Stormfeather Ch. 10

Horses have personalities and their own set of likes and dislikes. Depending on the wind, or the way that the stars were laying in the heavens, Amy supposed, she knew that Ruby could decide to be a little nervous. A lot of horses can be this way. It was just something that Amy accepted about her friend, and she could usually get Ruby to work past or through whatever it was that made her this way.

But it was different now. There was nothing that Amy could point to, other than how the two of them had worked their way around Ruby's fear of Amy over what she'd become. She was becoming more and more confident under Amy for some reason. It defied any measure of logic that Amy could think of with which to gauge this. As the miles passed, Ruby was more at ease now, not even minding the weather which would have been more than a little unsettling to her before.

As they splashed slowly up the main street in the teeming rain, Amy could see people in the shops and stores from the corners of her eyes as they looked out to see who rode there in the downpour. In a place like Portales, a day like this could have a major impact on the commerce around town. It was a little unusual to have to take the risk of drowning while walking into account.

But Amy didn't mind. She was pleased that Ruby seemed to be so confident now and there was an added benefit. Other than perhaps the hotels and the bars, there were not many other horses about on the street. It wouldn't have been anything to take into account before, but if one was now something which most horses could not stand to be near, well, ...

Amy was thankful that Judge Blake's office had a large overhang out in front. She tied Ruby up and spoke to her in a low voice for a minute before she stepped onto the planks of the walk. She walked to a store and came out a few minutes later with a few parcels which she placed into one of her packs.

A minute later, Amy was being welcomed by her old family friend and offered a bit of whiskey "to help with the dryin' out," of her. They exchanged pleasantries and talked together in a way that might have sounded a little less like the conversation that one might expect to hear between a young client and family friend than it did. To one who didn't know them, it might have sounded a little more like a talk between a young woman and a kindly uncle -- who happened to be a lawyer and a judge.

At length however, they came to a point where old Judge Blake looked over the rim of his shot glass at Amy for a long moment before he wrapped his hand around it and sat back to look at her.

"Married?" he repeated Amy's word as a question, "you're asking me to preside at a wedding then? This is a bit, ... " he looked out the window for a moment and then back at her, "precipitous, isn't it, my girl? There are things that you ought to be asking yourself," he said, setting his glass down to lean forward for a moment.

"I know," she said, "I've asked myself all of them. I've even asked myself what my family would think if they were alive. But it all boils down to a few sets of circumstances and hard truths, Uncle Clayton."

She sat back looking a little thoughtful and took a sip of her whiskey. "I'm all that's left, and I've done well for myself. In these times, for me to not marry would leave me being regarded as a spinster. Since I am going to be the headmistress of a school in Santa Fe, it looks a lot better to the regular folks if I'm a married woman. Parents of children see a married headmistress as one who can share some of their views and concerns a little more easily."

"Well who's the lucky man and what is his name, then?" the judge smiled.

"His name is Arn," she thought for a moment before continuing with a smile and a nod, "Arn Stormfeather."

"Stormfeather," Clayton mused for a moment, thinking on how he ought to go here, "That sounds a little, ..."

"He is, partly," Amy said, "He's also part Norse -- Swedish, particularly. I've known him for some weeks and I've decided that there's enough there for me to feel the way that I do."

Clayton smiled, "And how is that, Amy?"

She smiled her answer in just the right way to the judge, who was -- underneath the cold judiciary mantle that he wore too often to his way of thinking, an old Irish romantic at heart.

"He makes me happy, Uncle Clayton, and I love him. He's a little different, but then I suppose that I'm not all that much of an ordinary sort of girl, am I? We get along really well, and he takes care of me when I need it and don't even know. I had some trouble with my horse there a few days ago when she took it into her head to be difficult about everything and play up like nobody's business. Well I can't have any of that, can I? It wouldn't do to have a horse that won't let me near her in her foolishness when I'm so far out of town, so I had to get her past it.

She grinned, "Well I didn't even know it, but when I was finished and finally had her calmed down, I found that he'd made me a roast pheasant dinner with everything! He just went out and hunted up a brace of them and set to it. He said that he did it because he saw that I was busy with my horse.

Anyway, I thought about what my folks and my brother would say, and I realized that my brother would want to kill him, likely, but that's coming from the way that my brother would think. My mother would forbid it, and my Pa would think about it for a minute and wish us the best," she shrugged.

Clayton nodded, thinking that her estimation was probably right on the money.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Amy said, "they're all dead, and I'm the one with the decisions to make. So I've made this one. Would you do it for us, Uncle Clayton? Would you marry us? We don't want more than a judge's ceremony or anything in town here, since for damn certain, some fool will get himself a bellyful of courage and think to try to put Arn in his place. Well it just couldn't end well, and I know it."

"He's not a heathen, is he, this Arn?" the judge asked a little carefully.

"He's a believer -- just the same as me," Amy said levelly.

Judge Blake laughed a little as he poured them each another glass. Setting the bottle down, he pushed Amy's glass toward her and he lifted his own.

