Big Easy (Cowboy Craze) Read online

  His honest and open confession tugged at Jewel’s heart. “I bet if we were to ask them, they’d tell a different story.”

  “Well, that’s not gonna happen.” Desperately needing to get the attention off of his less than stellar situation, he decided to tease Jewel. Grabbing a broom from by the refrigerator he held it up. “Is this your mother’s favorite mode of transportation?”

  Jewel rolled her eyes. “She has her broom with her in Florida, that one’s mine.”

  “I bet you look sexy perched up on it in a seductive pose, the wind in your hair as you swoop through the night by the light of the moon.”

  “Oh, please. Stop.” She took the broom from him to sweep a few crumbs into a dust bin.

  “So, do you come from a long line of witches, fortune tellers…or whatever?” His voice waned as he attempted to put a name to what she could do.

  She resisted the idea of a label. “I don’t practice witchcraft, no matter what they call my mother. And I don’t practice voodoo. Or even hoodoo. I have innate abilities. As some people are born with a musical talent, I have the gift of sight. I can connect to the natural powers of the universe and channel them – so to speak.”

  “I see.” He didn’t. Not really. Taking off his Stetson, he raked his hand through his hair. “I guess the only gift I was born with was the ability to bullshit people.”

  Jewel was aware of the heavy burden he carried around with him. She could sense the wounds in his soul. Part of her wanted to take him under her wing and heal those wounds, lift his burden. In the same moment, she also recognized how resistant he would be to her help. Was she strong enough to fight his demons as well as her own?

  Jewel didn’t know.

  One thing at a time. “Come on, Easy, let’s go charm a spirit.”

  Hearing her use his nickname made Easy smile. “Lead on, ghost whisperer.”

  A few minutes later, they were entering the front door of the raised cottage. “Cotton? It’s Jewel. Could we talk for a minute?”

  They both stood still in the front parlor. Easy felt a little silly waiting for the spirit to respond. “How long does he usually keep you waiting?”

  Jewel laughed softly. “Well, I can’t say. This is the first time I’ve just shown up and summoned him like this.”

  “Shouldn’t we do a séance or something?” Easy asked as he turned in a half circle, his eyes widening when he caught sight of his own reflection in a mirror.

  “A séance is just staging. Atmosphere. More for the participant than the spirit.” Jewel moved a little deeper into the house, keeping her eyes and ears open for any changes in light or atmosphere.

  “Well, you know best. We’ve seen ghost lights up on Packsaddle Mountain a few times. Benjen said the light led him to save his wife, Apple, when her car was swept away in a flash flood. He wanted to think our father was controlling the light.”

  “He was probably right.” Jewel closed her eyes to concentrate. “Cotton! I want to introduce you to a very nice man. His name is Ezekiel Blackhawk. He’s going to be staying here for a while.” She looked at Easy. “Say something.”

  Easy widened his eyes as if were pretending to panic. “What do I say?”

  “I don’t know. Find some common ground.”

  “Hello, Mr. Briggs.” He raised an eyebrow at Jewel, wondering at the lengths he would go to impress a woman. “It’s good to meet you. You can call me Easy.”

  “He was a riverboat gambler,” Jewel offered as she slowly turned in a circle, trying to determine if they were getting through.

  “Oh, really?” Easy nodded. “So, you like games? I play a mean hand of poker. I also intend to teach myself how to play chess.”

  As Easy spoke, Jewel noticed the air shimmer and wave just to the side of the fireplace. “I think he’s here. He’s listening.”

  Swallowing, Easy let out a huff of air. “Was that you making all the noise last night? I heard footsteps all over the place. If it was, that’s cool. I certainly don’t mind having a roommate.”

  Jewel grinned at him and nodded. “I think Easy can see you, Cotton. I think he glimpsed you through the front glass door yesterday when he first arrived.”

  Manly, be manly, Blackhawk. If a ghost shows up out of nowhere, you will not make a new door in the side of the house. “But if you’re busy, I’ll understand.”

