning. By the time I’d gotten dressed for school, my excitement had turned into a major case of apprehension. “Nick, I’m not sure what I’ll do at a dance. And won’t Tina be terribly mad if you show up with me? I don’t want to start any problems.”

    Nick took hold of my book bag and motioned to the sidewalk. “I have time to walk you part way before I have to go to work.” We walked in silence at first then Nick spoke. “I’m sorry for the way Tina’s treated you this week. Like I said, she’s got horrible parents, and it’s sort of making her into a really awful person. I won’t lie to you, Tina and I have been a couple off and on for two years. At first I felt bad for her because of her crappy home life, but lately it’s hard to work up any sympathy. Today I told her we were through for good.”

    I glanced up at his perfect profile as he stared straight ahead seemingly contemplating the fact that he probably hurt the girl badly in the process. We walked in silence again for awhile before he spoke. “She’s super pretty. Every guy wants her, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Then he smiled weakly at me. “And I suspect that my trouble making ancestor made sure that Tina never bothers you again.”

    I nodded. “The other students do seem to be walking a wide path around me at the moment. I haven’t decided if that’s a bad or good thing yet.” Then I smiled up at him. “At least he hasn’t scared you away from me.”

    Nick rubbed the back of his head for a minute. “It’s not from lack of trying. That I can tell you for sure.”

    I grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Did Zedekiah hurt you, Nick? Yesterday, after you left my house, did he attack you?”

    “No, Zedekiah didn’t hurt me. I told you it’s nothing.” He stopped at the head of the mountain trail and stared up it for a minute as if he suspected we were being watched. “I’ll be late for work if I don’t head back now.” He handed me back my book bag. “Will your grandmother be O.K. with me driving you to the dance? I could borrow my dad’s old jeep. It’s a junker, but it’s got wheels and an engine.”

    “I’ll talk to her about it. I’m sure I can convince her. Besides she’s not going to let me walk down the mountain in the dark.”

    He studied my face for a long moment and I wondered if that kiss would ever happen.

    “Thanks for carrying my books,” I said.

    “Anytime,” he said and turned to leave.

    I took a deep breath and started my climb up the path. I had not walked fifty yards when a pink carnation dropped out of the sky and landed at my feet. I picked it up and held it to my nose. Its subtle, musky scent made me smile. Three more steps and a dark yellow rose fell at my feet. The thorns had been removed. I squeezed it in my fingers next to the carnation. Next, three white daisies littered the gravelly ground in front of me. Then two more roses fell, a pink and a red. I had a colorful, fragrant bouquet in my hand before I’d even gone half way.

    “It’s a strange day on the mountain,” I said aloud. “It appears to be raining flowers.”

    Zedekiah appeared on the path next. There was always something startling yet charming about his appearance. The black brim of his hat lifted and he gazed down at me brazenly like we’d known each other forever. “Fresh flowers suit you, Jessie.”

    “So you have come to terms with the fact that I’m not Rebecca?”

    The brim of his hat lowered again shading his face completely. “I know you’re not Rebecca. I guess I was trying to convince myself that it had never happened, that I’d never shot the one true love I’d ever had.”

    I took a deep whiff of the flowers. “They are lovely,” I said deciding to change the subject quickly. Whenever Zedekiah went to a dark place in his mind, everything around us seemed to darken. I wasn’t in the mood for it.

    He lifted his face again. “I picked them fresh.”

    I eyed him suspiciously.

    “Took them from some man who had buckets of them in front of his shop. Called himself a flowerist or something like that.”

    “I believe that’s a florist, and if you took them without paying for them then it means you stole them.”

    He shrugged his broad, ghostly shoulders. “What are they going to do? Hang me?”

    I continued up the path. “You have a point. Still the shop owners can’t afford to have you taking their goods.”

    He ignored my admonition and floated ahead to a small area where the grass had grown exceedingly long. “I have something else for you.”

    “Zedekiah,” I said.

    “Don’t worry, I didn’t steal it.”

    I reached the patch of grass he hovered above and looked down. A tiny gray kitten, not more than four weeks old, wobbled in the center on short, unstable legs. “I guess I nearly stole it. A hawk had it in its talons. I threw a rock at the bird and he dropped it.”

    I reached for the kitten and brought it up against my chest. It made small squeaking sounds. I smiled up at Zedekiah. “I love it.”

    He looked quite pleased with himself. “I thought you could name him Zed.”

    I lifted the kitten’s tail and laughed. “Or I could name
her,
Anna.”

    “Anna’s a fine name too.” I walked the rest of the way home with my flowers and my kitten. Zedekiah followed. “What brought you back, Zedekiah? You’ve been gone for so long.” Deep down, I hoped he had not returned because of me.

    At once, his perpetual cigarette appeared in his fingers and he took a long hit. “They told me they’d seen Rebecca. I had to see for myself.”

    “They? Do you mean your gang?” The hungry kitten suckled lightly on the tip of my finger.

    “Butcher, Steamer. . . the others who haunt the swamp.”

    “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I said.

    He drifted in front of me. I stopped and looked up at him. “You’re not a disappointment, Jessie.” The features of his face sharpened and the cool, moist air surrounding him seemed to warm instantly. “It’s so much like looking into the face of Rebecca, I can almost feel the heartbreak all over again.”

    “Again, I’m sorry. Apparently I’m only a reminder of how terribly wrong things went for you.”

    “You are the first bright moment in my dreary eternity.” His white fingers picked up a strand of my hair and he pressed it to his lips. “What I wouldn’t give to have my senses back. To take in the fragrance of beautiful hair, taste the sweetness of a soft pair of lips. Even if it meant having to feel the true agony of being in love.” He gazed at me for a minute. I shyly dropped my attention to the tiny kitten now fast asleep in my hand. My hair slid from his grasp.

    We reached the porch steps. “Zedekiah, I never said thank you for helping me the other day, when I was about to fall. I know I told you to stay off the school grounds, but I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t grateful.”

    “Only wish I could have left that girl hanging there on the ceiling for good.”

     “You’ll be happy to know that glued to the ceiling or not, she seems to have tired of torturing me.”

    “She better have.”

    I climbed up the steps, stopped at the top, and smiled down at him. A slow, easy smile spread across his face. Looking down at him with that heart stopping grin, I realized how much he reminded me of Nick. “Thank you for the nice gifts, but now, I’ve got to go inside and rummage through my closet for a dress.” I lifted the kitten to my lips and kissed her soft head. Zedekiah looked completely lovelorn standing there by himself. What a lonely existence, I thought. “My great-great-grandma was a lucky girl to have someone like you love her.”  I walked inside and the screen shut behind me.

    Nana had fallen asleep in her chair. Jasper lay at her feet. I tapped her on the shoulder. It took her a moment to get her bearings. “You’re home. How was school?”

    I placed the kitten in her lap. “We’ve got a new family member. Her name is Anna.”

    She lifted a shaky hand and stroked the tiny ball of fur. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a cat.” Jasper raised his head from his paws. His nose twitched in the air for a minute taking in the new smell. Then he dropped back off to his nap. Nana picked up the kitten and pushed to her feet. “This little one will be hungry.” She headed to the kitchen but stopped and turned back to me. “I’ll bet you’re hungry too.”