"The very same as me then," he grinned, and he offered a toast to Amy's love and happiness as he took Amy's hand in his own with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Here's to your coffins," he said, "May they be made of hundred-year-old oaks which we shall plant tomorrow.

May you both live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live and may the best of your yesterdays be the worst of your tomorrows, my dear girl.

You're like the daughter that I've always dreamed of and the daughter of the friend I'll never forget."

He kissed her hand with a warm smile, "I can be there tomorrow," he said, "I'll find someone to sign as a witness beforehand."

After talking about her plans for a few minutes, Amy got up to leave and rode off into the rain as the judge watched until she was out of his sight.

When he could no longer see her, Judge Clayton Blake heaved a smiling sigh and looked out at the rain for a moment. He had no appointments for the day and doubted that anyone else would come to him in this mess, so he walked to get his overcoat and locked up the office.

Out on the wooden walkway, he put his hat on his head, pulled up his collar, and stepped out from under the overhang into the rain to cross the street. A block farther, and he turned into an alcove and knocked on a door.

After the eyes on the other side of the small glass pane had recognized him, the door opened and the judge found himself being warmly welcomed into the parlor of his favorite brothel. Miss Tara showed him her usual Southern charm. "I suppose that you're here to see your flame then?" she asked with a smile.

He looked at the girls before him and chose the older redhead again with a smile and a nod.

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The rain had eased off to a few sprinkles as the packages were put away on Amy's return. She led the pair of females upstairs and opened two wooden trunks. "This one has a few of my mother's things, Elsbeth, and Marie; you don't look too different in size from me. The right one had some of my clothes in it. Pa could never bring himself to throw out things like this. Change to something human-looking," she smiled, "and see what fits you."

"But why?" Marie asked, "Can't I be taught as I am?"

Elsbeth shook her head, "You are not seeing this in the right way, Marie," she said, "Amy said the neighbor has a son. I remember him from before, but the son was a baby when you were born. He sends his son to look in here. They will bring cattle here soon to graze. We will not bother them from this far away, but you might have a chance to meet a man."

Marie rolled her eyes, "I don't want a man," she said, "I want a male of our kind."

Amy grinned, "Well they're a bit scarce as far as I know, so you just might have to make your own. Don't get too snooty in your outlook either, Marie. I guess there are more natural born ones where you came from, but out here, all of us were born human."

"But, ... your male, ..." Marie began.

"Human," Amy grinned, "A long time ago and far away. And by the way," she smiled, looking at the naked willowy blonde in front of her now that Marie had changed, "I'm sure now that I've got some clothes that'll fit you and I'm even sorrier about what I said last night. You find some things to wear, and I'll help you turn into a girl that can snap any man's head around so fast that he'll have a crick in his neck for a week."

Marie wasn't stupid. She was still a little bitter and sad that she'd lost her male, but the chance to live her long life with someone wasn't anything to sneeze at, just the same. She nodded at Amy with a little smile. "Thank you."

"Is the son good to look at?" Elsbeth asked, "I remember that his father was a handsome man when we met him."

"Yeah," Amy smiled, "He is. He was my brother's best friend. They joined the Confederate Army together, but Elijah came back afterward. He looks a lot like his father to me, just younger and he's obviously not a widower like his dad."

Amy waited the single second that it took for Elsbeth's eyes to snap up from the trunk's contents to look at her. She laughed and nodded, "Almost five years now."

She stepped over to a polished wardrobe and opened it. "I stopped in at the Samuel's farm on my way back, and I told him that you'd be living here, so there'll be no awkward surprises. You'll need to get the vegetable garden going again, Elsbeth. I bought all the seeds you'll need for that."

Marie sat down on the bed. "I have to thank you for a lot of things, "she said, "but why are you doing this for us?"

Amy shrugged, "I'm trying to make things better for you, I guess. Arn and I will be gone for a while. You need some time to learn to fit in, and this place can get lonely. I sure know it, since I grew up here. So you can learn what you need to, my home won't go to rot with nobody in it, and maybe, one or both of you might have a good time now and then."

She put her hand on Marie's shoulder, "And just because you and I got off to a bad start, well, that doesn't mean that we can't be friends. We've made a good start at it."

She looked at Elsbeth, "You might want to go into the wild land now, but I think this will be a place where you can make a change for the better. It might change your mind. There's just one problem that I can see.

You can keep your gold, wherever it's buried," Amy said, "We don't need it, but you might. I just don't know how you'll be able to go to town to buy anything. You'll need a horse, and ones who aren't afraid of us are a little hard to find, I think. I got mine used to me, but I've had her for a while. Arn's horse loves him to death, since Arn was there when he was born, so he doesn't know any different.

I mentioned it to Uncle Clayton in town without telling him the real reason, and I told him that you'd need something not skittish at all. I lied and said that there are wild animals who won't necessarily attack large livestock, but that horses often get nervous at just the scent in the area. He said that he'd try to come up with something.

