Chapter VII
By Sherry Whitten
Caitlin flinched as Jimmy hit the dirt even as adrenaline pounded furiously through her bloodstream. She wanted the taste and feel of the wild mustang beneath her more than she'd wanted anything in a long while. The excitement licked at her in wild anticipation.
Scrambling through the blanket of the dust cloud, Buck helped Jimmy to his feet as Ike, Lou and Kid raced after the mustang. The black animal snorted angrily, his eyes wild and full of rage, tossing his head at the men's futile attempts at taming his restless spirit.
"He's an arrogant devil!" Billy snorted in disgust, watching the miserable show of horsemanship within the corral fence. "I bet Blue Eagle knew he couldn't be broken and decided to pawn him off on us."
"Give me a try at him, Willie," Caitlin pleaded eagerly, her eyes dancing with excitement, itching to get near the thundering beast.
"Forget it, Caitlin," he shot back, sending across a warning glare with the words.
"I've a good seat, Willie, ye know that." She scowled with ire at the boys' manhandling of the animal. "Sure and they'd be frightening' the wits from him, yankin' and draggin' him about!"
"I think if you take a good look, honey, he's the one doing the dragging." Even now, Jimmy took another flying trip across the corral.
"'Tis no wonder he's havin' a fit. If you had five great brutes holdin' you down tryin' to climb on your back, I dare say ye'd be objectin' too! For a fact he's needin' a tender hand."
"For what...an appetizer?"
His amusement of the situation brought coppery ire ripe to her mouth as she scorned, "'Tis a crime pure and simple for his spirit to be broken in such a hardhearted way...and I believe ye've no heart in your soul to be party to such abuse. 'Tis obvious to even the most dimwitted, the poor creature needs understandin'."
Amusement was gone. "And who'd know that better than you, Caitlin, the world's best expert on understanding."
The innuendo wasn't lost on Caitlin, and her eyes snapped to his set face in accusation. "Meanin'?"
"Meaning, you've been cursing me to hell these past three years for leaving you and you've never even once looked to see my side of it - how I felt. You never stopped to think that I was leaving behind everything I knew and held to...all the people I loved and cared for." His jaw clenched in frustration at her insensitivity. Everything was black and white to Caitlin, never any gray. Bitterness echoed in the words, "There were things I lost too, Caitlin."
"See? Even you're sayin' 't'was a foolish thing to do," she reiterated in justification. "Aye, but just like a man, ye had to go tearin' off through the godforsaken wilderness, declarin' ye'll change the world on your way!" Turning back to eye the pathetic scene before her, she watched the scampering within the fenced corral...men who believed they could quieten the spirit of an animal born to live wild.
And they said woman was a silly race!
"There was one thing I could never change, Cait,...and that was you."
"Aye, and what would ye be havin' me change to, I'm wonderin'." Eyes slid to his scowling face curiously, her breath hitched in aggravation.
The question seemed to deepen the lines of his set face even further. "Maybe a woman who didn't have the tongue of a wasp and the stubbornness of a mule."
His horrific scowl had her suddenly seeing the humorous richness of the situation and a burst of amusement shot from her lips. Her eyes were alive and shimmering with mischievous mirth. "Aye, but then who'd keep your blood fired?"
Her laughter flowed over him like a cool spring breeze, and his anger stilled. He tugged on a strand of curls. There wasn't any other who could keep his blood stirred...not like Caitlin. "I guess you've got a point there, sweetheart."
"Sure and it's only taken ye ten years to realize."
"Maybe ten years to realize...another ten to accept."
Caitlin patted his cheek, her blue eyes merry, "I've all the confidence in the world in ye, Willie." Pleased with the last word, Caitlin strode off toward the house just as Emma stepped outside to announce that lunch was ready.
Needless to say, all talk was of the rogue beast. Jimmy sported a small laceration over his left eyebrow which was already turning purple around the cut. Caitlin dressed the wound, and Jimmy's heart accelerated at her touch and nearness. He could smell the feminine scent of her, and Jimmy believed it was the sweetest aroma he ever remembered. Her ministrations were over all too soon.
"'Tis dashin' ye'll look for the ladies, Jimmy Hickok!"
"Think so?" His chest swelled just a bit.
"Aye, to be sure."
"What about me?!" Buck demanded, his limp suddenly more pronounced. "When Jimmy flew off the horse he landed square on my foot!"
"Yeah, I noticed," he grimaced, lightly touching his bandage. "My eye hit the toe of your boot." Jimmy scowled at his friend. "Next time try jumping out of the way!"
Caitlin moved to Buck, her eyes twinkling outrageously. She stood on tiptoe and brushed an exposed cheek lightly with her soft lips. "There! 'Tis kissed and all better."
"Hey...where's mine?" Jimmy demanded expectantly, opening his arms to her in anticipation.
Caitlin grinned, waltzing off with a ladle. "Sorry, Jimmy. I promised Emma I'd tend this stew."
He scowled in regret.
Buck grinned, slapping his friend on the back. "Don't fret, Jimmy. It was just a little kiss. Hardly worth mentioning."
