Lazy Days (11 page)

Five days later they reached Fremont Springs and
camped. With nowhere to afford privacy, Hallie washed herself with a cloth alongside
the other women at the spring.

Late that night something startled her awake.
Lifting on her elbow, she pulled aside the canvas, allowing enough moonlight inside
to see Tim's face. Sometimes he had bad dreams about his father's death, but
the shaft of light showed him sleeping peacefully.

Lying back down and folding her hands under her
cheek, she had just closed her eyes when she heard a moan. Faster than a deer
trying to escape a mountain lion her heart galloped. The sound was coming from
just outside her wagon where Cooper slept.
Is Cooper hurt?

Rising swiftly but quietly to her knees, she
peered around the canvas. A three-quarter moon bathed the camp in silvery light
and Hallie's eyes adjusted quickly. Cooper lay in his bedroll a few feet away,
tossing like he was having a nightmare and making another pitiful sound.

Disregarding her bare feet and nightgown she let
herself to the ground and tiptoed toward Cooper. From his expression she could
see that he was in the throes of a bad dream, and could only imagine the
torment that would cause such twisted features.

Softly kneeling beside him, she touched his
shoulder. "Cooper, wake up; you're dreaming."

Cooper moved so fast Hallie didn't have time to
be terrified. One minute she was on her feet, the next she was flat on her back
in the dust with his hands around her neck. She just stared up at him with
saucer eyes.

"Damn!" He jumped backward and jerked
his hands above his head, whispering angrily, "What the hell are you
doing, Hallie?"

"You…you were having a nightmare and I was
trying to wake you."

"Dammit, woman, don't you know that
sneaking up on a man can get you killed?"

The tone of his voice and the fact that he was
talking to her like a child again bristled the hair on her arms and removed any
trepidation.

Still lying on the ground, she whispered just as
adamantly, "Mr. Jerome, you were moaning like an injured animal and I
considered it an act of charitable kindness to wake you. However, if you prefer
your nightmares, please step aside and allow me to return to my wagon!"
Having had her say, she pushed into a seated position and started to rise. Cooper
sat in the dirt and brought his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them
and placing his forehead on his knees.

In a muffled and contrite voice he said,
"My apologies, ma'am. You're right about me having a nightmare and no, I
don't like having them. Thank you for trying to help. I learned my reflexes in
the army. Sometimes reflexes were all that stood between me and death."

The sadness in Cooper's voice removed any
hostility Hallie was feeling and she lowered herself back to the ground.
"Were you dreaming about the war?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Inhaling a long, slow breath, Hallie reached her
hand toward one of his and touched her finger to it. "Do you want to talk
about it?"

She moved her hand until she could hold his, not
expecting him to return her grasp. When he did, she almost moved her other hand
to stroke his hair. Because such an act would be too foreword, she forced her
hand to stay at her side and waited for whatever would happen next.

After a lengthy silence, Cooper turned his head
so that his cheek rested on his knees and spoke quietly. "I killed my fair
share of men in the war. Course it was either kill or be killed, but that still
don't stop the dreams. I think about the families of those men, some so young
as to almost still be boys, and I want to throw my guts up knowing the
heartache I've caused some mother and father."

Hallie squeezed her eyes at the pain in Cooper's
voice. Disregarding her previous restraint, she lifted her free hand to his
black hair, now free of its leather restraint and falling forward, and combed
her fingers through its silky, charcoal thickness. She wanted to caress his
cheek. Instead, she said, "Someday you'll come to terms with what
happened, but until then, I want you to know that I consider you to be a good
and just man. I know that you would not frivolously take the life of another.
And the fact that you have nightmares about it only proves the goodness of your
heart." She felt Cooper tighten his hold on her hand and she continued.
"If the tables were turned and you were the dead soldier, what would you
say to the man who had taken your life? Would you hold it against him for fighting
in a battle and killing you?"

For a long time, they sat facing each other with
their hands locked and Hallie stroking Cooper's hair. Finally, he let go of her
hand and lifted his head. "Goodnight, Hallie." In the moonlight the
planes of his face appeared hewn from stone.

Hallie removed her hand from his hair and whispered,
"Goodnight, Cooper."

A few days after Cooper's nightmare, the
emigrants reached an area called The Narrows. With a bluff on one side and the
Little Blue River on the other, the wagons had to travel single file. Cooper
said they were almost two hundred and fifty miles out of Westport. The fact
that they had only traversed an eighth of their journey boggled Hallie's mind.
She already felt as if she were thousands of miles from Jebson.

