Vivid (40 page)

But he didn't or couldn't hear her. He was
screaming,
'"Run, Pa! Run!"
He was flailing around on the bed,
throwing his arms about so violently, only grace from above kept Vivid from
being inadvertently hit in the face by his powerful fists. "Nate!"
she screamed again. "Nate!"

The dream held on, tossing him like
flotsam on a violent sea, even as Vivid's pleas filled the night. She had never
been so frightened in all her life. She didn't realize she was crying until she
tasted the salty wetness on her lips. She flung herself atop him and, holding
him as tight as she could, whispered passionately, “Nate, come back to me,
please, Nate, I love you, please come back."

Her tears flowed silently against his
shoulder, then she stilled as she felt his arm circle her bare back. He pulled
her close, then held her tight. She cried quietly but openly in response,
basking in his embrace as if it were the breath of life itself.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he
asked softly, kissing her brow.

She sniffled, then said, "A bit, yes,
but it isn't your fault."

"It was my dream again."

"I know. Abigail told me about
it—the last time it happened."

“You heard me that night?''

"Yes."

"And you never mentioned it? Why
not?"

"I knew we'd talk about it when the
time came."

He looked down at her in the darkness and
whispered, “What price will I have to pay for having you in my life?''

Vivid raised herself up and kissed him.
"No price. My love for you is always free..."

T
he last hot days of July slid into the first hot days of August.
And Vivid finally received a letter from her parents informing her of their
arrival around the end of September. They sent congratulations and love to both
their daughter and the prospective groom.

Meanwhile, the Battle of Abigail
continued. Down at Miss Edna's store, bets were being placed on how long
Abigail would hold out. Mr. Crowley, ever confident, never wavered in his vow
to make her his wife and boasted of a wedding soon to come. Abigail, on the
other hand, kept to her housework and her books. She continued to deny any
plans for a wedding other than the one for Vivid and Nate.

The situation came to a head about
mid-month. Mad-die had come over to return a few books she'd borrowed from
Abigail's library and stayed to visit. Maddie, Abigail, and Vivid were
discussing some of the plans for Vivid's wedding when Adam Crowley's loud voice
echoed from out in front of the house. "Abigail Grayson, get yourself out
here!"

Abigail stiffened as the booming summons
took the three women totally by surprise. Vivid and Maddie shared a knowing
grin, then went out to the front room and pulled back the curtain to reveal
Adam sitting atop his stallion. He looked like a man on a mission.

Abigail had come out of the kitchen behind
them and peered around Maddie and Vivid to the man pledged to be her husband,
then moved back.

Vivid turned to her and said,
"Abigail, it looks as if you have a caller."

Abigail snorted.

Then Maddie looked back over her shoulder
and offered her opinion. “You really should go on out. We all know how mule
headed he can be. He'll be there shouting till nightfall if he takes a mind to
it."

Abigail sighed, resigned. With the aid of
the beautiful carved cane Adam had given her, she strode regally to the oval
mirror hanging above the fireplace and took a moment to check her appearance.
She then turned back and said, "How do I look?"

Vivid and Maddie both laughed. Maddie
added, "For someone not wanting courting, you're awfully concerned, Miss
Gail."

"Watch and learn, young women. Watch
and learn."

As she strode away with the air of an
African queen, Vivid glanced into Maddie's surprised eyes and both young women
howled with laughter.

Maddie slid to the door and Vivid eased
back the curtains. Neither was able to resist eavesdropping.

“Adam Crowley, get off my property unless
you want buckshot in your backside," Abigail said from the porch.

Inside the house, Vivid shook her head in
amusement. A familiar footfall behind her told her it was Nate. He came up and
kissed her softly on the neck in greeting. "What's going on out
there?"

Maddie answered in a loud whisper,
"It's Adam Crowley and Miss Gail."

"What are they arguing over
now?" he questioned, bending over Vivid to peek through the curtains.

"We're not really sure," Vivid
replied. "Mr. Crowley rode up a moment ago and yelled for Abigail to get
herself out there."

The arguing appeared to have ceased.
Abigail now stood beside the stallion. Adam dismounted slowly. They were
speaking too quietly to be overheard, however, a blink later they were at it
again, and in full vocal force.

"No!" Abigail shouted. She
emphasized her position by turning her back on him and walking stiffly up the
gravel walk leading to the house.

Mr. Crowley vowed aloud, "Gail,
you're going to marry me."

"No, I'm not, Adam Crowley. I don't
need you playing with my affections."

"It's not your affections I want to
play with, woman!"

Abigail came to an abrupt halt. She turned
back and stared with a wondrous, yet wary, look.

The eavesdroppers inside anxiously awaited
her reply.

Adam Crowley walked up to the woman he
loved and Abigail looked up into the lumberjack's eyes. "You are serious,
aren't you, Adam?"

"Yes, Gail, I am. Wish I had been
this serious thirty years ago."

Then he did something that forever changed
Abigail Grayson's life and forever earned him a treasured spot in Vivid's
heart. He got down on one knee, took Abigail's hand, and asked, "Abigail Grayson,
will you do me the honor of being my wife?''

Before Abigail could reply, Magic came
strolling up the walk with Hector perched on her shoulder and a rabbit she'd
snared in her hand. "Aunt Gail, can we have this rabbit tonight?"

She stopped then, just as she spied Adam
Crowley and said cheerfully, "Oh, I'm sorry, hello, Mr. Crowley. Why are
you on your knees, did you lose something? What is it? Hector and I can
help."

When Magic began looking around the grass,
Nate hurried out to the porch and in fatherly tones hissed, "Majestic, get
in here."

"What did I do, Pa?"