"Then don't," he snapped, striding to the table to watch Caitlin stirring the pot, then begin placing utensils and plates on the table before him. Her eyes caught his scowl, and she gave him a little wink and smile.
He instantly warmed, his lips lifting in return. She may have given Buck a puny little kiss on the cheek, but it was obvious it was Jimmy Hickok she was attracted to.
The riders settled around the table, Lou already fretting about the seemingly hopeless situation. "What about the black?"
"I say we cut our losses...maybe send him over to the fort for the bucking contest coming up next month." Buck suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Jimmy agreed readily, gingerly rubbing his throbbing head wound. "I'm sure not in any hurry to climb back on. In fact, I think you'd have to pay me...and it wouldn't be cheap either."
"I could break him," Caitlin set the steaming potatoes before the men with confidence.
There was total silence at the outlandish boast, all eyes riveted to Caitlin.
"Yeah, right," Jimmy scoffed, trying to ignore the pounding in his head, pain caused by the great brute. "You might last all of two seconds…if you're lucky."
"Caitlin accused you of manhandling him." Billy divulged, tongue-in- cheek. Plopping down on a chair, he propped his feet up on one opposite, getting comfortable. The revelation was like tossing meat to a ravenous wolf.
"Manhandling him?!" Jimmy all but shrieked. "I was the one tossed around like a rag doll!"
Kid looked at her with narrowed eyes. He was fast learning that if Caitlin said she could do something, she probably could. "So, how would you go about breaking him?" He gauged her weight somewhere around ninety-five pounds - facing a thousand pounds of solid muscle.
"'Tis not so much breaking him as it is trainin'. Just as I did Kip. Sure and he was every bit as fierce as that devil out there."
"So, how'd you do it.?" Jimmy demanded curiously.
Caitlin shrugged, tossing out airily, "I won his trust with kindness and understandin'. Perhaps it takes longer than breakin' his spirit, but in the end his spirit's intact."
Her eyes shimmered, recalling her previous spirited rides with Kip, "And sure as faith, when ye climb up on his back, Jimmy, ye'd swear ye'd be ridin' the winged Pegasus himself."
"I think I'd pay to see it," Jimmy grinned.
Caitlin stiffened. "I wouldn't be wantin' your pay...just the comfort of knowin' he'd still be bearin' his pride and soul."
"So, when can you start?"
"No way." Billy vetoed, taking charge of the absurd conversation. "It's too dangerous."
Whirling toward the arrogant voice, Caitlin balked, arms across her chest in haughtiness. "Thank ye very much, William Cody, but I'll be decidin' for meself what's dangerous. Ye weren't around when I was trainin' Kip, so how can ye say what's what?"
His feet hit the floor, rising to stand before her in accusation. "I'd say you didn't have a lick of sense. You're a fool, Caitlin, if you think you can waltz in the pen and think that devil's going to stand still while you climb on, then expect to stay seated any time at all, let alone ride."
"What if I say I'll prove it within five minutes, then would you be lettin' me try?"
"It only take five seconds to be stomped to death."
She shrieked in aggravated frustration, rolling her eyes heavenward. "Crikey, Willie...ye'd be worse than Poppa."
"And what do you think Syrus O'Riley would say if he were standing here and heard such crazy talk?"
"I'm hopin' he'd be confident enough in me abilities to give me at least a chance of trial, and not act like a...a silly ninny."
"A ninny...what the heck's a ninny?"
"'Tis a foolish boy who acts like a hoverin' mother hen."
"Well, heaven forbid I should think you'd need watched over."
"All right...just two minutes. I can see right away if he'll not accept me touch."
"And I can see I won't have any peace unless I give in."
She stood silent, a brow lifting in agreement.
He sighed in resignation. "All right, you got two minutes. At the first hint of trouble you're out of there, agreed?"
"Agreed."
Jimmy had taken his turn aback the mustang and knew he'd be bruised and sore for the next few days. As much as he'd like seeing Caitlin tame the savage beast, truthfully he couldn't see it happening. He'd have to agree with Cody on this one. If the brute took a notion to charge and trample her, there'd be no way they could reach her in time. He frowned his concern. "What do you need for this 'training'?"
"Not much, Jimmy." She looked down. In the center of the table sat a bowl of fresh fruit purchased from the last trip to town. A juicy, red apple caught her eye. A hand closed over it. "This should do."
"An apple?" Skepticism resounded in the words.
"Aye." Caitlin nodded with confidence. "Ye know what they say about the way to a man's heart."
Brown eyes locked with violet, his lips twitching. "The temptress Eve with her enticing fruit?"
An arched brow lifted, along with a dismissive shoulder. "I'm thinkin' he wouldn't be impressed with come-hither looks."
Jimmy grinned, his eyes warm. "Just goes to show his lack of taste."
Her breath caught in surprise - and pleasure at the sudden compliment. "Why, thank ye, Jimmy. Sure and it's kind of ye to say so."
Billy groaned his heartfelt disgust. "Oh, please! In a minute I'll be sick. Besides...lunch is getting cold."
