The Claws of the Cat - Chapter 7
Since Victoria could remember, riding had always had the power of calming her nerves. And, that morning, she had so much on her mind she had felt the compelling need to be alone with her horse.
Victoria rode out of the ranch, into the wideness of the Barkley land. She and Misty Girl entered the woods. The foliage was a barrier to the sunlight as they penetrated the quiet dim light inside. Victoria ducked to avoid a low branch and relaxed as she listened to the pleasant sound of her mare's hooves crack the twigs on the ground. She set Misty Girl on her pacing steed, purposely avoiding the clearing where Tom's grave laid. To be near her husband always brought raw feelings to the surface. At times she needed that, to feel her hot blood run in her veins. But not today.
When they stepped out of the woods and arrived at the trail, she loosened the bridles, letting Misty Girl follow the path she knew so well. For a while, Victoria just kept her mind blank and let the pleasure of being alone in the wilderness flow through her and fill her tormented soul.
That Thomson boy, the hired hand both Nick and Audra were so fond of, was one of the things that more than troubled her. It was apparent he was trying to avoid her in every way possible, even going so far as to divert his eyes every time she happened to look at him. It was crystal clear he was hiding something. But there was more. He looked rather familiar and it wasn't just about his looks. It was about the way he talked, and walked, and even rode. Yes, the young man had a wholesome family feel to him. Victoria just couldn't place it.
On the other hand, she sure could place the way her daughter-in-law looked at him, like she was mentally undressing him. It was unmistakable and obscene. Victoria wondered whether Nick had noticed and especially what would happen when he'd find out.
She was beyond worried for Nick. That woman was turning her middle son's life into a living hell and there was nothing she could do. That morning, she had caught Nick sneaking out of the guest room. He had clearly spent the night there, banned from his own bedroom. By the haggard face, it was also clear he hadn't slept. Her heart bleeding, Victoria had quickly disappeared back in her room in order to give her son some privacy in his misery.
Sabrina was a snake ready to strike with the only intent of poisoning Nick's life. Nick certainly wasn't a man to let anyone rule his life, yet he was letting Sabrina play cat and mouse with Audra, the sister he loved so deeply. Sabrina never missed a chance to torment the poor girl, and Nick just seemed to be helpless, with no sort of control over his wife. Victoria had taken it upon herself to protect her daughter. But, who protected Nick?
The few times Victoria had tried to talk to him, Nick had quickly changed the subject. She hadn't insisted, for the moment. After all, he was his own man, and she was just a woman. Nick respected her, but wouldn't listen. He was stubbornly in love with his wife. And, when he was in love, Nick didn't think clearly. How long would it take before Nick would finally see Sabrina for who she really was?
That was the question, who Sabrina really was? Victoria just didn't know and she doubted Nick himself knew more than his wife allowed him. What she had done, her whole life before she had become Mrs. Nick Barkley, was wrapped in mystery.
In spite of herself, Victoria visualized her daughter-in-law's smirk, gloating after she had shot one of her stinging quips at Audra. How she had wanted to slap her insolent face, that time. How she wanted to slap her arrogant face all the time.
Feeling the need to run away from the odious vision and from her own thoughts, Victoria spurred Misty Girl. The mare enjoyed a good gallop and immediately reacted to the woman's input. Before Victoria was fully aware of it, they were galloping hard and fast. Hard and fast, away from her troubles and concerns.
In her black leather riding suit, smiling at the wind, Victoria felt again like the intrepid young wife she had been when she and Tom had packed all their hopes and dreams and had come to this Valley, ready to do whatever it took to make them real.
She was unaware of what was happening around her. She didn't know the sky was rapidly, inexorably clouding, that it was now lingering heavy and dark, above her head.
Crouched down, McNally was placing the last trap. He had placed several of them already, hoping they would catch whatever was spooking and killing the cattle. A bear? A cougar? Hard to tell. The traps were mean, cruel things, but necessary. This was the last one. He lowered down the rings and opened it with his gloved hands with no effort.
At the sound of a galloping horse approaching, McNally looked up. As the rider rode past him without seeing him, an unfathomable smile on her face, she recognized her, Victoria Barkley. He had seen her at the Barkley mansion the few times he had to accompany Nick for some reason, or around the ranch, mostly when she was coming home or going to town with the buggy, and had always thought she was beautiful and classy. But now, dressed like a man, riding like the most expert of the horsemen, she was a sight to see.
