Once Upon a Misty Bluegrass Hill (35 page)

She had purchased the bag of apples and put them in the Ford on impulse.  She had not seen Storm in
a month
. 

The trouble was
,
what would be said about her returning to McCabe Farm after all that had happened
?
  Leona and
Patrick
were having their official engagement party in a month. 
Patrick
'
s family was to arrive in the U.S. for the party and then
Patrick
and Leona were to go to Ireland for the month after that so Leona and
Patrick
'
s mother could make wedding plans in Ireland.
  Leona made sure the entire city of Paris knew about every detail…even the kind of dress she was going to buy in Paris, France when she went shopping there with
Patrick
'
s mother.

Ugh…it was just too much to tolerate
…
all of it. 

If she wasn
'
t already starting her semester she would have applied to another school in another town.

Another state.

Another continent.

She pulled up to the fence.  Oliver and Finnegan jumped and barked with excitement
,
slobbering and fogging the back windows
.  The mist rose on the hill in the early morning.  Jolene gulped away the lump that slid into her throat and opened the
truck
door. 
"
Now don
'
t go to
o
far
pups
, do you hear me?  We are not supposed to be here.
"

They took off wagging their tails and smelling the ground with collie abandon.
"
Both of you better listen to me and not go far, do you hear?
  Do not go up to the house.
"

They disappeared into the mist.  They would come if she called.  Hopefully they would not wander close enough to the houses for anyone to see and recognize them.

"
Yooo
hooo, Storm.  Where are you my pretty boy.
"

She heard him neigh from a distance.  Then his hooves pounded heavy on the wet ground toward her
.  Her own heart thumped in reaction.  She always missed him.  She had been away too long at school
and now she had moved away
.  When she was home
before and it wasn't too cold
she rode him every day. 

The last time she rode him was that day when she lay in the grass with
Patrick
and loved him with all her heart. 

Storm was woven into her heart and life carrying both of their bittersweet memories.

He broke through the mist and galloped to the fence tossing his head and neighing in quiet greeting. 
She laughed softly and petted his nose. 
He snorted his happy low hum.  She giggled and took his head down to hug his big gray nose. 
"
Oh how I have missed you.
"

She pulled the apple from her coat pocket and served it up
to him
.  He gave her another appreciative snort. 

"
He misses yer too.
"
 
Patrick
'
s soft baritone voice reached her
from inside the mist.

The dogs ran up next to him barking and dancing their happiness. 

Traitors
.

Jolene spun around to
go back to
her car.  It was a terrible mistake to come here. 

"
Come on
pups
, let
'
s go.
"

"
Jolene.
"

"
No
Patrick
.
"

"
Jolene.
"

She sucked in the sob. 
"
No
Patrick
.
"

"
Let
'
s natter a while.
"

She spun back around to punch into his violet gaze.  His eyes were filled with regret.  Sorrow.

"
Natter?  Nothing we have to say to each other is so casual.
"

"
Talk then.
"

Her heart burned. 
"
What
'
s to talk about?
"
 

He reached the fence post
and hiked his arm up on the horizontal pole
.  His t-shirt fit his torso like a glove.  His eyes were glowing into hers pulling her toward him.

Oh how those muscled arms and chest had felt under her hand that day
in the driving rain.  She would never forget that memory.

"
I should
'
na have let you take the blame for what happened.  It was me that was the older
, more responsible person.
"

She stepped back from the emotional pull. 
Would her heart always
palpitate like this
when she saw him? 
"
It
'
s too late to say you
're
sorry
Patrick
.  Go back to your fiancée.
  I can
'
t believe she took you back.
"

"
Was it in your plan that way Jolene?
"

Jolene wanted to back away from him and run to her truck, squeal away
on burning rubber
in a fit of drama.  Instead, she looked past him to the pasture where the mist was clearing.  She could see her family home. 
"
Did I plan for us to have sex?  Or get caught?  Or what
?  What
do you mean
Patrick
?
  You came out to that field.  I don
'
t know what happened.
"

He pinned her
back
inside of his morning glory gaze
again
. 
"
You hated Leona.
"

Jolene pulled out another apple and pitched
it
over to storm who was straining over the fence beside
Patrick
.
 