Her smile for Jimmy quickly turned to a glowering scowl for his friend. "Well, grief, Willie, then sit and eat."
Adrenaline pumped through Caitlin, her heart pounding with anticipation as she moved to the corral. A parade followed behind.
She stood outside, her eyes on the beast before her. He was alert to their presence, already sounding a warning. Her eyes never wavered from him as she listed instructions to the group. "Don't be comin' into the pen, ye'll frighten him...and don't be makin' any loud noises or abrupt movements."
"In other words," Billy finished, tongue-in-cheek, "Stay out of the way, keep our mouths shut and play invisible."
Her eyes moved then, grinning across to her friend. "I always knew ye were a quick study, Willie."
She started through the fence, but Billy halted her movement with a hand on her arm. She looked to him expectantly. He just shook his head in disbelief that he'd agreed with this crazy scheme of hers. "Watch yourself."
Her grin was sunny, "Always."
The group watched her progress toward the animal. Sensing her presence in the pen, the mustang let out another warning cry, moving away until the opposite fence halted his retreat. He turned to confront her, making a sudden charge. Caitlin stood as if she hadn't a care in the world. He stopped directly before her, rearing suddenly, his front hooves pawing the air dangerously near her head.
Billy was already on the first rung of the corral fence. "That's it, Caitlin... you're out of there."
Kid and Jimmy grabbed him, halting his progress, both aware that Billy's sudden appearance in the corral might cause the stallion to hurt Caitlin.
"No worries, Willie, I know what I'm about." Her words sounded as if she hadn't a care in the world, though she stood alert to the animal's movements. "He'll not hurt me...will ye boy? Aye, we'll be fine friends before long."
Slowly she drew her arm straight out in front of her, flattening her palm, the apple offered in invitation. Caitlin had divided the apple into four wedges, the pieces lay open on her palm. She smiled, cocking her head arrogantly. "I've a treat for you, but ye'll not get it carryin' on with your childish tantrum!"
He tossed his head, his eye catching the fruit before him invitingly. He galloped away, suspicion high, then returned, almost as if he drawn by a power he was helpless to resist. He paced back and forth before her, still uncertain and agitated...but still tempted.
Caitlin stood still, her palm flat, the apple shining. She smiled, sensing the temptation within.
He stopped suddenly before her again, his long mane snapping in the wind. He let out a long, crazed bawl, snapping with barred teeth. Then abruptly he stood still, his mouth greedily consuming the fruit from her hand. Caitlin grinned with success, her free hand caressing his muscled powerful neck as he stood there before her and ate. When all the apple was gone he darted off to the other end of the corral.
Jimmy shook his head in dazed amazement, "Sun-of-a-gun!"
Caitlin's spirit soared, beaming as she backed cautiously out of the corral. She wasn't prepared, however, for the ominous cloud about to burst over her head.
Billy clamped a hand over her arm, his face blazing as he finished dragging her through the fence, "I told you to get out."
She was taken aback by his foul temper, her triumph dampened by his wrath. "I was just makin' friends. He'd not hurt me, Willie, I know that." She frowned her disappointment as his lack of shared success. "For a fact, I've made friends with devils more ornery than that brute, even when I was a wee lass...or be you forgettin'?"
"That was then, when we were both too foolish for our own good." He seethed in inward fury, snapping out the order, "Don't go near him again."
"But I can train him, Willie, not break his spirit. Why can't ye see the difference?"
"Don't go in the pen again, Caitlin," he snapped harshly through clenched teeth, the law laid. "And don't give me any more grief over this."
So, the horse was to be forced into submission. Caitlin's rage knew no bounds, her eyes violent with storm. "The grief ye know for such a transgression will be through nothin' done by me." Tossing her head in arrogant pride, Caitlin marched away from the silent few, and an incensed one.
Billy sighed wearily, watching the raging woman stride away from the house and yard toward a stand of trees a good distance away from the station. In annoyed aggravation, he decided to give her a little time to cool off, then he'd go after her. Maybe he shouldn't have yelled at her, he allowed, but she shouldn't have given him a heart attack either. It was all her fault he'd lost his temper!
In his mind's eye he could see the pawing hooves just inches from her head, and his knees went weak all over again.
"Well, you handled that well, Cody," Jimmy said in piqued annoyance.
Billy scowled, "Shut up, Jimmy." He glared at the group standing and staring at him. "All of you just shut up."
"We didn't say anything," Lou murmured, frowning at Billy. The man was definitely losing it. His eyes were even glazed.
Billy strode away to the barn to saddle Jezebel. What he needed was a good hard ride. It was a shame the pouch wasn't scheduled for another day or so. He would have had it delivered in record time.
Reflecting back, Billy wondered what unforgivable sin he'd committed to warrant being subjected to such a vile and horrible piece of suffering that was now being heaped on his head in the form of a red-headed, blue-eyed, sharp-tongued, hive-inducing, Irish headache.
To be continued...Chapter VIII
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
The Way Station
Campfire Tales
