Gabbie sat on a fallen trunk watching as the man expertly inspected the hoof again. ‘We’ll need file a bit, t’keep the hoof from cleavin’,’ he said.
‘Staple?’
‘Think not, though were it a bit deeper, I’d do so.’ He looked up from the hoof and smiled at Gabbie, and she felt a hot flush run through her. ‘You know horses, then, Miss. Not many ladies do. Usually they leave such concerns t’their stable men.’
He put Gabbie on edge. She found her mind wandering unexpectedly. He was very good-looking in a brutish way, like a handsome wrestler or football lineman. Generally not her type. But damn it, he was sexy. She put her hand to her forehead and it came away damp. Must be from the heat of the forge, and the day was muggy. She took a deep breath. There was something very odd about this blacksmith. ‘Excuse me for asking, but are you Amish?’
The man laughed and a chill ran down Gabbie’s back. The sound was both playful and threatening. ‘No, lass. I’ve not the honour t’member m’self with those fine folk. But they’re a lot t’understand and respect the old ways, keepin’ themselves plain as they do.’
The man stuck the shoe into the forge and moved to the horse. He took a large rasp and began to dress the hoof. ‘The shoe’s but a little bent. I’ll make it right in a jiffy.’
Gabbie shivered again, not knowing why. The woods were darker than she thought they should be by now, and she didn’t know where she was. Pushing down her uneasiness, she said, ‘I didn’t know there were itinerant farriers in this area, Mr …?’
With a quick smile that brought gooseflesh to her arms and breasts, he said, ‘Smith, Wayland Smith. And there are a few of us about, though I’ve not always been – how’d you say, Miss – itinerant? I’d a forge in White Horse, and for many a year I’d be known for being the fairest smith about, but times change and one must go where there’s work. That’s truth.’
She tried to gauge his age. He could have been in his late twenties or early thirties, but his manner made her think he was much older. And there was an aura of power surrounding him, basic, almost primitive, and very sexual.
‘I’d have stayed in White Horse, I’m thinkin’, t’this day, but my master came for me … I’d fled his service and not followed him …’
His words seemed to fade and Gabbie wasn’t making sense of them anyway. Master? Service? He spoke as if he had been some sort of bondsman or servant. Still, whatever curiosity Gabbie felt was fleeting as she watched the smith.
Dropping the horse’s leg, he recovered the shoe from the forge. He inspected it, turning it as if reading something in the dull glow. With a grin that made Gabbie shudder, he plunged the glowing shoe into the coals, and began to pump the bellows. He said something to her, but she failed to understand the words. She merely nodded. He pumped up and down in a rhythm, his eyes seeing what only he knew in the burning fire. Then, like a modern Vulcan, he pulled the shoe from the fire and purposefully turned towards the anvil. His right hand seized his hammer and he raised it high, bringing it down on the shoe with a ring that caused Gabbie to jump a little with the sound. Up and down the hammer went, and Gabbie found herself mesmerized by the sight and sound of it. The muscles of Wayland Smith’s arms bunched and flexed as he hammered and Gabbie found the sight fascinating. With each exertion he made a slight exhalation, almost a grunt, and Gabbie was reminded of the sounds Jack made when they kissed deeply. The smith grinned, as if amused, and his teeth shone bright and clean against his beard. He hummed a nameless tune and seemed to time the rhythm with his hammer blows, as if beating time to an unknown dance. Gabbie felt the rhythm seep into her soul and she became aware of a moist heat building deep inside her body. Her eyes half closed, as if in dreaming, and she saw that the smith was almost beautiful in his raw power. Images of his body, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat that reflected the firelight as he arched and moved above her, flooded her mind and she gasped. She shook her head, and a distant thought came to her: What’s wrong with me? It fled as it had come, quickly, and was barely remembered. She watched the smith.
Sweat gathered below the brim of his hat and ran down his cheeks. His shirt became damp and clung. Gabbie could not think of any man she had seen who had looked this strong. She was sure that he was stronger than any of the football types and weight lifters she’d seen on television. And this man’s strength was more basic, more primitive and natural, than that manifested by those who spend hours in the gym. A fleeting image of Nautilus machines and free weights crossed her mind. She made a comparison that made her giggle. Pumping iron was nothing next to forging iron.
