Bitterroot Crossing

  “Stop!” I screamed and struggled against my bindings. Then something odd happened. Crow’s head popped off of his neck. It hovered several inches above his body. The ghost looked as surprised as the rest of us. He dropped the glowing wood and reached blindly for his disembodied head.

  Axel thought it amusing and laughed wildly until his own head flew off in the same manner. He, too, raced blindly around, stumbling and trying to catch his own head.

  “What the hell are you two up to?” Butcher asked. His head was next.

  “Damn you, Zedekiah,” Steamer yelled into the air. Wisely, he reached up and held onto his before it drifted away like the others. Rage filled his expression. “I’m finishing this now.” With one hand placed firmly on the top of his head, he used the other to pick up a piece of glowing wood. He raced between the two trees touching the kindling with the stick. Thin swirls of smoke began to drift up and snake around our feet.

  I could turn my head enough to see Nick. He could do the same.

  “Thank you for coming up to save me,” I said.

  “I was quite the hero, wasn’t I? Now we’re both going to be barbecued. Thanks for trying to save me too. You’ve got a good arm.”

  “I think it’s from all that needlepoint.” I gazed at his handsome face for a long moment. “You look tired, Nick.” I wanted to reach over and smooth the lines from his forehead.

  He nodded. “It’s been a long night.”

  I looked down at the kindling. Red sparks began to fly out of it. Just a week ago I was trying out my boots, hoping to perfect a walk that didn’t attract too much attention. Blending in had been my biggest worry. Now I was tied to a tree next to a boy who I’d fallen completely in love with, and we were both destined to die a horrible death. If I survived this, I would never fret about my uneven gait again.

  “You guys all suck, do you know that?” Nick said. He was struggling to free himself but it was impossible.

  I started to tremble now. Death by fire seemed like the most torturous death there could be. I struggled against my restraints as well but only succeeded in having them cut in to my skin.

  Only Steamer had managed to hold himself together. The other three were still stumbling around in a horrid display of headless bodies trying to catch up with their tops. Their heads were yelling at each other as they bobbed around in the air.

  “This is all your fault, Crow,” Butcher’s head yelled as it wobbled past Crow’s. “You always were a worthless fool.”

  “Why you rancid-breathed, sour-faced old shit,” Crow said, “When I get my head back I’m going to take you apart limb by limb.”

  “Shut up, all of ya,” Steamer said. “As usual I had to finish this without any of you.”

  Heat circled my feet and ankles now. Ironically, it felt comforting at first, but then the temperature rose and I tried in vain to lift them away from the fire.

  “Nick, do you think he’ll still come?”

  “Yeah, I think he might. He likes to make a grand entrance.”

  The comforting warmth had turned menacingly hot. The reedy branches held fast to my arms and legs. I could not avoid the flames that began to tickle the soles of my bare feet.

  “I’ve always found--”

  The words rolled out from the surrounding trees. In my state of fear, it took me a minute to decipher whose voice I’d just heard. But then a black hat appeared. A small cry of joy escaped my lips. Just like always, he was breathtaking. “Zedekiah,” I said in an awed whisper.

  He tipped his hat at me. “-- like I was saying, I’ve always found that the ladies like a grand entrance.”

  “Yeah, that probably works better when the said lady is not on fire,” Nick said. “You want to hurry, pops, before we ended up squashed between two graham crackers and chocolate bars.”

  Steamer still managed to hold on to his head. “Hey, boss, which one you gonna save? Looks like you’ll have to choose between the pretty girl and your own kin.”

  Zedekiah stared at his ex-gang member with cold-hearted derision. It looked as if he was hiding something behind his back. “Steamer, want your head? Catch.” He hurled something round and white at Steamer. The ghost let go of his incorporeal head and caught the object. As his ghostly head separated from his neck it yelled. “Damn you, Zedekiah!” The object in his hands was an old white ball I used to throw for Jasper.

