Grim Reaper Dream
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When he woke up the next morning, Tom was in his bed. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but there wasn’t any reason to get back at him for getting drunk and falling asleep, so Tom just went to work as usual.
After a few minutes of waiting on customers, someone from another ranch came over and asked where Jim was. When Tom told him Jim had been gone all night and wasn’t expected back until early afternoon, that customer became agitated.
The rancher’s name was George Larkin. A little later George walked by again and Tom said casually, “George, did you find out what happened last night? You were out late.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I rode out looking for you,” Larkin said with annoyance. “I got back around midnight. What kind of friend do you think you are to let your partner go off like that?”
The question took Tom by surprise. There hadn’t been any reason to lie to anyone about it. Why would he have wanted to explain himself? And why would he be surprised if anyone found out?
“You can ask Jim when he gets back,” Tom answered. Then he went back behind the counter.
A few minutes later Jim returned in a huff. His hair was wet, and his clothes were dirty, but otherwise, he looked no worse for wear. “How come people think they need to know everything,” he grumbled, as he headed straight into the kitchen.
Tom watched him go before turning to look at George. “He’ll be fine now,” he told the other rancher. But then he remembered something else. Something very important. “Jim! You remember me telling you not to leave the store unattended while we’re closed?”
“Yes, I heard you loud enough,” Jim responded without looking up. He was wiping down a table with hot soapy water.
Tom stared at Jim’s back as he moved away from the table. It didn’t seem like an accident. Someone must’ve pushed him off his horse or knocked him unconscious. Did Jim know who did that? No, he wouldn’t have mentioned it. If anything Jim would be angrier about losing a whole day’s worth of work than about being injured.
As soon as Jim left, Tom went over to a shelf and picked up one of those small black books, and began reading. This book was the first clue to figuring out how Jim had ended up in the pond. Tom read every single word carefully, taking notes along the way.
By the time Jim returned he had already found three clues, though none were particularly useful. The first two were from Jim himself. First was the mention of the rims in Jim’s journal. The second was Jim’s explanation to his friends about his sudden desire to learn how to ride bareback. He had also made some comments that he thought the ranch needed new horses.
And now this third piece of information: Jim had taken the horse to the creek bank. That was the same place where Tom had found his own horse washed up. So Jim had ridden to the creek in search of water for the horses and had gotten swept into the creek and washed downstream until he finally drowned.
There were so many things Tom still didn’t understand. Had someone pushed Jim off his horse and forced him to take his own horse to the creek bank? Was this why Jim had become suspicious of Tom? Or perhaps there were other reasons why Jim might suspect his partner of stealing money?
Tom knew nothing could have been farther from reality, but Jim never seemed to doubt him. In fact, he was always happy.
What had happened to make Jim so unhappy? Why would he be suspicious of Tom?
Tom put the black book on the shelf and headed back to work, thinking about all of these questions. The longer he worked, the more confused he became. At noon he decided to call in sick to give himself time to think. While he ate lunch alone, Tom couldn’t stop wondering if Jim would come back and tell everyone that it was all Tom’s fault, even if he did have an alibi.
Tom wondered if Jim really believed that his death was an accident after all. He was sure Jim’s friends weren’t going to believe that it happened accidentally, not after what he’d seen happen in the water. Maybe Jim had been too trusting of Tom; maybe it was time to show Jim how serious he was about protecting his secret.
After lunch, Tom drove to Jim’s house to see if he was back yet. He saw that Jim’s old truck was parked out front and hoped it meant that Jim was home. Tom went inside the house with his gun tucked under his belt just in case he ran into Jim’s friends or family members. He found the living room empty, but there was a note on Jim’s desk that simply read: Back at work.
It seemed strange, especially since Jim wouldn’t have gone back to work if he didn’t feel well. But Tom wasn’t surprised when he learned that Jim was nowhere to be found. Nor was he shocked at the fact that no one seemed to know where he had been. He should’ve known.
***
“That’s a hell of a place to live!” Larkin said, staring at the ramshackle cabin. The house itself was nothing special, but the setting alone was breathtaking. “Why don’t you move to someplace better?”
“I’m afraid I won’t find anything half this nice around here.” Tom looked over the valley surrounding the house. The mountains were majestic, and the sun was slowly sinking into the western sky. A cool breeze blew through the trees that surrounded the property. There wasn’t much wind, but enough of a breeze to keep the leaves rustling against each other.
