For my brother Jess who gave me the title. He rode bulls for a short time and they called him Cowboy Preacher. He told me once that the cowboys put the names of the bulls in a hat and draw which ones they will ride. Even if you don't want to ride them- you ride. He said that in bull riding as in life, you are Tied to the Draw. He said there's a sermon in there somewhere but I saw a story. This is a Romance set in modern day South Georgia.
Chapter 1
Joe
Joe wasn’t your normal first year
college student. For one thing, while
his contemporaries were in their late teens or early twenties, he was two years
away from his thirtieth birthday. It
didn’t seem like that much of an age gap until he actually talked to a few of
them, and then Joe figured that the 10 or so years that separated them might as
well be measured in dog years. The young women were flakey and the young men
were concerned with little more than where their next drink was coming
from. Joe had tried the whole going to
college during the day and working at night thing… It didn’t work out. He couldn’t stand to be around the kids so he
dropped his day classes, went back to his old job and took two classes a week
at night.
There he was surrounded by more
like minded adults. The college called
them “Non Traditional” Students; Joe called them hard working people who were
just trying to get ahead in the world.
Most of them held down a job and were married or had children. Only a few were single like Joe, and he felt
a little left out, but he figured being stuck with the married crowd was sure
better than being stuck at the kiddie table.
His first semester there, on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, he had a history class, which he liked immensely. The pimple faced teenager who was keying in
the classes took one look at Joe in his cowboy hat, jeans and boots and joked
that of course he was taking western civ.
“You’ll do great, you know, it’s
all about cowboys and Indians.” The kid
said with a nasally laugh at his own joke because he assumed that someone who
looked like Joe could not possibly be intelligent enough to understand it.
Joe had rolled his eyes and said “I reckon
so.” but had not punched him like he would have liked. It would have only reinforced the stereotype
so Joe tucked his thumbs in his pocket and looked on irritatedly as the kid
finished his paperwork.
The class choice hadn’t turned out
to be a bad one though. He liked it a
lot more than he thought he would. The
professor was a cranky overweight man with a walrus mustache and a slow
southern drawl which made him sound a little like the Foghorn Leghorn character
from Looney Tunes. His name was Dr. O’Quinn
but no one ever pronounced it like it was spelled. Georgians would drag it out until it sounded
like Oh Kwin the same way they drug out Albany to make All Beeny.
Dr. O’Quinn had the same kind of
southern accent you heard on movies- his words seemed to lean on each other and
secretly Joe wanted to hear him say “Tarnation” just once, but he never
did. He had his own special twist to
every topic he taught in class and his opinion was unlike any other person that
Joe had ever spoken to. Joe was pretty
sure he got his cookey ideas while contemplating the bottom of a bottle of
vodka. They didn’t meet with Joe’s
theology most of the time, but they did keep class interesting. Dr. O’Quinn was
entitled to his opinion, wherever it came from and Joe was entitled to his. Joe
didn’t advertise his religious views often, but when Dr. O’Quinn would want the
right-wing-religious-fanatic opinion on whatever topic they were discussing he
would pull his wire rimmed glasses down and look over the lenses at Joe and
ask: “Hey, Cowboy Preacher, tell us what you
think.”
And that was his name in that class
from then on. Cowboy Preacher. He didn’t really like it, he figured it was
sort of a put down, but he lived with it because… despite all else, it seemed
to suit him.
He got out of Dr. O’Quinn’s class
at 7:30 p.m. just as the sky was painting itself red and orange. Joe loved that time of night, the college
would be almost deserted except for his “non traditional” friends scattered
here and there on the quad. If O’Quinn
was feeling generous he promised he’d let them go early but that wasn’t known
to happen often so usually Joe ended up leaving his class and heading straight
across campus to the Fine Arts building where he had an English class. Joe had hated English since that day way back
in high school when the teacher had asked his views on a poem they had just
read and all he could say was that it “didn’t rhyme.”
In Joe’s mind, poetry was supposed
to rhyme. It didn’t make sense if it
didn’t.
