Appaloosa Blues (Sisters of Spirit #8) (7 page)

Johnny with his big plans. He depended upon Adam. Jo's coming back might be the catalyst needed to reach her grandfather. Now that she was older perhaps they would be able to get her to see how unfair the old man was. Her loyalty to her grandfather was blind. Adam would like that kind of loyalty for himself, as it tended to overlook faults—and he had them as well as the next man.

He remembered their kiss—or the slight meeting of lips that Jo considered a kiss. He didn't, but it was a beginning—first to talk, then getting her to offer to kiss him. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

When he wanted something he went after it with a single-minded determination. It had pushed him through school and earned his degree, brought this farm up to par...and all for what? He looked around, realizing he'd planned this part of the house for Jo when he had built his new home two years ago. It was furnished with her favorite colors, things Mike had told him about her. Inadvertently, he hoped. He didn't want Mike to know he was pursuing his sister.

Older than Adam, Mike would tell him it was hopeless, and try to get him to back off.  Adam put down his boots and picked up his favorite bridle and started working the bone across the wide brow band.  Stroke by stroke, he worked the leather while reality took over. Did he really want to put himself through all the grief of trying to outsmart that old man? The possibility of ever marrying Jo seemed remote.

Jo entered Karen's bedroom and found her sister sitting on the edge of her bed, bare feet swinging, clothed in a summer-weight nightshirt. Karen jumped up to hug her, then stopped to stare at the scratches. "What happened?"

As Jo explained, Karen's mouth dropped in astonishment. "You went to Adam's place?"

"I had to. Don't tell anyone."

"Of course not. Did you see Johnny?”

“No. I didn’t go inside.”

“Do you need any help with the bandages?"

"Would you? I couldn't reach all the spots."

"Sure." She reached over and switched off the TV.

"Would you rather wait until that show's over?" Jo asked.

"No. That's okay." Karen took the bottle of antiseptic from Jo and started to splash it liberally over the long scratch on her back. "You didn't wait very long to get into trouble again, did you?"

It was almost what Adam had said, and Jo grinned wryly. "Never let it be said that I waste any time. Ouch!"

"Sorry. That's deep right there. You're lucky the wire didn't scratch your face, Jo."

"Yes. Just a few spots, but Gramps saw them anyway. His eyes are as sharp as ever."

"You're right. Not much gets by him."

"It's good to be home. I missed Oregon."

"Hold this end of the tape while I cut it. There. Finished." Karen put the first aid supplies on the dresser and wiped her hands on Jo's towel. She smiled at her older sister. "It's great having you back. I could hardly wait. Texting just isn't the same. There were things I wanted to ask you...." Her expression turned serious. “Get your help.”

Jo sighed, looking around the familiar room they had shared as children. Clothes covered most of the floor, desk and chair, a guitar stood in one corner beside rows of stuffed animals. "Adam knows. Who else?"

"Johnny's mom and grandparents. They've known all along. And Mike. Adam's been a big help."

Adam again. Jo couldn't shake him from her thoughts and Karen didn't help. Had Adam urged the two on, just to get back at her grandfather? She wouldn't put it past him. "How can you do this when I've worked so hard to get Gramps over his grief."
Including my staying away from Adam.
"Throwing Johnny in his face will stir everything up again. You might even cause another heart attack."

"I know that. Otherwise we'd elope. That's why you've got to help."

Jo's heart reached out to her younger sister and she bit her lower lip, perplexed. What a dilemma. Karen, sensitive to the birthmark, had missed out on so many things. It would be tragic if she couldn't date Johnny openly, to find out if it was really love, or just the excitement of a secret romance. But they mustn't hurt their grandfather. The old man had already had the cruelest blow life could give him. "I don't know. I don't see as how I can."

"You’ll have to tell Gramps somehow. You can talk Gramps into anything. Remember how he wanted you to go to college here in Oregon and you talked him into the one in Virginia?"

"Yes, but—"

"Well, now he wants me to go to college, too. To Virginia. Really, Jo, he was going on about it all last week."

"Well, you know how that is. It's always harder for the first child to break away. Once its done, folks get used to the idea. It's easier for the next one who tries it."

"But that's not fair."

"No. But that's the way things are."