  As usual Zedekiah’s demeanor stayed cool and confident. “Don’t you worry, gang, your ugly heads are safe and sound. They just aren’t attached to your skeletons anymore.”

  Flames were dancing around our legs. “So, Gramps, are you going to stand there with that cocky grin for the rest of the day or are you going to get us off these trees?”

  Zedekiah strolled toward me and started breaking my bindings. “Well, I’m definitely going to untie Jessie. I’ll decide about you later.”

  “Zedekiah, the fire is getting higher,” I said in a panic. “Hurry, Nick will be burned.”

  He turned toward Nick’s tree and blew an icy wind toward it. The fire went out instantly. He did the same with the flames around my tree. He winked at me. “Sometimes it’s good to be a ghost.”

  “Thank you, Zedekiah. It was getting close,” I said.

  His dark blue gaze softened as he looked into my eyes. “I never would have let them hurt you,” he said in a near whisper. For a spirit, he was an incredibly skilled flirt. I could only imagine how formidable he’d been in the flesh. No wonder he’d left broken hearts in every town.

  He glanced over at Nick. “I wouldn’t have let them hurt the boy either, but don’t tell him that.” Zedekiah had broken the bindings from my legs but stopped suddenly. He was staring at the locket. His face tightened and he lost that cocksure expression he’d worn just moments before.

  “I’m sorry, Zedekiah. I put it on a few days ago and I couldn’t get it off.”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It belongs to you anyhow. I’m glad to see you wearing it.” He continued untying me. Then we both untied Nick.

  Nick took hold of my hand the moment he was free. “Jessie, you are amazing.”

  “You’re not too shabby yourself, Nick Crush.” I tried to sound nonchalant but inside my heart was doing full somersaults. We hugged for a long time, but I really wished he’d kiss me already.

  In our elation at not dying a horrendously painful death, we’d quite forgotten about our headless captors. They pranced around the clearing grabbing for their heads.

  “That’s the most terrifying yet hilarious thing I’ve ever seen,” Nick said. “Great idea. I’m glad I thought of it.”

  Zedekiah laughed. “You? This was my plan.”

  “Down at the swamp, I put the notion in your head and you know it,” Nick said.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m starving and I’m cold.”

  Nick glanced down at my feet. “You’re feet must be freezing. I’ll carry you down.”

  Zedekiah stepped closer. “I’ll carry her down.”

  “I don’t think so, old man. I’ve got plenty of energy left. I can carry her. Besides your hands can only stay solid for so long. Thankfully.” He rubbed his neck and for the first time I noticed a red burn mark around it. “You might drop her.”

  Zedekiah’s mouth opened to protest. I stopped him.

  “While I’m completely flattered by this little debate, my feet are turning a rather unseemly shade of blue at the moment. Why don’t you take turns?”

  “I’ll go first,” Nick blurted.

  “Fine,” Zedekiah said sounding a bit hurt. “But you’d better hurry in case those guys manage to grab hold of their heads.” He turned and left.

  “I think it’s easier if I climb on your back like a piggy back ride,” I said feeling even more foolish now for not having any shoes. “What a helpless ninny I am. It’s just I left the house so quickly, I didn’t have time to put on shoes.”

  “The barn . . . You raced out to save Mandy, didn’t you?”

  “I couldn’t le
t her die. I just couldn’t.” My words broke up and I was holding back tears. The stress of the entire night had finally gotten to me. His shoulders felt strong and solid beneath my hands. He reached around and pulled my legs around his waist.

  Nick smiled down at my pajama pants. “Pink and white sheep. Just what I would have expected on your P.J.s. Is there anything about you that isn’t adorable?”

  I leaned my face over his shoulder, kissed him on the cheek and then pressed my face against his. “Personally, I think on this particular morning, I would have been more adorable if I’d been wearing shoes.”

  “To be honest, I’m kind of liking the no shoe thing.” He pulled my legs tighter around his waist and trotted toward home.

  Chapter 33

  Nana!” Jessie slid down from my back. Her grandma was riding Mandy up the mountain trail.

