Once Upon a Misty Bluegrass Hill (38 page)

Jolene regained her sight and senses a few minutes later to find Travis tying her to the bed tha
t had previously contained
the
now missing body of Paula
.  She could smell the fumes of unwashed bodies and booze on the pillow…and blood stains sat next to her
on the pillow and sheets
. 

Her legs were tied
spread eagle
to the bottom posts and her hands to the top posts while Travis hummed softly finishing the last knot.  When she tried to pull her arms and legs from the ropes Travis looked at her and smiled a yellow smile. 
"
Oh now there you are Jolene.  I didn
'
t want you to miss the fun.
"

Jolene screamed loud. 
"
Travis, let me go this instant.  I
'
ll kill your ass, I will!
"

"
Now that is what I like…a woman with some fight.
"

He sat down on the bed next to her and ran his dirty fingers across her t-shirt over her breasts.  Jolene thought she would faint then.  It was her worst nightmare…She screamed again.

Travis ran his hands over her, pressing his fingers under her shirt to squeeze her breast fiercely. 
"
Now Jolene, you know that no screaming is going to help you way out here.
"

Jolene pulled with all her might as his dirty fingers pressed over her bo
dy.  She trembled with rage,
fear
and utter disgust
. 
"
I see you trembling for me like girls do in those books you like to read.
"

W
hen he pulled out his pocket knife
Jolene sobbed
. 
"
Stop Travis..please let me go.
"

He deftly cut her t-shirt apart exposing her lacy bra. 
"
Now, Jolene, I am just making you more comfy.  You don
'
t need that t-shirt in this heat and I want to get a
good
feel of those pretty boobies
under this nice lace...that is so damn hot Jolene
.
"

Jolene screamed and cried.  She knew no one would hear.  She pulled the ropes so hard that sharp hot pain shot through her wrists and ankles.

"
All that screaming is a turn on...
look how
pretty
and ready you are except those shorts.
"

Jolene
'
s
closed her eyes against
the terror that clawed her into
a horrific
abyss to escape this nightmare.

She felt her shorts being cut away and she tried to
shake his hands away with her legs with her limited movement. 
"
Stop it, stop it Travis!
"
  S
he screamed so loud that she was sure the walls would come down.  Only they didn
'
t. 

His hands slid
down her legs
leaving terror behind
. 
"
Now see how nice and pretty your panties are Jolene…I
'
m just going to take those pretty things and keep them as a souvenir.  But you and me going to be here a long, long time Jolene.  Just you and me together
...
in this room
...just the way I always knew it should be
.
"

Jolene was sobbing, so lost in terror that she did not hear the outside door crash in.  But her dogs bounded inside barking furiously…Jolene opened her eyes to see Oliver and Finn snarling and tearing at Travis. 

"
Get down
pups
and go outside.
"
  It was
Patrick
'
s voice. 

Dear
Patrick
...my Angel Gabrielle
. 

Jolene sobbed when she saw his face.  But she had never seen him look like that.  He was holding
Bernie's M-16
directed at Travis who now lay on the floor with tattered clothing, blood and a dazed look on his face.

"
I should put a bullet in your head right now…but I don
'
t want Jolene to see it.  Get u
p!
"

A siren screamed toward the house and stopped outside piercing the air.

Police busted through the house and back into the room. 
Patrick
lowered the gun and rushed to Jolene.  He quickly untied her, took off his shirt and wrapped it around her…buttoning it with soothing words that she often heard him use on the skittish horses. 

Jolene didn
'
t see them take Travis away. 
Patrick
held her in his arms and shielded her from the scene. 
Despite her face hiding in
Patrick
'
s chest, s
he could hear them talking and knew that they had found Paula in the bathtub. 

"
She
is
dead," a
flat professional
voice called from the bathroom.

But Jolene already knew that.

Jolene was shaking so much
despite her state of
numb
ness
that
when the police started to ask her qu
estions she just looked at them.  She opened her mouth to speak
but no sound would come out.

Patrick
ran a tender hand over her hair. 
"
Let me take her home and then later when she is better, you can come by and talk with her.
"

He carried her out to the truck with Oliver and Finnegan whining and jumping around his legs.  He tucked her into the seat murmuring consoling words.  The
dogs jumped into
Patrick
'
s
side of
the
big red Ford
panting with
relieved
smiles.  They were the heroes of the day.
And they knew it.

