Chapter 16

That evening after they ate, both Mary and Lou sat on the dirt before the fire, their backs supported by Mary's sitting log. The sunlight had finally softened and twilight shadows were beginning to fill the air. Their relaxed conversation was about nothing in particular. Mary made certain to keep a degree of space between their bodies so as not to arouse the discomfiting feelings that seemed to present themselves at Lou's slightest touch. The goats were docile and quiet, only bleating off and on. As Mary settled into enjoying their peaceful conversation, a rumbling started off in the distance, growing steadily closer. The ground beneath them began to vibrate. First softly and then increasingly stronger. Mary's eyes opened wide. Her back stiffened. The shakings of the earth had been common, but the more powerful aftershocks still frightened her badly. Lou, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice.

How could he remain so unaffected, she wondered. She could not stand it. This very ledge could give way, droping them, along with tons of tumbling rock, to the canyon floor. She needed comforting. More than anything else in the whoe world, she needed to feel the safety of a protector for once in her life. She needed to be held. In one fluid move she crushed herself against Lou, her breasts pressed into his chest. She adamantly ignored the flurry in her stomach that had nothing to do with the quaking ground. Heedless of what he might think of her actions, she wrapped her arms around Lou's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. His good arm encircled her, pulling her closer. Her heart pounded in her ears. A flush of warmth spread through her body, head to toe. Confused and scared, Mary nuzzled her face deeper into the crook of Lou's neck.

"Well, I'll be damned," she heard Lou exclaim softly.

Relaxing her arms, Mary lifted her head, ready to withdraw and apologize for her behavior. His attention wasn't on her, though. He was watching something behind her. Twisting around so she could see what had gained Lou's attention, Mary pulled away from him and sat up. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary that she could see. Had he been completely unaware of the way she threw herself at him, she fumed? Perhaps that was for the better, in any case, she decided as she quickly started smoothing her skirts, then brushing with her finger tips at stray hair. A warm flush crossed her face.

"Damned if that don't beat all, Mary." Lou didn't seem to have noticed Mary's embarrassment at all. "Before the shaking started they all laid down. Damnedest thing I ever saw. They knew it was coming and laid down so they wouldn't get thrown off their feet."

"Do you really think so?" Mary asked. The idea itself didn't hold a lot of interest for her, but anything that would help her recover from her discomfort was welcome.

"I know it. Thought the animals knew something was going to happen before it did. This proves it."

"I see," she said. A smile flitted over her features. She was worried about her reaction to the quake and he was caught up in the goats. Sure, his arm had moved to hold her, but he hadn't even noticed. She noticed though. The warmth of his manly chest pressing against her breasts still burned inside her.

The meat of the animal Mary and Lou butchered lasted a good while longer than Patrick's. Lou showed Mary how to cut the flesh into strips and hang it in the air so it could dry. She marveled at the idea. There was no waste this way. "First you eat the fresh meat," he explained, "and when it's gone, use the dried." These past several days they'd been eating the dried, but that was almost gone now. It wouldn't be too much longer before they would need to butcher another goat.

Mary found Lou to be a fascinating person. He knew no end of things. He could talk about anything; President Grant, the Great Fire in Chicago, even Mark Twain's latest writings. And if he didn't know every thing there was to know, he came up with an entertaining guess or by golly. He could get her to laugh, too, with his self mocking ways. She was delighted to find Lou was a frequent bather, nearly as concerned with cleanliness as she was herself. As the week went by, the sensations that filled her whenever she happened to touch him became less and less troublesome. They hadn't gone away. She was simply no longer afraid of them. Maybe she even liked the way he felt. She knew one thing for sure. She didn't want him to ever leave.

Lou took several days before truly beginning to move about regularly. The fever left him the night after his revelation about the goats sensing the impending quakes, but his body needed time to regain its strength. All in all, Mary decided her patient was recovering nicely.

"Mary, do you have any nails or such around here?"

"I don't rightly know. If there are, they'd be in that little shelter behind the shack." She didn't even know if the rickety structure was still standing what with all the shaking it had taken. It's construction had been even more slipshod than that of the shack itself.

"Lordy, girl. I'd have to call it a shack, but I didn't want to insult you by actually calling it that."

"Well, that's what it is, isn't it?" Mary looked across to the dilapidated building. "That can only be called a shack. But, you don't have to tell Patrick I said so, should you run into him."

Another chuckle ran through Lou's chest. "I promise. Won't mention a thing to the gentleman if I ever happen to speak to him."

"What do you need nails for?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking I could maybe fix her up a bit. We're pretty comfortable, but I'll bet I can make us more so."

She wasn't sure the building could be saved. Lou did have a point, though. There were a lot of things left wanting, living out here in the open like this. If Lou could fix up the place a bit, they would most certainly be more comfortable. "All right, then. Let's take a look, see what we can find."

They found several pounds of square nails in the back of the lean-to. The wooden keg probably held the leftovers Patrick brought from town to build his shack. It didn't appear he'd used any more nails than he had too, as the small barrel was still nearly full.

Mary assisted as much as she could with Lou's repair job. She helped lift boards back into place, handed him nails, and made sure he rested at regular intervals. He was pushing himself hard, considering he'd been near death itself when he first appeared out of nowhere. She couldn't help but notice that Lou seemed much happier with something to do. Sometimes he whistled as he worked. At other times he'd get to telling her tall tales of his incredible exploits. He was a wanderer and there wasn't a town west of the Rockies he hadn't been to and had adventures in. Mary was fascinated. Of course, she was not so naive as to believe every tale he told was true.

Lou rigged a lever contraption that pushed the building back up straight, then hammered on cross pieces to keep it that way. Well, at least as straight as it would ever be. He replaced the fallen rock from the chimney and put the boards back in place on the wall and roof.

"There's enough loose boards stacked behind the place to build another room," he told Mary one evening as she handed him a tin plate of roast goat. "I even found an old saw back there in the lean-to. I'm going to have that place looking better than before the big quake, right shortly. Just watch and see."

"It's plain to see you know more than Patrick ever did about building. Why, I even feel inclined to call it a 'cabin' now." Mary was amazed at the way the place was coming into shape. In short order it would be quite comfortable.

"Now you just tell me you want it and I'll build you a room for the little ones that'll be coming along one of these days." Lou's eyes were dancing. She could see he was only teasing her, but the very thought of having Patrick's children made her stomach turn.

Patrick! She didn't want to think of him. She never wanted him to touch her again. "There won't be any babies. Not his!"

As soon as she spoke the words, the finality of her feelings toward her husband became inescapable. She wanted nothing from Patrick. She wanted Patrick to remain lost and totally out of her life. She wanted Lou. Even as she finally recognized and named the feelings Lou had roused in her from the first, feelings that had so confused her and had motivated Lucifer's hatred, she knew she could not declare those feelings to Lou. But that's what she wanted.

They worked together on the cabin for a handful of days. Right after he'd rehung the door, Lou sent her back out to their campsite.

"I will so help finish the job. Why, my Heavens, we're nearly done."

He went so far as to refuse to let her back inside for the balance of the day. His only explanation came with the hint of a smile touching the corners of his mouth. "Just do as I say. Take care of the meals and stay out of the cabin. I want this to be my surprise."