The Drifter (3 page)

'I have to come,' she said. 'Help me.' She pulled her dress up and sprawled on the bed, pushing aside her panties so that he had a full view. He stroked his cock slowly while he gazed at her.

Pulling her dress down to reveal one breast, she reached for her own nipple. She circled her it and pinched it hard, and then she sat up and guided his hand down to her slit. He put his finger inside but she wanted more.

'Put another in, Travis, I want you to fill me up,' she said.

Travis touched her tenderly and slipped his fingers into her. He watched her play with her nipple and then lick her fingers and reach for her clit.

Cathy flushed and began breathing hard. She was thinking about the time they had first made love under the sprawling oak, and the time with the horses, and all these images flashed through her brain. In her mind's eye she saw his cock entering her body and she felt her wave coming on.

He sensed this and hooked his finger to touch her spot. Spasms of ecstasy washed over her as she kicked outward, and he laughed with joy.

The bed was wet where she had lain, and he said he had never seen anyone come like that. She was panting hard and felt completely wrung out, but she rolled over and asked him to take her from the back, and he did, biting her shoulders and arms hard as he thrust his cock inside of her.

She moaned with pleasure and reaching for her clit rubbed it again. She was completely soaked in her own juices, and as he kept thrusting, her hand glided easily over her pussy and down to his balls, and she cupped them and rubbed them until he asked her to stop. She knew he was holding back again, trying to make it last.

She touched herself, pressing her mound and then she felt a wave rocking over her while Travis held her hips and didn't let her pull away. She collapsed in a heap, but he was kneeling in front of her, stroking his member. She spread her legs and said, 'Fuck me again.'

He entered her on his knees and the pleasure was so intense it felt as if she was going to die a thousand deaths. She thought it was because she was already so sensitive.

'I love it when you do this to me,' she said.

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to him until she was straddling him and they were moving together, their bodies interlocked, their rhythm synchronized. Cathy felt as if she was going to fall apart if it went on for one second longer.

'I want to watch you come,' she said.

He pulled out of her, and with a rapidity of motion she found astonishing, jerked himself off until his thick creamy cum landed over her hips and the top of her cunt. She rubbed it and rubbed it into her clit and felt soft waves come over her again, but they were over instantly; just a shudder compared to what she had felt before.

He fell beside her and held her, his arm around her, while she rested her head on his shoulder.

'Is it always this good, Travis?' she asked.

'With other women, you mean? No.'

'Why is this different?'

'Because we love each other.'

'But it doesn't always work even if people love each other, does it?'

'No. It doesn't.'

She thought about that for a while as she ran her hand idly across his smooth body. He was brown on his lower arms and face and the back of his neck, and a paler reddish shade, where he had taken off his shirt to work outdoors during the hot days. His legs were ivory, and white where he had worn cut offs long ago and whiter still was his rear, but it was so beautifully shaped and full and she couldn't help but reach to squeeze and stroke it when their legs intertwined.

'Have you thought about what we discussed last time?' she asked.

'I've thought about little else.'

'And what are you thinking?'

'I'll be there.'

She gave a joyous cry and kissed him over and over again. They dozed against each other, naked, skins salty and moist until the roosters began crowing.

He walked her over the fields. Daylight was breaking, and he kissed her long and hard before letting her go. She ran the rest of the way to make it before Ma got up. Waking Billy up as silently as she could, she got back into her room easily and fell asleep just after she heard Ma stirring.

Danger

When she woke up Ma had already gone. Cathy breathed a sigh of relief. She was reaching for the cereal when her brother's voice startled her. She hadn't heard him come up from behind.

'Cathy, I heard her on the phone this morning. She's gonna run Travis out of town.'

Cathy felt her stomach flip over before common sense took hold of her. 'That's ridiculous,' she said.

'It's not. She knows a lot of people. You know she used to nurse the sick around here. She nursed old Miz Carson and Sheriff Wynn's Ma. She aims to call in some favors.

'People wouldn't do what she asked just because of that,' Cathy said, all the while knowing that people did evil things for no apparent reason, a fact which she found inexplicable.

'Sheriff would. He's a mean bastard.’

'It doesn't matter. College is only a couple of weeks away, and then Travis and I can be together without her interference.'

'She was talking to Pa too. She means to keep you home for the year. She going to get you a job at the mill.'

'She can't keep me Billy. I'm of legal age.' Cathy was determined now.

'Cathy, she said you're weak, and you'd end up badly because you have no clue what real life is about. She thinks Travis is just using you, and when he's done with you, he'll leave you and run off.'

Cathy felt a slow burn spread over her body, 'He's not like that. He loves me, and he's not stupid. He just hasn't had many chances in life.'

'I know that,' Bill said. 'I've talked to him a few times, but Ma's right about one thing, and that's that love runs out when there's no money. I've been thinking. You could stop seeing him for a while. Let Ma think you're giving him up. Then when you're away from here, at school, you two can do what you want.'

He made sense, and she had to admit his plan could work. 'I have to see him and talk to him before she gets her way. We need to make plans.'