The teacher thought he was trying
to be cute and ripped his self esteem to shreds by basically calling him an
illiterate cretin and ridiculing him in front of the whole class. That was the last time he ever answered a
question in English class and he had made up his mind that if he could get away
with it he’d never have to sit through another English class because it didn’t
do one dern bit of good. He was going to
ride bulls for a living, for goodness sakes, what did he need to be able to
diagram a sentence for?
But he had promised his momma he would go back to college
and get his degree in…something… he hadn’t figured out what. The problem was, you couldn’t even get a
diploma from Clown College without having an English class under your belt so
he bit the bullet and signed up.
And he hated it… just like he knew
he would.
For two whole classes… until she
walked in… and then English didn’t seem so bad anymore. Yeah, it was still the class from heck but at
least he had someone pretty to look at now…
Her name was Alexis and she was a
goddess… Well, not literally, because he
was a Baptist and to say that would be blasphemous but Joe was pretty sure that
she was the prettiest woman that he had ever run across in his twenty-eight
years.
She was brand new on campus and in
the two or so days she had been there she had made quite a stir. Already, he had heard some conversations
around the student commons from the younger bucks about the “Hot older babe”
taking the night classes. He wondered
how hot and how much older, but then he had seen her in the Student Commons
Area at the pool tables, surrounded by eager young men. She was several years older than all of them
but from the looks of it she could have had her pick of any of them. She leaned over the pool table with a pool
cue in her hand, her tight jeans accentuating every curve of her long
legs. Her sleeveless cotton chemise rode
up slightly as she stretched out, exposing the slightest hint of a tribal
design tattoo on her lower back. A young
man barely out of his teens who looked like a Ken Doll motioned at his buddy to
look and the two of them exchanged lusty glances. Joe shook his head disgustedly at their lewd
expressions but had to admit they were right about her good looks.
She was hot as fire, but Joe kept
walking. Girls like that weren’t interested in guys like him.
So he was a little shocked when she
walked into the classroom that day in the same pair of tight jeans and a white
sleeveless cotton chemise concealed by a dark blazer and smiled at him as she
entered the room. Embarrassed, Joe
looked down at his book quickly but ventured a stealthy glance as she chose her
place. Her heels clicked as she walked
to her seat with the air of a fashion model and sat down front and center where
all eyes remained locked on her. She
flicked her dark locks off her shoulder and opened her book, a look of sheer
concentration on her face. Joe wondered
if she knew that everyone in that small room was staring at her, but if she
did, she didn’t let on. She pretended
not to notice, or maybe she didn’t notice, perhaps she was used to people
looking at her the same way Joe was used to people not looking at him.
The teacher came in and started the
class. Joe pulled his eyes away from the
vision of beauty on the front row and tried to force himself to pay attention
to the lecture so he tried to ignore her.
But a woman like that could not be ignored- not completely. She seemed to demand his attention, like a
flame demanded oxygen. The other
students noticed it too, the women looking enviously through their lashes and
the men cast longing sideways glances at her, but never daring to stare at her
outright. She was like looking straight at the sun; her beauty would blind a
person if they stared too long.
Joe sighed and wondered at what point he had turned into
such a girl.
People who are that
pretty are profoundly useless. The
devil on his shoulder told him. Girls
like that are after one of two things- a hard body or a bulging wallet; neither
of which are in your possession, my friend, so you might as well give up on
her.
The little
angel who was supposed to be on his other shoulder had gone to get a cup of
coffee and left him to fend for himself, so Joe figured he was right but he
could still look. God really wouldn’t
mind if he snuck a peek every now and then.
After all, what was wrong with admiring true beauty? Even if it had no substance behind it, even
if there wasn’t brain one in her pretty little head. He could still think she was beautiful and
that wouldn’t change things.
Until she opened her mouth and Joe
was horrified to learn that she was… smart!
She was actually, really, intelligent and it didn’t make
sense at all! People with brains weren’t
supposed to look like that! It wasn’t
fair! How could she be beautiful AND
smart? Joe reeled with this realization
almost as if the fabric of his universe was unraveling all around him. The
devil on his shoulder, knocked off balance by this startling revelation
whispered a conciliatory: “Well, she
probably doesn’t have any common sense!” in his ear before disappearing
with a pop into a cloud of sulfur smoke.