Since the night she attempted to comfort Cooper
after his nightmare, he had been cordial and always seemed to find chores keeping
him on the outskirts of their wagon when they camped. Hallie worried that she
had been too forward in touching him. The thought that perhaps he wasn't
thinking well of her any longer, saddened her.

Turning her attention back to their narrow path,
she shrieked, "Tim, stop! Don't move an inch!"

Tim halted and looked questioningly up at his mother.

Gingerly, she said, "There's a rattlesnake
right in front of us."

Tim's eyes widened and his mouth formed an
"O."

The sudden crack of gunfire startled them both and
Hallie screamed. Cooper holstered his gun. "Sorry to scare you, but I
wasn't taking any chances."

The sound of the shot brought people running to
their wagon, even Stubby and Harley, but when Cooper glanced up and saw them,
his scowl sent them backtracking fast.

Captain Jones galloped up. "Yep. I thought
the problem was a snake. Like I explained last night, this place is famous for
them."

To Hallie's horror, Captain Jones dismounted and
scooped the snake up by its tail. "This is going to make a fine dinner; some
of the best meat around is rattlesnake. Mind if I share it with ya'll?"

Cooper looked at Hallie and grinned. "Ah,
Captain, you go ahead and enjoy it. I think we'll pass."

Captain Jones shrugged. "Okay, but you
don't know what you're missin'. After I eat the meat, the skin is goin' to make
a fine band for my hat and the rattle's a dandy decoration."

After the captain trotted away on Midnight, Hallie
shuddered and Cooper laughed. Tim, always curious, asked, "Ma, do you
think I could taste some of that rattlesnake meat after Captain Jones gets it
cooked?"

Hallie stared at her son with incredulity.
"No."

That night, after passing through The Narrows, and
some of the other emigrants also having close calls with rattlers, Captain
Jones approached their wagon on foot. He said, "I was feelin' right guilty
'bout takin' yer snake, so I brought the skin and rattles back for Tim. They'll
be souvenirs from his travels." He stuck out the hand that had been hidden
behind his back and dangled the snakeskin toward Tim. The rattles rested in his
palm.

Tim jumped up. "Wow! That's great!" He
looked at his mother with pleading eyes. "Can I have them? Please, Ma."

Hallie glanced at Cooper and could almost hear his
thought.
The boy's havin' to grow up fast. Don't deny him.

Hallie nodded. "Sure, Tim. They'll be great
reminders of our journey; one we'll talk about on cold winters before a
fire."

As if the snakeskin and rattles were precious
jewels, Tim accepted them from Captain Jones.

The captain said, "Now the skin still needs
to dry, so find a place to hang it."

"Yes, sir. I got just the place."

* * *

Cooper grinned thinking about Hallie’s shocked
expression when Captain Jones brought the snakeskin to their camp earlier. He
was proud of her allowing Tim to keep it, although she loathed the thing. For
all of her motherly instincts, he could see she was trying to let her son mature.

Taking another drag of his rolled cigarette, he
inhaled and closed his eyes, envisioning Hallie beside the river with her hair
hanging loose and her gown slipped.

"Good evening, Mr. Jerome," said a
throaty voice.

Cooper opened his eyes to see one of the fancy
ladies approaching. It was the redhead; the one who was a real looker; the one who
turned men's heads and ignited resentment in their wives.

"Good evening—Miz Wickens, isn't it?"

"Yes, but please call me Clarissa."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, sir."

Clarissa straightened her shoulders, which
pushed the large swell of her bosom forward. But rather than entice Cooper, it
amused him. The girl was probably barely out of her teens. She stepped closer
and lifted a hand to finger his collar. "Me and the other gals have had
our eyes on you."

He smiled and played her game. "Is that
right?"

"Yep. That's right. In fact, we had a fight
about which one of us could approach you first." She lifted the finger on
his collar to the stubble on his face. "But they finally let me 'cause I'm
the youngest."

Cooper repeated, "Is that right?"

"Yep. So…how do you think I should be
rewarded?"

To say Cooper wasn't having fun would be a lie—he
hadn't flirted in a long time—so he kept the conversation going. "How do
you want to be rewarded?"

Clarissa pouted, pursed her lips, and finally
sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. "Maybe we could start with a
kiss."

