TEN STEPS, The Kenny Ackerman Story BOOK THREE ~MAYBES by Melly O' Hara

ICE

CHAPTER 4   ICE

It were their stillness that alerted me ta their presence. The distant chatter and the hurried gait o' their walkin' had suddenly ceased, an' I knew it were the moment o' truth. From their voices I could tell it were Sasha. An' l were able ta distinguish Owl's encouraging murmurs in between her cousin's unceasin' chatter. The slow, heavy clip-cloppin' behind them told me that there was a couple o' horses with 'em, which prob'ly meant that Sasha weren' alone in her visit.
Lightin' me a smoke from the stash of rolled cigarettes Owl had prepared for me, I lay back an' waited, my cowboy hat sheildin' my eyes from the mornin' sun.

The smoke curled its way inta the air as I exhaled, its blue-greyness disappearin' inta the lemon rays o' the sunlight; I turned ta face the trio. Yep, I were right. A boy near as damn tall as myself with the face o' a child an' the appearance o' a soldier, with that dang buzz cut, were accompanyin' Sasha an' Owl. As they stood there, I watched 'em; readin' the fear in their faces, as though it was pages in a child's picture book. All o' 'em afraid. All with their own reasons.

Owl, I knew it were for me that she were afeared. Had it been jus' Sasha, she wouldn' have worried none. But that boy; he worried her.
From the look o' him, he seemed ta fit the description o'... Ah, Hell, what were his name?... Bonnie?...Johnnie...? Hell, I couldn' remember...... Ah Connie! Yeah, that were it.....I were perdy sure it were....Owl had mentioned how them two was like twins that was separated at birth, an' then found each other again. No kin could be closer. An' I guessed that's why he were here too. Certainly weren' ta see me ! His face tol' me o' his fear for Sasha.  An' hate for what I'd done. Mistrust, anger an' reluctance emanated from him like it were palpable.
An' her, Sasha, lookin' like she didn' know what ta expect. Though she knew all 'bout me from Jas, this were the first time we'd met. Bein' so informed, she didn' so much seem afeared o' me, more curious 'an anythin', but nervous, non-the-less.  An' worried 'bout that boy.

"Howdy", I drawled; slow an' even. "Hope ya brought some supplies with ya.... I'm starvin'."

At the mention o' food, Sasha broke free o' Owl's arm, an' with lightenin' speed unbuckled the saddle-bags on the horses; layin' out the feast in front o' me; explainin' with glee what each o' packages were as she unwrapped 'em. Grabbin' the ham, she tried ta rip off the string that contained it, an' when it proved too stubborn, she threatened it with her teeth.
Smotherin' a laugh, I pulled out Silver Lady from her sheath an' handed it ta her.
Her wide brown eyes shone with appreciation, as if'n she'd found a kindred. Someone, who, like her; could leave the talkin' 'til the important things was taken care o' first. Namely food. Survival. As Sasha freed the ham an' roughly cut slices off it, jammin' 'em inta the crusty golden rolls an' handin' me one, she bit down inta her own roll; tears o' joy streamin' down her face at the deliciousness o' it all.

Unmovin' , Jas an' Connie watched us; a smile lightin' up Owl's face, while the boy watched on in confusion. Finally, unable ta resist no more, Jas took Connie's hand an' dragged him taward us. Seatin' themselves on the ground, Owl cut off some more ham an' shoved a roll inta Connie's mouth; silencin' the objections an' questions that threatened ta spoil our breakfast.
An' raisin'  me so's I could lean against the tree; we sat there, in silence, eatin' our bounty, with Owl puttin' the kettle onta boil, stokin' the coals on the campfire, an' makin' us tea, ta wash down our feast.

Satiated an' relaxed after our repast, it were Connie that spoke first.
"You hurt either of these girls, and I'll cut you down like a titan!" he growled. "No hesitation."

As Jas laid me down an' prepared ta clean my wounds, I chuckled softly at his genuine show o' bravado; half in the brazenness o' threatenin' ME, an' half in the knowledge that in my present state, he could probably succeed!