His task achieved, McNally was ready to mount his horse and go back to the ranch. When a raindrop fell on his face, he looked at the sky and frowned, it was darkening and the air tasted like iron. A storm was coming, he needed to hurry back. He hadn't completed the thought yet when a lightning bolt lit up the sky and the crack of thunder echoed so loudly Old Duke snorted nervously. McNally reassured the animal speaking to him softly and mounted, bracing himself against the shower he was going to take on his way to the ranch.
At the sound of a frantic whinny he turned his head around, in the distance, he saw Mrs. Barkley's horse buck wildly, the petite woman being slammed in the air, tossed to the ground as the spooked horse ran away under the pouring rain.
A feeling of urgency growing in his gut McNally rode harder than he had ever done in his life. He jumped down from his horse before the animal had come to a complete stop and hurled himself to the woman, taking her gingerly in his arms. He took off his right hand glove with his teeth and checked for injuries with expert fingers. He found a lump on the back of her head.
He looked at her as the raindrops were falling down on her face. Her skin was rosy and silky like the years hadn't touched her. He took in the ample arcs of her eyebrows, her heart-shaped mouth, slightly open. Her features weren't perfect, but together they were so harmonious the result was almost supernatural. When she opened her eyes he found himself drowning in their gray depths, helpless against the wild hammering of his heart.
"McNally! What… What happened" She breathed, still abandoned in his arms.
"Your horse spooked at the thunder. You fell and hit your head. You lost your senses for quite a while, you must be careful, ma'am," the man recounted, trying without much success to regain his composure, his heart still bucking and roaring like the wild horse Lloyd had given to Miss Audra.
As he helped her to her feet, the rain was already subduing, but they were both drenched to the bone. "I'm fine, McNally, thank you. Where is Misty Girl?" Victoria asked rather curtly, ignoring the pounding, throbbing pain at the base of her head, that was rapidly spreading up her scalp.
"She's nowhere to be seen, ma'am. I'm afraid we'll have to share Old Duke, here, to go back to the ranch." Her headache making her meeker than she really was, Victoria let the man accompany her the few steps to his horse, his arm around her waist. She put her foot on the stirrup in order to climb in the saddle. She needed to be home as soon as possible and change her clothes.
Suddenly, the world blurred and she lost her balance, falling yet again in McNally's ready arms. As the dizziness subdued and her vision came back to normal, the first thing she saw was the man's azure eyes. They were kind, honest eyes, so clear for a moment she thought she was seeing through the depth of his very soul.
"You have a concussion, ma'am. You better take it easy and let me do the hard work," McNally said softly after a while. She docilely let him help her on Old Duke and grasped the saddle horn as he mounted behind her and took the bridles.
As they calmly rode to the ranch, the rain stopped. Victoria looked up, the sun was shining and not even a cloud was in the glorious sky. The air, though, had cooled a bit and she could feel it sting her wet skin. She shivered, as the warmth coming from the unavoidable contact with the foreman's body behind her washed over her. She hadn't been embraced by a man since Tom's death, and she couldn't help but welcome the almost forgotten feeling.
McNally was in the foyer, his hat in his hands, nervously pacing and not at all at ease. He heard voices come from the second floor and looked up to see Nick and Audra descend with the doctor. The smile on their faces left no doubt about the fact their mother wasn't in danger. He sighed in relief.
As they arrived at the front door, the doctor reassured Audra about her mother conditions. "It's just a minor head trauma, Audra, but she needs plenty of rest and please avoid stressful situations."
"Thank you, Doctor. I'll see to it," Audra said as the doctor walked out the door.
"Well, well, it looks like we have a hero here!" Nick said slapping McNally on his shoulder. "Thank you, Sean," he added more seriously taking his right hand in both his and shaking it vigorously.
"Anytime, boss," the foreman said with a broad smile, realizing Nick had called him by his first name for the very first, and probably last time.
When Victoria woke up the day after, the headache had gone. As she replayed the events of the day before, she wondered what it was that had really happened. The storm, her horse spooked… and then him. Sean McNally, she murmured. Somehow, the name didn't feel right. Her very feelings didn't feel right. She didn't understand them.
Something had undoubtedly happened between the two of them, but she couldn't exactly tell what it was. I still love my husband. I still love Tom Barkley. She repeated to herself. Maybe, it was the fact that she had felt taken care of, reassured by a man's presence. Yes, it had to be that.
Her train of thought was rudely interrupted by a commotion coming from Nick and Sabrina's room. She heard a thud, a crash, Sabrina yelling furiously, a door being opened and slammed shut, Nick's heavy steps in the hallway. It was a pattern she was beginning to get used to.
Victoria sighed, distressed. She took her marriage picture from her night table and caressed Tom's beloved features.
"Oh Tom, help me, help us," she pleaded.
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