Desert Fire

by Marcia Lynn McClure

  Malaina had just finished a cup of punch and was setting it down when Jackson came to stand beside her. He pulled his pocket watch from its home in his pocket and eyed it closely. “Hhmmm. I believe...yes...this is my dance with you, Malaina. Would you mind?” He had the familiar mischievous look about him.

  “Very well,” she said, cautiously placing her hand in his.

  Just then the fiddler shouted. “All right folks. Quiet down...quiet down now. It’s that time of the year again. We’re all celebrating a good and prosperous crop this year! Some folks do this as a tradition to bringin’ in the New Year! But we do it at the Harvest Dance!” Whoops and cheers went up from the crowd. “That’s right! It’s turn down the lamps time. The Kissin’ Waltz for lovers!” And the crowd continued to whoop and holler as the lights dimmed.

  Malaina looked up at Jackson in complete astonishment. She tried to pull her hand from his.

  “You said, ‘Very well.’ Remember? Now be a lady and dance with your ol’ improper pal!” he said, pulling her toward the dance floor.

  Malaina looked around. There was Matthew with Mary, Baker with a lovely auburn haired girl. Even Maggie was dancing with a jolly looking older man.

  “See, sugar...it’s all in fun and completely harmless,” Jackson said smiling. He no longer wore his mischievous grin. Simply a friendly smile.

  Malaina relaxed and smiled up at him. “You like to...to...” she began.

  “Ruffle your pin feathers?” he finished.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “That I do. You’re different, you see. Most girls, they just get all giggly and know I’m flirtin’...but you get soooo upset! It’s very entertainin’.”

  “Who is this Justine person you’re interested in?” she asked. “I don’t believe I’ve been able to put my finger on her this evening.”

  “Who?” He looked sincere.

  “This Justine girl that you think is so lovely.”

  He smiled as realization hit him. “Oh! Justine. She is a cute little gal.” He pulled her to him suddenly. “See that little brown-haired girl right behind us. That’s Justine.”

  Malaina felt unwell as she looked at the girl. She was a living doll. “Oh,” she said.

  “Have you found the man of your dreams tonight, darlin’?” he asked smiling.

  She had. He was holding her in his arms at that very moment. “No,” she answered.

  “Well, then, I guess I’ll just have to do.” Her heart threatened to leap from her bosom. How she wished he wouldn’t tease about such things.

  “I can’t thank your family enough,” she said, trying to distract him from their current conversation. “Thank you, too, Jackson. For bringing me here. It’s like heaven.”

  “Oh...you’re more than welcome. It’s a good time havin’ you around to tease. And you do wonders for Mama.”

  Just then Baker and his partner danced up next to them.

  Baker leaned over and whispered, “Better put a little space between you two, Jackson. You’ll make our little Malaina nervous.” He winked at her.

  Jackson whispered a response. “I figure if I wanna really impress her and make her feel right at home...I better be strippin’ my shirt off here pretty quick.” Jackson and Baker suppressed snickers.

  “Well, Jackson…are you gonna?” Baker asked.

  “Dang right! You gonna?” Jackson replied.

  “Dang right!” Baker said smiling.

  Malaina was curious. “What are you two going to do?” she asked.

  Jackson seemed to listen intently to the music for a moment, then he whispered, “Well, you see, darlin’...this here’s called the Kissin’ Waltz.”

  “Yes,” she said, still not understanding.

  “Well, you see,” he continued, “it’s called that for a reason.” She waited for him to tell her the reason. He grinned slyly and she began to feel nervous again. “Well, here in a minute...they’re gonna blow out all the lamps...and between the time they blow ‘em all out and the time it takes to get ‘em all re-lit...well...everyone who wants to gets to do some kissin’.”

  It took only a moment for the meaning of what he was saying to sink completely in. Malaina’s eyes widened and she gasped as she understood.

  At that moment the fiddler yelled, “All right, boys...blow ‘em out and light ‘em up!” And everything went dark.

