2
A lemon yellow sun glowed low in the cloudless sky casting its warmth over the rich landscape as awakening early the next morning Teresa wondered at the disturbed night she had spent. Johnny had dominated her dreams. The actual content was gone from her now, elusive as a grasshopper in the long grass in summer and this was a puzzle to her. Still she had no time to work that puzzle out just yet, when an exciting day beckoned. As it was Maria's day for doing the chores, Teresa was thankfully free to do whatever she wished. She did not even have to cook breakfast. This was a perfect day for her to pursue her other interest of the moment but she really needed someone to drive her into Morro Coyo in the buckboard as she had a large bag of equipment to take with her, and some of its contents were rather delicate. She decided to ask Johnny to drive her; after all, he never needed much persuasion to get out of work.
And so it was that less than an hour later, they set off in the bright sunshine, Teresa clutching her precious bag, and Johnny, the lines loose around his fingers, grinning widely.
"What's so funny?" Teresa asked him when she could bear no longer to see him amused without, as far as she could see, any good reason.
"Oh, just enjoying this fine morning."
"No, I know you, Johnny, it's something more than that. Are you laughing at me?"
"Well," he replied, not taking his eyes away from the road ahead, "You sure look funny holding on to that great bag there. I was imagining what might be in it."
Teresa clamped her lips firmly together. She had no intention of letting Johnny know now, not when he was so obviously amused by her attempts to keep the contents of her bag safe. She had seen him glance sideways at her several times as they rounded corners. She was also pretty certain that he was doing his best to unseat her. He really could be quite mean to her sometimes. To think she had almost told him her secret the night before. She held her precious cargo gently against her body, looked out over the range in an attempt to avoid his eyes completely, and promised herself she would never tell.
It seemed an interminable journey and Teresa was soon bored of the silence. Johnny could be such fun when he was in a good mood and now she was regretting having rebuffed his first few attempts at engaging her in conversation. Furthermore, the bumps in the road had grown more frequent and Johnny seemed to be taking some of the bends at an unusual speed. She was determined not to speak to him even if it meant travelling in discomfort. Her father's comment about her mother's desire to "cut off her nose to spite her face" came to her mind, for some reason. He hadn't often talked about her mother but when he did, Teresa committed it all to memory, even if most of it was negative. It had seemed to her, lately, that she was becoming more and more like her mother: stubborn and determined to do her own thing. She was finding it quite exhilarating.
As they approached Morro Coyo, it seemed to her that Johnny relented a little and he slowed the pace of the horse. Teresa shifted in her seat to get more comfortable; her arms were aching with the unwieldy bag and its contents. As she moved her head around she caught Johnny staring at her, all traces of humor gone now. She waited for him to speak first, unwilling to show a weakening of her resolve.
"Ya know Teresa, you shouldn't be keeping secrets from Murdoch. You should tell him-whatever it is. And if you really can't tell him, well you know," his voice dropped so low she had to strain to hear him add, "You can always trust me. I won't let you down."
They were entering the main street now, full of people going about their business, strolling on the boardwalk, and visiting the stores. Weary horses tethered at street rails, nickered softly and tossed their manes. Teresa enjoyed watching the activity around her; she particularly liked to look at the women to see what fashion was popular, what kind of hat she should wear, how to walk finely. It was all very well living with a bunch of men on a ranch but it was no place to learn how to become a lady. When Johnny had given her a few dollars to buy a dress a year ago, she had stored the money in her treasures box. She'd had no idea how to go about choosing a dress. Later, when he had returned to the ranch and it looked like this time it was permanent, Johnny had asked her to show him the dress she had bought. Embarrassed she had admitted to him that she still hadn't got one. Scott had heard and had immediately taken her to Spanish Wells and helped her choose something a girl back east would approve of, even though he had to lend her a dollar so she could buy it. They were good brothers to her; maybe she should trust them with her secret.
Then she remembered exactly what it was she was involved in, and the way her brothers could be over-protective of her and made her decision. Giving him what she hoped was her sweetest and most innocent smile she replied,
"What secret is that Johnny? You know I would never have secrets from you men. Not ever."
She swung herself round and clambered down from the seat, not letting her grip on the bag relax for even a second. She knew how fast Johnny's reflexes were and she did not care to give him the slightest chance to grab her bag and look in it.
