Wild Kat (4 page)

She
banged pots and pans loudly the next morning.  She seemed angry but Thomas
thought it to be a lack of sleep until she confronted him.

“You
make it a habit to peep at people Thomas?  Are you where the saying peeping Tom
came from?”  She asked almost throwing his breakfast at him.  He did not know
what to say.  “I know you were watching me last night in the creek, did you get
an eyeful?”  She hissed leaning over the table inches from his flushed face. 
He could feel the air from her whoosh over his skin.

“I
wanted to be sure you were safe.”  He would not look at her and reveal his
shame.

“Bull
shit.  Any woman who can take a cougar down with a hunting knife does not need
protected.”  She went back to the stove.  “What were you going to protect me
from anyway?  A better question is how were you going to protect me with your
clothes at the top of the hill and no weapons?  You’d best concentrate on
protecting yourself, Great Bear and his braves were watching you, did you hear
the doves?  Those were my friends.”

"I
never saw you take down any cougar, and you did not have a knife last night. 
And how was I supposed to know that you have Indian bodyguards.”  Kat whipped a
hunting knife from her waist and threw it so fast he did not see it coming
until a vase on the shelf above him shattered.  Glass shards rained down on him
and the floor in a loud explosion.

“I
have it today though.  If you peep at me again, that will be your heart.”  She
choked back tears.

'She’ll
slit your throat where you sleep.'  Jacob’s words echoed through his mind.

“I
am very sorry Kat. When I followed you from the barn, I swear my intentions
were honorable.  I thought you were going after whiskey perhaps and I was
concerned for your safety, but you are right.  I should mind my manners.  I had
no business watching you.  It will not happen again.”  His gray eyes were soft
and soulful. 

“See
that it does not.”  She sat down with her pancakes and eggs.

“You
are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen if it means anything to you.”  He
took a small bite.

“I
am probably the only woman you have ever seen.”  She would not look at him, she
stared at her eggs.

“No,
I have seen my share.  These are good.”  He shoved food into his mouth.  She
ignored him.  It was just like a man to more interested in pancakes than in her
pride.

Kat
cleaned up the glass beneath the shelf where her hunting knife was stuck in the
wall.  She meant what she said.  Thomas did not doubt it.  He thought about
that long cold metal blade plunging into his heart.  She would be a formidable
enemy.  He needed to make her his best friend and quickly.  How did a girl
learn so much about killing at such a young age?  She hunted, fished, skinned,
handled a shotgun and knives better than most men.  Yet she cooked better than
his mother and worked like a mule.  She did not smile often but had a wit about
her that was sharp.  She was as full of herself as the worst braggart he had
ever seen yet lovelier than any beauty queen.  “Mister Whitley, you raised one
hell of a daughter.”  He said to the bean seedlings he was thinning.

“I
think I scared the devil out of him Papa, you would be proud.”  Kat said to the
dishes she scrubbed.

Kat
woke Thomas early, he nearly screamed when he woke with her standing over him. 
‘She’ll slit you throat where you sleep.’  It was an ever-present thought in
his mind.

“Bad
dream?”  She smirked.

“Somewhat.
Why are you in here?”  Thomas rubbed his eyes and stretched.  She tried not to
notice he was half-naked. Ignoring the quiver in her belly and the blood
rushing to her face she went on.

“It
is Easter Sunday.  Put your decent clothes on and drive me to church.  We leave
in a half-hour.  If you hurry you can eat breakfast beforehand.”  She sashayed
from his room in her mother’s best lime green linen dress. It hung loosely at
her hips.  Her white leather slippers whispered across the bare wood floor. 
Her long hair was tied up with a green velvet ribbon.  She looked like the
average twelve-year-old playing dress-up. Thomas shook his head and climbed
from bed.

She
was waiting in the wagon for him, her white gloves knotted in her clenched
fists.  He had thoughts of kissing her as he climbed up onto the seat.  ‘She’ll
slit your throat...’ He thought better of it and slapped the reins.

“The
hog came yesterday while you were out.  Jacob brought my chicks too.  I put
them in the pen.”  She offered polite conversation.

“What’s
so special about church today?”  He looked down at her, if he leaned just
slightly he would be able to see down the front of her bodice, but thought
better of it.

“It
is Easter, the day Jesus rose.  Mother insisted on two days a year, today and
Christmas.  She said it showed respect. If you can’t show up every Sunday, then
you best at least show respect.”

“I
never thought of it that way, she is right.  Since today is special, perhaps we
could be friendly, just for today.”  Her eyes were far away, down the road.  He
watched her from the corner of his eye.  “Do you think we could be nice today?”

“I
can manage it, if you can.”  She slid her gloves on and rested her hands on the
Bible in her lap.  It was her mother’s as well as everything she wore.  She was
not only showing respect to the Lord but to her Mama, God rest her soul.  Kat
thought to herself.

He
lifted her down from the wagon seat behind the church holding her a bit too
long and a bit too close, just for an instant he could feel her body heat. It
only managed to set his senses on fire.  He could smell nothing but her perfume
for the rest of the day. 

 He
never went to church here before. It made him feel disloyal to his own.  It was
much the same except someone else did the talking.  Kat listened to his deep
baritone during the hymns. He had a beautiful voice.  Butterflies tickled her
ribs when he smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat.  She was too aware of
the well muscled thigh brushing against hers and the sound of her own
heartbeat.

“I
hope you will all join us at the picnic after services.  We will have plenty of
food and games and dancing later on this evening.  I will see you all there.” 
The preacher announced. 

“Are
we attending the picnic?”   He whispered in her ear making it tickle and
quickening her pulse.

“Why
not?  It is a friendly day.”  She purred back.