The man looked up at the sound of the giggle and smiled at Gabbie. She almost gasped at the force of his gaze. She felt her entire body flush and shudder. A tingling, hot awareness swept through her and coherent thought was elusive. She was becoming aroused as she watched Wayland Smith beat hot iron against the anvil. In a distracted way, she wondered if she was losing her mind. It only took a minute to hammer a shoe; she’d watched farriers since she was a child. But it seemed she’d been watching this man for hours. And with each pump of the bellows, each strike of his hammer, Gabbie felt her mind slip away and a primitive, urgent need rise up within.
Wayland plunged the horseshoe deep into the water barrel, and Gabbie gasped aloud, her eyes watering with tears of sudden sadness, as if her body rather than the hot iron had been plunged into the cold water. A cool breeze filled the glade and she shivered, all at once chilled. God! What is wrong with me? she wondered. Smith took the shoe to the horse, fitted it, and began filing the hoof. The rasp smoothed the cracked hoof, and the smith carefully measured each stroke, so the angle of the shoe would be proper. Pulling nails from his shirt pocket, he began fastening the shoe to the hoof.
Gabbie stood up, in anticipation of leaving, and her knees were weak. She took a step and found her legs rubbery. There was something wrong here, and she was confused and a little afraid. A scent of flowers blew by on the breeze, and Gabbie felt her head swim. There was an odd spicy quality to it that made her blood pound … like the rhythm of the anvil, she thought absently.
Then the man rose and said, ‘’Tis done, missy.’
Gabbie felt perspiration running down her cheek, and the man seemed to be speaking from a long distance away. ‘Thank you,’ she said weakly.
She stepped around to take the reins from him. Then she felt his hands upon her waist. Her breath caught in her throat and her body burned as a tremble of excitement rushed through her. She turned, half expecting the man to embrace her. A small, detached part of her mind was frantic, but she was caught up in a hazy cloud of heat and odours. She could smell the salt sweat of him, masked by smoke, mixed with the flowers and spices. Spices? she wondered. Her eyes closed and her lips parted in anticipation. Then the man was lifting her to the saddle, as easily as if she were an infant. She blinked, trying to clear her watery vision. He stood holding up the reins for her. She took them as he said, ‘Make ’long the gully, Miss Hastin’s. You’ll find the bridge in no time. From there t’your home is but a few minutes. And go quickly. The light fails and the woods aren’t safe after dark.’
He swatted My Dandelion on the rump and the horse was moving, taking Gabbie from the circle of light round the wagon. Her head swam and she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath. She found herself crying, feeling a profound sadness, and not knowing why. Then slowly her vision cleared.
She looked around and found she knew where she was. It was also lighter than she would have thought. She’d easily spent a half hour or more with the smith, and it should have been dark.
What had gone on? She’d almost had an orgasm when he touched her, and that unnerved her in a way she couldn’t understand. It was too frightening to contemplate any man having that much sexual power over her. For that was what it had been, a raw, basic sexual power. Embarrassment made her eyes water again and she defiantly wiped them. Damn, I’m no child to be afraid because a guy turns me on. But another voice said that what she had been through was something different from simple arousal. Jack could turn her on. This Wayland Smith could turn her inside out. Suddenly she was afraid. She looked behind and saw no hint of the smith and his wagon. Then she thought, I didn’t offer to pay him! On the heels of that thought came the realization that he knew where she lived, and if he wanted payment, knew where to find her. But how did he know who I was! And the thought of his coming to find her both thrilled and terrified her. She looked around as her vision cleared some more. How far had she come in that dreamlike state?
The sound of another horse came to her and she wondered if Wayland Smith had decided to follow her. Half fearfully, half excited, she turned and waited and then, with a flood of relief, saw Jack coming down the trail.
Jack reined in beside her, began to speak, and saw something in her face. ‘Are you okay?’
Gabbie touched her cheeks and found tears running down them. She only nodded. ‘Gabbie, what is it? It’s not Sheila Riley, is it? She’s just a kid.’