'You want me to run you over there?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said, putting on her shoes. 'He might be out on the range, and I can't cover that territory on foot. Just a minute, I'll be right back.'

Billy waited for her, idling the pick-up he had bought cheap and fixed up, as she went upstairs and got all the money she had saved up for college out of her dresser drawer. She meant to give it to Travis if he needed it. When she got into the truck, Billy ripped out of the drive as if they were being chased and didn't take his foot off the accelerator the whole time.

As they drove under Carsons' bar they noticed a commotion up near the house. The sheriff had parked his car and was standing there, fat belly hanging over his belt, talking to one of the Carson boys. Her Ma had her arms crossed over skinny chest and was looking triumphant. Cathy jumped out of the pickup while it was still moving and ran toward them.

One of the Carsons saw her approaching and went to meet her. 'He lit out, girlie. And your Ma and the Sheriff's making a big stink, keeping us from our work.'

'How could you just let him go, Bob?' she asked.

'It's none of my business.' He was about to turn around when Cathy said, 'I hate this place and I always will. Everything that's good or beautiful about it has been ruined. And you Carsons just sit on your pile of money knowing no woman will ever put up with your selfish ways. That's why you didn't protect him.'

'Your boy is no better than us. He's got a record. Did you know? He beat his own Pa into bloody pulp.'

'How long do you think his stepfather should have been allowed to abuse him before he hit back?' she said, not waiting for an answer.

Bill was at her side. 'Let's go,' she said, 'I want to catch up to him.'

Her Ma was headed over to them now that the Sheriff had finished talking.

'Not if he's violent,' Billy shook his head. 'I'm not participating in this if he's violent.'

'He's not!' she shouted and hurried to the truck. She got in the driver's side, and turning the key, started the engine. She saw Ma beginning to run toward her in the rear view mirror as she pulled away, but she didn't care anymore.

She headed down the road to the main highway. She didn't know which way Travis was headed, or if he had gotten on a bus or hitched a ride, but she was sure she'd find him no matter how long it took.

Leaving

Travis looked at Cathy sleeping in the motel bed. He couldn't believe she had followed him and found him. He had never belonged anywhere, and no one had ever belonged to him until the Blue Girl had come into his life. He hadn't meant for love to have happened. It was easier not to feel anything, because then you would not mourn the loss of things...or people. But with her, he couldn't help himself. He had been as consumed as she was. At first it was the way he felt when they were having sex, but then he had begun to think about her all the time, while he was tending to the cows and horses, repairing fences, and riding the range. She loved him, and he loved her, and that anchored him like nothing else had done before.

There were other towns she could have gone to look for him, but he must have mentioned this one before and how he had liked the feel of it, and she had just walked up to him while he was busking on the street, playing his guitar. It was tuned the Appalachian way, and she had known the song. She had raised her voice and those plaintive sounds had wrenched his heart.

While he played Shady Grove, The Greenwood Side, and Wayfaring Stranger, people had stopped and listened. He kept playing while she sang and they collected more money than he saw in a week working on the ranch.

‘How did you know the words to all those old songs,’ he asked.

'My Pa and Ma used to sing together when I was little. They had dreams of recording, but it never happened. Then one day they stopped.'

'You have a beautiful voice,' he said.

'But?'

'But so few make it,' he said, 'and there's nothing but disappointment waiting for those who don't.'

'But we could try, couldn't we Travis?' she had pleaded a little, trying to sound confident.

He hadn't replied right away. He had thought about it and concluded that it was better if he disappeared and spared her the hardship he knew awaited her if she stayed with him.

Then he made love to her, taking her so slowly, embracing her in a way that made her feel full and protected. He cupped her head in his hands, his long fingers threaded through her thick hair, and he kissed her face and her eyes and her mouth for a long time, rocking them both as if he could suspend time with the fluidity of his movements. He didn't have to tell her sweet lies. She knew it was the last time, and she began to weep silently, thick salty tears that ran over her face and mingled with his sweat as she buried her face in his chest.

'Don't cry, Cathy, please,' he said. It made him feel so helpless and weak.

'I can't help it,' she replied. 'I know I'll never see you again.'

He held her in his arms and lay next to her, holding her until he felt her relax against him, and then he disengaged himself and put on his clothes in the dark. He slung his knapsack over his shoulder and picked up his guitar, but he left her the money they had made. He felt his heart breaking in two, and he now understood how that expression came to be.

He wondered why they loved each other as much as they did. There was no logic behind it and no knowing why, but he knew he'd love her until the day he died. That's just the way things are, he thought. He looked over at her and saw her eyes glittering in the half-light that came from the naked bulb outside the motel when he opened the door.

'Don't go, Travis. Please don't go,' she begged.

