Harnessed Passions

by Dee Jones

  "Jeremy, don't do this to yourself. Father's dead, and for all he did, good or bad, he did love us, all of us."

  "Not me. I knew him too well. He could never deceive me after I learned what he was really like." Jeremy turned, confronting his sister with grieving eyes. "I don't want anything to do with this land, and I especially don't want to see you become his grave mate."

  "I don't particularly want to turn out that way either, but I gave my word. I can't deny him, now that he's dead. This ranch was his life and now it's mine, for better or for worse."

  "Aw Jules, you're letting him do the one thing you swore you never would. He's planned your whole future around you, just as he always intended to. Your future is over; your life is a mirror of his." Julia frowned, sitting down at her vanity again. She pulled the ribbon from her hair and absently began brushing it again.

  "So who is this girl you plan on taking advantage of?" she wanted to change the subject and ignore the thoughts that her brother was right and their father had indeed plot out the events of her current life.

  "Her name is Malinda Stevens," he began, eager emotion ringing through his voice. "She's eighteen, blond hair, blue eyes. About your height and weight, but not quite as well developed," he teased, taking into account his sister's physical attributes. "She reminds me an awful lot of you, too; her personality, her incredible outlook on life that sort of thing. But she's not as outspoken as you are."

  "Oh yeah sure," she answered him, in mocking tones. "We sound like twins."

  The next hour flew by with Jeremy telling his sister about the woman he planned to marry and comparing the two openly. He was transfixed on his fiancée, talking about her with a distant look in his eyes. Julia listened intently, feeling the pangs of jealousy rising to the surface. He had found someone to love and she was still waiting. She was beginning to think she'd never find the kind of man she had dreamed of as a child. One who was kind and loving, passionate and romantic. It was a dream that had died when Heather had. A dream only the two of them could understand.

  Julia was laughing over some ridiculous joke Jeremy had told her when they entered the formal dining room of the family's ranch style mansion. She caught sight of the turquoise eyes almost immediately after crossing the threshold and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Daniel was very distinguished in his tailored mourning suit and the mere sight of him made her blush.

  Jeremy noticed his sister's sudden distraction. Turning to see what had caused it he glanced at the man who eyed him suspiciously. They shook hands in greeting as Louise introduced the two. Julia felt weak and unable to move until her brother nudged her into the chair across from the man.

  Bridget served their breakfast as Julia struggled to regain her composure. Large platters of food were set in front of them on the long, polished table along with fresh milk and lemonade. Bridget glanced to Daniel and smiled a silent invitation to him as she bent over in front of him, setting the pitcher of cream on the table. He returned her smile with his usual polite poise before glancing back at Julia, noting the disapproving gleam in her green eyes. The invitation had been there from the maid since he first stepped through the front door, but he had never accepted it. Out of consideration to Victor as well as his standing in the town’s hub of higher taxpayers, he felt it was best to remember his position. Besides, gossip was a ruthless knife in any back wishing to be seen as professional and trustworthy; not something he was willing to participate in.

  The thought of that disapproving look from the woman across him, however, being something more along the lines of jealousy made his smile widen to reveal the soft dimple in his left cheek. He winked seductively at her, before turning his attention to the young man seated to his left.

  "Daniel Browning," Jeremy said, repeating the man's name again. "Now where have I heard that name before?"

  "Mr. Browning was father's legal advisor for the Stables," Julia clarified, trying to ignore the challenging look he offered her at the use of his surname; an instant reminder of the reward for using his first name came with a flood of color to her ivory cheeks. It was very unsettling to have this man in the same room with her, yet she found herself becoming quite used to him hanging around. He'd been there so often over the past few days; he seemed to actually blend into the woodwork.

  "No, it's something else," her brother commented, as he poured maple syrup over his entire breakfast of hot cakes, potatoes, eggs and bacon - a habit from his childhood he obviously hadn't out grown. The three other occupants at the table watched with disgusted amusement as the younger man began to devour his concoction.