He spent the remainder of the class
lost in a fog. The teacher was speaking
gibberish, ranting on about this poem or that.
She looked up at Joe once to call on him he supposed but the look of
total bewilderment on his face intimidated her enough that she called on the blonde to his right
instead. At last the class was over and
Joe gathered his books, lost in a fog of his own vanquished preconceived
notions.
Alexis was still in the front,
scribbling in a wire bound notebook. He wanted her to leave so he wouldn’t have
to walk out past her so he waited to the point of embarrassment. Everybody was already gone from the room and
it ended up being only him and her and he realized that even though he had tried
to avoid her, in doing so it looked as if he had purposely waited to meet
her. He walked by her gingerly, so as
to not bring attention to himself, but she looked up at him as he passed her.
Her eyes were startlingly blue, a blue like he had never
seen before and they stopped him in his place.
She is going to be your wife. The Lord spoke to him. Not out loud, because he was a Baptist and as
a rule, the Lord never speaks to Baptists out loud;. He reserves that for Pentecostals because He
knows Baptists will just freak out. That particular night though; Lord spoke, and
Joe heard Him, not audibly but in his spirit and with such certainty that Joe
almost dropped his books.
She smiled at him, her lips parting
to show her perfect teeth, her blue eyes sparkling.
Joe didn’t return her smile. He did what any cowboy would though, when
confronted with a beautiful lady. He
tipped his hat and nodded his head and somehow managed a “ma’am” as he walked
past her.
He felt perspiration beads pop out
on his forehead and felt his chest tighten as she took her eyes off him. He could breathe again as he stepped over the
threshold of the classroom.
“No way would a woman like that
ever marry me!” He told the Lord. “Did you get a good look at her?”
The Lord was silent, like He always
was when Joe doubted him. He crossed His
arms and waited. Joe would see.
Because what Joe didn’t know
was…secretly, she had a thing for cowboys, and when he tipped his hat she went
weak in the knees. He had her at “ma’am”
and he didn’t even know it…
However, Joe lacked the faith to
believe such things were possible and Alexis… well Alexis had a long way to go
before she could become the wife of a Cowboy Preacher. A long, long
way and Joe would have to be patient or he would pay the price.
The thing was Joe wasn’t the patient type. When he got an idea in his head he went
headlong after it. The Lord liked that
about him, but some things couldn’t be charged after like a raging bull. Some things took a little finesse and patience
and since Joe wouldn’t give in to that, he’d have to deal with the broken
heart. It would all work out in the end;
The Lord has a way of working such things out.
He can take the pieces of our messed up lives and stitch them together
in such a way as to make our once tattered souls into a masterpiece.
However, for right now, He was just
trying to get Joe to step out on that limb and talk to her. So, he sent him on an errand which would lead
him right back into her presence.
“You forgot your book.” The Lord reminded Joe as he was about to
unlock his truck.
Frustrated, and still slightly
embarrassed, he sighed. “I’ll get it
later.” Joe told Him.
“Someone else will check it out
and then you’ll have to drive to the city.” The LORD told him. “Better go get it now.”
Joe turned. He knew He was right so he found himself
walking across campus in the dark.
It was almost 9 o’clock and he
found himself in the library searching through the shelves for a book on the
War of 1812. The genius whose job it was
to put the books back in the right place was illiterate or il-numerate or
both. The History section was on the
second floor all the way to the back so he guessed that by the time the library
aid made it up there with her cart of books she just threw them wherever. It made his job difficult now. He wanted to get home, it was after nine and
he couldn’t find the book he needed and he could feel his frustration building. He wanted to curse, but he had given up
cursing when he had taken up preaching so he just grumbled to himself under his
breath.
Finally, he threw his hands out in
exasperation and stomped around the corner to the sitting area in the center of
the building.
And there she was! Alexis! Joe ducked back behind the bookshelf and
peeked cautiously out at her. What was
she doing here he wondered?
The Lord nudged Joe and drew his
attention to the side table near the woman.
In bold gold letters that Joe could read from his hiding place behind
the bookshelves the book’s spine declared WAR OF 1812.
He sighed warily. He was trying his best to avoid her, but it
seemed like at every opportunity he was running into her.
“There’s your book.” The Lord said. “Go get it.”
