Ask No Tomorrows (9 page)

“
It’s a long story…”

“
Looks like we got plenty of time.”

“
You’d best be figurin’ what you are gonna say to them lawyers,
instead of askin’ me so many questions,” Sam said, enjoying the
peaches.

“
We
got time for that. Tell me about it, Sam. I like to hear it,” Riley
said, leaning against the wall and relaxing now.

The wind blew
the door open again. “Lee Nelson was goin’ to war when I first met
him. He couldn’t have been over twenty himself; I was five at the
time…” he began. “He come upon us the night my father was hung. I
don’t rightly know what would have happened to me and Hattie if he
hadn’t come along. Because Lee took such good care of us, because
he cared, well, we learned from that, to care about people. Along
the way, we met up with some kids that had about the same troubles
as we once had. So Hattie, she just packed those kids up and took
them with us. Said Lee done learned her not to leave anyone
behind.”

“
She must be a powerfully good woman.” Riley smiled.

Sam stared at
Riley for a long moment then slowly smiled. “She is…”

He talked for
a long time, until Riley closed her eyes and went to sleep. He went
to hide the horse and get his gear. When he came back he found
Riley in the corner, snuggled with her knees up and her arms
wrapped around them. He covered her with a blanket and went to set
the coffee toward the back of the stove. It wasn’t cold, but the
wind whipped up so strong it felt like a norther had blown
in.

He glanced
down at Nodog, checking his leg and rewrapping it. He realized how
good a job Riley had done on the dog. It tickled him that Riley and
Nodog got along so well, and for a moment he pondered that. Nodog
accepted her; why couldn’t he? But then if he examined that too
much he’d have had to acknowledge that he already cared about Riley
to some extent.

He sat
opposite Riley and closed his eyes.

It was dusk
when he stirred again.

Nodog had
curled up beside them and kept watch. He particularly liked to lay
beside Riley for some reason. He whined as his head came up and
sniffed.

Sam heard a
ruckus outside.

He heard the
wind pick up and felt the stillness of the air, and then the door
flew open with a bang. This time he went outside and looked about.
It wouldn’t do for his horse to be hobbled in a storm; he was a
good horse, he’d come back, so he unhobbled him and took the
canteen and dream catcher inside.

Sure enough, a
storm was blowing in from the north. The clouds were so dark it
looked like night. He heard the roar long before it reached him. He
knew what it was, and he knew he had to get them to
safety.

“
Damn,” he mumbled to himself as he ran into the house and
gathered Riley into his arms and ran outside to the storm cellar.
She kicked him several times and tried to free herself, but to no
avail. Sam let her down long enough to unhobble his horse and the
horse took off. Then, throwing open the door, he let Nodog go ahead
and check the cellar out. After Nodog sniffed the area, Sam went
inside, pulling the door shut behind him.

Riley was
struggling against him.

“
Why did you bring me here? You know I hate it in
here…”

“
Tornado, won’t be long now…hear that?”

The roar was
like a train headed straight for them.

“
I
hate these cellars…” Riley yelled. “They always have so many crawly
things inside them. Oh God, do we have to stay in here?”

“
It
isn’t pleasant, but it’s safer. No matter, Nodog checked it out
first. He can sniff a snake at two yards. Besides, it is as safe as
anything you could find right now,” Sam insisted. “Before this is
over, you’ll be glad of this place. I ain’t too fond of them
myself, but I shore don’t want to be caught in that tornado. That’s
one mean lookin’ son of a gun.”

“
I’ve never been in a tornado, Sam,” Riley cried out and pulled
Sam toward her. Nodog settled down and curled up at their
feet.

“
Hey, you’ll be fine here, Riley. No need to fret.” Sam
chuckled. “You gotta have some faith.”

“
Faith? Faith in what?”

“
Why shore, in the Lord.”

“
You sure do talk about Him a lot…” Riley whispered. “If I
didn’t know better I’d think you was a preacher.”

“
I’m a Christian, Riley, aren’t you?” Sam asked.

“
I
wish you wouldn’t ask me that. I don’t rightly know…”

“
God takes care of his own, Riley, and we…are his
own.”

“
People die every day…”

“
That’s right, they do. And if they are Christian they go to a
better place, Riley. Don’t you know that?”

“
Of
course I know it, I just ain’t sure this ain’t the day.”

“
Cain’t be sure of the day for dyin’, but you can have
faith…”

“
Sounds like you got enough for both of us…” Riley answered,
looking about and not liking what she couldn’t see. “Maybe you
should have been a preacher.”

“
I
thought on it, once. But reckon I wasn’t headed in the right
direction.”

Riley reached
for him before he knew what she was doing when a crashing sound had
the door nearly bursting open.

“
Easy there, it’s okay, nothin’s gonna hurt you. I won’t let
it,” Sam whispered near her ear.

Sam steadied
himself but let her cling, knowing she wasn’t faking as her whole
body was shaking against his now. The crashing noises from above
drowned his thudding heart as he pulled her ever closer. An
intangible thread stretched between them. She was warm and soft in
all the right places and it pleased him that she reached for him
for security.

“
What’s in your pocket?” she gasped, pulling away to
look.

“
Just the dream catcher. Thought maybe it’s powers would help
us a little.”

“
Good thinking; sure wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

Sam
smiled.

“
Please Sam, please hold me…” she cried. “I’m so
scared.”

Sam started to
shove her away, but when her hands reached to pull him against her,
he held her tight. Her head rested just below his chin; she’d lost
her hat long ago so her hair tickled his chin, a soft tickle. She
pulled him tighter. “Oh God Sam, are we gonna die?”

The roar from
the storm was nearing overhead.

The frantic
quality of her voice had him suddenly calming.

