Unsuspecting

That night a cold front eased it’s way through the south chasing away the intense heat. Everything, including the trees seemed to sigh in relief. Beth was unable to sleep. Her mind had been unable to stop, teetering between thoughts her job offer and thoughts of the unknown man she’d seen earlier in the day. Beth opened the windows of her bedroom and let the crisp, cool air clear the room. Lying beneath the soft brushed cotton sheets Beth closed her eyes and listened to the sounds floating in through the large open windows. Some nights when Beth was a child, her mother would come into her room when Beth was unable to sleep. She would lie down next to Beth and gently stroke her hair, ever so softly saying “Shhhhhh.....shhhhhhhh......shhhhhhh”. The sound the wind made as it gently caressed the moss covered trees and the way the breeze softly moved Beth’s hair reminded her of those childhood nights. It was if, somehow, someway, mother nature was comforting Beth in almost the same way her real mother had so many years ago. Beth slept, and she dreamt dreams of horses running wild and strong arms embracing her.

The morning brought a new found sense of contentment in Beth. Her mind was made up to accept the job offer and make the move south. With that done, she had now only enjoy the rest of her stay in the inn, and she planned to do it as leisurely as possible. Pete’s wife Mabel was busy baking in the kitchen, filling the entire house with the sweet smells that can only come from something home-made. Over warm soft croissants with fresh apple butter, hot coffee and juice, Beth talked with Pete, the inn keeper. She told him about her afternoon spent exploring the swamps and even told him about the man she had seen. Pete looked at her with a mixture of puzzlement and concern. “You saw a man on a horse near the swamp?” he asked, his once friendly relaxed face suddenly stern and serious. Beth again told him about where she had stopped to eat lunch and about the dark haired man on the black horse that she’d seen, but who had not seen her. “Missy Beth, everything around us is owned by me, was owned by my pa and his pa before him. We don’t allow anyone but our guests anywhere on this land.” Beth could only sit and stare at Pete, unsure what to say. “We used to have all sorts of troubles with poachers sneakin’ on to our land to hunt gators. They seem to know that we just let em grow wild round here and we got some of the biggest one’s in the whole area. What you saw, Missy, was not just a man on a horse, that was a poacher.”

Pete hurriedly got up and went outside. A few minutes later Beth saw him and Zach getting into their pickup truck and take off down the road to what she assumed was the spot that she had seen the man the day before. Beth could not believe that the man she had seen was a poacher. ‘What is the world coming to?’ she thought to herself. She kept thinking about the way he had leaned down to stroke the horse’s shoulder, the way he had so gently nudged it into a soft trot. She just couldn’t believe that someone so tender to one animal could make his living by killing and mutilating another.

Nearly two hours later Pete and Zach returned, poaching trespasser in tow. Pete was furious, shouting and cursing, never once allowing the young man to get a word in edgewise. Beth and Mabel met them on the porch, curious to see what all of the commotion was about.

“Barthalamew Pete Dubroix!! What in heaven’s name are you doing to that boy??” Mabel shouted when she saw that Pete had the barrel of his long shot gun pointed at the man. All three men turned to look at Mabel, a rather large woman with soft brown eyes and hair that had once been golden blonde but was now fading to pale white.

“Mabel, you stay out of this. We caught this man trespassing and I have little doubt that he was out to do some poaching”

Mabel looked at the tall young man, who was standing there with a terrified look on his face, and she slowly began shaking her head. She walked over to him, took his hand and quietly led him into the house. When Pete started to object, Mabel shot him a look that could have bore holes through him, making him quickly swallow his words. Beth, Zach and Pete stood on the porch looking at one another, all of them silently asking the same question “What was that all about?”

After a few minutes, Mabel came out on the porch and stood mere inches in front of Pete, her hands on her hips, her feet spread apart, her jaw set. Standing so close to him, Beth realized that she actually towered over him, and the way he looked up at her, Beth knew she ruled the roost.

“Pete, that frightened young man that you just brought to my house at gunpoint is Mildred Baxter’s youngest grandson.” she said sternly, her eyes unblinking.

“Fine piece of work that woman is” Pete grumbled, partially under his breath. “I never liked that woman, no wonder she’s got poacher’s in her family.”

Mabel cleared her throat and Pete stopped talking and lowered his head.

“That young man is Mildred Baxter’s youngest grandson. He is in town visiting her for a few days and wanted somewhere that he could get away to and do some riding.”

“Figures that she’d have a trespassin’ no good grandson who....”

His eyes met hers and once again he stopped talking and looked to the ground.

“He wanted somewhere quiet to ride, away from anyone and everyone. Mildred asked if it would be okay for him to ride on our property, knowing that you could go for days and not see a solitary soul.”

Pete’s shoulders dropped as he realized the mistake he’d made.

“I sat next to you on the sofa just the other night and told you I’d said we’d be more than happy to have him ride on our land.”

Pete looked up at her and furrowed his brows in a silent question. It was obvious he didn’t recall her telling him any of this before.

“You were watching the baseball game.”

It all came back to him then. Usually when he was watching the game and Mabel came in to talk to him, he’d do or say anything to get her to leave him alone. He was sure he’d grunted some reply and had been happy to see her go back into the kitchen.

Zach went back to his work in the barn while Mabel and Pete went for a walk in the garden. Beth was quite certain that Pete was getting a tongue lashing and that Mabel wouldn’t stop until he begged her to forgive him. Beth quietly walked into the house and to the large, brightly decorated kitchen. Sitting at a small white table near a huge bay window was the man she had seen the day before. He looked up at her and smiled and Beth’s heart skipped a beat. He was more beautiful close up than she had been able to tell from a distant. His eyes were a translucent green that made Beth want to cry they were so beautiful. Standing in the doorway, Beth could only stare, unable to speak.

He stood and walked to her and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Kevin Richardson.” Placing her hand in his, Beth noticed how soft and warm they were. Transfixed on his neatly trimmed fingernails and extraordinarily long fingers, Beth didn’t even reply. “That was some mess out there, huh?” he asked in a voice so deep and slow that Beth hung on every word. Still she didn’t reply. “Parlez-vous français, ma dame?” he finally said, hoping to get some sort of response, hoping to break the spell that kept her silent. Jolted back from her trance, Beth looked up again into his eyes and began to laugh. “No, I don’t speak French, I speak English. At least when I’m not standing like some idiot who’s cat has gotten her tongue. I’m sorry. I’m Beth. Beth Stephenson. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Their hands still clasped in a casual handshake, they stood silent, exploring the other’s eyes.

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