THE IMMORTAL
Chapter 7 – The Bell
Clea kept her
eyes on the narrow road ahead of them. Her mouth continued to tingle from his
kiss. Worse, her cheeks and chin tickled where his beard and moustache had
grazed her skin. She wanted to reach up and scratch, but doing so would call
attention to her face, and she didn’t need his scrutiny.
He’d kissed
her. She’d wanted him to.
Now came the
consequences.
What do I
do now? Will he try to kiss me again? If he does, should I let him? What if he
thinks he can try to do more? What if he—
She
forced herself to break away from those thoughts. Yes, he’d kissed her, but
only because she’d let him. Because she’d wanted him to. If I’d made any
attempt to prevent him from doing it, if I’d held up my hands or turned my head
away, he wouldn’t have gone any further. He would have known right then and
there that he was not allowed such leniency, and being the gentleman I’ve seen
so far, he wouldn’t have tried to do it again. Except…
As
much as she hated to admit it, she was glad he’d kissed her. She’d wanted him
to kiss her. The only problem now was…would he do it again? Would she let him
if he tried, or would she have second thoughts at the last second?
She chanced a
quick glance over at him. His hands were gripping the steering wheel to the
point where his knuckles were white. His focus was entirely on the road, his
attention on keeping the truck on the two dirt tracks that paralleled the
fence. It was obvious the thought of what he’d just done had been shoved to the
back of his mind so he could concentrate on driving.
“Madam, I
believe we’ve found a breach.”
Clea jerked
her gaze back to the view as Jonah slowed the pickup. She spotted the area and
quickly judged the extent of the damage. When the truck came to a full stop,
she told him to put it in park and turn off the ignition.
“That is what
the P stands for? Park?”
She threw him
a grin as she was stepping out of the cab. “You catch on quick.”
It didn’t
take her long to figure out what needed to be done. “This looks like it won’t
be a hard fix. The posts are still solid.” She pushed against the wood beams
and found no give. “If we rewrap some wire about these two sections, we should
be good.”
“I noticed some
of that same wire in the barn,” Jonah informed her.
Clea nodded.
“I always keep an extra roll or two just for this reason.” She patted the top
of the post. Taking a step back, she surveyed the area. “And we’re not far from
the house, either.”
“Is
everything on this side of the fence yours, Madam?”
“Actually, I
own both sides.”
“Then why is
there a fence?”
She pointed
to the other field. “I have a deal with Mr. Barnes. His farm is much smaller
than mine, and he’s been trying to buy that property from me ever since my
husband…” She paused, unable to continue, but Jonah caught on.
“I take it
this Barnes fellow is the same one who picks up Joseph and takes him to school
on those days the school bus can’t make it up the road, and you can’t take him
yourself. Is that correct? This is the same Mr. Barnes?”
“Yes. Vince
Barnes.”
“He’s been
pressuring you to sell. I understand. But you didn’t bow to the pressure. Land,
especially good farm land, is a priceless commodity.” He graced her with a
smile that warmed her. “May I ask what kind of deal you struck with the man?”
“I lease the
land to him. He plants and harvests whatever crop he feels will bring the best
yield and prices, and we split the profit.”
A tiny frown
creased Jonah’s forehead. “Split the profit in what way, if I may be so bold to
inquire?”
“Sixty-five,
thirty-five.”
“And
you get…”
“Thirty-five
percent.”
“I
assume you accept your percentage purely on the honor system?”
Clea
knew that tone and countered it with one of her own. “I’m not that gullible,
Jonah. He brings me the cost/payment sheet and a check every year.” When he
opened his mouth to comment, she cut him short. “The payout sheet comes
directly from the bureau after they’ve weighed and tabulated the payout.”
“I
take it, then, that your cut of the profit is your major source of income?”
“Yes.
I supplement it by selling my extra milk, eggs, and vegetables from the garden
to Peete’s Grocers in town.
She
watched as he thoughtfully stroked his beard. The visual of him doing that
somehow made her long to be able to do the same thing, and she wondered if the
rest of it was as soft as what had tickled her mouth a short while ago.
Realizing
where her mind was going, she put a hard halt on herself. Concentrate on the
task. You can always daydream later, she silently berated herself.
Jonah
appeared willing to drop the issue, yet she knew their discussion wasn’t over. She
watched as he went over to inspect the break himself.
“There’s
blood on the wires.” Picking at something on one of the barbs, he held it up to
her. “Deer hair.”
“It
usually is. They get caught up in the barbs and struggle to free themselves.
Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t.” She checked the area again. “I
believe we’re approximately two hundred yards from the house. Let’s continue
and finish making the loop. See if there are any more breaks or repairs
needed.” She turned to get into the truck but stopped when she saw him grasping
the top of the post, his eyes closed. After a few seconds, he opened them and
went to take his place on the driver’s side.
Fortunately,
there were no other places where the fence was broken to the extent where any
cattle might escape, although they found several areas where the posts were
tilting slightly, enough to where the wire between them sagged.
“Those
posts will need to be straightened,” he commented.
She
agreed. “For now, though, let’s concentrate on getting that one spot fixed
first. The rest can wait.”
Back
at the house, he drove them up to the spot where the truck was normally parked.