Joe gritted his teeth and crept up
behind her. She seemed to be asleep or almost asleep. Maybe if he was quiet enough, he could just
grab his book and go. As he stretched to
reach for the book he noticed that almost as if the whole evening had been
scripted and choreographed, the woman teetered and started to fall.
Without thinking, Joe reached out
for her and caught her before she slipped off the couch. She awoke with a jolt and looked up at “her
cowboy”, in one hand he held his hat, and the other gripped her shoulder
firmly.
Unbelievably, Joe found he could
speak.
“Almost fell out of your seat
there.” He said from above her. His voice was low and soft and he had that
deliciously slow South Georgia accent that had charmed her so since coming
here. She looked up at him in surprise
and he chuckled nervously as he helped her to right herself again.
She wiped her eyes with her fingers
and looked around.
“Sorry. Didn’t sleep well last night.” She managed. “Thanks Cowboy.”
Joe squirmed uncomfortably and
decided to try humor. “Well lit is
boring.” He observed looking down at the
open book in her lap.
She looked up at him blankly and he
cleared his throat nervously.
“Well. Goodnight.” He told her as he hurried off.
“You forgot your book.” The Lord reminded him before he had gotten
too far.
He made a disgusted grunt as he
threw his hands up and turned around and trudged back to her.
“I forgot this…” He snapped as he grabbed the book from beside
her then he stopped, remembering his manners.
“You weren’t using it were you?”
She shook her head.
His eyes met hers and she looked
away quickly, pretending to be interested in her literature.
“Talk to her.” The Lord said and Joe ignored Him.
“No!” Joe snapped back in his mind, because to
speak out loud would just make him look crazy, if he could look any more crazy
than he did right now. “She thinks I’m some sort of stalker!” He jabbed the down button on the elevator and
waited for the ding. There were only two
floors to this library, why was the elevator taking so long?
He turned, and shot one last
unsteady look back at the woman.
She wiped the corner of her eyes
with her fingers, and Joe wondered why she would be crying? His soul felt burdened for her. The elevator
door slid open and there was no one inside and inexplicably, unexpectedly, he
stood there and let the doors close again.
He walked back to her, drawn to her
as a moth was drawn to a flame, unconcerned with who she was or what she would
think of him. He was no longer himself,
he was wearing the preacher hat and he was someone else entirely.
She covered her face with her hands
and sat there silently as the librarian buzzed in over the speaker system that
the library would be closing in fifteen minutes. The papers fell from her notebook and
scattered across the floor in front of her but she made no effort to pick them
up.
Joe knelt in front of her, picked
up the scattered papers and rustled them gently so as not to surprise her. She looked up at him, her eyes still soft and
moist.
“You… dropped these.” He said softly as he looked up at her. “Ma’am, are you okay?”
She nodded and wiped her eyes with
her fingertips but didn’t say anything.
“Can I… help you in any way?” He asked and when she didn’t speak again he
bit his lip and wondered what all this was about.
“Offer to buy her a meal.” The Lord instructed him, and Joe wanted to
scream but then he figured he might as well put both arms in that stalker shirt
he was currently wearing, so he gave it a shot.
“The Library’s closing.” He said gruffly, his eyes falling on the section
of the literature book open in her lap.
Suddenly he felt inadequate again; he wondered what he should say. “You understand that stuff?” He said and realized that he had made her
sound stupid, and he had not meant it to sound the way it did.
Her countenance changed suddenly
and she looked down at him, her blue eyes seemed to stare right into his soul
exposing all his insecurities. He
squirmed uncomfortably under her intense gaze.
“Sure.” She said icily. “It’s late.”
He nodded and felt like a bumbling
fool on the floor there in front of her.
“Sorry. You’re right. It’s late.
It’s real late. I just
thought…” He looked around for the book
that had caused all this trouble completely forgetting his hat. “You just seem pretty smart… I’m not good at
this poetry stuff. I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone now.”
He practically ran to the elevator
and jabbed the button several times.
“Hey Cowboy.” Her voice was smooth as honey. He turned and she was behind him. She held his hat in her thin fingers. “You forgot this.” She purred.
“I’m sorry, I was rude.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He said as he took the hat. “You’re right. It’s late.”
