“Nope,” said Carson. “They got their own piece, like most everyone else in Boyd. Don’t ask me how they paid for it, but it’s theirs. I remember askin’ Aunt Fee the same question, cus she was always talkin’ about the land across the pasture, sayin’ it was cursed. Apparently it nearly blew her down to find people wanted to live there.”
“Cursed?” said Steel, startled.
Carson laughed. “You know us country folk, we believe in that sort of thing. Aunt Fee said she could hear ghosts howlin’ there all night. She said it stopped when she sold it to the Robinsons.”
“No kidding,” Steel was caught between amusement and apprehension. He could hardly imagine why the Robinson land would be cursed. Perhaps another grisly story involving John Tucker? Now the only howling “ghosts” were just echoes from Grandpa Buck’s tree bottles.
“Yup. She always had a soft spot for those people. Never did figure it out.”
“Buck Robinson’s wife was her nanny,” Steel reminded him. “Maybe that was why.”
“Oh, of course,” said Carson. “Well, who knows?”
“Hmm.”
“How did we even get on this subject?” laughed Carson. “I swear the mind gets away with me. Anyway Steel, you take care now. I appreciate you fixin’ up the place. Send me a quote and I’ll reimburse you.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” said Steel quickly. Money was not a problem for him- and he’d enjoyed the work anyhow. “Did you want me to pack up Aunt Fiona’s room?”
Carson exhaled heavily. “Don’t bother if you don’t feel like it,” he said. “I know that place gives me the creeps. I’ll hire someone to do it.”
“Alright.”
“Is that all, cuzzo?”
“Uhh, yeah. That’s it.”
“Alrighty. Buh-bye.” Carson hung up.
Steel stared at his phone for a long time. He still had more questions, maybe more than he’d started with. But they’d have to wait. As the old Sergeant Burrows, Steel’s mentor, had liked to say: the two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
Shit, he hadn’t thought about the Sergeant in months. He’d been trying not to.
“No point to it,” he said to himself. That was another thing. The more time he spent by himself, the more he talked to himself. The more he thought about the past.
He was about to go inside, but felt it would be a waste of the night. The house was far too big sometimes, and even Steel, who didn’t believe in ghosts, had to admit it freaked him out a little, especially on these warm nights when the place settled in its foundations, groaning like an old man.
Instead, he stayed on the porch and thought of ideas for the garden. He’d put a street lamp in the middle of it. A vine, to crawl up and around the porch. A couple fruit trees.
But first, he wanted to do Aja’s yard. Just a couple days ago she’d came through, admiring his work. She looked perfectly at home among the flowers, wearing a long, modest skirt, with her hair loose and bouncing freely around her shoulders. He wanted to take some baby’s breath and place it in her kinky curls.
“We used to have flowers like this,” he remembered Aja telling him as they admired his handiwork together. “When Mama was alive, you couldn’t get her out of her garden if you tried. She learned from Grandpa.”
“My dad had a garden, too,” he told her, smiling at the memory.
She’d slipped her hand through his, gesturing to the blossoms. “I couldn’t do this stuff. You’re amazing.”
“You’re young,” he’d laughed. “There’s plenty of time to figure it out.”
“And you’re old,” she teased. “But you got some other talents locked in there somewhere, I bet. You’re suited to the country life. Next thing you know, you’ll be startin’ your own dairy farm.”
Steel recollected his younger days on his Uncle’s farm. How long had it been since he’d milked a cow? He fought back a smile.
***
Around 11 o’ clock that night, a furious banging on the door woke Steel from his sleep.
Instinctively, he lurched to the door and flung it open- a careless move. He hadn’t even armed himself. But when he saw his visitor, he relaxed immediately.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Sheriff?” said Steel flatly. It took him a moment to realize the man was out of uniform. He wore a button-down shirt, jeans, and boots. A large, very serious looking blade was sheathed at his waist in a leather pouch.
“You can call me Joe when the badge isn’t on,” said Joe Snell, smirking. He peered around Steel’s enormous frame, into the dimly lit hallway. “Did I rouse you from some peaceful sleep?”
“No,” Steel lied. He made no move to invite the man in.
“Sorry about that. I ran a flat near the ranch. Figured I’d come up and talk to you proper. My first impression...perhaps wasn’t that impressive.”
Steel eyed the man. But damn, he was a tough snake to read. Snell’s face betrayed no emotions. A small smirk played at the edge of his knife-thin lips. But his blue eyes were impassive. It was impossible to tell his game.
Steel thought quickly. He still had some questions he’d like to pry from the Sheriff. This was the perfect chance.
“I don’t mind sitting out for a minute,” said Steel finally.
“Alrighty. Want a smoke?”
“Sure,” said Steel. He took a seat on the porch sofa. Let the Sheriff sit on the step! Snell folded his long body into a squat. He took off his hat and scratched his head.