"I'll be over in the new Church Hall. A Women's Meeting. You can pick me up from outside the livery in two hours. I'm sure you'll find plenty to amuse yourself here till then."
The sun was high in the clear blue sky, when slightly more than two hours later, Teresa waited outside the Livery, bag on the ground by her feet, impatiently tapping the toes of one foot on the dusty earth. Pulling off her hat to smooth her hair down, she shook out the long tresses and stretched her neck muscles. She could only imagine what was keeping Johnny-probably a card game or an old girlfriend; the sort of pull he found irresistible. He may have generally settled down to ranch life, but the desire to cut loose was ever-present.
She was sure he had the means to measure the time, she'd seen him take an old gold pocket watch out of his pants on several occasions; a watch that looked ever so much like one Murdoch used to own. She knew she must not get too angry with her adopted brother; after all he had lived most of his life without the need for timekeeping, had probably never even owned a watch before. Sometimes she envied him his lack of attachment, of responsibilities; but not now, not when it was she who was relying on him to take her home. Tired after the day's activities, she was longing for a soak in a warm tub to ease out her stiff muscles. When he finally arrived, she was going to give Johnny a lecture on the importance of timekeeping and how discourteous it was to leave a young lady standing outside alone in the afternoon sun in the middle of town.
In order to pass the time somewhat more entertainingly, she recalled the commotion outside the church hall not long after she had arrived. The windows were too high to make out precisely what was happening, all she could ascertain was that someone had had a fight or maybe an accident. There had been a lot of scraping and scuffling noises followed by a thud and a yelp of pain and the sound of something heavy falling over. Then there was a low murmur of different voices that faded gradually into the distance. She'd lost track of what was happening outside as her attention was drawn once more to the activity in the hall.
She speculated on what it was that had happened and came to the conclusion that someone had been touching up the paintwork and had fallen off the ladder. Being a kind natured type of girl, she privately wished the workman well and hoped he hadn't broken any limbs.
"Afternoon, Miss Teresa."
Teresa nodded back at the blacksmith who disappeared through the great doors of the Livery. She wondered if she had imagined the crooked grin he had tried to hide as he addressed her. It seemed almost mocking. She was getting embarrassed now as standing out here was drawing a lot of unwelcome attention from passers by. She was contemplating going over to the saloon herself to drag Johnny out when the object of her ire rounded the corner. Relieved, she rather firmly replaced her hat, picked up her bag and began to march purposefully towards him her mouth in a thin line, hoping to show Johnny from the way she held herself that she was far from pleased with his tardiness and would brook no excuses.
As Teresa approached him, it seemed to her that Johnny was limping slightly and that when he saw she was scrutinising him, he straightened up some. He was decidedly unsteady on his feet, which confirmed her suspicion about him having been delayed in the saloon. She was relieved now that she had not gone to look for him, for who knew what sort of company he was keeping there. To Murdoch's dismay, he often remarked that he had a reputation to maintain. Johnny was still a puzzle to her; she would think she had worked him out then he would just up and surprise her by doing something totally unexpected.
Together they walked round to the buckboard, Johnny lagging behind a little, Teresa assumed because he was trying to avoid her for fear of her wrath. They climbed up to their seats in silence, Johnny taking up his position as driver awkwardly. Good, she thought, maybe he wouldn't be able to drive so fast if he were, stiff and she would have a more comfortable journey home. It was probably the result of sitting over long in a saloon chair playing poker, or possibly, as he seemed to have some discoloration on his face, he had gotten into a brawl. She could not help remark how quietly he took up the lines and how he was holding them in one hand, keeping his left tight against his side. He would not look at her, even though he must have been able to sense her own intense scrutiny of him. His were such familiar features to her she took them for granted, yet at this moment she could not help thinking that even bruised, his face was pleasing to look at. And so, she continued to stare and enjoy the view. Yes, the bruises seemed consistent with a brawl, and that was a common occurrence where Johnny was concerned. Why -he had been banned from the Red Dog a few months back for damaging the stock and furniture. Teresa was annoyed that she had not discovered the reason for the fight and pondered whether it would be a good idea to trade secrets- whether she could offer to tell Johnny what she was doing in exchange for the story behind The Big Brawl, as she now chose to call it. It had fallen to her to nurse him for a few days afterwards because he'd been so sore with his cuts and bruises.
He raised the lines with difficulty and urged the horse forward with a click of his tongue and so they began what threatened to be a tense journey back to the ranch.