Larkin followed Tom’s gaze, then pointed at an abandoned farmhouse across the way. “See that? You can buy that for next to nothing. And the land is great too. The owners are pretty hard-pressed financially. They’ll probably sell it cheap.”
Tom shook his head and smiled. “You’re right, we would make a good team.”
They continued down the dirt road leading to the cabin. Tom noticed that the barn was boarded up and appeared to be deserted. He stopped the buggy and climbed out and walked over to check on the horses. As he opened the stall door, he found that both animals were fine.
He let out a sigh of relief when he heard footsteps from behind. Tom turned around, hoping he hadn’t been followed by his own thoughts. When he saw who it was he laughed out loud.
“Beth!” Beth was holding a basket of tomatoes that she must have brought with her from town. She wore a light blue shirt and denim pants. Her long brown hair hung loose and fell below her shoulder blades. “I came back because you were worried about me,” she said with a smile.
The sound of her voice brought forth a flood of emotions. “How did you get back here?”
She shrugged as though it was no big deal. “Well, my parents wanted to come up here and help me clean up, and since they didn’t seem to want to leave anytime soon, I thought I might as well stay awhile longer. Besides, it gives us some alone time together before they spoil it.”
“Oh, yes, of course…” Tom mumbled. It was true, his mother and father wouldn’t approve of him seeing anyone outside of their social circle. But that didn’t mean he wanted Beth to stop seeing him. He needed to figure out a way to convince them without hurting any feelings.
When Tom looked up again, Beth was standing right beside him, wearing a puzzled look. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on your horse. I was just about to feed it.”
“No, I mean here, why do you live up here?”
“Because there’s something special about this place. It reminds me of another time when I used to spend summers up here with my grandparents.”
Beth nodded as if she understood exactly what he meant. “So you moved up here to escape people like me.”
“That’s not it at all…” He stopped himself and sighed. He couldn’t deny the truth of her words. He’d tried to keep her at arm’s length for her own protection.
As he watched her walking away, his heart ached, knowing that she could never be his. He’d always known that Beth had a past that kept her isolated from everyone else, and now that he knew more than ever why she was the way she was, he realized how much he cared for her.
He wished things weren’t so complicated, but it seemed that he was doomed to be a man who had to choose between love and duty.
“I think you need a bath,” Beth said after looking over the contents of his basket. “And maybe some clothes.”
“Yes, I do need a bath.” His body still felt warm despite the cold air blowing through the open window. He rubbed his forehead and felt the stubble on his chin. If Tom had been thinking clearly he would’ve put himself in front of a mirror and shaved, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. All he wanted was a chance to see Beth one last time. That was all.
Beth reached inside the basket and pulled out two ripe tomatoes. “I can feed these to your horse while you bathe.”
“It’s okay, I can do it.” Tom held up the basket for her to take it back. “I should have thought about bathing sooner. I guess I was too preoccupied with work to notice how dirty I was.”
“Well, you’ll feel better after you take a nice hot shower.”
She took the basket and walked over to where the horses were tied to the hitching post. A quick glance showed that neither horse was interested in the tomatoes, which made him think that Beth’s timing was perfect. When she returned to the buggy, she handed Tom a large towel from the basket. She then opened the small wooden box and handed him the soap she’d brought along.
“I’m going to go wash my hands first,” Beth said. “Would you like me to turn off the water?”
“That would be great.” He stepped toward the stream and knelt down.
While washing his hands he wondered how she was feeling when she was with him, how she handled the pain of having lost someone close to her. The only thing he knew for sure was that she loved his brother as if he was her own flesh and blood.
With his wet fingers, Tom picked up a handful of river rocks. He dropped the stones into the stream, watching them swirl around in an eddy of the current. Beth had told him that she hadn’t seen Tom for nearly eight years.
So if she saw his younger self when she looked at him, there must be something familiar about him. Was that why she had taken such a shine to him? Did she even remember meeting him all those years ago? Would she ever know that he’d once been a little boy who played in the same yard she grew up playing in?
The water washed away the grit, making the dirt on his skin disappear. He scrubbed his arms and legs and then rinsed out his head before stepping back to stand under the spray. The heat of the water felt wonderful, but he was reluctant to leave.
He wanted to soak until he was clean enough for Beth to look at. But as he stood there, a sudden chill hit his bare feet and he shivered. He’d never been so alone and vulnerable as he felt now, standing there with his pants off in the middle of nowhere. If only his parents would come back to find him. They could protect him.