Kat
spoke to a few ladies and young women she knew on her way out.  Thomas waited
quietly by the door.  He took her elbow and led her outside behind the church
to the picnic.  They ate fried chicken, potato salad and Thomas tried two
different pies.  Kat helped the children tie their legs for the three-legged
race.  Thomas kept his eyes on her thinking she would be a wonderful mother
someday, she had patience and seemed to truly like them.

“How
did you get the little heathen in a dress?”  Paul Ackerman asked Thomas who
almost choked on his apple pie.

“I
beg your pardon?”  His face grew an angry red.

“The
dress, she is in one, how did you manage that?  The boys and I got a bet
running.”

“I
am sorry did you call her a heathen?  To be sure, you are speaking of Miss
Whitley?”

“Sure,
we all do.”  Paul’s head cocked arrogantly.

“Bet
you a twenty dollar gold liberty you do not call her that to her face.  I
suggest you do not say it to mine either, friend.”  Thomas’ threat was
obvious.  Paul wisely left Thomas’ sight.  His eyes narrowed looking back at
the man twice his size.

“Gather
round children,” the preacher called them to him.  “We have hidden several
dozen eggs out here, whoever gathers the most wins.  From the back of the
church to those trees,” he pointed.  “Get a basket and when I say ‘go’ you have
fifteen minutes.  Everyone have a basket?  Over there Frankie,” he pointed a
long wrinkled finger to the table next to him, “ready, set, go!”  Kat had a
two-year-old by the hand running for eggs.  Thomas sat laughing.

“She
was the best egg hunter to ever enter this race.”  An older lady came to sit
with Thomas. The woman had a deeply lined face and an elaborate purple hat with
feathers sticking out of it.  Thomas tried not to stare at it.

“I
do not doubt it for a second.”  He looked over at her across the table, keeping
his eyes on hers.

“She
is a sweet girl.  You’ve got a fine catch there.”  The lady sat next to him now
and touched his arm.

“I have
not caught her yet.”  Thomas confided.

“Work
on it son, she will be a fine wife.”  Her small brown milky eyes squinted
through her spectacles.

“I
agree completely, but she does not.”  He watched Kat run with the child to a
rotting tree.

“She
was one of my favorite children. I was very sad to find her gone. I had a
wonderful party planned for her birthday.”  Her rheumy eyes filled with tears.

“You
run the orphanage?”  His smile broadened to reveal straight white teeth.

“Yes,
I have for years, my name is Missus Braxton.” It was my mission in life to help
lost children.  My mother died when I was very young and my father left me with
a terribly mean aunt.  I planned to help children in my same situation when I
grew up.  I did not want them to have to live with nasty relatives as I did.  
I have been taking care of lost children since I was thirty.”

“That
is a fine way to spend a life I think.  It is very honorable.  I would like to
make a contribution if I may.”  Thomas offered.

“The
children would love it, I am sure, if you would simply bring Kathleen by on a
Saturday to play.  They all loved her so.  We really do not need the money
though. When my husband died I inherited a great deal and that is what we live
on.  She broke my heart when she left that morning.  I had hoped she would stay
on and take over my place there.  I loved her so much.”  Tears glinted in the
old woman’s eyes.  “I’ve traveled a great distance today to see that she was
well and happy.”

“Maybe
you can help me since you know her so well.  How do I get her to fall in love
with me?  She is so full of ,” he paused briefly, “contempt sometimes.  She
threw a knife at me just the other day.”

“Son,
if she really did throw it at you, I would be speaking to a ghost.  It is not contempt
she is full of, it is pride, anger, and helplessness. She feels like she is all
alone in the world, her sister ran off and her parents died.  All at once she
was alone in the world and being sent to an orphanage, she was left with nobody
and nothing.  I suspect a weaker person would have given up but it only
strengthened her resolve.  She feels as though she has something to prove now.
Try treating her like a lady.  It will throw her off guard.  Be kind to her,
bring her flowers, all women love them whether they admit it or not. Teach her
to know and respect you and she will fall in love.  To let you in on a secret
though sir, I think you have already caught her eye, she trembles when you are
near and she keeps you in her line of sight.  I’ve seen that look before on
others and on myself.  You stay on task, don’t let up and keep her off guard. 
Be kind and patient with her, she’s worth it.”

“Ida
May, I am glad I’m caught you.”  Another older woman came over and Thomas
excused himself then went to the pie table again to search for scraps.  He
watched as Kat’s two-year-old friend won the second place prize.  Kat got
herself some punch and sat down in the grass.  Thomas joined her.

“The
band is going to start soon.  May I have the first dance?”  He asked softly.

“I
do not know how, I am ready to go on home now anyway, the weather is
changing.”  She was afraid to look at him. Afraid he would see something in her
eyes that she did not want him to know.

“I
can teach you, if you’d like.”  Thomas leaned closer.

“Perhaps,
let’s wait and see if the band has gotten any better.”  Kat glanced at him and
fought the butterflies again.

“Fair
enough.”  Thomas sat quietly beside her.  People watched them and whispered. 
He knew what they were saying.  In a small town, people would always gossip
about one another.  ‘Look at her using feminine wiles to get her house back.’ 
‘Look at him, after all her money.’  ‘Wonder what they do out there in that
house by themselves?  It’s improper for her to be out there without a chaperone
and unmarried girl alone with a man.’  The other half would laugh at the notion
of any man taking advantage of the Wild Kat.   If they only knew, there would
not be much to say at all.  Two people working hard.  One tries to keep shelter
over her head.   The other tries to keep his head attached.  There was nothing
much to whisper about, Thomas secretly wished there were.  He knew Kat’s
reputation was at stake, but he doubted she cared about it or what others
thought.  She was in his barn of her own free will and he would not make her
leave shelter.  The people in this town were well aware that Kat did what she
wanted and that was that.