The Visitor_Texas 1863_1869

by Barbara Svetlick

Garnett dismounted and tied up his horse. He walked up behind her thinking it was a shame that he cared so much. She looked up at Garnett and smiled.

  “Well, I want to thank all of you for exciting my wife to the point that now I am forced to take her home and deal with her passion.” Dominic mounted his horse and they left the three of them standing there.

  "Sometimes I wonder when the house of cards will fall." They all returned to fixing the broken fence.

  Mirisa decided since it was Sunday that she would get up early and fix breakfast. All the furniture they had ordered had been delivered so they had real furniture on the porch and didn’t have to sit on the steps. She opened up all the French doors across the back of the house and set the table on the porch for breakfast. She made Mexican eggs and peppers with sausage. She fried the bread putting it on the work counter to cool. The day was so perfect.

  Dominic was working on paperwork and ignoring her for the most part. Mirisa leaned over the couch where he was sitting and ran her hands down the front of his shirt. He tried hard to ignore her but she wouldn’t stop so he reached up and pulled her over the back of the couch so that she was upside down next to him.

  “I hope you aren’t doing something in the living room where people can see you.” James walked over and sat down facing them. “Is breakfast ready and if it isn’t why are you not in the kitchen?” She looked at him upside down.

  Dominic pulled Mirisa up and kissed the tip of her nose. When she brought out the pitcher of fresh milk, Meeks and Garnett were standing on the porch talking to Dominic who was in the doorway stretching. During breakfast they discussed the work on the new building by the bunkhouses where the men could play cards and socialize believing that it was better to have it on the ranch rather than having the men going into the closest town and not showing up for work or getting into trouble with the locals. Meeks mentioned that he had made arrangements to have it staffed only on Saturday nights otherwise they could use it for friendly games of cards. Mirisa sat forward and asked him what it meant to ‘staff it’.

  “Mirisa, I think you are getting the hang of cooking.”

  “Then I will assume you are bringing saloon girls onto the property.” She had her feet on Dominic’s lap and he was massaging her toes. “I guess my feelings on the matter aren’t important since I apparently don’t own a share of the ranch.”

  “Mirisa.”

  “Yes, darling.”

  “Do you need help clearing the table?”

  “Do I? Or are all of you just going to pretend that I am not smart enough to be able to understand when you talk in childish riddles or ignore my questions?”

  “Can I have another cup of coffee?” She pulled her legs off his lap and went into the kitchen. He just closed his eyes and tried to remember what he was saying.

  She came back out and put the coffee pot on the table but didn’t fill his cup. James took out the cards and started shuffling. “Mirisa are you in or out?”

  “I’m in.” She finished stacking the dishes, changed into a skirt and blouse and came out and slid under Dominic’s arm facing away from him. He looked around her to see his cards and she leaned back and told him he couldn’t win anything with that hand. He folded and asked her if she were going to torment him all day or just until he couldn’t stand it.

  “How long would that be?” She picked up her cards and anted. He slowly ran his hand along her hip and followed the outside of her leg which caused the cutest little smile on her face as she ignored him.

  “Are you two playing?”

  Meeks upped the ante. “Obviously, but the question is, are they playing cards.”

  Garnett saw his ante and asked for two cards. Meeks anted and upped it and turned to Dominic. She smiled because Dominic had his hand between her legs. She anted for him and asked for one card. Garnett watched her face and saw her eyes close. Mirisa leaned back just a little and even though James slid a card across the table she didn’t reach for it.

  “Mirisa?” James was looking at her and Garnett wanted to kick him under the table.

  She opened her eyes which were a very dark green and looked at him. Meeks sat back and grinned. He couldn’t believe that Dominic would do this. Mirisa reached over and picked up the card and raised the bet. They all sat there without moving not because they thought she had a good hand but they really thought this was the most outrageous thing that Dominic had ever done. He didn’t say a word but stopped. Dominic poured a shot and put it in front of her before he poured himself a double.

  Meeks lit his cigar and picked up his cards as she moved to the chair between her husband and James. She picked up her cards, anted and put them face down. She was on her knees with her elbows on the table but wasn’t drinking.

  James met the raise. Garnett put his money in and Meeks met everyone’s raise. She said she didn’t need any cards but Dominic did. He put two cards down, James said he was fine and Garnett took one. Meeks said he was fine and he raised the ante. It went around the table with only Garnett folding. Meeks tried to figure out if she was bluffing but she was being way to playful to tell. He raised her as James and Dominic folded so that it was only the two of them. She leaned over the table and caught his attention. He wasn’t about to give in to her. He laid his cards out. She laid down a royal flush. He shook his head and poured another shot.

  “Obviously, there is no difference in when you are bluffing and when you have a winning hand.” He passed her the cards and she wrinkled her nose and shuffled. “This is why they don’t allow women to play cards.”

  “Then I assume I won’t be allowed in your new card room.”

  “You assume correctly. In fact, if I have a vote you will never be allowed in another saloon when I am there.” Meeks looked at his hand.