The elevator door dinged open and
he stepped inside and turned to find that she had followed him.
“You know… I could help you if you
like.” She said as if in apology.
“The library is about to
close.” He informed her, not opening
himself up for a letdown.
“The Student Center stays open
‘till eleven.” She said and looked up at
him through the dark fringe of her lashes.
“Poetry is sort of my thing.” She
said with a hint of pride in her voice.
“Offer to buy her a meal.” The Lord said again, just in case Joe wasn’t
listening the first time.
“Well…” He muttered and wiped his hand across his
face agitatedly. “I do need help… But at
least let me at least buy your supper if I’m going to keep you.” To his surprise she seemed to be considering
it. “They don’t have much of a
selection, but their burgers are okay.”
He held out his hand for her to exit the elevator in front of him. She blushed slightly and he wondered if she
wasn’t used to being treated like a lady.
She browsed the magazine display
while she waited for him to check out his book and he carried her books as they
walked together to the student center.
She found herself a table right in
the center of things. The group of boys
were gathered around the big screen TV whooping over a football game. Joe didn’t know who was playing, nor did he
care. Another group of young men were
playing pool in the corner tables. They
took notice as soon as Alexis walked through the door, pointing and
talking.
Joe looked around. He wasn’t the Student Center type. He didn’t like hanging out there. It was loud and smelled like smoke, but
Alexis plopped her purse down on the center table.
“Don’t you think it’s a little loud
for study?” He asked dubiously.
“Library’s closed remember?” She said as she sat down and looked up at
him.
He took his seat next to her. “Well, what will you have?” He asked and when she started to protest he
held his hand up. “You’ll at least give
me the pleasure of buying your meal if you are going to help me.”
She nodded and figured it would
beat the bowl of ramen noodles waiting for her in her apartment.
“A cheeseburger.” She decided.
“All the way.”
A meateater. Joe thought with a slight raise of his
eyebrow. My kind of lady. “Fries?”
He asked.
She shrugged as she considered yet
another night of ramen noodles. “Why
not?” Might as well pig out. “And a cherry coke.”
He gave her a curt nod and excused
himself to order.
The guy they called ‘Chadwick’
moved closer to Alexis, she saw him coming and rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure if Chadwick was his first
name or his last name. It was just Chadwick. She called him “Chad” and it seemed to
irritate him.
“Hey, Hot Momma.” He called
out. “Wanna join us for a game of
pool?” He asked as he leaned over her
table.
Hot Momma. That was what he called her. She wanted to
tell him she was old enough to be his mother but she considered that was
probably not true. She was a good ten years older than him and he ought to have
a little respect.
“Sorry honey, gotta study.” She said sweetly. “Tell your little friends to save me a game,
but I’ll have to take your money some other time.”
Chadwick’s smile faded. “You study?”
He laughed. “You got yourself a
nerd to help you?”
Alexis’ smile faded. “No.
As a matter of fact, I’m helping him.”
She said coldly. “Run along now, your
little friends are waiting.”
“Well, when you get tired of your
nerd, come on over.” He called out as he
walked away.
She gave him a deadly glance as he
walked away. Of course they wanted a
rematch with her; she had won nearly a hundred dollars off the same group of
men earlier in the day.
Joe pulled a tray out and ordered
their supper and moved to the drink machine where he found a cherry coke for
her and a regular for himself. He paid
the tired looking cashier and apologized for being there so late.
“Hey, people gotta eat.” She replied nonchalantly as she handed him
his change and his ticket number. “And I
gotta have a job, so… don’t worry about it.
Have a nice night, Joe.”
Joe stepped out of the café half
expecting her to be gone. To his
surprise and complete pleasure she was still there, her lit book open in front
of her.
He was in such a rush to get back
to her that he almost tripped and dropped their drinks.
“Down, boy.” The Lord told him. “Take it easy. Don’t scare her off on the first date.”
“This is not a date, Lord.” He shot back.
“I’m doing what you told me. I
bought her a meal.”
“It will be a few minutes. They have to cook it.” He said as he sat down and realized how
stupid that sounded. Duh. Of course they had to cook it; it wasn’t like
they served everything raw. Good going
Joe. “Here’s your drink though.”