  Jewel cut him a look and rolled her eyes. “What we wanted to tell you is that everything’s okay, Cotton. Mr. Blackhawk is no threat to you, and I don’t want him to think you are anything but the good and kind man I know you to be.”

  Easy was searching through his mind for something to add when he happened to glance into the mirror and what he saw stole the oxygen from his lungs. A ball of light was reflected, light that pulsed with otherworldly, opalescent colors. Questioning his vision, he wheeled around to see Jewel staring at the same glowing orb – not the reflection, but the actual luminous sphere. “Lord have mercy,” he breathed, knowing he was seeing something extraordinary. “Just like Benjen described.”

  “It’s okay.” Jewel could see he was shocked. Instinctively, she placed herself between Easy and the manifestation. “It’s fine.”

  Not wanting to miss the miraculous phenomenon, he stepped to one side to see better. He couldn’t believe it; he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own two eyes. The iridescent sphere was changing shape, elongating. Unfolding. To his utter amazement, the illuminated mass was no longer round – it had legs. And as he stared, mesmerized, he could see arms appearing and a head rising from the side as if the entity were straightening itself out from a balled position – which was exactly what it was doing. Easy grabbed onto the back of the chair to keep from exiting the premises. “Holy crap.”

  The two words Easy spoke aloud acted like a needle putting a pinprick in a balloon.

  In a blink, the whole thing vanished, leaving both Jewel and Easy agape with astonishment.

  “What happened?” Easy asked, his mind officially blown.

  “I…guess he’s shy,” Jewel responded, confused as well. “I think he got the message, though.”

  “Really?” Easy found himself trying to explain what he saw away. “Was that some kind of parlor trick?”

  “No.” Jewel put her hands on her hips indignantly. “How can you…” She narrowed her gaze and huffed. “You saw him with your own eyes!”

  “Maybe.” Easy felt like he’d fallen down the rabbit hole. “You have to admit – all of this is crazy. Everything you do is…” He stopped short of insulting her completely.

  “Crazy?” Jewel felt like she’d been stabbed. Her face flamed. Why did she feel so surprised? This was most people’s reaction to something of this nature. “Yea, you’re right.” She started from the front door.

  Instantly, Easy realized what he’d done. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just…stunned.”

  “No problem. Good luck. Hopefully, you’ll not have any more disturbances.” She kept putting one foot ahead of the other, aiming for the front door.”

  “No. wait. Just help me understand.” Easy reached out and grabbed Jewel’s arm to halt her progress. “What happened here?”

  Jewel didn’t pull away from him. “I don’t know. He started to show himself, then changed his mind.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, he’s been…burned before. After all, he’s been hanging around since 1903. Some have tried to exorcise him, send him away. My mother tried. I even tried a couple of times before I understood how things worked.”

  “You do know how…”

  “Crazy this sounds?” She didn’t really want to talk anymore. “Yea, I do. Have a good day.”

  This time when she yanked her arm, he let her go. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” She tossed an offhand smile over her shoulder. “If you decide you want out of your lease, you won’t get any hassle from me. Just leave the key under the door.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Easy didn’t leave as Jewel might
expect. Instead, he went shopping. The afternoon was so bright and sunshiny, he let all of the mysterious happenings from earlier vanish from his mind. Since it was Sunday, he couldn’t do anything about the cable or internet, but he did find contact information for the companies he’d be purchasing the services from. Tomorrow, during a break from work, he’d put those orders in. When he returned to the cottage, Easy put everything away, then snuck a few glances over toward Jewel’s place.

  There was no sign of her.

  For the remainder of the evening, he made himself at home, trying not to dwell on what he’d seen in the front parlor. When he couldn’t ignore it, Easy tried to analyze the whole situation. Answers were not easy to come by. Part of him remained skeptical, while the other part of him wanted to believe. After all, this wasn’t too different from what Benjen claimed to see. Hell, he’d seen the ghost lights on Packsaddle Mountain himself, but he’d managed to credit their existence to balls of gas or some atmospheric condition.

  What he’d witnessed with Jewel could not be construed as either of those things. No, if he didn’t know better – he’d swear he’d seen a ghost.