  "I know what it is," he said, licking the syrup from his fork. "You're the guy who wrote that paper on the legalities of contract law and how they would affect the future workings of the legal profession. I must have read your article a hundred times, and every time I do I get something new out of it."

  "I wasn't aware you were studying law?" Daniel sipped on his coffee, pushing his untouched plate aside.

  "Oh I'm not, but my girlfriend's brother is. He let me read some of his work and in it was an essay on your paper. I couldn't understand what he was talking about and it made me curious, so I got a copy of your article and read through it. I was so impressed I kept the article for my own personal reference. I'm majoring in business, but your paper's helped me out quite a bit."

  "I'm glad to hear my opinion made such an impact on you. You know, your degree will come in handy here at the stables." Daniel commented, causing Jeremy to shrug his shoulders lightly, still eating the mess he'd made on his plate.

  "The ranch is Julia's now, Mr. Browning. I'm not sure if she wants my help, or even if she needs it."

  "I know she's determined enough to try it alone, but she will need help - quite a bit of it - and the name is Daniel. I'm getting a little tired of the title, Mr. Browning. It seems to be Julia's favorite phrase."

  "Don't take my sister too serious, Daniel. She gets her snobbish attitude from mother's Italian blood. Her stubbornness has its appealing side too, wouldn't you say?" Jeremy asked, with a chuckle.

  "Will you two quit referring to me, as though I'm not here?" demanded Julia, irritation sparking within her emerald eyes.

  "Like you said, stubborn," Daniel commented, unaffected by her outburst - as usual.

  "Takes after father, in that case," her brother added, with amusement as he drank down half his glass of milk in one swallow.

  "I noticed your father did have a temper at times didn't he? Much as his daughter does."

  "Don't you have something better to do, Mr. Browning; like finding a cliff to jump off?" Daniel and Jeremy both broke into laughter at the woman's display of irritation joined quickly by a joyous throaty sound from Louise, who had remained quietly enjoying the conversation of the three younger people.

  "What are your designs for the future, Jeremy, if you don’t plan on using your degree here at Turner Stables?" Daniel asked, after a moment.

  "I haven't thought that far ahead. I just want to get my marriage over with before I make any long term plans."

  "You make it sound like a curse or an obligation," his sister tried to tease, irritation still etching her delicate features.

  "Jeremy Allen!" Louise snapped at her son, while visions began to dance before her maternal eyes. "Did this girl get you in trouble?"

  "Mother!" he exclaimed, in a voice near cracking. He looked like a schoolboy caught in the hayloft with the squire's daughter. Julia tried hard not to laugh, but found the boy's awkward situation amusing, nevertheless.

  "I'm not in trouble. Malinda isn't like that. She would never...I mean we haven't...that is she wouldn't...for God's sake mother, her father’s a tobacco farmer from Virginia!"

  "You're really being quite unfair mother," Julia added, coming to her brother's aid. "I'm sure if Jeremy were in trouble, they would be getting married long before June."

  "Thank you," the embarrassment was vivid on the younger man's features. So much so, that Julia couldn't fight the u
rge to harass him just a little more, out of revenge.

  "Of course," she added, winking at her mother. "It is rather difficult to defend a girl's honor, when we've never actually met her. For all we know, they could already be married, with a couple of little red faced Turners running around."

  "That's true," Louise remarked, joining in on the fun. "I've heard stories about these innocent little farm girls. Hay lofts, tractors, why I even heard once of this girl and her farm hand who had taken full advantage of the horse they were riding. Seems all they really had to do was..."

  "I surrender!" Jeremy shouted, putting a stop to Louise's tales of perverted gossip. "I'll bring Malinda out for your personal inspection in a few weeks. Will that keep you two off my back?"

  "It will do for the time being," Louise nodded gently.

  "You're a fine piece of help, Julia Dennese," Jeremy's use of his sister's full name, brought a snarl to her delicate features and a choke from Daniel, who had been trying to consume his coffee in silence.