  The last thing she saw was Jackson’s sly smile and the first thing Malaina felt him do was wrap an arm tightly around her waist, pulling her against his powerful body. Her heart pounded furiously as he slid a hand caressively up her arm and then cupped her chin. When Jackson’s lips touched hers tentatively at first, her entire body erupted with goose bumps. He kissed her harder, pulling her tightly to him with both arms about her.

  Malaina surrendered. She let her hands slide over his strong chest and up over his shoulders. She pulled herself even more tightly against him. She sensed that the room was beginning to lighten and, realizing the passion of their kiss when she felt his tongue touch her upper lip, she broke the embrace.

  She was grateful that Jackson held her for just a brief moment before releasing her, for her knees surely would’ve given way under her weight. She didn’t look at him at first, but looked around the room to see who might have witnessed their kiss. A wave of relief flooded her being as she realized that every other woman on the dance floor was as bright a blush as she was.

  “I gotta trap you in the dark more often, darlin’,” Jackson said leading her from the dance floor.

  “You’re worse than any sailor I’ve heard of,” she said, trying to steady her breathing. After he had pinched her cheek affectionately, he sauntered off, leaving her still blushing.

  “You keep him in line, love,” Maggie chuckled. “He can be mighty flirtatious at these get-togethers.”

  Malaina blushed an even deeper shade of crimson. “Yes. Flirtatious. I need some air.” And she gave Maggie’s arm a loving squeeze before heading outside.

  Malaina was still a little stunned by the incident and didn’t hear a man come in and announce, “I just seen Black Wolf and his varmints ridin’ up this way!”

  She took her coat from the hook on the wall and went out behind the barn. She was greatly surprised when she saw large snowflakes falling the thin layer of snow already on the ground.

  She apologized as she tripped over the feet of a couple that were cuddled up on a hay bale sparking. The thought went through her mind that she wished it were she and Jackson cuddled up on that hay bale.

  Walking a good fifty feet from the barn, Malaina wrapped her arms tightly about herself, and drew in a deep breath of crisp Autumn air that was signaling the onset of winter. How she had grown to love it here! The dry air, pink sunsets, the sound of the locust in the elms and willows. And now, the silent beauty of frost and snow falling to earth. Whatever she couldn’t remember about her life so long ago in Louisiana, she knew that this was infinitely better.

  She whirled around when she heard the girl that sat in her sweetheart’s embrace behind her scream. Her hand flew to her mouth in horror as she came face to face with the flaring nostrils of Black Wolf’s brutal horse.

  “Come with Black Wolf!” he commanded and she shook her head and tried to run past him toward the barn.

  Black Wolf reached down, catching her arm. In the next moment, she was lying on her stomach watching the horse’s hooves gallop away beneath her.

  She heard shouting. It seemed to be the Renegades, but Malaina was sure she heard other voices from the barn.

  “Help me!” she tried to scream. But the mad race of the horse made it nearly impossible for her to get a breath.

  For several minutes she was too gripped with fear and panic to react. But then her instincts to survive, which had saved her once before, championed her and she began to struggle.

  “Do not move. I will kill you,” Black Wolf commanded.

  She stopped momentarily, but when Black Wolf looked over his shoulder, shouted at the others and
kicked the flanks of his horse to push him faster, she knew that they were being pursued. He wouldn’t have time to kill her if she could just fall off.

  They came to a creek and Black Wolf’s horse faltered. As Black Wolf fought to steady the animal, Malaina pushed herself from the horse and into the water.

  It was painfully cold! Like wading in liquid ice, and it only took a matter of seconds for her arms and legs to begin numbing. The snow was falling heavily now and it was hard to see through it.

  She heard Black Wolf’s blood curdling yell and turned to see his horse fighting the water as it struggled toward her. When he reached out to grab her again, Malaina flung herself down into the freezing water and his torturous grasp overshot her. She stood up shivering and watched as he turned his horse back around for another attempt. Malaina knew that she couldn’t endure going under that water again! But she had to, and slipped through his fingers, which tore at her dress, ripping out the back of the bodice.

