Thief of My Heart (Watty Awards Finalist 2012)

Chapter 32

"Hey, Kid,"  Hannibal Heyes said fondly to his friend as he came through the bunkhouse door.    "How was the trip into Red Rock?" 

Kid Curry entered the bunkhouse to find his partner sliding his legs into his leather chaps. "Fine, just fine.  I think Livvy's got everything she needs for the big day.  I swear you would think the two of you were getting hitched the way she's carrying on."

"So....did you get it?"  Heyes asked anxiously.

"Relax, I got it.  I hid it in the stables."  His blue eyes twinkled as he laughed out, "And boy is she gonna be surprised."

"I know," Heyes said with a boyish grin.  "I don't think I can wait until Sunday.  I don't think I can keep it a secret for three days anyway.  I'm gonna go ahead and give it to her today."   Heyes stood there looking expectantly at his partner.

"What?"  Kid asked, wondering what his partner was waiting on.

"Well, don't just stand there.  Get your chaps on we've got horses to break.  You know Mr. Peterson from the bank wants that pinto ready for his son's birthday on Monday."

"He's ready.  All we  need to do is  get him shod and we can deliver him personally."

"Let's run him through the basics one more time.  We can take him into town tomorrow morning and get him shod, that way he'll be ready come Monday morning."

"Oh, by the way, there's this barn dance over at the Weaver ranch tomorrow night.  Livvy insisted that we go.  I didn't really have a good excuse not to go, so I said I'd take her.  Why don't you and Evie come along?  They said everyone was invited."

Heyes shrugged, "Why not.  I'm sure she'll enjoy getting to wear one of those new gowns Livvy bought for her."

"Give me a minute and I'll meet you in the corral."

"Take your time.  I'm going to the stables to check on  Evie's gift."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Livvy Vanderbilt breezed elegantly through the door to her niece's bedroom, arms loaded with hat boxes and garment bags.   "I got it.  The seamstress said all the alterations should be perfect.  But you really should try it on to make sure."

"I will later, after I'm finished.  Did you get that telegraph from back home you were expecting?"

"Yes.  All the family businesses are in good hands and everything is going well.  Libby is fine, too.  I can't wait for you to meet her."   As she spoke she hung the newly altered gown that Evie was going to wear this Sunday when she and Joshua bound themselves to each other.  She was so excited for them.  And she was enjoying making all the arrangements. 

"Oh, by the way,  I learned while I was in town that there's going to be a barn dance Friday night at one of the neighboring ranches.  Mr. and Mrs. Weaver invited all of us.  I thought you and Joshua might like to go.  Thaddeus is going to escort me.  It will be good for the two of you to go out as a couple before your hand fasting ceremony on Sunday."

"I'll ask him.  I'm sure he won't have any objections."

Livvy studied her niece who was bent over some sewing by the window and found that she had  dark circles under her usually bright eyes.  "You look tired, dear.  Aren't you sleeping well?" 

"No, not really,"  she admitted.  "It's nerves I guess,"  she lied.  She wasn't nervous about Sunday.  She could hardly wait to have a hand fasting with her beloved.  But she wasn't about to tell her aunt that she had been haunted every night for the past week with dreams of her mother.   In the dreams her mother stood shivering as if she were very cold.  She would shake her head and say "smith," just before Joshua was dragged away in shackles.    Evie didn't know what it meant or why she kept having the dream.  It wasn't like before when her mother had clearly said "don't let her get off the train."   It was as if she wanted to say more, but the only word Evie could hear was "smith."  And why was her mother always shivering in the cold?   It didn't make sense but  it was making for some pretty sleepless nights.  She had kept the dreams to herself.  She hadn't even told Hannibal.  "Aunt Livvy?"

"Yes, dear."

"That woman we saw in Cold Springs, the one with all the children....did she ever tell you what her name was?"

Livvy pondered the question for a moment.  "I'm not sure I remember.  Her given name was Laura but I can't recall what she said her last name was.  I know she said it when she  introduced herself and her husband, but I'm just not sure.  Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious.  Joshua and I ran into her in the mercantile."   She stopped her sewing.  "Her last name wasn't Smith was it?"

"Smith?  Oh, no.  I would remember if it were something as common as that.  Especially when my only niece is going to be a Smith in the not so distant future.  No, it was something not so common,  Sherman or Sheldon or something like that."

Evie breathed an inward sigh of relief.  At least she didn't have to worry about that worn out bag of bones being the smith her mother was warning her about.  But just who or what was it?  Maybe it all meant nothing.  Maybe it really was nerves, manifesting themselves as bizarre dreams while she slept.  She was going to try not to worry about it.  She wouldn't let it ruin her enjoyment of the best week of her life.

"What are you doing anyway?"  Livvy asked Evangeline who sat in the sunlight, needle and thread in hand. 

"I'm  sewing my binding cord.  We're each supposed to bring one right."    She held up the lavender printed sash.  "I made it from Mama's dress.  I don't need it anymore  and it will almost be like she's there with us, giving us her blessing."

Livvy's eyes watered.  "That's so beautiful.  I know she and your father and brother will be there in spirit.  Joshua is a good man.  Thaddeus was worried that I didn't approve of him because he wasn't wealthy.  Who cares if the man you love has money or not when you're the heiress to a fortune yourself.  All that matters is that he loves you and you love him.  A lesson I'm afraid my mother and father learned too late."