  "Your name is Julia Dennese?" he asked, with a wide grin as he wiped up the coffee he'd spilled on the table in front of him. Julia narrowed her stare at her brother who looked triumphant.

  "What's wrong with my name?" she turned to Daniel, her eyes sparkling visual daggers.

  "Oh nothing, I suppose; you just don't look like a Dennese. Myrtle or Gertrude, perhaps."

  “It’s better than that,” Jeremy added with a large grin as he nudged the man’s elbow. “Dennese is actually a combination of seven names. Our parents couldn’t decide on a middle name, so rather than name her a multitude of names, they chose the first initials of everyone they wanted her named after.”

  “What were the seven names?” Daniel asked, smiling brighter as he began to imagine the worse.

  “The D is for Dorothy, who was our maternal grandmother,” Jeremy continued, watching the color grow darker on his sister’s already irritated face. “The E is for our other grandmother, Edith. The two N’s are for our great grandmothers, Nancy and Nellie, the second E is for Evelyn, who was mom’s best friend growing up. The S is for Savannah, who was dad’s cousin; she died when she was four and the last E was for Emma, who was an old slave dad had for years. She was the first slave he freed after the Civil War. Emma helped birth Julia and stayed here until she died just after I was born. So you have it. D-E-N-N-E-S-E. Dennese.”

  “And I thought we British had a lot of names,” Daniel laughed, glancing back to the woman across from him.

  "I suppose your name suits you better than mine suits me?" Julia asked with an angry frown.

  "Not really," he commented, smiling at her irritation.

  "What is it? No let me guess; Rudolph, or how about Hampton? I know it's Mortimer, right?" It was Daniel's turn to growl as Julia nearly choked on her laughter.

  "If you must know, I too have several names as well. I was born after my father and grandfathers as well; Daniel Underwood Charles Kent."

  "DUCK?" she barked in a hooting laughter. “Funny, you don’t look like a duck to me; perhaps more of goose or a donkey.”

  Daniel's wicked smile caressed the woman, a seductive gleam in his turquoise eyes twinkled back at her so intent, that she felt as though she were suddenly rendered naked in front of him. He was surprised at how much pleasure he derived from her teasing, just like old friends - or hopeful lovers.

  "At least it's better than, Mr. Browning."

  The remainder of the meal was spent with Louise reluctantly telling of the arrangements for the funeral services and the luncheon afterwards. Victor had wanted a very simple event with little fuss. A viewing was held last night for business associates, while the service today remained exclusively for close friends and family members only. A wake would be offered at the stables afterward with Daniel's partner, Harold Leonard reading the will in a few days when things settled down.

  The room had taken on a depressed feeling by the time the older woman had finished speaking. The urgency to recapture the old air of contentment seemed to be an all-consuming task. Jeremy looked across the large oak table to his sister, who had pushed her plate aside during the course of the conversation; her meal barely touched and only half her glass of milk drank.

  "Are you planning on going back to Boston soon, Julia?" he asked, hoping to change the subject as far from their father as possible. Julia frowned slightly and tried to keep her voice level.

  "I did plan on returning next week, but things have sort of changed since then."

  "You're not seriously going to consider father's request and stay on here, are you? I thought you were going to sell this monster and get on with your own life."

  "Jeremy, please," Julia insisted, her tone firm and filled with warning. "I've made up my mind and I've given my word. I don't want to hear anything further on the subject." Jeremy grunted his disapproval, but agreed to keep quiet - at least for now.

  Daniel continued to watch Julia after that. He knew, once she heard her father's will her attitude would change toward him; he was certain she would try and sell her half of the stables and leave Kentucky. This fact was very unsettling to him. A few weeks ago, he would have willingly jumped at the chance to get rid of the Turner Brats as he had grown to call them, but now he couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing the dark haired beauty every day.

