This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. The story is one from a time long, long, ago in a land far, far, away. Any resemblance to your experience or those living or dead from those experiences is purely unintentional and completely coincidental. This is meant as fiction. All feedback is appreciated. Drop a line to: shakes003@hotmail.com or check out all of my work at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shakes-stories/ and leave a message. I will get back to you ASAP.
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"You need to do somethin' with this smart aleck horse of yours, son."
Mr. Johnson had run out of the livery after seeing me; red faced and annoyed as usual with my horse following him, unbridled. I couldn't remember a time when Mr. Johnson wasn't annoyed, even at the best of times the man could be described as very standoffish. I decided that he lacked the patience it took to work well with any animal, let alone large ones that had the ability to make decisions for themselves, and ornery enough to carry them out.
"What's the problem, Mr. Johnson?" I tried to sound as sheepish as I could as the stallion, happy to see me walked over to nudge his nose into the crook of my neck; a habit of his when he wanted me to pet him.
I didn't say anything more. Why even humor the guy? He was always looking for any small excuse to complain about. I already knew he'd gripe to me about the black steed.
"Don't you play stupid with me, young man. It's your damned horse! I've got holes in my stable walls from his back kick! I take my life in my hands lookin' after him!"
I swallowed what I could of my laughter, but it was killing me. The ridiculous look on Johnson's face mixed with the vision in my mind of my horse knockin' that look off of it set me in a fit of giggles.
"I dunno, Mr. Johnson. He's good at home..." I tried to look innocent, but I wasn't sure if Mr. Johnson was buying any of it.
"Damn kids these days..." I could hear him muttering as he turned on his heel and headed back towards his livery.
"Good morning, Mel." Dodge lifted his hat and greeted Mr. Johnson with a smile.
"Yeah yeah, for you maybe."
Mr. Johnson didn't even slow down as he stalked back to his stables. I was still chuckling to myself, wondering to myself why he did the work he did, when it was so obvious he hated it.
"I swear that old coot gets more miserable each time I see him." Dodge shook his head as he approached me.
"Then God help us all come next week."
Dodge laughed at this and clasped me on the back. "You want anything, son? I was headed over to the mercantile. Why don't you tag along?"
"Yeah sure," I shrugged. "I kinda gotta sweet tooth."
"You gotta sweet tooth? That's like me sayin' I kinda gotta heartbeat, Lucky. When do you not have a sweet tooth?"
Dodge was right. I always had a taste for sweets. I never used to be that way, but since landing in this town, I was always craving for something sweet to tickle my tongue. I'm sure somewhere, every minute of every day there was a candy with my name on it.
"Boy, you're just a kid sometimes."
Dodge was laughing at me like he often did. I didn't mind much. I liked the sound of the old man's laughter; even if it was at my expense most of the time. I liked the way his blue eyes twinkled and danced with life, the way his eyes would wrinkle deeply in the corners. It warmed me, for some reason. It reminded me that I wasn't alone.
"I'm not that bad, am I?"
"Well, not really I reckon," was all he said as he led me to the shop with his arm around my shoulders.
I think for as much as I liked Dodge, the feeling was reciprocated. A lot of the folks in town were happy when they learned about me staying with the old man. Story goes, Dodge became somewhat of a recluse when his wife died. Nobody really saw him after that, he let the farm go and wouldn't allow any company.
I knew that kind of hurt. He was lonely and needed to connect again--to forget. No, not to ever forget, but he just needed a distraction from the pain. Dodge took me in even after knowing about the trouble I was in down south across the border. I was sure a lot of that had to do with him being all alone; although it never explained why it was me he opened up to.
"Whatcha thinkin' son? Some licorice? Chocolate?"
"Maybe some of that rock candy Mr. Balcom gets in." I shrugged as we walked up the steps to the mercantile.
There wasn't much to the old Balcom store. Mostly the main staples like flour and sugar. Sometimes if there was money left over, Dodge and I would treat ourselves to candy or soda if it was in, but a lot of the time it depended on what day you showed up to stock up on supplies. There were a few selections of textiles, and sometimes clothes that were already made, but I doubted many people in this modest town could afford anything of that caliber.
I stood at the counter eyeing the few glass bowls of candy, trying to decide what to take home when I could hear a commotion starting to stir outside in the street. I could hear the panic as a woman started screaming, and then there was yelling.
"Geemini Christmas," Dodge frowned and turned to the front window of the shop to see what all of the noise was about.
"What in the blazes is the matter with everyone?"
"Sounds like they're all trying out for the circus." Mr. Balcom commented dryly as he was helping Dodge gather up the staples we would need.
I chuckled appreciatively at his sarcasm as I slowly neared closer to the window. There was a growing crowd gathering in the middle of the main street of men and women alike. The women seemed to be gasping as if on cue. The men were cussing and jeering; some had drawn their guns.
"Get him!" One laughed before he fired his pistol.
I looked down the street to see what he was aiming at. My blood turned cold as I saw the black wolf standing in the street helpless.
"No!" I yelled and tore out of Balcom's mercantile.
"Lucky!"
I could hear the urgency in Dodge's voice trying to stop me, but I couldn't. I wouldn't. There were a few more shots fired as I ran out into the street blindly, screaming for them to stop.
"Please!" I begged and ran towards the wolf.
"Get the hell outta the way, kid!" I heard someone order, but I stood my ground.
"He belongs to us. Back off!" Dodge's voice boomed so loud, it made me jump as he stood on the steps of the store.
Everyone froze as the old man made is way into the crowd.
"Everyone put their guns down. It's alright. We were just on our way out of here."
"You're out of your mind Flannigan, bringing an animal like that into town. He's dangerous."
"Yeah, well..." Dodge nodded his agreement nonchalantly. "He likes my boy so beat it, or you'll wind up on the receiving end of that there rifle you've got."
I stood with my mouth gaping, looking unbelievingly at Dodge. If anyone thought the wolf should have been destroyed, it was the old man. Suddenly there were gasps surrounding me as I felt a rough scratching against my pant leg. I looked down to find the wolf sitting at my feet looking up at me. He was unharmed.
"Hey, boy" I smiled and offered him my hand. The wolf nudged it with his nose and I ran my fingers softly through his thick coat before he took off down the street and into the trees.
"I guess that settles that," Dodge shrugged and headed for his wagon.
I rubbed my thumb over my fingers trying to keep alive the sensation of the wolf's fur. The crowd slowly dispersed; a few remaining in the street gawking while I made my way to Dodge whom was now with Mr. Balcom loading up the wagon.
"Go round up Montana, boy and get him saddled up." Dodge was stacking goods into the back of the wagon before he turned to look at me.
"Cripes almighty, Lucky. You got the entire animal kingdom at your feet today."
"Huh?"
Dodge was laughing at me, along with Mr. Balcom and I was confused. I felt the familiar puff of hot air on my neck and turned expecting to see my raven friend. The world could have ended for all I knew when I came face to face with the caramel colored horse that I had tried to steal many years before. He nudged and purred against my cheek.
"Oh, God!"
My vision was blurred as the dam within me broke and flooded my eyes with tears. I could feel Kabaya puffing and nudging at my face with his muzzle. I tried to reach for him, but I didn't seem to have any control over my body. I was vibrating.
"Lucky? Son? What is it? You're shaking shakin' like a leaf." Dodge jumped off of the wagon. "Christ, Harris help me with the boy!"
I faintly heard Dodge's panicked voice before the ground rushed up to meet me very suddenly.