The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town (30 page)

Chapter 3

It was already getting dark when Yuri arrived at the quaint wooden gate that enclosed her grandfather’s house. The sky, once golden, was now streaked across by grey clouds that ran in long lines across, and towards the horizon. The shadows of the trees, and shrubs lay long, inching away to the East along the front lawn, and the leaves whispered in a silent conversation with the wind. The house looked lonely, and grey from afar; just another fixture in the dull fabric of Peri Heights; the roof, reddened over the decades, had the defeated look of age that had come without the dignity. Up close, it remained an old house, without much fanfare; yet her grandfather had called it home from back when his father had bought it, and that was enough to give it a homely gleam for those to whom that bit of history mattered.

Tuesdays were the hardest, and Yuri was tired when she arrived. Stepping out of the car, she thought she heard two voices coming from the house. Her grandfather did not receive many visitors, and when he did, they were invariably octogenarians like him who loved nothing better than to reminisce about ‘the good old days’. She contemplated going in through the back door to avoid them, but decided that if she was heard, a move like that could scare the old timers. She crossed the wooden porch in two tired steps, and pushed gently through the wooden front, to step into the living room.

She immediately felt a tenseness, no a freshness in the atmosphere in the house, the moment she stepped in. She could see her grandfather, sitting in an easy chair, laughing harder than she had ever seen him laugh. His uproar was infectious, and she found herself giggling along with him. There was another person in the living room, seated in such a manner as to have his back facing the door. Yuri could feel an excited chill run up her spine as she recognized the blond hair with a near orange tint.

“Your granddaughter I presume?” Lucius asked without turning in his seat.

“Yes, yes it is. A little later than usual but she is finally home.” Jacob Jansen replied as he climbed down from the heights.

Yuri felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. Her gramps was too old to keep it in his head that she always came a little bit later on Tuesdays. She joined them at the center of the living room. Lucius rose to take her hand in a confident assured handshake. Yuri’s cheeks grew even hotter under his stare, she was light-skinned, and hoped her cheeks were not flushing red at that moment. The manner in which he moved was not like that which she had become accustomed to during her stay at Peri Heights-or anywhere else for that matter. For example when he rose to greet her, she could tell it was not because of any need to neither be nice nor out of a need to please or impress. He did it out of habit. This was how he had been taught a lady should be treated, and he had abided by it.

“Lucius this is my granddaughter, Yuri; Yuri meet Lucius my good ol’ friend.”

Yuri giggled at the remark, a bit uneasily because Lucius did not giggle. He found the remark totally adequate and sensible. His gaze was unwavering and unflinching, and Yuri thought she would melt beneath the full glare. He seemed to be seeing into her soul. This was no ordinary man. He was still holding her hand, but now he let go.

“Uh so how did you end up here in the first place? I mean are you lost or-I’m sorry I don’t know what I am saying. I am just a bit overwhelmed. You made quite a splash at the school today.”

In the semi-darkness of the gloom encroaching into the living room, Yuri thought she saw him smile just the tiniest bit. “Did you not hear your grand pa? I am catching up with old friends today as it appears. Right now I must be off however,” and he turned to leave. The mention of her grandfather had jogged Yuri’s brain back to remembrance for she had quite forgotten him, and she turned to look at him. On turning back a second later, she could already see him a ways through the door. She wondered how he could move so fast without seeming to hurry.

“Let him be; he’s surely had a tiring day, even for somebody like him.” Old man Jacob said from behind her.

Yuri stopped in her tracks, not quite sure why she was out of breath, nor why she was out of breath. What she was sure of however was that her heart was throbbing, straining out of her chest for this stranger. She was not sure anybody else could make it beat quite the same way again.

She tossed, and turned through the night, her unsettled mind restraining her body from ever really going to rest. The overcast sky that greeted the small town the next morning reflected her mood. She felt absolutely puerile, as she mulled over the possibility of calling in sick and not going to school that day. She forced herself through the motions, and was ready for school in time to make a brisk walk to the campus. She thought a walk would do a lot to eradicate any lingering cobwebs from her brain. The cold lingered that morning, and she traced words with her breath to amuse herself on her way to school. She appreciated the icy feel of the wind upon her face, and tried to put away any thoughts of Mr. Lucius Sloane from her mind.

Chapter 4

At the end of the school day, the kids from the north of the city, those who lived by or in the woods themselves lingered. Since the mauling, parents from that part of the town had decided on taking the precaution of escorting their kids from school back home. This was going to continue till the whole debacle of the wild animal was over. The front area of the school was alive with new faces, most of them somber, ready to take their children home. Those whose parents could not make it had arranged for their kids to hook up with other groups. Patrick Dillon fell into this category, and was huddled with another group that numbered seven. Most of these people had hardly ever been seen at the school premises, and looked uncomfortable standing there in the middle of the yard. The whole debacle seemed a bit too much, and caused giggles among the other kids who did not live up north, to the obvious embarrassment of the older kids from that area. It was clear that the parents and escorts took the activity serious, however, and were stoic in the performance of their duties. Without further ado, they split up into the different groups, and headed out to their various modes of transport.

The route from the school passed through the busy town square, which contained all the necessary accessories that made a town, before swerving out from the fracas to go down to the south. The route became lonely after that, the pavement cutting through the forest, so that tall trees rose up like giant cohorts on guard as the vehicles containing the children rode past.

Lucius stood hidden up in the trees, and he watched the procession go past. He was about fifty feet high, standing on one of the sturdy branches of one of these trees. In the dark gloom that pervaded the lower branches of the forest canopy that overcast day, his eyes shone bright-the glass eyes of the cat, staring ahead and not missing anything.