  She was freezing, disoriented. But she heard gunshots and wiped the icy water from her eyes. Several men from the barn had reached the renegades and were shooting at them. Two renegades fell into the water and their blood stained it red. The others began using arrows and knives to defend themselves. Malaina screamed as she saw an arrow hit a man in the shoulder. Then she dropped on her knees, sinking into the frigid water as she recognized the wounded rider. Jackson!

  He pulled up on his reins and Malaina watched helplessly as Black Wolf started toward him shouting and readying a weapon that looked like a small hatchet. She stood again, shouting Jackson’s name as she watched Black Wolf getting closer. As Black Wolf reached him, Jackson pulled the arrow from his own body and speared the renegade through the heart. Black Wolf fell into the water and Jackson, having lost his balance, followed him.

  The remaining renegades retreated and the other men followed. Jackson shoved Black Wolf’s corpse aside as he waded through the icy water toward Malaina.

  “Come on,” he called, motioning to her to walk to him.

  “I can’t,” she forced out in a whisper. “I don’t think my legs will move.” She felt panic rising in her chest. Her jaws were clenched tightly together because of the cold. “Help me!” she called, trying to extend an arm toward him. Then her knees buckled and her brain began to feel numb. She began to crawl toward him through the icy water.

  When Jackson reached her, he fell to his knees panting. “Stay awake, Malaina! You’re gonna have to save me first if I’m gonna save you later,” he said through chattering teeth. He looked around and finding no help, drug her to ground. The snow was already several inches deep and coming down heavier than ever.

  “Listen to me,” he said, taking her face roughly in his hand as he fumbled with his pants pocket. “I got hit by an arrow. Now, ol’ Black Wolf poisons the tips once in a while. If he has this time...it didn’t go deep at all, but if it gets any further into my blood...if it’s even there...anyway, it’s probably a good thing that I’m frozen to the bone. It’ll stop my blood from rushin’ around as fast.” He withdrew a pocketknife from his pocket at last, and flipped it open. “Make an X mark over the wound and then suck out the blood there,” he said.

  Malaina didn’t even feel cold anymore. “What?” she whispered in disbelief.

  Jackson shook her by the shoulders and his voice sounded angry. “Do it! You heard me! Else we’ll both die, girl!”

  With trembling hands she took the knife. Her fingers were blue and she could hardly hold it steady. He tore his shirt away revealing the wound.

  “Hurry up, Malaina!” he yelled. The injury was just under his collarbone and the flesh already looked slightly torn there.

  “I don’t need the knife,” she said, realizing the fact.

  “Fine. Just hurry,” he commanded. She looked up at him. “Malaina! Don’t get shy on me now. Do you wanna die out here?”

  Taking a deep breath, Malaina put her mouth over the wound and sucked hard. Jackson’s skin was as cold as the water, and she nearly gagged as warm, salty blood flooded her mouth for the first time.

  “Spit it out!” he yelled. She did and repeated the process several times. “Does it taste strange?” he asked suddenly. She wrinkled her brow and looked up at him at such a ridiculous question. “Is there a bitter taste or is it just salty?” he asked.

  “Salty,” she said, spitting. He held her away from him, reached down, lifted up her soaking dress, and used its hem to wipe her mouth then his wound.

  “Come on,” he panted. “I know where we are and we better find shelter. This ain’t no flurry.”

  Malaina couldn’t move her legs at first. She was frozen stiff, but once they started walking through the snow she began to feel warm and drowsy.

  “Don’t knock out on me, girl,” Jackson said as he began pulling her.

  It wasn’t very long before they both collapsed into an opening in a large rock formation. It was so dark she couldn’t see anything but its outline and the snow. The wind had begun to blow more fiercely by the time they entered the cave.

  “Someone is lookin’ out for us. I can’t believe it,” Jackson mumbled.

  Malaina could hear him banging around and suddenly a flicker of light pierced the blackness. He came walking back toward her holding an oil lamp.

  “Me and Baker...used to play in here when we was boys. It was our hideout. When we got older, we figured it would be a good place to weather out a bad storm and we always kept supplies in it, for sentimental reasons I guess. But farther back there’s blankets and such.”

  “It’s okay,” Malaina said sleepily. “I’m warmin’ up already.”