“This kind of thing is common in Boyd,” Snell began. “Visiting your neighbor. They call it ‘dropping in’.”
“I’ve realized,” said Steel. He thought of the Robinsons.
“Do you like it here?”
“Sure do,” said Steel honestly. He needed to take control of this conversation, or he’d be the one answering questions all night. “Do you?”
Snell chuckled. “Of course. Ain’t shit-all to do for a man like me. I like it peaceful.”
“Nothing to do but catch vandals?” Steel said innocently. He took a long drag of the cigarette.
“I know what you think of me,” Snell said. Through the haze of smoke, he hardly looked human, thought Steel. It was that expression. Every human had facial tics, ways of speaking that changed their expression. Emotions were fluid, and they reflected on the human face. But Joe Snell had mastered what few people ever could. His face was a mask. He betrayed nothing.
“And what’s that?” said Steel.
“You think I pick on these boys. Truth is, I’ve got nothing but concern for them. Living in that crumbling house. You raise boys like these without a man in their life, they turn to criminal behavior. Trust me,” he said, as if speaking to a halfwit or a child. “It happens all the time.”
“I think Aja does just fine.”
“Oh, Aja,” said the Sheriff softly. Suddenly he looked sly. “You know her well?”
“A little,” said Steel tightly.
“I’ll tell you a little story about Aja Robinson,” said Snell He ashed his cigarette and reached for another one. “I remember when she was a little hottentot. Back in the day, before Drew was born. She went to high school here in Boyd. Pretty young thing, and popular too.”
Steel wished the man would stop talking. His face never changed expression, but his tone grew oily. “She had half the men in Boyd wrapped around her finger. I guess they wanted to be wrapped around her. In any way they could, if you catch my drift. And Aja thought she could play games.”
“What are you getting at?” Steel demanded.
“Let me finish,” the Sheriff held up his hand. “Thing about Aja was, she didn’t know when to quit. Always forgetting her place-”
“Her place,” Steel repeated. Disgust coiled in his gut. Did these people have any shame?
“Sure. We have rules in this town, same as anywhere,” said Snell easily. “And when Fiona Tucker’s brother- Carson’s Uncle Pete, you may recall- started paying attention to little Aja, why, she just couldn’t
say no.”
“She was a teenager,” Steel said. “In high school.”
“He was a married man,” Joe shot back. “A lusty one, Pete Tucker. But women like Aja can’t say no. It was the talk of the town. She was always after whatever hard cock she could get. And then Aja suddenly dropped out of school.”
Steel felt his heart skip.
“At the same time Mrs. Robinson- she was still alive then- quit her job. And no one heard from the Robinsons for a year.”
“Get to the point, Snell.”
“Use your eyes,” the Sheriff snapped, losing patience. “There’s an odd one out in that family. It doesn’t take a genius to see.”
Steel knew. Truthfully, it had dawned on him a couple months ago. But there was something missing in this equation. Something wasn’t adding up. He changed tactics.
“Why do you care?” he demanded. “It was years ago. Why are you telling me?”
Snell’s eyebrows lowered. “I know you’ve been involved with the Robinsons. I know Aja has her own agenda on what happens with this property. There are rumors about Fiona Tucker’s will, you know. That she meant to leave it all to the little black family next door. Some kind of get-me-to-heaven sacrifice. That old bat never wanted anything to do with the Tuckers, to tell it true. ”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let’s not play dumb, between men,” Snell said, smiling. “I know that you know. When there’s no Will, the law divides all the remaining assets between the surviving Tucker relations. The legitimate ones, that is. Unfortunately Uncle Pete had an accident a short time before Fiona’s heart attack. No one saw it coming.”
“So what’s your point?” demanded Steel. His tone was less than friendly.
“Oh, nothing. Just that Carson Tucker wouldn’t be happy to hear that some uppity family was makin’ schemes on his inheritance. He definitely wouldn’t want to know that his own cousin, who he opened his home to, was helping them do it.”
Steel looked at the man incredulously, trying to gauge whether he was being threatened.
“Anyway,” continued Snell, taking advantage of Steel’s silence. “I mean to ask you about Aja.”
“Seems like that would be all my business,” said Steel immediately. “And none of yours.”
He was an inch away from kicking Snell off the property. It took all he had not to slam his fist into that greedy, smug face.
Snell ignored him, and said as if talking to himself, “She’s beautiful still. Seems to have calmed down after her teens.”
“What’s your concern with her?”
“Should I be concerned? I’ve got no concerns, as long as she stays in her place. As long as you stay in yours. There’s things about Aja Robinson you wouldn’t understand. We have traditions here. Rules older than the both of us- and it’s my job to see they’re followed.”