“
No…not yet…Just shut it out, don’t listen to what’s goin’ on
out there. Don’t think on it. You’re gonna feel a real
decompression, and it’s gonna pull everything, even your skin, but
don’t be scared. Just don’t think on it.” Sam managed to sound calm
although holding her sent new awareness through him. “Think on
something good, something warm and cozy, like a fire.” He was
totally unaccustomed to having a fully grown woman hang onto him
so. His body began to respond to hers and his arms went about her
for reassurance, resting just below her breast. A thumb absently
stroked her there, absently feeling the small swell of her breast
before he realized what he was touching. But she grabbed him even
closer and clung. “I’m so scared, Sam.”

“
Hush now, I won’t let it hurt you,” he whispered somewhere
near her ear. “You gotta trust me on that. I got a feelin’ it ain’t
our time yet.”

But there was
more than just arms wrapping around arms. His protective nature
sprang forward, and yet the reality of it hit Sam square in the
face. Riley was a special person, and he had to protect her, for
Riley had done the impossible. She had reached some inner core in
him, broken and shattered his well protected heart.

But when she
moved her head to look up at him through the darkness, she seemed
to stretch the distance to find him. Her lips touched his chin
first, by accident, bumping, lingering, then bumping, and he
thought it was his imagination, until he heard her indrawn breath,
and Sam was unprepared, for her gasp when he felt the soft breath
she sighed and at last their lips met. He didn’t know if he kissed
her or she kissed him, but it was as natural as breathing when it
happened. A soft coming together, his mind whirled as her lips
moved slowly, tentatively over his, as though searching for
something. He savored the sweetness of her innocence as they
quickly created a dreamy intimacy, shutting out the world and the
turmoil of it. If he could put the storm out of her mind, he would,
but was that why he enjoyed kissing her so much?

Sam shucked
his inhibitions, this was as good as any a distraction, he decided
and maybe a little better than he planned.

He
reached to pull her arms away, but instead his hands rested there,
but he did manage to pull away just a tad. He stared through the
darkness at her, waiting so his eyes adjusted to the darkness and
her. He wanted to tell her there would be no more of that. But it
never happened. Instead, gradually his fingers slid slowly to touch
her soft cheeks, stoking her into a calm, as though he’d never
touched a girl there. Her skin was soft to the touch, as her head
bent to cuddle against his fingers. He hadn’t expected her to react
like that. For a second she seemed to draw breath, waiting to see
if he would let the moment continue. Or scold her for her actions.
But the touch of her cheek, and the way her head moved so that she
could kiss his fingertips, had him seeking
her
this time. “Right now, we aren’t no color, girl.
We’re just two people, scared out of our minds, and I think we’re
about to meet our maker. And we need each other…” Sam said
somewhere near her lips, his warm breath caressing her. “We shore
do…”

There were no
right words for the moment, no permissions asked. Her breath was
sweet and warm against his cheek as she gasped several times, when
he bent his head to touch her lips with his own once more. This
time he took possession, a sweet, longing possession that surprised
them both.

Protecting
Riley was the sweetest pleasure of his life and he couldn’t stop
the kisses any more than he could stop breathing.

He gently
pulled away just enough to gasp for air, then again he kissed her,
this time letting go of all inhibitions, pulling her closer,
tasting the salt on her lips, and using his tongue to gently open
them.

This shouldn’t
be happening, his mind seemed bent on destroying the sweet torture.
But he couldn’t quite let her go, couldn’t turn loose of the sweet
taste of her mouth on his.

He felt the
quick thud of her heart, felt the heat rise between them and pulled
her solidly against him, groaning from how eager her young body was
to fuse with his.

For an instant
Sam resisted, pulling away, as though weighing the decision to
continue, but the innocent exploration of her mouth had him hunting
for her lips in the darkness, seeking them, probing them, caressing
them with his own. God Himself knew he couldn’t fight this
temptation. Her lips seemed to melt into his, when at last he found
them and swept his lips over hers in an unhurried fashion. As
though there was no storm. He was teasing her, but instead he found
he teased himself for the friction between them was thick as
molasses, and the silent hunger to devour her lips with his own
outweighed his intentions. Just touching them ignited a flame
within him he could barely control, didn’t want to control. But
when she opened to him and let him in, the world around them
disappeared. No longer did the tornado threaten them for they were
lost in feelings now. The storm disappeared; it was only the two of
them and their feelings.

Only feelings,
sweet scents, and tasting heaven mattered.

The kiss
seemed to go on forever, as the tornado outside whirled above them,
taking with it the storm door and everything above them. She
wrapped her legs around him and hung on. He held her close, and
continued his wild exploration of her sweet lips.

“
Don’t let me go Sam, don’t let me go…” she whispered somewhere
near his ear.

“
I
got you…I sure do…don’t be scared now. Don’t listen, don’t think
about anything but me kissin’ you, you hear me…?”

“
Y-yes, Sam…” she shivered as his lips touched hers once more
and this time he held her as the ripping sound above them pulled
the door loose, and bit by bit away. The roar of the tornado was
above them now, and Sam held her as though their lives depended on
that hold. Her hair blew upward, her clothes, but she obviously
lost herself to his kiss, as she relaxed in his arms and swooned
from his kisses.

He tasted the
peaches on her lips, the sweet reminder on her tongue and he lost
himself to the moment as she moaned into his throat and her hands
tightened around his neck. Enfolding her in his arms, he held her
roughly so she couldn’t be pulled into the vortex of the storm, but
instead she pressed ever closer, seeming to lose herself in his
kisses, fusing herself to him. She clutched him tighter and moved
to mold herself against him. He held her there, in a tight,
intimate embrace for long dizzying seconds as their lips mated and
the storm began to pass.