  Jackson frowned and put an icy hand to her face. “Come on. We better hurry,” he said, pulling her to her feet and starting back into the shelter of the cave.

  The cave turned and ran into a dead end twenty feet back where the wind could no longer reach them. Malaina watched drowsily as Jackson began to build a fire in the middle of the room.

  “See...there’s a hole up top. Wind don’t come in, but the smoke goes out.” The fire burned orange quickly and he sighed, relieved. “Malaina? Wake up,” he demanded as she began to lay down and close her eyes.

  “I’m fine now, Jackson. I’m warming up nicely,” she said, feeling like she couldn’t fight sleep any longer.

  “No you ain’t, girl. You’re freezin’ to death!.Now get up!” he yelled, pulling her to her feet. “Don’t go to sleep yet...I don’t know if I’ve got the strength to get those clothes off of you by myself!” he said as he removed the remains of his own torn shirt.

  Malaina’s eyes widened at these words and she even took several steps back.

  “Get ‘em off,” he ordered as he began to strip off his pants.

  “You’re teasing, of course,” she whispered.

  “Not a bit, and I don’t have time for your proper fussin’ now,” he said as he stepped out of his pants and boots and lumbered toward her.

  “I’ll dry out soon, Jackson. It won’t take long,” she said, smiling nervously as he reached her.

  “Yes, it will, Malaina,” he said, shoving her aside and opening an old trunk that was up against one cave wall. She sighed with relief as she watched him rummaging through the trunk throwing out blankets, wearing only his red underwear, which he’d sadly mutilated by cutting off the top.

  She smiled with relief. “For a minute there I thought you were going to,” but her smile faded when Jackson straightened and turned around studying a completed pair of long johns.

  “Take ‘em off...or I will,” he stated, his eyes piercing through her.

  Every part of her was frozen. Her fingers were so blue and numb now that she wasn’t sure she could if she had the intention of doing so.

  “Now,” he growled, and she automatically began to step out of her drenched petticoats. He tossed the long johns on the ground at her feet and turned around. “Now, don’t you be peepin’, girl. I gotta get out of these as well,” he said, rummaging through the trunk a
gain. She whirled around with her back to him, mortified.

  “You’re wanting me to put these on?” she asked. “They’ll just get wet...I’m soaked clear through to my underthings.”

  She heard the tearing of cloth and he said irritatedly, “I wasn’t meaning for you to wear your ‘underthings’ underneath ‘em. Everything that is wet comes off Malaina. Now hurry it up! I ain’t gonna look ‘til you’re ready.”

  She wanted to cry. What indecency! She quickly stripped everything off of her frozen and now fevered body and put on the awkward men’s underwear.

  “Finished?” Jackson sighed impatiently.

  “Yes,” she answered timidly as she pushed up the incredibly long sleeves and legs and checked the trap door to make sure the buttons were secured.

  “Move,” he ordered as he began laying an old bear skin and blankets on the floor next to the fire. He had torn away the top to the dry long johns that he had put on himself. He worked frantically and kept looking up at her with concern engraven across his face. “Lay down here,” he said, pointing to the primitive resting place.

  “Gladly,” she said as she began to feel dizzy and very hot.

  But as Malaina lay down on the rugs she began to shake uncontrollably. Her teeth knocked together and her muscles were so tensed that they pained her. “What are you doing?” she asked as Jackson lay down next to her and pulled a blanket over them.

  “You’re gonna freeze to death if we don’t get your body warmed up. Don’t give me any trouble about this, Malaina. It’s necessary if you want to live.” As he tried to pull her against him she put her hands on his chest to prevent it. “Malaina. Don’t fight me,” he growled. She looked up into his eyes and began to shake even harder. She pulled her arms tightly to her chest and let him pull her against his warm body.

  Immediately Jackson’s teeth began to chatter and Malaina heard him swear under his breath. “You’re like ice,” he whispered. He held her against him, and panted into her wet hair. “Dang!” she heard him mumble as he put a leg over hers. “You’re frozen!”

  She felt something warm and moist on her cheek. “You’re bleeding!” she exclaimed.