  He didn't want her to leave, but the reason why exactly, he couldn't even begin to understand. He didn't know what was happening to him or how this young woman had turned his life so completely inside out, but he was determined to use whatever measures he found necessary to keep her in Kentucky.

  The funeral service was simple, just as Louise had promised. There were around a hundred or so aunts, uncles and assorted cousins in attendance and nearly as many friends, all of whom had been made over the length of a lifetime. The small town church was crowded to the seams; the pews were filled to capacity and anointed by tears, sobs and hopes of a place in Victor Turner’s will.

  Since Victor was never much on weekly church services, insisting that the ranch couldn’t survive a day without him, the minister was in his everyday clothes rather than his Sunday attire; a request from the deceased himself. There were none of the normal, he was a good man, or he'll be deeply missed dialogue, as with most of the funerals Julia remembered. Instead, the minister said a prayer for the family to have strength and comfort along with a few words about death being the beginning and not the end, and then afterward he gave the mourners a few minutes to reflect on Victor in their own way.

  Several told amusing stories of the man as a young boy, while others mentioned the regret they would live with for not making amends with him over something that had happened long ago. Memories were shared from an elderly uncle about the seven-year-old boy who had climbed on top of the roof of the hen house and jumped off in an attempt to teach the chickens to fly, breaking a leg and wrist in the process.

  Julia and Jeremy listened, laughed when appropriate and wiped away several stray tears from their eyes, while Louise held a sculptured expression on her aging face, a black veil hiding dark circled eyes from many long tear filled nights. She sat between her two children, while Daniel sat next to Julia. Occasionally he would place a warm hand on top of hers only to have her move away, but it didn’t stop him from offering his support when he felt it necessary. A few times, it would take several seconds before Julia moved her hand away, offering him the briefest hope of friendship with the woman, though very brief it was. He could only sit and wait, anticipating the events he knew would pull her completely from his life once the contents of the will were revealed.

  The service was concluded with another prayer, again for strength and comfort, asking God to accept Victor into his kingdom and forgive him of any past sins, and then they were asked to adjourn to the cemetery.

  Julia watched quietly as the poll bearers lowered Victor's casket into the open ground. It was at that moment she realized how complete and final her father's life was. So much time wasted, so many lost dreams an
d regrets made her feel sorrowful and empty deep inside. She really didn’t want to be his grave mate as Jeremy had termed it.

  A warm hand on the small of her back brought her back to the moment and she realized the minister was asking her to lay a rose in the grave with Victor, as a token of his family’s love. She was the eldest child and therefore traditionally responsible to represent her mother.

  Glancing up, Julia searched the mourners for courage and found only a river of tears. Her mother wiped the moisture from her eyes, while Jeremy lowered his head hiding the tears threatening his own composure. She felt guilty for not crying, but she was certain she had no tears left to offer. She had shed so many of them over the past few days while she fought to keep control over the arrangements.

  Julia felt suddenly dizzy as she looked at the rose the minister handed to her, realizing it was Daniel who had taken the flower from the clergyman. His arm gently supported her as she moved closer to the grave’s hole, her legs shaking beneath her. Her finger pricked on a thorn from the flower’s stem as Daniel handed it off to her and she looked down at the casket as a drop of blood fell to the closed lid. It was morbidly ironic; she was his grave mate after all.

  Daniel's arm remained around her slender waist, supporting her with the warmth and comfort of his strength, and somehow she felt protected. Julia gently tossed the red rose in on the brown top of the sealed coffin, watching it land next to the dried blood. She stared down in the grave and found the tears she swore she no longer had, flooding her eyes. She drew a deep breath to steady her anguish, but felt the lump in her throat constricting with unshed sobs.

  "Good-bye daddy," she whispered against the pain in her heart and burning in her throat. The little girl inside her bid her farewells to a man whom she had grown to worship and admire; the man who taught her to ride her first horse and to love life for all it was worth, was taken away in a breath of time, leaving only the memories behind to offer as comfort. Her voice caught in her throat and her stomach knotted with grief.