"There has to be some way we can tell him."

"Maybe." Jo shook her head. How could she help Karen when —confronted by an identical situation when Adam tried to date her in high school—she hadn't been able to help herself? She and Adam had the same barrier between them. The accident, and Gramps. "I don't know if I can. I'll try to figure something out. But I don't know what it'll be. Why on earth did you have to fall for Johnny?"

Karen hugged her gently. "'Cause he's super, that's why. 'Night, Jo."

Was he as 'super' as Adam?
If so, then Jo easily understood her sister's feelings. "Good night," she replied.

Moving sleepily into her own bedroom, she hauled back the patchwork quilt her great-grandmother had made, folded it very carefully and laid it on the sheepskin rug to put away later.

Throwing open her window Jo looked up at Adam's house. Karen and Johnny. What to do? Johnny sounded like a cheerful, optimistic young man, much more approachable than Adam—an extrovert, while Adam had been tempered by heavy responsibility.

Jo liked the sound of Johnny. He and her quiet sister might go well together. Everything would be great for the two except...he was a Trahern.

"Guess what?" Karen edged into the room, her face wary.

"What?" Jo took off her robe and opened the closet door.

"Well...I, uh.... Are you going with anyone right now?"

"No, not at the moment."

"Then I've got it! I've figured out a way to get an okay from Grampa!" She smiled hopefully at her puzzled sister.

Jo paused in the process of reaching for a hanger. "You have? I couldn't think of anything."

"Yes, you did. It was your idea in the first place. I mentioned it to Johnny on the phone just now. Adam was in the room. We ended up with a three-way conversation."

Jo pulled on her nightshirt. "What are you talking about? I haven't had any ideas."

"Sure you did," said Karen, handing her a ham sandwich on a plate. "Here. I made it after I talked to Johnny."

"Thanks." Jo took a bite. "What idea? If it's so great, why are you acting like you're trying to sell feathers to a fish?"

"Adam's already agreed to our plan."

"What plan? Karen, so help me...!"

"Simple. You said it was easier for the younger kids in a family to do something if the older ones did it first."

"Yes, but—"

Karen rubbed nervously at her cheek. "Don't you see? You and Adam get engaged first. Then Johnny and I can announce ours."

"What?" Jo choked on her sandwich as she realized how wonderful, how terrifying, that sounded. Engaged? To Adam! Even though the idea made her heart leap, she knew it would be disaster. Feelings of disloyalty vied with a sudden desire to agree. The temptation was sharp, enticing her to grasp the opportunity with all her strength. Resistance made her answer curt. "No! I can't do that!"

"But...but Adam said he'd do it," Karen protested in a bewildered voice, surprised by the violence of Jo's response.

"Oh, sure, of course he would. He'd love to." And have a grand old time, too, at her and her grandfather's expense. It would be like handing Adam a loaded gun and helping him point it at his enemy's heart. "I can't do that to Gramps. He...he trusts me. He knows I wouldn't let him down." Between her attraction for Adam and her loyalty to Gramps, her feelings took a wild swing.

Glancing down at the crescent-shaped nail prints on her palms, Jo shook her head, then picked up her sandwich. She searched her mind for an alternative solution, but came up blank.

Tears welled silently from Karen's expressive eyes and her head dropped, lower lip clamped tight in despair.

"Now don't start to cry," Jo said. "Talk to Mom in the morning. You should've told her long ago." Jo finished her sandwich and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Karen followed, swiping at the tears that were still flowing, shoulders sagged in distress. "Mom's worried about Jenny, with Tom working such crazy hours. She's driving to Pendleton to stay with her until the baby is born."

"What's wrong?" Neither Tom nor Jenny had mentioned anything last week when Jo had called them.

"Jenny's doctor thinks there could be complications. Her mother has the flu, so Tom called Mom."

"I hope Jenny is okay. And the baby." Jo turned away and set her alarm clock for three a.m. as Karen watched.

"Where are you going at that hour in the morning?"

"To help Adam separate the herds. They're sure to be mixed up. I might not get home until eight or later."

"You're seeing Adam? Please, Jo, won't you change—-?"