Steel recalled the mysterious calls Aja would get from this man, sometimes in the dead of the night. Calls she tried to hide from him. He remembered Drew saying that he targeted their family. And he realized, with a growing sense of disgust, that Sheriff Joe Snell was actually jealous.
“Stay the hell away from her.”
“Aha,” said Snell triumphantly. “You’re fucking her, aren’t you?”
“Get out.” Steel stood up, and so did the Sheriff. His expression was inhuman.
“She sucks your cock good, doesn’t she? You ever wonder who taught her that? Do you think about who might have owned that pussy before you?”
Steel moved towards him, but Joe backed away. Like all snakes, he made a good retreat. “Easy, big fella,” Snell crowed, putting a hand on his waistband. “I’m armed. You’re not. Don’t make this easier for me.”
“If you ever set foot on this property, I will kill you,” Steel promised. His voice shook with rage. “And I won’t need a gun to do it.”
“Good talking to you,” called Joe Snell mockingly. He sauntered down the path, whistling.
***
He couldn’t sleep. That was the trouble- every time he shut his eyes he saw her face. Finally, he shrugged on a T-shirt and went outside. The screen door slammed behind him. He had to see her, touch her. Claim her again.
He crossed the pasture barefoot, dew wetting the bottoms of his jeans. The Robinson house loomed, pathetically small. All the windows were dark. But by some miracle, when he cut around Steel saw a figure sitting on the step. It was Aja. She had her head in her hands.
Steel could hardly believe it was her. He felt his head swimming at the sight of her.
“Aja,” he called lowly.
She raised her head. “Steel? Is that you?”
“Yeah.”
She peered into the darkness. “I don’t see you, honey.”
Was she afraid to come to him?
“Come to me. I’m here.”
Aja was barefoot. She only wore a short, silky nightie. In the darkness she could see Steel’s tall frame. A giant in the daylight, he looked almost frighteningly huge tonight. But it was Steel. The man who weeded her garden. The man she taught how to fish, the man who taught her how to shoot, the man who took her for wild, crazy rides up the mountain in his truck, who watched her little brothers, took her fishing and shooting, taught her how to defend herself. The man who wasn’t afraid of anything.
She crept up to him, the nightie rubbing against her nipples. She wore nothing underneath it. In the low light she could make out his expression- impassive, almost cold. He looked angry. His curly gold hair caught the moonlight and made a blue halo around his head. His eyes were dark.
Steel wrapped her in his arms. She shuddered under his touch. He was so much stronger than she; if he wanted he could break her in half. Yet as always he was gentle, firm but gentle.
“What’s the matter?” Aja whispered. His silence was scaring her.
“You’re alright?” he asked, his voice muffled by her hair.
“Yeah, I’m alright.”
He drew back, hands on her shoulders. “The Sheriff came by the house tonight,” he told her.
Aja drew a breath. She thought carefully about what to say, but Steel’s next words shattered her composure.
“Are you involved with him?”
Aja tore herself from his grasp. She looked for a sign in his eyes that he was joking, lying- and saw nothing. He looked extremely serious.
“Because if you are, Aja, I swear-”
“How dare you!” She almost shrieked. “Is this what this is about?”
She could hardly believe he’d just said something so horrible. This was Steel. Steel! The man she trusted. Horrified, she felt tears spring to her eyes. His own face remained remote. She could tell he still didn’t believe her.
“Screw you,” she choked. It took her all she had to keep from slapping him. She turned to walk away, back to the house, back to her room-
Steel wouldn’t let her go. He followed her and pulled her back against him forcefully.
“Tell me. Make me believe it. What’s going on with you two?”
Aja beat against his chest, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“I don’t owe you anything. Let me go, Steel.”
“Are you?” he said.
“No!” she almost shouted. “I’m not. Never...never in a million years.”
Still holding her to him, he felt the way she trembled. He heard the catch in her voice. She had to be telling the truth. “Tell me everything.”
Aja felt the tears coming thick and fast, soaking into the fabric of Steel’s cotton shirt. She had always hated people seeing her cry. She didn’t want to be weak.
“I can’t,” she said.
Steel shushed her. “It’s alright,” he said. “I’m here. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Slowly, Aja calmed down. When she spoke, her voice was steady and calm.
“I can’t talk about it,” she said. “It hurts too much. Please, Steel.”
“I trust you,” he said, and he realized that he
did- he really and truly did. “It’s alright. It’s alright.”
They stood like that for a long time. Steel worked out a lump in his throat. Aja opened her mouth three times, tempted to tell him everything about Joe Snell and what he had done to her- how he had ruined her life, how he had turned her away from men. But she was too afraid. What would Steel think of her? He’d lived in New York- she knew they had different ideas up there about women. Maybe it would make him more liberal. Maybe he’d understand. But when it came down to it, Aja was just too scared. And she hated herself for it.
Ride A Cowboy: Romance Novel Page 7