She moved her chair closer to him
and sat uncomfortably close. “I love Dickinson.” She said as she flipped through the
pages. “And Frost.” She placed her hands
over hear heart and quoted. “Two roads
converged in a wood…” She gave him a
suspicious glance. “You don’t know that
one? What poet do you like best?”
He shook his head, feeling dumber
by the second. “I…um… I like Dr.
Seuss.” He said to the back of his
hands. “I have a little 6 year old
niece. I read her the Cat in the Hat and
Green Eggs and Ham.” He bit his lip and
looked up at her. “It’s silly, and it
rhymes. That’s my kind of poetry.”
To his surprise she didn’t call him
a stupid redneck. She smiled. “That’s okay.” She said as she motioned to the library
book. “You’re obviously the History
type.” She reassured him and he ducked
his head in embarrassment.
“Yes ma’am.” He said but he stopped cold at the icy look
on her face.
“Don’t call me ma’am.” She said forcefully. “That’s for old women and teachers.”
Joe squirmed uncomfortably. “I’m sorry- Miss. It’s just we ain’t been properly
introduced…”
Properly introduced? What was up with this guy? She looked at him
as if she were sizing him up. She
couldn’t figure out if he was for real or not.
She had heard that chivalry was dead.
She was sure there weren’t any guys like this one left. Where had he
come from? A time warp? He was nice
looking, polite…Why hadn’t he been snapped up already?
Perhaps he had.
She glanced down at his left
hand. No ring. Didn’t mean he could have taken it off before
he came though.
“You married?” She asked suspiciously. Things that seemed to be too good to be true
usually were.
His eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?” He choked then looked around like she was
crazy.
“Not steppin’ out on your old lady
are you?” She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He almost fell out of his
seat. “No ma’am!” He snapped and waved his hands. “No!”
“Okay, okay, Cowboy.” She tried to calm him. “Calm down.
Just asking is all.” If he was acting then he was really good. She could read people usually but this guy
was… odd.
“Divorced.” She said as if she had him all figured out
and when he shook his head she tried again.
“Girlfriend?” She asked just to be sure.
He shook his head.
“Boyfriend?” She raised her eyebrows. She figured she’d cover all the bases while
she was at it.
He stood up at that one. “Look lady.”
He said abruptly. “I think maybe
I need to go…” He said and took a step
back from her. “I don’t know what you’re
gettin’ at but I didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea… I’ll figure this stuff
out on my own…” He stammered and she
laughed and pulled on his arm.
“Sorry, Cowboy.” She said.
“Sit back down. I was just
checking. A girl can’t be too careful
you know.” She purred.
He bit his lip and considered
it.
“Come on.” She said.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.” He said, slightly embarrassed.
She raised her eyebrows. “Twenty eight and not taken yet?” She
asked. “Don’t that beat all…you’re too
good to be true.”
Joe looked around. Was she talking to him or was there someone
else?
She stood and leaned close to
him. “Good looking. Polite.”
She moved closer to him. “Single
and a cowboy to boot. There must be
something wrong with you.”
He grinned and his eyes darted to
and fro. “Okay…” His face brightened. He was thinking that he
had been caught up in an episode of the twilight zone, but he had it figured
out. “Who put you up to this?” He asked her.
“Those pups at the pool table?
They think I won’t kick their tails?”
His smile faded. “Cause I will if
I have to.”
It was her turn to be
surprised. “Who? Chadwick and his buddies from
Preschool?” She looked over her shoulder
in disgust. “Not on your life.”
“They’ve been watching us like
hawks.” He said.
“Of course they are. I get that everywhere I go, Cowboy.” Her countenance changed to something
sinister. “Let me give you a hint… men
like that…” Her eyes narrowed, and he
glimpsed hatred inside. “I hate
them! They run after me like I’m a dog
in heat. What makes them think I’d even
give them the time of day?”
She pulled Joe back down to his
seat and moved close enough for him to feel the warmness of her breath as she
spoke to him.
“They’re still watching us.” He wasn’t sure if that was a question or a
statement. It sounded like a statement.
Joe managed a quick look around.
“Yeah.” He replied uneasily.