"What did you say?"

"I said all that matters is that you love him and he loves you......"

"No, before that."

"Who cares about money when your an heiress to a fortune."

"Who are you talking about?"

"You, of course."   She laughed at the shocked look on her niece's face.  "Who do you think is going to inherit everything when I'm gone?   It's all going to be yours, dear.   And I don't think I've mentioned it to you yet, but you have a very substantial trust fund that your grandfather set up for you when you were just a tiny baby.  It's been drawing interest all these years.  But you can't touch it until you turn twenty-one."

"What exactly do you call substantial?"

"Hum, I haven't checked on it in quite a while, but the last time I checked it was close to seventy-five thousand."

"Ouch!"  The needle in Evie's hand slipped when she heard the figure and she stabbed herself in the thumb.
"Did you say seventy-five thousand?"

"Um hum."

"Dollars?"

"Yes."

"And it belongs to me?"

"Yes, but you can't spend any of it until you turn twenty-one.  That's why I wasn't worried about Joshua's social status or income.  I knew  your money would be more than enough to take care of both of you until you're old and gray.  Especially since it is added to monthly until you inherit the rest of it.   I just wanted to be sure that he really loved you and you really loved him.  And now that I'm sure of that fact, money is not going to be a concern for either of you."

A stout breeze would have knocked her over at that moment.   She couldn't believe it.  She was rich.  Or at least she would be.  She felt suddenly giddy and lightheaded.  She had to share this news with Hannibal.  She tossed her needle work aside and headed for the door, but stopped before she was completely out in the hallway and circled around to ask, "May I tell him the news?"

"Of course, you may share it with him, but wait....."  Evie had bolted down the stairs and out the front door before she had a chance to even finish.  She hoped she wasn't going to ruin the surprise Joshua had asked Thaddeus to pick up for him in Red Rock.

She found him as always in the corral.  He was training the big black to stop on cue and respond to leg pressure.  He was becoming attached to the giant stud, and had decided to keep him for his own.  He had named him Odin.  Under Hannibal Heyes' skillful hands, the once untameable beast had become a gentle giant.  But there were moments when the wild mustang would emerge and only a skilled horseman like him could handle the stallion.  She treated herself to a few moments of spellbound pleasure as she watched the man of her dreams teach the big animal to do what he asked of him.  She shivered slightly as she took in the sight of him in those leather chaps, taming and teaching the wild beast between his thighs.  Did he even realize the power he had over her?  He could turn her insides into a quivering ball of mush just by sitting a horse.  Everything he did, the way he walked, the way he talked, the way he smelled, the way he smiled made her long for something that she couldn't quite name.  All she had to do was watch him and  he made her think such impure thoughts.  Watching him now made her want to finish what they had started in her bedroom that night.  And thinking about that night always caused a tightening of her womb and and aching in her most secret of places.  She closed her eyes and squeezed her thighs tightly together against the uncontrollable longing he had caused to bloom inside of her.   

When he realized she was there, he dismounted and gave Odin a good rub and words of praise, to let him know he had done a good job.  He let the reins trail on the ground and the stallion stood still just as he'd been trained.  He crossed the corral and sat on the top of the fence beside her.  As he approached her in those chaps the tightening feeling grew more intense.

"Thought you were busy with some sewing?"  he asked, loosening the stampede string from under his chin.

"I was.  I'm nearly finished.  How's Odin's  training coming along?"

"Real good.  He's stopping on cue now.  Standing still when the leads are trailing.  Tomorrow I'm going to take him into town and see how he handles the distractions."

"Good.  That's wonderful.  I've got a surprise for you."

"What a coincidence, I've got one for you too."

"A surprise?  For me?"

He jumped to the ground,  "Wait here.  I'll go get it.  Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and put her hands over them.  "What about my surprise for you?"  she called out to him. 

"It can wait,"  he said loudly over his shoulder as he walked to toward the stable.

Kid came out of the bunkhouse and started towards the corral just as Heyes emerged from the stable with Evie's gift.  He lingered back, not wanting to spoil their moment together, but happy to be witnessing the surprise.  The look on Heyes' face reminded Kid so of the boy he had followed around and idolized as a child.  He'd hung on Hannibal's every word.  Had emulated his every move.  And now he had witnessed him falling in love and on the verge of making a life long commitment to the girl he had fallen for.   When they had gone out into the hills for those few days after the Laura Thompson scare, Heyes had been depressed.  He'd been withdrawn and at first he wouldn't talk about it.  But eventually, like always,  Kid got him to open up.  He'd decided he was no good for Evie, and that she deserved better than him.  He'd had to remind Heyes that although they may have done a lot of wrong, they'd also done a lot of good.  They'd helped a lot of people out along the way.  And they'd never harmed anyone in all their robberies.  He also reminded him that many of the young men he felt guilty about introducing to the business, would probably have turned out to be murderers if not for his influence on them.   'Just like Charlie Utley told us, Heyes, we're both better fellas than we think we are.  Don't give up this chance you've been given to be happy.  We probably won't get many others.' Kid had told Heyes.