After he turned it off and stepped out of the vehicle, Clea started to scoot
over to the driver’s seat when he stopped her.
“What
are you doing?”
“I’m
going to back up closer to the barn so you won’t have to carry that spool of
wire so far.”
To
her surprise, he chuckled. “Clea, I don’t need the truck to take the wire out
to the spot where I need to make repairs.”
She
continued to stare at him in confusion. He explained at the same time it dawned
on her what he intended to do.
“I
know exactly where that section of the fence is located. All I need to do is
take hold of the spool and what tools I’ll need, and pop back there.”
“That’s
what you were doing out there when you stood by the post. You were situating
yourself, or whatever it is you call it, so you can return to it. And when
you’re done, or if you need something else you forgot to take with you the
first time…”
He
nodded, smiling. “Precisely, madam. It’s one of the few advantages my curse
allows me to have. Now, the one other thing that’s been preying on my mind…”
Clea
felt herself involuntarily stiffening. Why would he bring up the topic of that
kiss now?
Jonah
pointed behind him. “Back in town, I passed an antique shop. Are you aware of
it?”
A
small sigh of relief escaped her, but she couldn’t deny she was also
disappointed. “Yes. That’s Vella’s Antiques. They get a lot of traffic, being
right there on Main Street. Antiques are very popular with out-of-towners. What
about it?”
“They
have a bell sitting on a pole in front of the store. It has a price tag on it,
which indicates to me that it’s for sale.”
She
instantly knew the one he was talking about. “It’s an old church bell that was
discovered hanging from a tree after the town was nearly decimated by a tornado
several years ago. Since no one knew where it came from, Mr. Vella put it up
for sale in front of his store. It’s been rung a couple of times since then to
signal an incoming storm, until the town council had one of those emergency
sirens erected just off the square.” Clea chuckled. “Why are you interested in
that bell?”
“For
several reasons.” His face darkened slightly as his demeanor grew serious. “If
for some reason I am out and away from the house, and you are in immediate need
of help, you or Joseph can ring that bell for my attention.”
“And
you’ll be able to hear it?”
He
tried to hide his amusement, without success. “Madam, I could be on the other
side of the world and I’d hear it. You have my word.”
Clea
pressed her lips together as a surge of feelings she couldn’t identify
threatened to overwhelm her. “Th-that’s very sweet of you, Jonah, but I can’t
afford to buy that bell, even if I wanted to.”
“I’m
not asking you to purchase it. All I’m asking is for your permission to place
the bell here on your property.”
“How
are you going to pay for it?”
He
shook his head. “That’s not for you to worry about. Will you or will you not
allow me to bring it here?”
“Where
would you put it?”
Apparently,
he’d been thinking a lot about it, and pointed to a spot midway between the
house and the barn, a few feet off the beaten path. “There. It will also be out
of the wind that could inadvertently ring it.” Turning back to her, he dropped
his voice almost to a whisper. “What say you, Clea? Yay or nay?”
“I
have no problem with you erecting that bell,” she began and got no further.
Jonah
was gone.
She
saw no more of him that day. Concerned he might not stop to eat, she made him a
couple of sandwiches, placed them in sandwich bags, and took them out to the
barn. As she’d expected, the roll of barbed wire was gone, as well as the
toolkit.
“So
where should I leave these?”
Inspiration
struck, and she left the bags tied to the one item he’d be needing still
sitting in the barn.
It
was after dark when she heard the faint tolling of a bell. Turning on the back
porch light, she went outside to find Jonah standing beside the pole. He was
sweaty and weary, but he flashed her a huge smile when she walked outside.
“Well?”
he asked.
“It’s…impressive.”
“Wow!
I thought I heard a bell!” a voice called out from behind her. Joey hurried
outside to join them. “Where’d you get it?” He looked to his mother for the
answer, but Jonah explained.
“I
purchased it from the antique shop in town.”
“Oh!
You mean this is the tornado bell?”
“It’s
now our tornado bell,” Jonah gently corrected, his smile never wavering.
He pointed to the rope attached to the mechanism. “If there’s ever an instance
when you need help, and I’m not around, do not hesitate to ring it. I will hear
it and immediately answer.”
“Wow!
Cool!”
Clea
shooed her son back indoors. “Speaking of cool, go bathe yourself in a cool tub
of water. It’s almost bedtime, and you have school tomorrow.”
“Yes,
ma’am. Neat bell, Jonah!” Throwing the man a little salute, the boy went back
inside the house. Clea watched him enter the house when Jonah spoke again.
“Thank
you for the sandwiches.”
She
smiled. “I figured you’d find them there.”
“You
were that certain I’d return with the bell and be wanting to plant it right
then and there, rather than wait to do it tomorrow?”
She
felt her smile widen. “In the few short months you’ve been living here, I’ve
come to know you very well, Mr. Cobb. You’re a man of action. If something
needs to be done, you don’t put it off. You do it.”
He
never took his eyes off her during the ensuing uncomfortable silence. It felt
as though they both were fighting against some strange, magnetic pull that
wanted to draw them closer. But the thought of what might happen, and the
possibility that Joey might accidentally see it, was enough to make her turn
her back on the man and return to the house.
She ended up cursing herself for her weakness for the rest of the evening
TO BE CONTINUED
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