You can hunt as what we are, but you have to leave cattle alone and you have to be careful that you aren't seen -- not that there are a lot of people here, but still, ... I've got to think about it a little more.

Anyway," Amy smiled, "You see if there's anything there that'll fit you and I'll go downstairs and make some coffee. I bought a little tea for you to try, Marie. Maybe you'll like that better."

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Clayton looked up from the lush breasts before him and smiled at Katherine. She always looked so happy when he came to see her. He thought about it and then he asked.

She grinned and hugged him tighter for a moment before she answered in the soft lilting tones that always lifted his heart, "It's because you're a handsome gentleman who seems to care about a poor old girl from County Galway and I can feel that you've still got a lot of the old country in you. When I've got you in my arms like this," she said truthfully, "I don't feel so much like a whore. I'm always feelin' like I was back home, and happy and that nothin' had ever gone wrong in my life."

He lifted his head and pulled himself up to kiss her for a moment. "And what went wrong for you, then? I've always wanted to ask."

"Well, the crops failed for a few years, and there was almost nothin' to eat, so my man and I signed on to come here. But there was no work and he signed on to serve in the army and he never came back. I was left alone, just another woman like many others who had nothin' and still needed to eat. I couldn't find work, so here I am."

Katherine was still lovely in her early forties. To Clayton, however, she was beyond beautiful, and he told her often.

She smiled and shook her head, "My time's comin' to an end," she said, "I've saved as much as I could against the day when no men come to ask for me. I've been lucky and never got sick. But I don't have enough to start my own place. I'm thankful for a lot of things, Clayton, and you're the best one, because you come to see me so often."

He reached down over her belly and began to caress her again. He thought that she must surely be an angel, the way that she could breathe life into his old chest the way that she did. Meeting her on her first night working for Tara had turned him back into the romantic man that he'd always been.

"I'm beginning to think that it's time that I did something about your waywardness, "he smiled warmly. "We seem to have something between us, Kathy dear, and to me, it goes past what we do here so often. There have been many times when I've wanted to take you to dinner."

She chuckled, "But you do, Clayton. The other girls are jealous, the way that you take me out like I was a fine lady. That's what I mean."

He smiled, "Well I meant that we'd go home together afterward. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll have a word with Miss Tara. Maybe I can find a way to convince her to settle up whatever your agreement is with her and you can go to dinner and dances with me as my wife instead."

Katherine's eyes widened in surprise, "Do you mean that, Clayton? Please, don't joke about something like that to me."

"I'm not joking," he said with a smile, "I've got my own parlor, my own whiskey, and my own bed, Kathy. I always come here to see you anyway, and you're always happy for it, and so am I. Why don't we make this permanent? You'll have no worries then. I have people who clean my place. I don't see why they can't wait on you as well. I'll just need to see the old priest, I guess. He's the only other one here who can marry us -- that is, if you're agreeable."

"Oh, I'm agreeable, Clayton," she laughed as she reached for his penis again, "But shouldn't you think a minute here? I mean, you'd be marryin' a --"

"A fine and lovely lady who has become my close friend over the last year," he smiled, "and one who tries not to tell me that she loves me because she wants to be careful not to, but I hear it anyway if I make her cry out just so. It comes out of her then whether she wants it to or not."

Katherine had long gotten used to feeling little or nothing toward the men she serviced. But this one had managed to get past the walls that she'd built. She didn't know how he'd managed that, but she'd found herself with damp eyes almost every time that he left her to go back to his life.

There was a small tear in her eye now and she brushed it away after a moment as she smiled. "It's true. I'm always feelin' that I'd want for nothing if I just had you for my own. I just never thought that you'd feel this way too. What brought this on?"

"Well I do feel this way, and I have for a long while now," he said, "I was talking to the daughter of a dead friend of mine. He was never the kind of man not to seize a stroke of good fortune, and his girl's doing just that right now. After she left, I realized that it's a good day to ask for your hand, and don't you be thinkin' that you've a thing to feel ashamed over, my dear. There's few here who even know you, and any that do know enough to keep their tongues still, not that I care. I'd be proud to be your man."

He pushed her onto her back gently and slid inside her. "We'll just keep your waywardness behind closed doors where we can enjoy it, Kathy. I love you, and that's the way of it. There's more to us than this, and it's high time that we started living it."

Katherine wept with joy as she raised her legs to hold him tightly to her as they began again. He was the only one who'd ever brought these small tears to her when she'd lain with anyone. No man had ever been as sweet as Clayton when he made love with her - and that was exactly what they'd done together from the very first time.

Being with him had always felt more like playing out a fantasy to her. She'd never dreamed that she had a chance to have a man who treated her so well. He'd always acted as though he loved her, so for her it was easy to pretend that she had a man like him to love. The next thing she knew, it was true. She was an old whore, and things like this just didn't happen for people like her.The hardest part was saying goodbye each time.

It felt so good to her to finally say the words that she'd held back for so long.