He glanced at the sky and noticed the color change as the sun sank lower in the western sky. There was no telling how long it might be before Beth returned. He’d never felt this helpless or abandoned. No wonder his mother had left him behind. If only he had a family to return to, he wouldn’t be feeling so desperate and confused.
After drying off, Tom put on his shirt and socks. Then he pulled on his boots, hoping they’d dry faster. He was tempted to ask Beth to turn on the lanterns, but decided against it because he didn’t want her to see him naked.
Leaning against the side of the buggy, he watched the sunset. He wished his father had taught him how to enjoy moments like these, to appreciate everything nature had to offer, instead of always being worried about how things would affect their ranch.
Tom remembered the times he’d spent at the camp with his friends; he missed the simple times of growing up. Now that he knew Beth’s story, he understood why she’d chosen to live such an isolated life.
She was trying to shield herself from what she’d lived through when she was a girl. It explained how she’d learned to handle men the way she did. He could imagine the scars left by those awful experiences.
As if reading his mind, Beth came out of the house carrying the lantern. For several minutes, all Tom did was stare at her as she walked up to him. She carried her basket in one hand and a large jug of water in the other. When she set down the jug, he reached up and touched her cheek with his fingertips.
“Thank you for finding me,” he said. “How did you find me?”
“I just kept following your footsteps.”
“But how—”
“Don’t worry about it.” Beth smiled. “I’m here now and that’s all that matters.”
Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her close for a kiss. As she leaned against him, he closed his eyes and savored the warmth of her body pressed against his chest. Her breath tickled his lips before she pulled away to look him in the eye.
“You’re not still mad at me for bringing you into this mess, are you?” she asked.
“Why would I be? We have plenty of time together before we need to get ready for our wedding night. That should give us time to work out any kinks we may have.”
Beth let out a nervous laugh and stepped back. “If we don’t hurry, I’ll miss sunset altogether.”
They walked up to where Tom had found his clothes and took turns putting on each other’s shirts. While they were doing that, Beth opened the basket she’d brought along earlier. From inside, she pulled out an old tin box filled with candy-like fruit slices and nuts. Tom took the lid off, revealing rows of bright red apples and juicy oranges. He couldn’t help staring at them.
She held out two apples and an orange, saying, “Here, eat these before they go bad.”
Tom accepted both, thinking that if this was what she ate, he could only imagine the delicious meals she prepared for her family. His mouth watered at the sight of the fresh fruits, wondering how good they would taste after being dried and stored away for months.
As soon as they were finished eating, they went back down to the stream, gathered some sticks, and then built a fire on the bank. After lighting it, he dug out the last of the food from his saddlebag and placed it next to the wood.
“We’ve got plenty more where this came from,” Beth said. “That will hold us over for a while.”
Tom looked up at her. “Did you bring all of this just in case we ran into trouble?”
“Yes,” she answered, taking off her shoes and wading across the creek. “What I brought with me is just a drop in the bucket compared to the food I can harvest from my garden.”
Tom followed suit and waded deeper into the water until he was waist-deep. As he stood there enjoying the feel of the cool water running down his body, he glanced at the apple in his hand. “These are incredible! Are they hard to grow?”
Beth shook her head. “It’s actually quite easy to keep them going. You just cut the tops off and leave them somewhere in full sunlight, preferably under trees. The tree will do the rest of the work. But it takes at least seven years for the first fruit to appear.”
Tom nodded. “So, we’ll need to be patient with this place.”
“Yes, it may take a while to turn around the land, but it won’t be long before the trees start producing.”
By the time darkness fell, the fire was burning bright and hot. They sat near it sharing more apples and oranges, laughing about old times as if they’d seen each other yesterday. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, both of them were exhausted.
With a yawn, Beth lay down on a flat rock near the fire. Tom joined her, pulling her close. She snuggled against his chest and fell asleep almost instantly.
After placing another log on top of the dying fire, Tom lay down beside her, pulling the blanket over their bodies. It wasn’t long before Beth’s breathing grew labored and soft snores echoed off the rocks.
The sky darkened, giving way to starlight that sparkled like millions of diamonds scattered throughout heaven’s heavens. Tom watched her sleep and wondered what kind of woman she’d been before her life turned upside down. Did she love her parents? Were they really murdered? And if so, by whom?
He knew that once the sheriff got wind of Tom’s presence there, he’d probably come knocking on their door within days. But even though he thought about those things, he didn’t want to wake her up to discuss them. Instead, he stared at the stars, wishing that his father was alive and well and living in Oregon with him.
The End