Gabbie stood up, in anticipation of leaving, and her knees were weak. She took a step and found her legs rubbery. There was something wrong here, and she was confused and a little afraid. A scent of flowers blew by on the breeze, and Gabbie felt her head swim. There was an odd spicy quality to it that made her blood pound … like the rhythm of the anvil, she thought absently.
Then the man rose and said, ‘’Tis done, missy.’
Gabbie felt perspiration running down her cheek, and the man seemed to be speaking from a long distance away. ‘Thank you,’ she said weakly.
She stepped around to take the reins from him. Then she felt his hands upon her waist. Her breath caught in her throat and her body burned as a tremble of excitement rushed through her. She turned, half expecting the man to embrace her. A small, detached part of her mind was frantic, but she was caught up in a hazy cloud of heat and odours. She could smell the salt sweat of him, masked by smoke, mixed with the flowers and spices. Spices? she wondered. Her eyes closed and her lips parted in anticipation. Then the man was lifting her to the saddle, as easily as if she were an infant. She blinked, trying to clear her watery vision. He stood holding up the reins for her. She took them as he said, ‘Make ’long the gully, Miss Hastin’s. You’ll find the bridge in no time. From there t’your home is but a few minutes. And go quickly. The light fails and the woods aren’t safe after dark.’
He swatted My Dandelion on the rump and the horse was moving, taking Gabbie from the circle of light round the wagon. Her head swam and she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath. She found herself crying, feeling a profound sadness, and not knowing why. Then slowly her vision cleared.
She looked around and found she knew where she was. It was also lighter than she would have thought. She’d easily spent a half hour or more with the smith, and it should have been dark.
What had gone on? She’d almost had an orgasm when he touched her, and that unnerved her in a way she couldn’t understand. It was too frightening to contemplate any man having that much sexual power over her. For that was what it had been, a raw, basic sexual power. Embarrassment made her eyes water again and she defiantly wiped them. Damn, I’m no child to be afraid because a guy turns me on. But another voice said that what she had been through was something different from simple arousal. Jack could turn her on. This Wayland Smith could turn her inside out. Suddenly she was afraid. She looked behind and saw no hint of the smith and his wagon. Then she thought, I didn’t offer to pay him! On the heels of that thought came the realization that he knew where she lived, and if he wanted payment, knew where to find her. But how did he know who I was! And the thought of his coming to find her both thrilled and terrified her. She looked around as her vision cleared some more. How far had she come in that dreamlike state?
The sound of another horse came to her and she wondered if Wayland Smith had decided to follow her. Half fearfully, half excited, she turned and waited and then, with a flood of relief, saw Jack coming down the trail.
Jack reined in beside her, began to speak, and saw something in her face. ‘Are you okay?’
Gabbie touched her cheeks and found tears running down them. She only nodded. ‘Gabbie, what is it? It’s not Sheila Riley, is it? She’s just a kid.’
Gabbie looked at him with confusion in her expression. ‘Sheila Riley?’ she asked softly. ‘No.’ She leaned across the gap between the horses and kissed Jack, her tongue darting into his mouth. In her hunger, she almost fell from the saddle.
Jack reached out, steadying her as he reluctantly pushed her away, then touched her face. ‘Christ Almighty. You’re burning up! Come on, let’s get you home.’
Gabbie nodded dully. She allowed Jack to take My Dandelion’s reins while she held on to the saddle. Images of fires and the smell of spices were fogging her mind and she couldn’t understand why she was so confused.
Gloria looked up from doing the laundry and saw Jack standing at the back porch door. ‘Hi. Come on in.’
‘How’s Gabbie?’
‘Tired, but otherwise fine. Her temp was normal this morning and the doctor said not to bother bringing her in unless it went back up. He thinks she just caught some bug.’
Jack’s expression betrayed disagreement. ‘She was in a pretty ragged frame of mind, Gloria. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure she was hallucinating.’
Gloria stopped folding towels. ‘What makes you say that?’
Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. Just then Bad Luck stuck his nose in from the kitchen, saw Jack, snuffed a breath in greeting, and returned to the kitchen. Gloria said, ‘They’re installing the satellite dish and the workmen asked he be kept inside.’ Jack looked surprised. ‘He’s too friendly. Gets in the way.’ Jack nodded. ‘Now, what were you saying?’
‘She talked about meeting a blacksmith, a fellow with a horsedrawn wagon, who fixed a thrown shoe. I checked with Mr Laudermilch’s foreman, and he said that he thinks My Dandelion had cracked her hoof a couple of days before and they’d filed ’cross it and reshoed her. He checked and couldn’t see anything different. Besides, I was only ten minutes behind her at most, and it couldn’t have happened in the time she says. So it must have been a hallucination.’
Gloria looked both thoughtful and worried. ‘Gabbie’s not given to flights of fancy. She might have told you about her mother and grandmother – anyway, her childhood was pretty rugged emotionally. She tends to have both feet on the ground. She has a temper, but otherwise she’s a pretty down-to-earth girl.’
‘Well, I got pretty sick when I was a kid, a high fever, and hallucinated giant bunny rabbits hiding in my closet. The human mind is capable of a lot.’
‘Fever can do that,’ Gloria agreed, though her agreement seemed tentative. ‘Maybe she ought to see the doctor anyway.’
Just then a voice from the kitchen caused them to turn. Gabbie entered and brightly said, ‘Gloria, I’m famished –’ She halted when she saw Jack and her expression turned dark. ‘Hello,’ she said icily.
Gloria put the last towel on top of the new dryer. ‘I think I’ll go see how the workmen are coming.’ She beat a hasty retreat.
Jack said, ‘You okay?’
Unexpectedly, Gabbie was taken aback by the question. ‘Sure? Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You were kind of out of it last night, is why.’
She looked at him, curiosity softening her eyes for a moment. ‘What do you mean, “out of it”? I was just a little – upset.’ Her expression darkened again. ‘And now that you mention it, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be out with the balloon queen.’
‘Sheila?’ said Jack, his forehead wrinkled in concern. ‘I explained all that last night. She wants Aggie to write a recommendation letter to Cornell. She’s pinned to a frat rat down at Penn. Gabbie, don’t you remember my bringing you home?’
Gabbie’s face drained of colour. She backed into the kitchen and sat down at the table. ‘I … I remember leaving the park. I rode into the woods and … it’s a little vague after that. I woke up this morning, so I figured I got home – My Dandelion! I was going to take her over to Mr Laudermilch’s.’
Jack pulled out another chair and sat down. ‘I took care of it last night, after I put you to bed.’
Suddenly Gabbie flushed. ‘You put me to bed?’
Jack smiled, a little self-consciously. ‘Well, you were feverish and someone had to. I put you in bed, called Mr Laudermilch’s place, and told him what was going on. He sent a couple of boys over to