  But did he know better?

  Jewel was unique. Hell, this place was unique.

  As night fell, Easy took a walk around the property to clear his head. He’d always preferred being outside over being shut up indoors. Slipping his hands into his front pockets, he circled the house to angle behind Jewel’s place. With the sun dropping below the treetops, the shadows were creeping over the swamp and bellows of alligators made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. At least they sounded some distance away. He hoped.

  The farther he walked, the more he wondered at the wisdom of his jaunt. By now, the moon was high in the sky giving everything an ominous look. Giant cypress trees stood like dark sentinels and once he caught a movement in the shadows, but when he looked again, all he saw was the forbidding spooky landscape of the swamp.

  “Dammit!” Easy slapped his arm. All of a sudden, a swarm of mosquitoes were doing their dead level best to drain him of blood or carry him off for a midnight snack. Abandoning his stroll, he retraced his steps, knowing he needed to get to bed soon. He wanted to be at Belle Chasse by seven a.m., so he needed to be on the road by six. As he followed the path, his eyes gravitated to a light in Jewel’s house he could see shining through the window. Easy broke off the tip end of a branch to chew on, regretting the way he’d reacted to what they’d shared. When he accused her of manufacturing the spectacle in some way, he’d seen the hurt in her eyes. She’d quickly hidden the emotion, but he wouldn’t forget how the light had died in her eyes – or the fact that he’d been the one to extinguish it.

  As he drew closer, Easy kept his gaze on the illuminated window. The curtains were open and beyond them he could see Jewel. A smile came to his face…until he noticed she wasn’t alone. Slowing his steps, Easy stopped to stare as she walked up to the guy and put her arms around him. In the next second, he returned the embrace, pulling Jewel close.

  Easy didn’t wait to see anything else. He lowered his head and continued on. Upon arriving at the front of the houses, he noted the white pickup parked in her driveway. Without warning, a wave of jealousy hit Easy so hard, he almost went to his knees. “Son-of-a-bitch.” Moving to the far side of the path, he sought the trunk of a tree for support. What the hell? This wasn’t like him. His sudden reaction to what he’d seen knocked Easy for a loop. Bending over, he took a couple of deep breaths. “Not good. So, not good.” There was no room for this type of emotion in his life. He didn’t get involved. He played the field. Casual relationships were his modus operandi. Even this was a bad idea with Jewel, a one-night stand with the girl next door was definitely a bad idea.

  Still, the idea of her having an active social life didn’t sit well with him for some reason.

  Which was stupid. He shouldn’t feel this way.

  Shaking his head, he started off again, ignoring the figures still framed in the illuminated window. “So, she’s seeing someone. Big fucking deal.”

  …Across the way, Jewel comforted Calvin Webb, a man who’d lost his wife to congestive heart failure. “She’s been gone over a year. Faye wouldn’t have wanted you to mourn this long. You’ve got to turn loose of your grief. Don’t let the love go, just the heartache.”

  Calvin pulled away and paced across the floor. “I can’t. I don’t know how.” Turning quickly, he glared at Jewel. “Call her up for me. You can do it.”

  “No.” Jewel didn’t even have to think about the idea to make a decision. “That would not be a good idea.”

  “Yes, it would,” Calvin argued. “I just need to see her. One more time.”

  Jewel thought quickly, seeking some way to divert him from this unwise notion. “Faye would want you to be happy. To move on.” She hurried over to one of her cabinets. “Let me mix up a little something for you.”

  “Like what?”

  “A candle you can burn every night before you go to bed. One that will draw someone into your life.” She began to gather the things she’d need. A red candle. Rose oil. A pink quartz crystal.

  “A love spell? A love potion?”

  Jewel could hear the hint of hope in his voice. He was thirty-two years old, trying to raise three little children on his own. “I’m sure there is someone out there for you. Someone Faye would approve of, someone for you to love. You’ve been alone. Your kids need a mother, Calvin.”