In Concert

Blue Girl opened the window and lit her cigarette. She shouldn't be smoking, she knew, and she rarely did, but after all these years she still needed a crutch to calm her nerves. She blew the smoke outside. Hearing the pounding of the audience's feet and their clapping and shouting, she knew it was time to go on stage. She stubbed the cigarette out, took a swig from her flask, and looked in the mirror, appraising her appearance. Her long blond hair was artfully tousled and her curvaceous figure was poured into a black lace dress. People said she looked better now than she had twenty-five years before when she had started singing professionally. She didn't know if that was true; she was what she was and had always been.

There was a sharp knock on the door. 'Miz Carter, we're ready to go.'

'I'm coming,' she said, taking one last close look to make sure her mascara wasn't smeared.

Afterward, she knew she had given one of her better performances, because she had felt some kind spell fall over the audience, and she had felt herself fusing with them. It didn't always happen, even when the performances were technically flawless. There seemed to be a kind of magic operating in the night.

The venue was an outdoor one, but it was not oversized. As the moon shone on the surrounding mountains, the breeze picked up very lightly and wafted over the crowd. She sang as if she was in a wooded grove, a Celtic priestess raising her arms to the elements and causing their power to reverberate through her. She felt as if anything could happen, and took three ovations and sang for them twice more before she came off stage.

She was too excited to sleep but wasn't looking forward to spending the evening alone though usually she had no trouble keeping her own company. She had been seeing her fiddler for a while but recently they had ended it amicably knowing it wasn't going anywhere.

Nothing with me ever did, not with my two husbands, not with any of those men. I hardened my heart after Travis, she thought, and didn't let anyone else in, but even as she said it, she knew that no one had loved her as well or as sincerely since.

There were people standing at the door of her dressing room, fans and journalists, and her assistant let them in. Cathy knew she'd have to talk to them for a while, and maybe that was a good thing, because she would have time to wind down, and then perhaps she would fall asleep more easily without taking a pill.

She answered their questions with humble good humor, knowing they would be satisfied. She knew the reviews would be uniformly good, because she was kind, and because of that, was well liked.

She hadn't noticed the tall weather beaten man who was standing silently at the back of the room holding a bouquet of wildflowers while the others had been there. She thought everyone had left and sat down at her dressing table, kicking off her shoes and pulling back her hair since she wanted to take off her make-up. She was startled when he cleared his throat and put her hand up to her throat to stifle a gasp.

'Cathy,' he said holding out the flowers and then lowering them when he saw she didn't recognize him.

'Can I help you?' she said automatically.

'Yes, I think you might be able to,' he smiled wryly.

It was only when she heard his voice that she understood who he was. Before he could say anything, she felt herself breaking, and the wall she had built around herself fell as she began to keen. He knew then that she had would have no pride that would keep her from loving him again because she had never stopped, just as he hadn't.

He knelt before her, and put his arms all the way around her, burying his fists in her back.

'I waited for you Travis, all these years. Why didn't you come for me sooner?' she asked between her sobs.

'I couldn't face you until I made something of myself. I have my own ranch now,' he said, knowing how lame that would sound to a woman who had made as much money as she had.

Cathy didn't laugh at him nor did she contradict him. She didn't say, 'I only needed your love and nothing else.' She had learned the hard way what it meant to men to be successful and independent, and she said, 'I'm glad for you and proud of you.'

'Please tell me it's not too late for us.'

She shook her head through her tears. 'You were the only one, Travis, the only one. I never stopped thinking about you all these years, and I prayed for you come back to me.'

'Me too. I never married.' he said.

'I did. Two mistakes, one worse than the other,' she laughed through her tears.

'I'm so sorry I left you. I know how much it hurt.' He was aware how inadequate that apology sounded, but the anguish in his eyes confirmed the truth of it.

'I you hadn't, I never would have become what I am today. All my words were for you and about you. Each time I got on stage I hoped you'd see and hear me.'

'I sensed it. I have all your records. You don't know how many nights I listened to your voice, sitting alone in the darkness.'

'You know, my darling, when you get older, you appreciate everything more. The things that seemed trivial when you are young take on so much meaning. I missed you so terribly. Let's not waste any more years being apart,' she said taking his hands in hers.

He smiled at her, though he was crying as well, and hugged her closely.

She kissed his face and his hair with a thousand kisses, and he sought out her mouth and brought his lips up to hers. With a quick energetic movement, he was up, and lifting her, pressed her against the wall. She pulled up her dress, and he clawed at her panties tearing them away. And then he impaled her and heard the exclamation of desire that consumed her as she took in the whole length of him. They moved together in unison until they were too frenzied to stand, and fell on the divan, and she twined her legs around his waist and guided him into her body.

She held tight as he entered her, driving the head of his cock into her core until she couldn't stand it anymore and cried out for him to stop. He knew that she could take it and altered his rhythm, turning her over, assaulting her with a fervor, hitting her spot until she broke against him, coming and crying out, and he knew it was even better for her now than when they had both been young. He kissed her mouth, their tongues meeting, and he held her so tightly that they knew neither of them would ever let go again.

They had acquired a hard won wisdom that had come with loneliness and age. At last they were turning to face their future together, with the brightest expectation.