"
I hated her then and I hate her now.
"

"
Why Jolene?
"

Jolene hissed and shook her head. 
"
Figure it out
Patrick
.
"
  She knew she sounded bitter.  But then, she felt bitter. 
"
She would end up living here with you, where was that going to leave me?
"

Patrick
pounded the fence and swore. 
"
So you lay with me out of revenge?  To stop her from
taking yur
family farm?  What?
"

"
That is so dumb
Patrick
.  You think I would have sex with a man for revenge?
"

"
I
'
d think not because you
'
d never lain with a man yet, but I need to get to the bottom of this for both of our sakes and so I can move on with Leona.
"

Jolene felt the blows of his words. 
"
Why does it matter?  M
aybe I just got caught in the heat of the moment.
"

"
Araah girl.
"

"
Don
'
t start that with me
Patrick
.  Everything is the same.  You are marrying Leona…why
...
I really don
'
t know…I
'
d never marry a man I saw screwing another woman.
"

Patrick
started to scale the fence. 
"
Don
'
t cha
'
dare be talking trash like that to me Jolene May
McKnight
.
"

Jolene spun back around and ran to the door of the Ford and swung it open. 
"
Get inside
pups
, now!
"

Oliver and Finnegan dutifully jumped in whining their protests and looking back at
Patrick
through the closed door window with longing and sadness.

"
We are done with our natter
Patrick
.  There is nothing left to be said.
"

"
You can come back and see Storm any time you want
.  Y
ou don
'
t have to come to the back gate.
"

She slid into the seat of her truck and buckled her seat belt with shaking fingers and an aching heart. 
"
I bet Leona would like that a lot.
"

Patrick
got to her door before she could slam it closed. 
"
I am sorry about what I did to yer Jolene.
"

"
Back off
Patrick
.
"

His eyes found her heart and tugged. 
"
Just stop
and listen to me for a minute.  I want to know if yur pregnant or anything?  Are you alright?
"

"
No. 
There is no baby, thank God.
"  She ran her hand over her ponytail and sighed.
 
"
I am done
Patrick
. 
There isn
'
t anything to discuss.
"

He swore. 
"
I just want to tell yer
I am sorry.  I should never have allowed it to happen and I am very sorry for what I did.
"

Jolene pulled on the door with all her might. 
He stepped back and Jolene slammed the door holding back the
scores
of emotions that jammed through her like a jackhammer.

She rolled down the window as she drove away. 
"
You could not possibly be more sorry than me
Patrick
.
"

Chapter
22

The Appalachian woman has been called many things….
granny woman, granny witch, water witch,
to name a few.
  The
amazing
history of the Appalachian Mountains
and its women
holds many secrets
.

T
hese women were leaders in their community. They had
golden
hearts, loving and generous ways
.  They also had
healing
skills
.
They were a funny mix of Christians and often Pagans
.
The family secrets and practices
were passed dow
n from generation to generation.  The
pagan
practices changed somewhat because
of the
expos
ure
to the Christian religions. The healing continued
but the
love and appreciation of nature was constant.

These women had to become
midwives.  They served as the local substitute for the
rare
doctors
and a
natural pharmacy source.  They created poultices from roots and herbs to soothe illness
and often
help
ed
to birth a baby in the same day.
They were and are b
rave, strong, heroic women.

All healing came from old rituals brought over to our country from Ireland and Scotland. 
Many also had a mix
Cherokee and other Native American decedents
with their own practices
. 
A remarkable number of the Appalachians were a mix of
Irish, Scottish, Cherokee, and various other European countries.
 

"
Bless me father for I have sinned.   It has been two months since my last confession…no…maybe three.
"