The thunder of hooves echoed in her memory.
Every night it was the same, dreams of gun metal and leather, of the sounds of music playing across the prairie, of cows moving uneasily.
Sometimes she had glimpses of herself on a horse, still female but with hands that were work roughened and calloused.
By day, of course, she was the quintessential city girl. She’d never been west of New York City, much less the Mississippi, and she’d never had the slightest interest in old westerns.
As far as she was concerned, country life had nothing to offer; Metropolis was the entire world. Anything that didn’t fit there wasn’t worth worrying about.
Yet, there was a strange appeal to her dreams, a yearning for something she couldn’t understand.
Sometimes she woke with tears on her pillow and she didn’t know why.
*************
“You honestly can’t be planning to study for this trip,” Jenna said, glancing over at her.
Lois shrugged. “If the records had been available online I wouldn’t be going at all.”
“You’ve been working on your thesis for a year and a half; surely it can wait a few more days,” Lucy said, leaning forward from the back of the car.
Taking Lucy to New Orleans was going to be a mistake; Lois knew it. If her sister ended up on the Internet, her mother would never let her hear the end of it.
“I’m not here to get drunk and take my clothes off in front of a group of frat boys,” Lois said irritably. “The sooner I can get done with graduate school, the sooner I can get to doing real work.”
It was amazing the difference five years made, although Lois suspected that she’d been much more mature than Lucy when she’d been eighteen.
She certainly hadn’t done anything to warrant taking her out of Metropolis to get her out of the way of a stalker boyfriend.
Her father was having enough trouble taking care of the mess as it was without Lucy being around and stirring the pot.
Still, taking Lucy to Mardis Gras seemed like taking her from the frying pan into the fire.
**********
The weight of the petticoats were unfamiliar, and she fanned herself vigorously. She was more used to men’s clothes than these yards and yards of fabric.
She had to admit that she felt pretty, which wasn’t something she’d ever thought about herself before.
Still, she couldn’t wait to get this over with. Impressing her father’s client, getting the cattle deal done; she wouldn’t have done it for anyone else.
If it hadn’t been for the drought, if they hadn’t lost so many cattle…what ifs never fed a belly or kept anyone warm.
If they were going to keep their ranch, they needed a partner.
It felt a little like selling herself, but her father told her that a pretty face might make a man think a little less clearly.
She didn’t think it would make a difference. She was no great beauty; all the face paint in the world couldn’t conceal her tanned face and unfashionably short hair. Besides, the buyer was known to be shrewd. In Colorado he was known as King Midas; it was said that he’d never dug a mine that hadn’t struck gold.
Legend had it that he’d been found in the wilderness by two prospectors as a baby, and that he’d been raised with a pickaxe in his hand.
Of course, she’d heard all sort of wild stories about herself that weren’t remotely true, so why should that one be any different?
Looking around the ballroom, she couldn’t help but be impressed though. He owned the entire building, which was filled with brass and glass and marble.
According to her father, he owned the whole block, and he wasn’t all that much older than she was herself.
She hoped her father didn’t have any hopes of young Midas falling for her. He undoubtedly was wealthy enough that he could have any women.
The band began to play, and she looked around expectantly.
The man of the hour had to have arrived; it was his party after all.
As she turned, it felt as though the breath had left her lungs.
He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
************
Lois gasped as she woke. She was sweating, and somewhere along the line Lucy had taken the wheel. She’d cut off the air conditioning and rolled down the window, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Her dreams had always been vivid, if disjointed, but the closer she came to New Orleans the clearer they were becoming.
If she’d believed in such a thing, she’d have thought it was a sign. Irritably, she shifted in her seat and fell back into a dozing slumber.
She dreamed of a ballroom, of dancing, and a powerful set of arms. It made her long for…something…
Although she couldn’t see his face, his smell and the feeling of his arms around her were more intense and real than her last date.
Of course, that hadn’t exactly worked out so well.
Despite herself, Lois couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of excitement. Although Metropolis was the center of the world, coming to New Orleans felt like she was coming home.