"Nothing, sweet," he said to
her. He gave the stunned lovers an apologetic grin, then ushered his daughter
inside.

When Nate and Vivid explained to Magic
that Mr. Crowley was in the process of proposing marriage, she ran back to the
door yelling, "Say yes, Aunt Gail!"

And to the delight of everyone involved,
Aunt Gail took her great niece's advice.

The wedding was held a few days later at
the church. Proud and beaming, Eli gave his mother away. Once the newlyweds
returned from a honeymoon in Detroit, they planned on moving into Nate's home
until Adam could build them a new house in the spring.

By August's end, folks were bemoaning the
onset of autumn and the inevitable winter to follow, but there were still a few
solid weeks of summer left, so everyone made the best of it. There were county
fairs to visit, wood to chop, and outbuildings to shore up; corn was harvested,
fruits were picked and put up, and Vivid continued making her rounds. She and
Michigan tooled up and down the back roads of Cass County dispensing medicines,
tending to babies and old folks, and inviting her neighbors to the wedding.
Vivid had wanted to keep the ceremony small, but the Grove was having none of
that. Abigail, Miss Edna, and Maddie, the coordinators of the grand event, had
received nearly one hundred replies from people in the area. Nate had friends
all over the state; no one knew how many of them might be planning to attend.

The month of September brought cooler
temperatures and brilliant blue skies. The trees had not yet begun to turn but
everyone assured Vivid that the magnificent Michigan autumn would be unveiling
its colors soon.

The list of the people clamoring for
invites to the wedding now numbered close to two hundred. Nate had heard from
friends from as far away as Saginaw Bay. Vivid heard from both of her sisters.
They'd been told of the wedding in correspondence with their parents. Each sent
messages of love and good wishes to their favorite La Brat Trabrasera.

One night Vivid returned home very tired
from a four-day trip to a lumber camp near Battle Creek. Three men had gotten
into a fight and had tried to hack one another to pieces. She'd sewn one man's
ear, and another's leg; for the third, Vivid had stitched his arm the best she
could but the axe blade had sliced through so much bone and sinew, only time
would tell if he'd be able to keep it or have to undergo amputation.

She wearily led Michigan around to the
barn, saw to the mule's care, and then trudged back over to her place. Inside,
she found Nate seated at her desk reading a newspaper. He put the paper down at
her entrance and said softly, "You look tired, princess."

"I am." She flopped down into
the closest chair. "Lord, I don't want to see another lumber beast for at
least a year. Talk about being raised in a barn. Between them they had maybe
two men who'd even heard of the word 'manners.' "

Nate smiled. He wondered if she would
still be doctoring when they were old and gray. He supposed yes, and with each
homecoming he would love her even more. "You want me to bring you some
water for a bath?"

"Bless you, yes."

"Adam and Abigail won't be back from
Indianapolis until tomorrow. Eli's looking at some new presses up in Kalamazoo,
and Magic's spending the night over at Maddie's, so..." he said, waggling his
eyebrows playfully.

"So?" Vivid asked, grinning.

"So I'm spending my night with
you."

Standing behind her chair, Nate, using
gentle hands, slowly massaged the muscles in her neck and shoulders. After a
few silent minutes of his tender care, her fatigue slowly melted away, taking
with it the strain in her shoulders and the ache in her spine. She'd missed him
in the days she'd been away. She thought how much of a joy it would be, once
they married, to come home every evening to him in just this way.

But she'd been living in a lumber camp for
the past few days and she dearly needed a bath. "Nate..." she
whispered, relaxing under the backrub. "You really should let me get that
bath..."

"I heartily agree. When was the last
time you were near some water?"

Vivid's eyes widened and she turned to
look up at him. He was grinning, she saw, and in spite of herself, she grinned
back. She asked him in regal tones, "Are you implying that I'm not
fresh?"

"I'm not implying, Your Majesty, I'm
stating fact. You smell like Magic after she's been out playing all day."

Vivid looked up and said huskily,
"Then after you bring in the water, you'll have to make sure I get good
and clean."

And he did.

He washed her thoroughly and sensually,
using both the soapy rag and his hands. She was pulsing from all the attention
once he declared her ready to step out of the water. Then he wrapped her in a
large flannel drying sheet and laid her on the big bed. He dried her slowly,
taking time to trail the flannel over her nipples and the dampness between her
thighs, then her back, kissing the line of her spine and running a slow hand
over the lush-ness of her hips while she melted into the softness of the
mattress. Vivid had shared many an erotic interlude with Nate and this night
would be added to that count. He made love to her until very late, then they
both fell asleep.

As the sun rose in the dawn sky Vivid was
awakened by his kiss and his farewell.

She sleepily nodded her understanding and
saw him grin at her as he got dressed. "Back to sleep for you, princess.
See you later today."

Vivid pulled a sheet around her nudity and
slid from the bed to accompany him to the front room. He gave her a parting
kiss, then she stared amazed as he kicked aside the rug rag in the center of
the floor, and opened a door built into the plank floor.

“My grandfather was a member of the Loyal
League and a conductor on the Underground Railroad," he explained.

"So that's how you've been getting in
and out without my knowing?"

"Yep, there's a tunnel down here that
leads to the barn and a vein that runs to the house."

Vivid walked over and peered down into the
dark hole at the base of the ladder. "Does Magic know about this?"

"Yep, has she been popping in and out
too?"

Vivid told him about Magic disappearing
the day her crates arrived. One moment she'd been there, the next moment she'd
disappeared. Finally, an explanation.

"No real reason why I didn't tell you
about it before. Guess I just liked the look of surprise on your face when I
seemed to appear out of nowhere."