At First Blush
July 29, 2012
VinF&D list 1 hour fic challenge – theme word ‘Praise’ – we have
1 hour to write a complete story after the theme word is posted.
Length:
1048 words
*******
It was a pleasant spring day and everyone was taking
advantage of it. Townsfolk were taking care of business out-of-doors if at all
possible, painting winter worn boards on buildings, pulling weeds from the
street along the edge of the boardwalk, washing
windows, anything to avoid spending the lovely day inside.
Children were playing, dodging in and out of
alleyways playing a game that was some mixture of tag and hide and seek.
Everyone was relaxed and though work was getting done, there was no sense of
urgency to be seen anywhere in town.
Even the seven peacekeepers were enjoying the sun
while monitoring the peaceful town for trouble.
Vin
ambled down the boardwalk, nodding to JD as he passed the sheriff who sat in
front of the jail flipping his knife into the boardwalk. Vin
tipped his chin at Ezra who had dragged one of the smaller tables out of the
saloon and was actually conducting a poker game in front of the establishment.
Ezra grinned at the tracker before laying down his hand and turning the grin on
his fellow players.
With a soft chuckle, Vin
continued. He spotted Nathan sitting at a small table on the balcony outside
the clinic with various items spread out in front of him. Vin
was certain the man was mixing some of his noxious teas. The sound of a hammer
came from the direction of the church, Josiah had mentioned heading up to the
roof to fix a few leaks.
Chris was at the livery in the coral with Pony. The
lean gunfighter ran a brush leisurely along the black’s silky hide, both of
them obviously enjoying the activity. Vin tipped his
hat to his friend as he continued past, then frowned to himself, wondering
where Buck had gotten off to.
His question was answered as the sound of male and
female laughter wafted softly from the area out behind the stables. A huge
stack of hay made a perfect spot for the amiable ladies man to enjoy the day
outside and his current lady friend. Vin grinned
ruefully and shook his head.
His walk took him to the edge of town then he
crossed over and headed for the pond intending to spend some quiet time of his
own. Vin’s plans were ruined when he reached the trees
that lined this side of the small pond.
Not wanting to interrupt anyone’s tryst, but too
curious to just pass on by, Vin slipped through the
trees leaning against a large one closest to the edge of the clearing. He
started to recognize the voices and was surprised to realize he hadn’t even
noticed their owner’s absence as he strolled through town.
Of course, Miss Nettie and Casey he hadn’t expected
to see, but Mary, Mrs. Potter and Inez, along with several of the other ladies
who worked and lived in town were here. Vin peeked
around the tree and could see the ladies sitting on several blankets with
stacks of quilting squares around them.
Though not an occupation Vin
usually associated with many of these ladies, he knew they all pitched in to
make a quilt for special occasions. Weddings and new babies gave the ladies a
reason to take a break from working to complete a gift for new or expectant
couple and take advantage of the time to visit with each other as they sewed.
Vin
started to back away, not wanting to intrude when their conversation caught his
attention.
“He’s the only one of the seven who can take it
without some excuse,” Casey said.
Vin
looked around the tree in time to see all the women nod.
“Yep,” Nettie said, “Vin
just blushes, ducks his head and tries to find some reason to leave.”
The ladies chuckled. Vin
blushed not sure what they were talking about other than him.
“And Chris just sort of goes still,” Mary said,
“then he blinks, tips his head and leaves,” she said with a blush of her own.
Inez laughed, “Senior Ezra, he denies everything,
even if he’s was caught red-handed.”
This brought more laughter from the ladies and more
confusion to Vin.
“Josiah just smiles, flashing those teeth of his,”
Mrs. Potter said, her eyes losing focus for just a second before she flushed
and shushed the giggles of the others.
“And Buck,” one of the girls who worked at Digger
Dan’s spoke up, “he just smiles and strokes his mustache then says ‘it weren’t nothin’ darlin’ but I’ll take a
kiss,’” she said, deepening her voice to imitate Buck’s.
“Madre dios,” Inez said,
rolling her eyes, “that man.” This only caused the others to laugh more since
they all knew Buck was mostly harmless with his flirting.
“And Nathan,” Mary said with a grin, “that man
blushes worse than Vin.” More nods and laughter
followed.
“So why JD?”
Casey asked.
“Must be the way his mama raised him,” Nettie
speculated. “Only dang one of them that can take praise worth
a darn.”
Vin
turned, leaning heavily against the tree. That’s
what they were talking about?! That’s not true, I can too
take praise! He paused and thought about the last time one of the ladies
had praised him for something. He’d been helping Miss Nettie with a young
horse. Vin ducked his head, blushing at the memory.
He had gotten flustered when she’d told him how well
he’d handled the colt. Darned if he knew why… well, maybe he did. It wasn’t
that he was embarrassed by her words, just that they reminded him of his mama
praising him for something he’d done as a little boy.
Nettie’s tone when she praised something he did
always made him think of his mama telling him what a good boy he was for
cleaning his plate or getting dressed all by himself or… Vin
flushed. He’d only been a little tyke when his mama died.
He sighed. Well, there weren’t much he could do
about it. He couldn’t tell Nettie why she affected him that way, but he could
certainly make sure he teased the others about their inability to take praise
from the ladies.
Vin
grinned. He might even be able to tease JD enough to make him start blushing.
At least he would be in good company.
The end
Feedback is greatly appreciated. JudyL
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