The Claws of the Cat – Chapter 6
Heath grasped the lever pumping up and down to make the air blow through the bellows into the fire, then he started hammering vigorously at the heated metal. The branding iron was ready to be forged, the capital letter B with a diagonal slash through it was now incandescent. Among the many jobs Heath Thomson had done in his life, apprentice in a blacksmith workshop had been one of his favorites. He appreciated the hard work and the inexplicable satisfaction that he derived from accomplishing a well-done work of crafting, to take the raw material, shape it, turn it into something else, something useful.
He dropped the hammer at the sudden sound of Sabrina's melodious, falsely kind voice.
"Can I take you a lemonade, Heath? You're sweating," she said feigning apprehension and reached out to put her open palm on his chest. The gesture was so licentious in its simplicity, that Heath's stomach knotted. More than once, he had felt observed and turning his head he had found the woman half-hidden somewhere, her eyes on him, on his skin, like she could use them to touch him. He had felt completely naked and had never worked bare-chested since.
"No, thank you. I'm alright, Mrs. Barkley," Heath replied quietly and stepped aside, leaving his task half-finished. He went to his horse's stall and grabbed the bridles. He then turned and started to walk outside, his horse meekly following.
She grasped his arm. "You don't have to be so shy, Heath. We Barkleys are open-minded people, especially me. We're not against getting acquainted with our employees."
"Thank you, Ciego," Heath heard a deep familiar voice say. He turned his head to see Lloyd Garner, all dressed up, give his bridles to the Mexican, and felt immensely relieved and grateful for an unexpected way to escape the awkward situation.
"Hey, Garner!" he called from inside the barn, at the same time yanking to free himself from Sabrina's grasp.
"Thomson!" the other man said and stepped inside the barn. They shook hands and Garner slapped Heath on his shoulder.
"It's good to see you, Heath. What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Hard work, as you can see," Heath said opening his arms to let the other man see his dirty clothes. "Besides, I could ask you the same," Heath observed.
Garner gave a little laugh "You're right. Do you know Miss Audra Barkley?
"I've seen her around, yes," Heath said.
Well… I'm taking her to town tonight," Lloyd informed.
"You're saying you're dating Miss Barkley?" Heath asked.
"I guess you could say that, yes," Lloyd stated.
Unexpectedly, an unknown feeling overwhelmed Heath, catching him completely off guard. It took him a while before he could make out what it was. In his twenty-three years, he had never felt anything like that before. He was a lonely man and had had no relatives since his mother's death. He knew nothing about kinship or love for a younger sibling. Or older, for that matter. But there it was, a fierce sense of protectiveness which had come over him so suddenly and powerfully it had left him numb. He looked down, saw his hands balled into fists and realized he had been ready to punch Lloyd.
What the hell are you thinking? Lloyd is a good man and the closest thing to a friend you've ever had. You better keep your head boy! You're nothing to Audra Barkley, she doesn't even remember your name. He thought bitterly.
"Do tell!" Heath said instead, trying to relax his tense shoulders.
"Well, you see, a month ago I saved her life from a horse stampede."
"What? A horse…"
"Could you believe it? She was right there in the way, paralyzed. I jumped and dragged her down just a second before it was too late. We both took a bath in the creek but it was worth it."
Heath recalled the odd sight of the girl coming home all drenched one morning, about a month before and swallowed hard at the thought of what could have happened. "It sure was," he confirmed.
"We've been dating since," Lloyd continued. "I'm taking her to town, and I'm proposing to her tonight" Garner concluded.
"A month! Well, no wonder I haven't happened to meet you, Lloyd. That bossy Barkley keeps me pretty busy." Heath said, good-naturedly, of his employer. And, after all, who little Miss horse whip is dating is none of my business, now is it? He added to himself. "I take it Turk is around?" Heath asked changing the subject, still not feeling at ease with his own feelings.
"We set camp that way," Garner said vaguely gesturing toward East, "Beside the Calaveras," Lloyd informed. "By the way, where the hell have you been? One morning we woke up and you were gone. Francie never forgave you, you know…" Lloyd chastised teasingly.
Francie was a spirited brunette with deep, dark eyes. She had been with Turk and his band for a long time and was like a sister to Lloyd. In the period Heath had been working for the wandering mustanger, Heath and Francie had had a short but intense love story.
The campfire was burning, red and warm against the cold black night. Just a blanket separated their bodies from the bare ground, as they were lying close one to the other, her body curled against his, her forehead against his shoulder.
"Don't you ever think about your home, your mother, Heath?" She asked softly.
"I only think about tomorrow, not yesterday," he replied.
And of course, in his mind, he was already back in Strawberry, back to the mother he had not seen in years. Leah Thomson, his young, beautiful mother. The way she was before they had started arguing, her laughter so genuine, refreshing like the cool waters of a stream on a hot day. The way she was after, her eyes puffy for having cried herself to sleep. It was so hurtful he could actually feel the pain in his heart. How could he have forgotten how much he loved her?
Francie thought he had fallen asleep when Heath spoke again. "I'll find what I'm looking for out there," he declared.
The day after, he was gone, headed to Strawberry. But his hometown was no more the booming town he remembered before the war.
He blindly watched her name on the tombstone, his hand clutching her bible, and the paper clipping that was inside so tightly his knuckles were white. All that was left of her. He pressed his eyelids shut and let his tears flow.
It was too late. Too late to give her back her joy. He would never hear her laughter again.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Heath just said.
"She and Turk are engaged, now. I knew sooner or later it would have happened."
"I'm happy for them," Heath said, realizing without surprise that he just didn't care. "You said it's been a month, so Turk will want to be moving soon," Heath guessed.
Lloyd laughed. "You know old Turk, don't you. But I won't go with them this time. The Barkleys offered me a job and I accepted. I'm glad you're here, too. I have a feeling Nick doesn't like me much."
"I don't plan to stay long, Lloyd," Heath said glancing at his booted feet. "Speaking of Nick, he's waiting for me, we have to check the East Pasture section. Something has been spooking the cattle these last days and they're throwing down the fences all over the Barkley land."
"Thomson!" the loud, commanding voice came from behind their backs.
"Speak of the devil…" Heath joked. Both men burst into a laugh and stepped outside in the light of the day.
In the shadows of the barn, Sabrina's feline eyes sparkled. She folded her arms and leaned against the wall, a malicious smirk spoiling the beautiful face. He had escaped, this time, but he couldn't run forever, he had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide and, sooner or later, she would find him. Alone.