“What do you say we give them
something to talk about?” She asked as
she slunk closer, her face only inches from his.
Almost as if on cue, the cook
yelled out his ticket number. “Ticket
number 2884!”
Joe almost fell out of his
seat. “That’s our order.” He said quickly and stood. “I’ll be right back.”
She smiled seductively. “Well I’ll go wash up then. Be right back, Cowboy.” She whispered as she walked around him,
trailing her index finger over his chest and then tweaking his nose with one
bright red fingernail.
On his way to the cook’s window he
had a brief conversation with the Lord about this woman strutting across the
student center.
“She’s crazy, Lord.” He told him as if the Lord didn’t already
know. “She’s pretty but she’s nuts.”
“You just wait.” The Lord promised, but Joe wondered if that
was a good thing or not.
Reluctantly, he returned to his
seat carrying a tray consisting of two cheeseburgers and two orders of fries to
find Ken doll heading in his direction.
“Cowboy.” The young man said. “How’d you hook up with her?”
Joe shrugged. “Heck if I know.” He commented as he walked to his seat, but
then the Lord said something and he turned.
“I was nice to her.” He
finished.
Ken made a slightly disgusted face
as if to say that he had never before considered being nice to a pretty
woman.
“Keep one hand on your
wallet.” He said as he turned and Joe
had no idea what that meant. “Tell her
we want a rematch when she’s done studying.”
He barked as he left.
Joe shrugged. “Sure.” He said as he walked past him.
Alexis returned as he put the tray
on the table and Joe excused himself to wash up as well.
When he returned he found that she
had arranged the burgers and was waiting for him to start her meal. Quietly he bowed his head before he reached
for his food and she looked at him quizzically.
“You pray too?” She said in disbelief. “Where’d you come
from? Walton’s Mountain?”
“No Ma-“ He caught himself before he said “Ma’am” and
finished “Miss?”
“Alexis.” She finished for him. “Alexis Smith. Just Alexis.
Not ma’am or Miss.”
“Alexis.” He said finally. “And I’m Joe.
Joe Wheeler.” He felt slightly embarrassed by the name. “No relation to the famous Joe Wheeler.” He had always wondered if his parents had a
wicked sense of humor or no knowledge of Civil War history.
She looked up at him, her dark
eyebrow rose, which told him that she had no idea who the famous Joe Wheeler
was. If she didn’t know she didn’t
ask.
“Joe Wheeler.” She repeated and smiled. “Let’s study!” She said as she flipped the literature book
open.
They spent over an hour there
talking about their English class. It
started out being about poetry, and she did read him a few lines from a poem
they were studying and tried to explain them.
She talked about ‘juxtaposition and imagery and iambic pentameter” and
other stuff he didn’t know anything about and finally he told her he’d just
take her word for her explanations. She
laughed and then their conversation turned to other things. Before he knew it, the student center was
closing.
“It’s nigh eleven!” He said as he crumpled his napkin in the
paper plate. “I’m sorry I kept you so
late. Will you allow me to walk you to
your car?”
She looked around at the nearly
deserted student center. “Um…” She said as if she were looking for someone. “I walk.”
Joe didn’t like the idea of letting
her walk home at eleven at night. “How
far?”
“Those apartments just on the other
side of campus.” She said.
He made a face. Those apartments were dangerous for a single
lady. “Oh. Well… would you like me to
drive you?”
She bit her lip and looked around
as if she were unsure about being alone with him and there was an awkward
silence.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He stammered.
“You don’t know me at all; I didn’t mean that to sound so forward. It’s just that it’s almost eleven…”
Ken doll had returned with his
friends. They stood near the doors with
their arms crossed and suddenly her mind was made up.
“Yes! Please! Drive me!”
She said hastily and before he could reply she was dragging him by the
arm in the opposite direction. “Let’s
go.” She said as she pulled him.
“Hey!” Someone yelled from behind them. Ken doll and his buddies were walking in
their direction.
“Oh, yeah, they want a
rematch.” He said innocently. “Where are we going?”
She pushed him through the double
doors into the quad. She was at a full sprint toward the Education building and
Joe did the best he could to keep up. He wondered first of all, why they were
running in the dark and secondly how she could do it in high heels.