Gabbie looked at him with confusion in her expression. ‘Sheila Riley?’ she asked softly. ‘No.’ She leaned across the gap between the horses and kissed Jack, her tongue darting into his mouth. In her hunger, she almost fell from the saddle.
Jack reached out, steadying her as he reluctantly pushed her away, then touched her face. ‘Christ Almighty. You’re burning up! Come on, let’s get you home.’
Gabbie nodded dully. She allowed Jack to take My Dandelion’s reins while she held on to the saddle. Images of fires and the smell of spices were fogging her mind and she couldn’t understand why she was so confused.
• Chapter Four • (#ulink_beee37cd-9b73-5722-b3c5-b421776fb25b)
Gloria looked up from doing the laundry and saw Jack standing at the back porch door. ‘Hi. Come on in.’
‘How’s Gabbie?’
‘Tired, but otherwise fine. Her temp was normal this morning and the doctor said not to bother bringing her in unless it went back up. He thinks she just caught some bug.’
Jack’s expression betrayed disagreement. ‘She was in a pretty ragged frame of mind, Gloria. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure she was hallucinating.’
Gloria stopped folding towels. ‘What makes you say that?’
Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. Just then Bad Luck stuck his nose in from the kitchen, saw Jack, snuffed a breath in greeting, and returned to the kitchen. Gloria said, ‘They’re installing the satellite dish and the workmen asked he be kept inside.’ Jack looked surprised. ‘He’s too friendly. Gets in the way.’ Jack nodded. ‘Now, what were you saying?’
‘She talked about meeting a blacksmith, a fellow with a horsedrawn wagon, who fixed a thrown shoe. I checked with Mr Laudermilch’s foreman, and he said that he thinks My Dandelion had cracked her hoof a couple of days before and they’d filed ’cross it and reshoed her. He checked and couldn’t see anything different. Besides, I was only ten minutes behind her at most, and it couldn’t have happened in the time she says. So it must have been a hallucination.’
Gloria looked both thoughtful and worried. ‘Gabbie’s not given to flights of fancy. She might have told you about her mother and grandmother – anyway, her childhood was pretty rugged emotionally. She tends to have both feet on the ground. She has a temper, but otherwise she’s a pretty down-to-earth girl.’
‘Well, I got pretty sick when I was a kid, a high fever, and hallucinated giant bunny rabbits hiding in my closet. The human mind is capable of a lot.’
‘Fever can do that,’ Gloria agreed, though her agreement seemed tentative. ‘Maybe she ought to see the doctor anyway.’
Just then a voice from the kitchen caused them to turn. Gabbie entered and brightly said, ‘Gloria, I’m famished –’ She halted when she saw Jack and her expression turned dark. ‘Hello,’ she said icily.
Gloria put the last towel on top of the new dryer. ‘I think I’ll go see how the workmen are coming.’ She beat a hasty retreat.
Jack said, ‘You okay?’
Unexpectedly, Gabbie was taken aback by the question. ‘Sure? Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You were kind of out of it last night, is why.’
She looked at him, curiosity softening her eyes for a moment. ‘What do you mean, “out of it”? I was just a little – upset.’ Her expression darkened again. ‘And now that you mention it, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be out with the balloon queen.’
‘Sheila?’ said Jack, his forehead wrinkled in concern. ‘I explained all that last night. She wants Aggie to write a recommendation letter to Cornell. She’s pinned to a frat rat down at Penn. Gabbie, don’t you remember my bringing you home?’
Gabbie’s face drained of colour. She backed into the kitchen and sat down at the table. ‘I … I remember leaving the park. I rode into the woods and … it’s a little vague after that. I woke up this morning, so I figured I got home – My Dandelion! I was going to take her over to Mr Laudermilch’s.’
Jack pulled out another chair and sat down. ‘I took care of it last night, after I put you to bed.’
Suddenly Gabbie flushed. ‘You put me to bed?’
Jack smiled, a little self-consciously. ‘Well, you were feverish and someone had to. I put you in bed, called Mr Laudermilch’s place, and told him what was going on. He sent a couple of boys over to take the horses back, and when your folks got in, I took off.’