  “I have to agree with that one.” Garnett was looking at his cards and not her.

  She looked at Dominic. “Are you going to agree to that?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She turned to James who just shook his head in agreement. She picked up her cards but decided she needed a fresh cup of coffee. She laid her cards down and picked up the coffee pot. She came back out with a cookie and her coffee and sat back down and looked at her cards again.

  “What’s the ante?”

  “Two and raised three.”

  “Who raised?”

  “Your husband.”

  She saw their bet and raised one. They had played with her enough to know when she raised one she was bluffing. James folded but Garnett and Dominic stayed in and called her. She looked at them both and laid down a full house. Dominic folded but Garnett laid down a full house A’s high.

  She stretched and realized they had been playing all afternoon so she excused herself. Dominic found her in the kitchen peeling vegetables to add to the duck simmering on the stove. He turned her around and looked at her.

  “Do you love me?” It was the first time Dominic had ever asked her that.

  “Probably more then you will ever realize.”

  There had been very few problems and the ranch was running smoothly with only a few incidents involving rustlers but so far nothing serious. Dominic was leaning up against the rail watching them break in a beautiful mustang when James joined him. “I think I am getting too old to break in horses.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “You know any time you want to play cards I’ll stay at home with Mirisa.”

  “Thanks but Garnett was right when he said that I should never have exposed her to what happens in saloons.”

  “Do you ever miss being single?”

  “Only the part of not having to care about what I did or said or even thought.”

  The mustang threw the rider within a minute. The cowboy dusted himself off and waited for the horse to settle down. He grabbed the reins letting him walk around the pen several times before trying to mount him again.

  “Nice horse.” Dominic watched as he was thrown again.

  “Do you worry
about her?”

  “All the time.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there’s just too much danger in the world and no matter how much she learns I don’t know if she can really apply it if necessary.”

  “That’s not what I was talking about. I enjoy having her around.”

  Dominic looked at him. His sincerity was so apparent. “She allows all of you to enjoy it way too much.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “Sometimes. She is an extremely emotional person who reacts very easily. I don’t think she knows how vague that line is with men and how hard it is to stop it when you go too far.”

  “You know if you continue to flaunt her the way you have been doing, it will blow up in your face.”

  “It’s hard to change habits.”

  “Are you sorry you married her?”

  “That’s a hard question to answer.”

  “The fact that you have to think before answering says a lot.”

  “Does it?”

  Mirisa came up behind them and climbed up on the rail. Dominic asked her what she had been doing. “I was watching them brand the new horses. Then I walked down to the pond with Dog.”

  “I don’t want you by the pond.” He didn’t generally let her go past the stables unless she was riding with one of them.

  “Well if you would clean out all the downed trees and brush it would be safe. As it is, dog found a large snake curled up under a tree trunk and killed it.” She watched the rider get thrown again. “Don’t they ever get hurt?”

  “Sure but generally they are experienced enough to know how to land.”

  “Can we go to Dallas?”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “I just need to get some things but mostly I am bored and tired of my own company.”

  “I think I’ll take you to Austin instead. You’ll enjoy the town.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you always thank him for everything he does?” She looked at James and smiled.

  “Some things more than others.”

  “What kind of snake?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t want to get close enough to look.” She reached down and rubbed her leg.

  James watched her. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  “I got tangled up when Dog went after the snake but it’s probably just a scratch.”

  “I’ll have it cleaned out but I want you to stay away from it.” Mirisa nodded as they watched the horse throw the rider again.

  Dominic and Mirisa headed back to the house early but she was tired so she curled up on the couch and fell asleep while he washed up. The spring had brought over three dozen healthy foals and a dozen colts from their breeding program. Hopefully in a few years they would be birthing enough from their stronger stock to only have to bring in horses to diversify the herd.

  James was finishing cutting up the onions for the chili as Garnett and Meeks came through the door. When Garnett saw Mirisa sleeping on the couch he turned at James. “Rough day?”

  “I didn’t think so but you’d have to ask Dominic.”

  Dominic turned from his conversation with Meeks. “Ask me what?”

  Garnett reached in the box and took out a cigar and lit it before joining them on the porch. “Mirisa have a hard day?”

  “I don’t know she was quiet on the ride home.”

  James walked over and put the back of his hand on her forehead. “She has a fever.”

  Dominic walked in leaning over the couch and felt her neck before he walked around the couch. “Mirisa.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Are you sick?”

  She closed her eyes, rolled over and buried herself in the blanket. He pulled the blanket back and felt her back. “This isn’t good.”

  “Check her leg.”

  Garnett watched while Dominic took off the blanket. “Why her leg?”

  “She was rubbing it earlier.”

  Dominic undid her jeans and pulled them off as she protested but he ignored her. He checked her legs and found two small puncture wounds on her calf right where the top of her boot would be. The veins traveling up the outside of her leg were red and swollen and her ankle was starting to swell. “She’s been bit.”

  James turned her leg and looked at the small punctures. “It was either a very small snake or possibly a tree spider. I think either way we should drain it.”