  “I’ll always love Faye, but being alone is hard.” He batted a few tears from his eyes. “All right. Let’s do it.”

  …Crawling into bed, Easy turned out the bedside lamp, then realized the overhead light was still on. “Shit.”

  For a few seconds, he laid there, staring up into the subdued glow of the frosted globes. Glancing around, he kind of liked the idea of keeping the shadows at bay.

  Of course, he hadn’t slept with the light on since he was five.

  “Oh, to hell with it.” At least this bedroom was on the opposite side from Jewel’s house. Grabbing his pillow, he pulled it over his head, and rolled to one side. “No one will ever know.”

  * * *

  Flipping on the radio, Easy scarfed down the egg sandwich he’d picked up at a fast food restaurant. As he tapped his toe to a country song, he finished his breakfast, then took a sip from the to-go cup of coffee. He felt dang good this morning. He’d slept all night – undisturbed.

  Stopping at the last red light in town, Easy chuckled and smiled as a pretty girl with a high ponytail crossed the road in front of him. She gave him a wink and a smile, and he tooted his horn and raised a hand in greeting. If he didn’t have somewhere to be, he’d stop and get acquainted.

  As soon as the idea occurred, he found himself thinking of Jewel. Her smile. The way she tilted her head. The graceful way she moved.

  “Stop it. Fuck it all.”

  She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in pursuing anything with him – and she was probably right. Besides, there were plenty of pretty little fish in the bayou.

  For the next half hour, he drove southeast from Thibodaux toward Tiger Bayou and what remained of Belle Chasse Plantation. Making good time, he called his older brother to check in. When he didn’t get an answer, he frowned. What could Daniel possibly be doing that would be more important than talking to his younger, prodigal brother? “Maybe, he’s having sex.”

  Ending the call, he refocused on the day ahead of him. There was a lot to be done. First, he had to meet with Philip and Jed. Philip wanted to brief them on what he hoped to accomplish. Easy just hoped he was up to the task. This was going to be a major operation. Checking his speed, he saw he was going ten miles over the limit. This wasn’t the best part of the world to break the law, the Louisiana state police loved to stop people for traffic violations, especially those who drove with a Texas license plate.

  Driving fast in this part of Louisiana wasn’t hard to do, the highways tended to be long and straight. Not so with backroads, they w
ound around trees and bogs. They were natural. The main roads were forced, built to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In hot weather on these byways, the molten summer air would meet the white-hot asphalt to birth wavy mirages, causing the gray horizon to marry the gray pavement, creating a mysterious, almost impenetrable haze.

  As the tires ate up the miles, he drove past stretches of crops in their fields – cotton, corn, and soybeans. Row after row, mesmerizing in its monotony. When he turned south into the wetlands, the lay of the land changed, and so did the things he saw growing. Now, there were vast rice paddies, dense sugar cane fields, and the crawfish farms. He knew Philip intended to bring Belle Chasse back to its former glory by cultivating all of those things.

  Soon, he left the orderly fields behind and entered an area of dense trees and undergrowth, interspersed with palmetto bogs and the stands of cypress erupting from swampy ground. To Easy, this was an alien looking landscape, a far cry from the rugged, rocky hill country of central Texas.

  “Here we are,” Easy muttered as he headed beneath the once proud sign announcing the entrance to the plantation. He knew very little remained of what once was, the house and grounds decimated by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. Saturday, he’d stopped by only long enough to let Philip know he’d arrived. Today, they’d hear their boss’s plan for the future.

  As he parked next to two doublewide mobile homes, Easy tried to see the place as it used to be. When the mauled, gnarled trunks were stately oaks. When the broken columns held up stately porticos. When Carolyn McCoy watched her children play in the once manicured garden. Now, even the shambles created by the hurricane were changed by time – overgrown, faded. Even though time is supposed to heal all wounds, the scars this tragedy left behind were still very evident.

  Before he could leave his truck, the door opened on one of the trailers and McCoy stepped out and motioned for Easy to join him. Waving his agreement, he grabbed his gloves from the seat next to him and picked up his trash to throw away once he was inside.