  Jessie climbed up behind her grandma and hugged her tightly. They both cried happiness tears the entire way home.

  We got to back to the farm. Zedekiah was leaning against the fence post smoking his never-ending cigarette. The pile of ashes that was once their barn was still smoldering. Jessie released Mandy into her pasture.

  “You’re dad was here a bit ago with the sheriff. I let him know you were alright,” Jessie’s grandma said.

  Jessie joined us, but she kept staring over at Zedekiah. He looked sort of out of it, like he was deep in thought about something.

  “They’ve gone back to town to get a crew together,” her grandma continued. “They’ve got to dredge that swamp and bring up the rest of the remains. I’ve got the skulls hidden in a safe place in the meantime. That way those darn spirits will stay out of the way.”

  Jessie looked wide-eyed at her grandma. “Hiding place? Nana, you didn’t put them in the cookie jar, did you?”

  Her grandma smiled. “Wasn’t big enough.” She laughed. Her eyebrow lifted as she looked at the locket hanging around Jessie’s neck. “I wondered where that necklace had run off to. Your great-grandpa had a few whiskey stills hidden around this place. They’re perfect for hiding things.”

  Zedekiah joined us now. His expression was still somber as he looked down at the locket. “Remember your promise,” he said to Jessie’s grandma.

  “I won’t forget,” she answered. “And I told the sheriff you’re on the north side of the swamp, far away from the others. They’ll find you.”

  Suddenly I heard soft sobs. Jessie was crying. This time it was sadness. Her grandma took hold of my arm and led me to the porch. You look like something that’s been dragged in by the cat. Come in and have something to eat, Nick. These two need to have a moment.”

  Jessie looked incredibly bummed and I realized I was too. It was pretty sweet having Zedekiah around even if he was completely annoying and his coolness was really hard to compete with.

  “Later, Gramps,” I said.

  “Later, offspring. And Nick, if you don’t treat this girl right, I’ll find a way to come back, I promise.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that.”

  I walked inside but had a hard time not watching through the window as I plowed through two cinnamon rolls and a half gallon of milk. Zedekiah and Jessie talked a long time. Then he picked up her hands in his and they both lifted off the ground. They twirled around and around in dance. I definitely couldn’t compete with that.

  I was just starting my third cinnamon roll when Jessie walked inside. Her skin was flushed pink and her green eyes sparkled like jewels. She was incredible. She walked over, sat down, and plucked a piece of roll off my plate.

  “It’s just not going to be the same around here,” she said as she gazed forlornly out the window. Zedekiah had vanished. Absently she fingered the locket. “He’s going to his final resting place, but his heart will never rest.”

  “That would suck,” I said, “never knowing if the girl you loved ever loved you back.” I could not stop staring at Jessie. Even tired and drained by the horrible night and morning, she took my breath away. I reached for her hand and held it tightly. “Man, I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you, Jess. I would have--” I couldn’t finish. No wonder Zedekiah put the noose around his own neck. I knew what it felt like to have someone else own your heart completely. I would have died if something had happened to Jessie, but if she had been killed by my own gun . . . . It had to have been a heartbreak like no other.

  I wanted to pull Jessie into my arms and kiss her so badly now I could feel the need pulse through my entire body. But I didn’t. She was so different than other girls. I had no idea how she would react, and I didn’t want to scare her off. I was worried my kiss, especially one as wild as the one I’d been dreaming about, might push her away.

  Her other hand came up and her small, soft fingers bushed my face. I pushed my cheek against her touch wanting her to know how much I needed it.

  Then she rose from her chair and went to the first aid cabinet. She returned with gauze and medicine. Gently she took hold of my hand and began wiping the dried blood from the cuts on my arm. My breath came in rapid spurts as she touched me.

  “My brave hero, it looks like you’ve been through quite a battle,” she smiled and smoothed my hair back behind me ears with tender fingertips. My free hand grabbed the edge of my chair and squeezed tightly. It was all I could do to not grab hold of her right now, right here in her grandma’s kitchen.