  “Well, fortunately the inflammation hasn’t traveled to her knee yet so we might be able to reduce the poison before it saturates her entire system.”

  Garnett unsheathed his knife and turned it over in the fire of the stove before pouring whisky over the blade wiping it down. Dominic got up and held her arms as Meeks leaned over at her feet and held them while Garnett followed the veins making a tiny incision over the swollen vein. She cried but didn’t struggle much. He put the knife down and James handed him a hot wet towel and he began to massage down toward the wound causing the blood to pour out hopefully with any poison but they all knew whatever had been injected was already in her system. They had to change towels twice before the bleeding slowed down.

  “She’s still way too hot.” Dominic leaned down and picked her up. “River or bathtub?”

  “I think inside is best.”

  James ran water into the tub and they lowered her. He sponged her down as she mumbled for them to stop. She started to shake uncontrollably and suddenly stopped. Conrad watched them knowing they had the experience to handle the situation but he could see the concern that she was so small that it was far more serious than if one of them had been bitten.

  “Don’t leave her in too long; her temperature will drop fast.” James put the back of his hand on her head and walked away to get some towels. She had started shaking again so Garnett pulled her out of the water as Dominic slipped off her wet camisole and wrapped her in her bathrobe. They laid her down on the bed so James could bandage her leg making sure it was still draining.

  James served dinner on the porch. “It’s been a long time since we have had to deal with a poisonous bite.”

  “Not long enough.”

  Mirisa woke up as Meeks was sitting next to her checking her temperature. “Hello sunshine.” She reached for his hand and he wrapped her fingers around his and kissed them.

  “Why are you here? Was I shot again?”

  “You were bitten by something.”

  Mirisa tried to sit up but didn’t have any strength so she curled up on her side and went back to sleep. He came back out to the porch. “Her fever is staying down.” James got up and went in to change the bandage.

  “I’m surprised she was unaware of being bitten.”

  “Get a crew in there to clean out everything but let them know there may be nests.”

  They sat up with her all night changing the bandage and keeping an eye on her temperature which went up and down but not to the point of being dangerous. Mirisa was completely delirious and kept talking to someone in Choctaw dialect. Conrad sat in the window seat watching over her. He placed his hand on her thigh feeling the blood run through her veins. He took her hand helping her to step up on the rock ledge that looked out into the vastness of a majestic countryside.

  “Where are we?”

  “We are within yourself and your dreams.”

  “Am I dead?”

  Conrad laughed for she was such a dramatic imaginative young woman who read too many books. “No. You are not ready yet.”

  Mirisa turned back to the horizon as calm settled over her entire body. “This is my dreams?”

  “This is. Your path is still far into the future as you know it and there are many, many things that you must learn. The first would be to start becoming aware of the things around you because the next snake might not be so small. You must release your fears and inhibitions to open your life yet guard yourself from the things that come disguised as the right path. Right now you must sit and enjoy the beauty while your body heals itself.”

  Mirisa lowered herse
lf onto the moss that covered the ledge and listened to the sound of the small animals. The clouds seemed to fill the sky but it was their shadows that held her attention. Conrad put his hands over her eyes and she fell into a deep restful sleep.

  Mirisa woke up as the sun was rising and all four of them were sound asleep in the living room. She made her way to the kitchen and emptied the last of the coffee pot. Mirisa went back to the living room and sat down on the hearth as a chill ran down her spine. She looked at the bandage on her leg and wondered why it hurt so much.

  “How are you feeling?” She looked up and Garnett was watching her.

  “Okay.” She sipped her coffee before making a face at the bitterness. Garnett got up and crouched down next to her putting the back of his hand against her head as he undid the bandage and checked the wound. She watched him and when he looked up her eyes softened.

  “Do you remember getting bit?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t know what kind of snake?”

  “It was a tree branch.” He bandaged it back up. James came out of the kitchen with fresh coffee and poured Garnett a cup and handed Mirisa a fresh cup.

  “Are you hungry?”

  She looked at him strangely. “Why do you all look so bad?”

  Dominic walked over and put his hand on her head. “Because we have been sitting up with you all night.”

  “But I wasn’t up.”

  “Mirisa, you will feel better if you get something in your stomach.”

  “I think I’m going to throw up.” James helped her off the couch and took her to the bathroom. She had nothing in her system as the dry heaves wracked her body. She was pale and shaky so James helped her back to bed where she curled up falling back to sleep. They all went out on the porch and just before dinner she came out and crawled up on Dominic’s lap and put her head down on his chest.

  James brought out a large pot of stew and put it on the table. “We need to get food in her.” She looked up at him and put her head back down. Mirisa sat back when she realized she was barely dressed. She went inside passing Garnett who was carrying her robe, he handed it to her as she continued on to her bedroom. Mirisa came out in a long cotton dress and sat down next to Meeks putting her foot in his lap to be massaged because it hurt more then she wanted to admit. She looked at her ankle that was still swollen to twice its size.