Before Cooper knew what she was about, her mouth
was jammed against his and he couldn't decide whether to give in to the kiss or
push her away. Just when he'd decided to push her away, a rustling distracted
them. Placing his hands on Clarissa shoulders and setting her backward, he looked
past her to see Hallie with her mouth agape.

Oh, hell!

Clarissa turned to see Hallie and laughed,
"It's okay Cooper; Hallie's already given her permission."

"Huh?"

"We wanted to make sure Hallie didn't have
dibs on you, so we asked, and she said she didn't."

Confused, Cooper stared at Hallie, who made a choking
sound, whirled, and fled back in the direction of her wagon.

Clarissa asked, "Did I say something wrong?
Is there something between you two?"

"No. Nothing."

The strumpet grinned and giggled. "Great.
Do you want to find some place private to get acquainted?"

Cooper watched Hallie's retreating back. "Um,
I'm kind of tired; maybe another time." Before Clarissa could respond, he
stomped back to camp.

* * *

Hallie couldn't inhale enough air and her heart
beat so fast she was sure she wouldn't make it back to her wagon without
fainting. She’d only fainted once, giving birth to Tim when the pain had become
unbearable. Other than that, she'd endured the death of loved ones and physical
work to the point of collapse, and never fainted. But seeing Cooper with the
beautiful Clarissa affected her more than she could have imagined possible.

Hastening her steps, she finally reached her
wagon and lifted the flap, wanting to thank the stars that Tim was asleep. Slipping
into her wagon, she berated herself for being captured by the beauty of the
moon and walking farther from camp than she intended. She pulled her legs to
her chest and rested her head on her knees.

Breathe slow…breathe slow.

She just got her breathing under control when
Cooper's voice called softly outside her wagon. "Hallie. Can I have a
minute of your time?"

Her heart slammed her ribs in a rapid staccato
and her breathing became little pants.

"Hallie?" he repeated.

Clearing her throat, she said. "I-I'm
already in bed. Maybe we could talk later."

There was a pause before Cooper responded,
"No. ma'am, it can't wait until later. I'll wait for you by the oxen."

Before she could refuse, she heard Cooper's retreating
footsteps.

Damn.
Shocked at herself for thinking a curse word,
when she had always prided herself for avoiding the use of vulgarity, she
inhaled a gulp of air and slowly edged toward the canvas flap. Inhaling once
more, she lowered herself to the ground and walked toward the animals.

Face it; you're afraid Cooper is attracted to
Clarissa.
Hallie
answered her own thought.
Well, his attraction is obvious. He was kissing
her.
Hallie's mind kept up its conversation.
But why should you care? As
long as he does his job and gets you and Tim to Oregon, what he does on his own
time is his business.
She saw his dark figure and gulped.
Then why does
it hurt so bad?

Cooper advanced toward her and she stopped,
waiting for his approach. Hopefully, there was no one close enough to hear
their conversation. He halted inches from her and came right to the point.
"What you saw wasn't what it appeared to be."

Hallie's voice sounded breathless when she
responded, "You don't have to explain–"

"Yes, I do. I am not the kind of man who
chases fancy women while traveling on a wagon train. The woman…well…she
initiated the kiss and I was just about to stop it when you saw us."

Relief flooded Hallie, which made her angry at
herself. She was newly widowed; she shouldn't care about Cooper's romantic encounters.
She didn't know how to respond, so she said, "Thank you for making that clear.
Good night, Cooper." She started to turn away.

"Not so fast, Hallie."

Pausing, she felt herself trembling at the
deepness of his voice. Lifting her gaze to his, with the moonlight turning the color
and intensity of his eyes to that of a churning sea, she waited for the
question she knew was coming.

"What did Clarissa mean when she said you
gave the gals permission?"

Lowering her lashes, Hallie wished the ground
would open and swallow her up. "Ah … well … she … they … wanted to know if
you and I … ah … you know … because they thought you … ah … were handsome … and
didn't want ..." She lifted her hand to finger a tear. She sounded like a
brainless idiot.

Quietly, Cooper said, "You don't have to
say any more. I get the picture. But just so you understand, I'm not interested
in pleasuring myself with any of them. Go back to bed, Hallie."

* * *

Cooper watched Hallie's swiftly retreating back
and ground his jaw. The only one he wanted to pleasure himself with was her.
Damn!