The Seer And The Stetson

Between Love and Hate

After what she'd heard Ellie could hardly speak to River far less look him in the eye. She didn't know how to feel about it. It was all quite unbelievable that his want of her went beyond the tightening she caused in his breeches to something deeper and more meaningful. This was a lot harder to dismiss than some passing fancy.

She studied him as he hunched forward, thick thighs straddling a wooden beam. He focused on nailing together the frame of the cottage. She'd steal these little glimpses of him when she thought he wasn't looking. He went shirtless this morning. His glistening flesh tightened and flexed under tanned skin. Ellie swallowed hard. 

Bright green eyes found her and their gaze locked like magnets, electrifying her already sensitive skin. A blush colored his cheeks. It was genuine and full of the sweetness she didn't know she'd been craving. 

Her throat went dry. She was stuck. Lost for words to describe the vision before her. A delicious ache started between her thighs. It changed from aching to throbbing, insisting, nay, demanding her release. He lifted a large plank with a grunt, and something below twitched. She bit her lip to suppress a moan.

"Ellie!" She startled at her mother's voice. 

"You gonna put that nail through your thumb. You betta pay attention, girl" Abigail chided. She glanced in the direction her daughter had been staring. "Ummm hmmm. I see what you looking at ova there. I don't say I disagree with ya, but you know betta than to go down that path. Still," Abigail paused to wipe the sweat from her brow, "A man like him tend to raise a camp up." 

Ellie cocked her head in her mother's direction, "I think those men he almost killed in Black Brooke would disagree with you, Mama."

Abigail raised a questioning brow, "You know good and well why he had to draw first." 

Annoyed, Ellie's lips pressed together. She knew very well, she was that damsel in question that needed saving. Admitting it just chaffed. "I don't see it being a testament to his character but rather a flaw."

Abigail shook her head returning to her task, "You know I never had the sight like you but I could see from a mile off that this man right here is a good man."

Ellie focused her gaze on his aura. His rainbow of colors was back with the new addition of a tiny dot of white. There was a strong likelihood her mother was right. He was a good man. Ellie just didn't like being wrong and wasn't big enough to admit it. 

River's green eyes darted suddenly in her direction again. He felt her watching him, of that she was certain. Her breath caught. She blinked furiously before making excuses and leaving her work behind. 

"I-I'll fetch some water, Mama, I'm parched." She stood dusting off her skirts. 

"Fetch me some too," Jolene sat further back added.

Ellie's brows knitted together, a wrinkled formed between them. Her face hurt from the tension she felt every time she interacted with Jolene. She'd been far too public with her attempts to seduce River, relying on her feminine wiles to lure him. 

Ellie was fain to admit that she felt a bit drab in comparison to Jolene. Jolene was the definition of what others considered beautiful. Fair-skinned, big-breasted, wide hips, and a willing disposition. She didn't expect it to be long before River relapsed and found himself in her thrall. It was only a matter of time. 

Ellie snatched the bucket, glaring at River before she wandered to the river, leaving him with a befuddled look as she left. 

"I know you never intended for us to be in this together." Ellie heard as she made her way back to camp, "but we're in it all the same. So why not make the best of it."

River stood arms folded over his bare chest. Ellie looked him up and down before her tongue darted out to moisten her lip. He suppressed a sudden urge to moisten it himself.

"I don't know what you're on about Collins. I tolerate you don't I?" She responded, gathering her skirts to make for the safety of the camp. She hadn't been alone with him since the day he kissed her, but she wanted him to kiss her again to her endless embarrassment. 

"Hold up there, Ellie," His large hand wrapped around her elbow, stopping her in her tracks. 

"I can't understand why you hate me so much." He said as his eyes pleaded. His tone softened, "I think of you in colors that don't exist, Ellie...you've gotta know."

A fluttering started in her stomach then settled in her heart. But the heady feeling soon soured as thoughts of their difficult lives together flashed through her mind. 

Any future with him would be plagued by racism and sexism. She would never be his equal in his eyes or the eyes of anyone else. They could never openly share their lives. She refused to be any man's secret.

She grimaced as her thoughts turned to him falling prey to Jolene's schemes. "I don't hate you." She pulled her arm from his grasp. "That would imply that I cared."