"No! I'd rather face barbed wire and bulls any day than tangle with Adam." Jo jerked her head emphatically. She didn't want a stick of dynamite in her hands all summer, ready to blow her emotions sky-high. And Adam was capable of that. He'd push the situation past any limits she set.

Grampa always said a Trahern would take more than you gave them, and she knew he was right. She had first hand experience with Adam doing just that.

"Please, Jo. If you won't help me, I don't know what I'll do."

"What's the difference? Adam and me, or Johnny and you?"

"Lots. Gramps thinks you can do no wrong. You can convince him black is white. No one else can even persuade him to take his heart medicine."

"True. But getting engaged to his worst enemy is a little different."

"He'll still take it better from you. Gramps always accepts whatever you do."

Gramps was only half the problem. "He'd think I turned traitor."

"At first, maybe. You know you're Grampa’s favorite. You can get him to come around if anyone can."

The temptation to agree to Karen's plan was strong. But would it destroy the close relationship she had with her grandfather?

"You think so?"

"I know so."

If she agreed to this, could she trust Adam to play it straight? Or would he keep changing the rules, embarrassing her like he had in high school? Maybe insist on playing the heavy lover?

But, if she didn't help out, Karen might miss her chance for happiness. Jo knew how worried her mother was over Karen's lack of boy friends. If Johnny could see her sister's worth, then he should be encouraged. "What if we simply told Gramps about you and Johnny?"

"Too sudden. We might set off another heart attack. You know the doctor said he shouldn't be upset."

Jo rubbed her hand across her face. She had found that out tonight. Should she try? She looked at Karen's face, frozen with a mixture of hope and uncertainty, the dark stain adding its silent plea. An even stronger persuasion was the memory of Adam's arms, holding her. "Well...okay, I'll talk to Adam about it."

Karen threw both arms around her resigned older sister and hugged her tightly. "You will? Oh, Jo, thank you! I'll call Johnny right now and tell him!"

"I didn't say I'd do it, just that I'd talk to Adam."

"I know, but—"

"I need to think about this."

"Of course. Just so something's being done."

"It might work," Jo muttered, half to herself.

"It will, I know it will," Karen proclaimed with the irrational belief that if you wanted something badly enough, you'd get it.

"We'll see. Maybe we can come up with a better idea. Good night. I have to get to sleep."

"Good night, Jo. Thanks again."

"You're welcome."
I guess
. She watched as Karen softly closed the door.

 
I should have my head examined for even considering this. The last thing I want is to get entangled with Adam Trahern. What if he intends to use Karen's plan against Gramps?
Jo closed her eyes tightly, tossing uncomfortably in bed. She wouldn't put it past him.

Was she wise enough to spot it, and stop him, if that was his intention? And was she strong enough emotionally to keep him at arm's length throughout the charade, so she could break away afterwards, without tearing herself apart?

A little of him at one time seemed all she could handle. Like today. He had only been trying to steady her, but her emotions had taken off at a rough gallop.

As a demonstration of her power to resist him, it wasn't.

Distraught, Jo thumped her pillow into shape. She'd do almost anything to help Karen find happiness.

Just then Karen eased open the door, interrupting Jo's thoughts. "You still awake? Mike called. He'll take the truck. You can load Paca at three-thirty."

"Great. Thanks." That would save Paca's legs. It would also give her a chance to talk with Mike.

The first light had not yet paled the sky when Jo left the house, but its promise was visible. It was the best time of day, becoming lighter by the minute.

The morning hours were cool and her denim jacket inadequate, so she worked quickly to warm herself up. The mountain breeze stayed quiet—force zero on the Beaufort scale. The wind force probably wouldn't change until evening, when cooler air rushed down the mountain, pulled by gravity.

She checked Paca's cuts, putting fresh salve on the deepest one. It was not enough to slow the horse down, and the mare snorted and pranced around like a three-year-old. By the time she loaded Paca, she could distinguish dim outlines.

Mike greeted her with an older brother's nonchalance, the tone of his voice telling her how glad he was to have her home, even if his words and actions were matter-of-fact.

He was large-boned, almost homely, solid as steel. Both his nose and ears were on the large side—as were his father's—so that classmates during his grade school years nicknamed him "Dumbo." As he grew taller, all reference to the little elephant was dropped and the previously embarrassing features now gave his face an open, honest appearance.