Patrick
slid into his seat and locked both of their seatbelts. 
"
The dogs came
a' barking
like crazy and I knew something was
terribly
wrong….I followed them in the truck all the way back to your Aunt Paula
'
s house.
"
 

"
It was so horrible.
"

"
Forget about it
Little
Red
.  They are both gone now.
"

"
You are taking me away from there just like you did a long time ago.
"

"
So I am, but this time you are all grown up and sophisticated.
"

The memories of past times she had ridden with him rose up with bittersweet traces
to curl around her heart
.  She
laid
her head back against the head rest.  Her life was never going to be complete without him.  She turned
to look at him.  He was so beautiful.  Like Angel Gabrielle showing up to save her again.
 

W
orry
surg
ed
from
his eyes. 
"
You okay
Red
?
"

"
I love you
Patrick
.
"

He
turned forward and
gripped the wheel of the truck. 
"
Jolene, you are too young to know your mind.
  You love me like a brother or a father.
"

"
I love you
Patrick
…I always have and always will.
"

Patrick
backed out and sped away rolling down the
window as if he needed air and the heat soared in to pick up her hair and toss his dark curls. 
"
Sweetheart, I saved you from your Aunt Paula and took you back home.  Yer might think you love me, but love is not admiration or hero-worship.
"

"
Nothing you say is going to change my mind.
  I know my mind
Patrick
.  I am not a little girl anymore.
"

He turned on the road home. 
"
Leona and I broke up.
"

Jolene
sat up straight twisting toward him
her heart leaping to heaven
.
 
"
Really
Patrick
?  How wonderful!
"

Patrick
chuckled. 
"
Yur not even feeling sorry for me and my heartache.
"

"
She was mean and horrible and I hated her…is that why you broke up?
"

They turned into the long driveway and drove between the oak trees that lined the now-paved driveway to
Patrick
'
s house.
 
"
I think that was part of it, but mostly she and I just didn
'
t suit.  She didn
'
t like barbeque, hated the horses
and …well there were other reasons we don
'
t need to discuss until another time.
"

"Believe me, nobody could understand better than I can!"

They pulled into
Patrick
'
s garage. 
"
You go on inside and get a cuppa
'
from
Mata
….and grab my robe and take your bath wherever you want…either in my whirlpool bath or at your house and I
'
ll just run back and pick up some of your things from your house in town if you give me the key.
"
 

Jolene jumped out
of the truck
and dug in her purse for her house key and tossed it
t
o him. 
"
I do feel really dirty, but how will you know what to bring?
"

"
The
pups
will help me.
"

Jolene looked into the backseat at smiling Oliver and Finnegan. 
"
You are traitors…glad to see
Patrick
and forgetting me completely now.
"

Patrick
laughed. 
"
Yer cannot scold them too much now because they saved you.
"

Jolene petted their heads that now stuck out the window as if they knew they were the main topic of conversation. 
"
All right
Patrick
.
"

"
I am going to send Jose to help you move tomorrow because you are coming back home.
"
  His eyes glowed into hers. 
"
The blackberries are
over-
ripe, the girls are crying for yer and I
'
ve a mind to take you to Ireland
in
September
.
"

Jolene laughed with all the joy that soaked her heart. 
"
The birds have likely gotten all the blackberries.
"
 

"
If there are no blackberries I am
itching
for some barbeque.
"

"
Ar
e we really going to Ireland?
"

"
I want you to see the seat of the Earl of
Meath
and meet my parents.
"

"
Did Leona like Ireland
?
"

"
I never took Leona to Ireland.
"

Chapter
24

The Appalachian
g
ranny
magic tradition
was passed on from parents to their
children for many generations.   These traditions were
generally
not taught
outside of the
family
. Because of the rural and secluded nature of the Appalachian community, the old customs,
practices and wisdom were not lost,
forgotten, or
modernized
as
were
the
old world traditions that came over and were practiced in the more urban areas of the budding United States.
The
ancient Irish or Scottish songs, rhymes, dances, recipes, crafts, and ‘The Craft,’
have often been
preserved
more accurately
in Appalachia than even in Ireland or Scotland.