A Feather in the Rain by Alex Cord Page A

Jesse stepped into the lobby to find a door to a patio when Holly was returning from the ladies. “Are you leaving?” she asked.
    â€œNo, I…I just wanted to get some air.”
    â€œIt’s pretty warm in there.”
    â€œDo you want to get some air?”
    She looked at him curiously and nodded, “Yes.”
    He opened the door and stepped aside as he touched her shoulder to guide her through. She felt cool, thin and smooth. The night was hushed, the moon demure behind a silvery veil in a starless sky. He asked if she had any plans.
    â€œOh, it’s hard to say. I’ve got to find my mind first, before I can get it to think. There’s plenty of work to be done. I’m going to help my dad in his PR business. I like to write. I like taking pictures. We’re going to put up a tepee, a big one. Something Bear has always wanted to do. I don’t know. I’m just going to see what happens. And you? What are you up to?”
    â€œWell, I…I’ve got a colt back home I’m gonna take to The Futurity. He’s a pretty good one.” He smiled, feeling foolish for not being better at conversation and was beginning to hope for a rescue. “Would you like something to drink?”
    She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at him almost as if she hadn’t heard. He wanted to ask what she was thinking about but the whole idea unnerved him. Then she said, “Okay.”
    He held the door as she walked in. He caught her scent of musk and amber, the air made sacred by her presence. He watched the swinging slope of slender shoulders and the straight tapered back beneath the swirl of hair. In the landscape of his heart, the earth gaped and sucked him headlong into a pit of loneliness and despair. She stopped to greet some friends. He drifted off.
    Susan Hampton made one more attempt to connect with Jesse,then moved on in pursuit of easier game. Just as Jesse thought he could vanish, Larry intercepted him and said, “So, did you make a deal?”
    â€œWhat?”
    Mischief in his eyes, lopsided grin pulling at his face, “Bear’s little girl. She sure is a pretty thing.”
    â€œAre you crazy? Little girl is right. I’ve got boots older than she is.”
    â€œI don’t know…she might be older than she looks.”
    â€œNot enough.”
    â€œI don’t know. I think you’re missing a bet. I see things. She’s interested in you, son.”
    â€œI can’t even look at her. I’ll bet I’m older than her father.”
    â€œYou just look older. You need a young woman. Hell, we all do. It’s natural. Older men need younger women. Young men need older women. Works out real good for everybody. I remember when I was about twenty-two I had me a woman was fifty. And, man, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t get any better than she was. She had hell trying to get rid of me.”
    â€œWhy am I talking to you?”
    â€œCuz I’m a smart feller and I know what I’m talking about. Anyway, if you want to be stupid, go ahead. Listen, why don’t you stick around for a few days. Stay up at the ranch and help me work those horses. Oh, and that Susan Hampton asked me why you wouldn’t pay her any mind. I told her you was an odd feller and that I thought you was gay.”
    Jesse chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
    â€œYou’re making a big mistake. That gal is gonna be dreaming about you tonight. Two of ’em gonna be dreaming about you. And you going home alone. Damn, you’re a sorry son of a bitch.”
    Jesse waved over his shoulder as he headed across the lobby.
    He closed the door to his room behind him and stood rooted to the spot by some unbidden thought that held him paralyzed in its grip. Maybe I should load up and hit the road right now. A clawingfear of the lack of purpose and meaning to his empty loveless life filled him with