He was aware the precautions being taken by the largely bear community had a lot to do with him. Rather, it had everything to do with him. He could understand why they would go to such lengths. One could never be sure. However he did not attack that man in the forest that day. How could he? It had occurred a day before he showed up. That meant the question remained: who did? Was there another tiger in the community-his community? If so, how had he slipped past the bears for so long? The last thing Lucius wanted was a full blown war erupting in the town square, and he had long made up his mind to get to the bottom of the mystery.

When the procession of cars had gone past, he got down on all fours, still on the branch, and bounded to the next. In the semi-darkness up among the trees, he barely made a sound as he bounded from branch to branch, and from tree to tree in the direction of the town square. It was late in the afternoon now, and a good time to check on his old friends still living in the area. Most of them were in the seventies, and eighties-there were a few nonagenarians too. Most still lived at their old houses, a few had moved to the old people’s home. He had hoped that apart from catching up with decades past since he had last been here, they could help him trace exactly who was new in town or at least behaving strangely. It did not help that most of them were well in to the stages of senility. Seeing his old friends had been refreshing, especially Jacob Jansen, whom Lucius had been particularly fond of. Thoughts of Old Man Jansen invariably brought up thoughts of his granddaughter. Lucius purred softly as her light-skinned face, voluptuous curves filled his thoughts. He stopped just a few trees short of the clearing that lay after the forest in that direction. Jacob had called her Yuri.

Lucius licked his lips unconsciously; a tiger had seen the perfect prey. Yuri Jansen set his appetite on edge as had not happened in decades. Her seductive, questioning eyes, like liquid pools of caramel set his teeth on edge. Her full lips, brown and round thrilled him to the point of ecstasy. She reminded him of the trill he used to experience before setting after his prey, back in the old days, when Tiger-shifters used to hunt flesh. He would have her, and he would keep her. He thought so with the same self-assured confidence with which he bounded down the 60 meter tree. He first let himself fall, then midway through the air, he turned, took one agile step along the tree, and landed on the ground the next second-on his four feet.

There was no breeze, at the level of the road, and the dark, slightly greenish overcoat that he wore in a bid to hide better in the trees, lay still on his back as he walked back into town.

By the next week, everyone at school with an old person at home had a story to tell about how Lucius had visited their home. Yuri found it strange that Lucius was so interested in the senior community. She did not find it amusing in the least like others did. Above all she was jealous. She could not explain why, and she felt absolutely childish being so, but she could not help it. He had come into her house that first day and set her body on fire. She would have loved to feel that in some way she had impacted his mind, imprinted herself-or that they had shared a moment. Alas, she had not heard as much as a pip from him. She carried this burden on her mind, throughout the first two days of the week, and by the end of Wednesday she was livid. She was going to his place to give him a piece of her mind.

Old man Jacob had already told her that traditionally people hardly ever went up to the old house on the hill, and when they usually did it was on invitation. She had smiled politely as he said this, having already made up her mind to go there at the first opportunity.

Chapter 5

It was already gathering dusk on the Wednesday after school when she set her face hard as flint in the direction of the mansion upon the hill. The road, as opposed to the road that led to the Northern woodlands, swerved to the right from the town square, winding aimlessly through two suburbs before setting itself on a straight course that ran between two areas of scattered trees that stretched for about three hundred meters, before climbing steadily, and winding steadily for about a half mile before opening up to a plateau that led to the house fifty meters away. The house stood on a hill that over looked the entire city, like a beacon. It was certainly not a house that could be walked up to easily, and people suspected that defense was the raison d’etre for the location.

Yuri parked on the final bend before coming up on the fifty meter plateau before the house. She had not been invited, and the utter loneliness of the place, seemed a reproach to her for trespassing. The house stared at her sternly. She approached the door carefully, wondering if she should knock. The door was old, but sturdy; a product of a bygone era. It even had a knocker on, in the middle.

The day was getting chilly at that point, but she could not be sure whether it was the weather or the absolute violation she had embarked upon that made her hands shiver slightly. She shoved any qualms aside, and moved to bang the door.

Somebody grabbed her firmly from behind. Firm but not harsh, and spun her round. She stared into the forever eyes of Lucius the landlord, and her scream died in her throat.

His arms were stronger than she would have ever thought. His face was stern, but not unkind. He gripped her shoulders, and held her against the door. Yuri thought she could stay there forever, but that was not her aim of coming.

“Let go of me, sir,” she began pushing him away.

“Lucius” he said. He let her go, and took a step back to give her room.

“Lucius, yes. I don’t know how they do things where you are from, but it is rude to just waltz in and waltz out of people’s houses and lives like you do,” She began all self-righteously, while also aware that she was making absolutely no sense. “I would have thought that you would have come more often seeing as grandpa gets lonely most of the time and he is your friend, and-“

She stopped, breathless, still not quite sure why she had come. He stood away from her, but still managed to look like an impenetrable doorway. He had a tank top that exposed his surprisingly muscular arms. Yuri could not read the expression on his face. It occurred to her for the first time that this man might be dangerous-and she was stuck on a hill more than two miles from anybody with him!

“How is Jacob?” He asked. The dying sun reflecting on his hair made it look even more alive, and orange.

“You should visit him, and find out yourself,” she replied petulantly. She hoped she was succeeding in hiding her fear.

“He is a strong old man, stronger than you think! I have a lot of friends to catch up with as well.”

“All of them old apparently.” She shot back. He seemed closer now or maybe it was her mad desire, amplified by the fear that wanted him closer. She wanted to run, but she wanted more to stay. Besides she was not sure that she could escape him now even if she wanted to.