  My head was spinning by the time she’d finished cleaning my arm, and I could hardly catch a decent breath. “I guess I should head home,” I said thinking I needed to leave soon or lose all my self-control.

  Jessie’s long lashes lowered. She looked upset that I was leaving. But I didn’t trust myself. I’d never been so tired in my life, and I was sure my weakened state and her nearness would dissolve any willpower I had. I stood and placed my dishes in the sink. Jessie watched me from her chair.

  “I guess I’ll see you later,” I said.

  She nodded. “I guess so.”

  I pushed out the door and walked toward my bike. I heard the porch screen shut behind me. I turned back and Jessie was standing at the bottom of the steps. Then she put her hands on her hips. “Nick Crush, if you don’t stop treating me like some kind of a breakable doll, and kiss me, I--”

  She had no time to finish. My feet stormed toward her before I even had a chance to think. My hands went around her waist and I pulled her against me and pressed my mouth down on hers. I kissed her long and hard and wondered if I would ever be able to stop.

  “It’s about time.”

  I finally pulled my lips from hers and smiled into her beautiful face. “It figures I’d finally work up the courage to kiss you and he’d have to be here to ruin it.”

  “He didn’t ruin anything,” Jessie said and hopped up on her tiptoes, placed her hands around my neck, and kissed me again.

  “I would have kissed her long ago,” Zedekiah said.

  “Yeah, well that’s where we’re different,” I said. “I’ve got self-control.” My arms tightened around Jessie. “Although I was starting to doubt it there for a minute.”

  Jessie smiled as she took her hand from my neck and reached for the locket. “Something feels funny.” We looked down at it. It had opened. Something fell into Jessie’s palm. It was obvious Zedekiah wanted to move closer to see it but he stayed away. The tension around him was palpable.

  “Zedekiah, didn’t Jack Bridger have light hair?” Jessie asked.

  Zedekiah looked anguished like a man who just had his world taken from him. “Can’t you see it right there in his picture?” he asked. His usual confidence was gone. “It was blonde like the straw in a pig’s manger.”

  “There aren’t any pictures in here, Zedekiah,” Jessie said.

  I looked at the object in Jessie’s hand. “Is that a braid of hair?”

  “Yes, it is.” She lifted it into the streams of sunlight that seeped through the trees. “It is a tiny braid made up from the hair of two different people. One strand
is auburn just like mine. And one strand is jet black,” she turned to him, “like yours, Zedekiah.”

  A breeze floated through the trees surrounding the farm. It was strangely warm for such a crisp day. Then a soft, feminine voice drifted across the pasture. “It was always you, you silly man. I always loved you, Zedekiah. How could I not?”

  Zedekiah’s image blurred. He looked almost like a series of dots in one of those crazy paintings that looked completely different up close than it did far away. Then he spoke. “Rebecca.”

  We were all stunned into silence. There standing in the middle of the field was the faint, spectral image of a girl. Even though her face was blurry, it was easy to see the resemblance.

  “Why’d you do it? Why’d you jump in front of him?” Zedekiah’s voice sounded less confident than usual.

  “I was trying to save you from yourself. I knew you’d kill him and hang for it. It’s time for some peace in that heart of yours, Zedekiah. I’m waiting for you.” Zedekiah drifted toward her and when he reached her, they vanished together.

  Jessie pushed the tiny braid back into the locket and snapped it shut. We both stared down at it for a second.

  “Do you think our kiss opened it?” I asked.

  “Was a rather strange coincidence,” Jessie said. “We are, after all, a Colton and a Crush.”

  I pulled her hard against me. “I knew we were destined to be together.” I leaned my face toward hers. “Now let’s see what other magic we can conjure up.” I kissed her again.

  Chapter 34

  The small plaque on the grave read Zedekiah Crush, Rest in Peace…finally. I placed the flowers on it and laid an extra one in front of the neighboring, century-old grave marker. It read Rebecca Colton, beloved daughter of Bitterroot Crossing.