“Of course they do.” She said over her shoulder as she rushed
ahead of him. “I hustled them for almost a hundred dollars today. They want
their money back.”
Joe’s eyes rolled around in his
head as he remembered her playing pool with them earlier.
“You?” His voice dropped to a whisper as he chased
her, the sound of male voices emerging from the student center. “You did what?” He asked.
“Problem is…” She pulled Joe behind her as ducked between
the student services building and the Education building and flattened herself
against the wall. She laid her index
finger over her lips as the sound of footsteps rushed past them on the
sidewalk. “I’m broke.”
“But you said you got a hundred
dollars off them!” He said in surprise
and she made a motion with her hand to tell him to keep his voice down.
“This Literature book was ninety
five!” She shot back in defense. “And… I bought a notebook so I got about
fifty cents left to my name, and I need that!
If they want that back, they’ll have to play me for it. Some other time.” She crept along the building and motioned for
him to follow.
He groaned. This had to be a dream. Chasing a crazy woman
through the shrubbery seemed more of like something he would see in a sitcom
than would happen in his life.
“You act as if you’ve done this
before.” He commented as he picked his way through the assortment of ornamental
plants and shrubbery by the side of the building.
She laughed. “Once or twice Cowboy. You know what they say: this ain’t my first
rodeo.”
“No. I reckon not.”
She peered cautiously between the
two buildings and then motioned for him to follow her. Joe found himself surprised and somewhat
relieved that they were in the parking lot! He pointed to one of the last
remaining vehicles in the darkness.
“That’s my truck.” He panted as
they rushed across the parking lot.
Joe unlocked the door and opened it
for her. “Get inside.” He said warily. “I’ll take you home.”
He slid into the seat beside her
and put the keys into the ignition. This
had certainly been an eventful night.
Thankfully it only took a few minutes to get her to her apartment.
“It’s the one on the end. At the bottom.” She said and pointed and he followed the
direction of her index finger.
“I’ll wait until you’re inside.” He told her as she gathered her books.
She looked up at him with a lifted
eyebrow. “Wanna come inside?” She asked.
His first reaction was to ask her
what for? It was eleven o’clock at night
but the look on her face told him what was on her mind. She had no idea who she was dealing
with. Joe wondered how many other guys
would have taken her up on her offer though.
“No thank you. It’s pretty late and I have work in the
morning.” He said carefully so as to
not hurt her feelings.
She smiled. “Of course not. You’re a gentleman aren’t
you?” She put her hands on the seat
between them, leaned toward him and looked out the windshield. “Full moon.”
She said. “That’s not it then.”
He swallowed hard and found it
difficult to talk to her with her being that close to him.
“I keep wondering what it is about
you…” She said playfully. “There must be something wrong with you or
you’d be taken by now… I thought maybe you turned into a werewolf on the full
moon or something.” She looked up at the
moon. “But you look the same, so that’s not it. What’s a good looking, single,
polite, cowboy doing all by his lonesome?”
Her dark brow lifted as she thought about it. “You seem perfect but there must be something
wrong with you.”
“Yeah. Something bad wrong with me.” He commented stiffly. He could tell her now and he’d never see hide
nor hair from her again.
“Are… you a vampire?” She asked and he laughed.
“Worse.” He warned but he did not tell her.
She sighed dreamily. “Man of mystery.” She said as she leaned closer and kissed him
on the cheek. “Thanks, Cowboy. I’ll see you around.” She said as she slid across the seat and was
out the door before he could get it open.
The place where her lips had
touched his cheek burned like it had been touched with a hot coal and Joe sat
stunned in the driver’s seat as he watched her unlock her apartment door. His
eyes were drawn to the curve of her legs as she stood illuminated in the light
from his headlights.
“That’s enough now.” His
conscience scolded him and he pulled his gaze away. “Sorry Lord.”
He said as she opened her door and waved at him. The light inside the apartment flicked on and
a dark silhouette appeared in the window.
Alexis waved and he put the truck into reverse.
Joe felt a little funny leaving the
girl there by herself. The apartments
there just off campus were not the best place for a girl living by herself, but
it could be that Alexis was tougher than he imagined.