Character Interview with Choctaw Jack

by Lyn Horner
Partners, do you want to have some fun today? Yeah? Then come on along with me and a special friend to Sunbonnet Sue's Down Home Radio Roost.

Sunbonnet Sue greets us on her front porch. A rather plump woman of indeterminate age, she's sitting in the shade with a microphone and a tall glass of iced tea, the national drink of Texas.

Sue: "Howdy Lyn. Glad you could drop by. I see you’ve brought a guest."

Lyn: "I’m pleased as punch to be with you today, Sue. This tall, good looking gent is Jack Lafarge. Um, you might know him as Choctaw Jack in Dearest Irish. That’s what most people called him until he hooked up with Miss Rose Devlin."

Sue: "How-do, Mr. Lafarge. I’m right happy to meet you."

Jack smiles and flicks back his long black hair. “Howdy Miz Sue. It’s nice meeting you, too. Just call me Jack.”

Sue: “My pleasure, Jack. Take a seat and kick back for a spell. You too, Lyn.” Our hostess points to a pair of rawhide-bottom chairs facing her, and we make ourselves comfortable.

 

Lyn: “Jack, why don’t you tell Sue a little about yourself?”

Jack: “Be glad to. I’m a cotton planter’s son, Miz Sue, but I’ve done some cowboying since the war. Uh, the War of Secession, I mean.”

Sue: “Young fella, I understand you fought on the Confederate side. Isn’t that a bit odd for a man of Indian blood?”

Jack: “No ma’am. A lot of us from what you white folks call the Five Civilized Tribes fought on one side or the other. The Choctaws mostly sided with the South and my pa was half Choctaw. When he joined up, I tagged along.”

Sue: “You don’t say. As the old saying goes, we learn something new every day. I’ve also heard you’re handy at blacksmithing. How’d you happen to learn that trade?”

Jack shrugs. “Pa was a blacksmith over in Louisiana before he moved us to Texas. I learned from him when I was a boy.”

Sue nods. “I see. So, is your father the person who most influenced you as you grew up?”

Jack frowns, studying the question. “I’ve never given that much thought. It’s true Pa influenced me a lot, but so did my mother. She turned my life around after the war when she convinced me to walk the white man’s road.”

Lyn: “That’s intriguing, but please don’t go into details. We don’t want to give away all your secrets. Instead, can you tell Sue about the scariest moment of your life?”

Jack turns pale beneath his copper coloring. “That has to be the day my P’ayn-nah, I mean Rose, was bitten by a rattler.” In a husky voice, he adds, “I nearly lost her.”

Lyn looks guilty. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry for putting the two of you through that. But the experience did bring you closer together, didn’t it?”

Jack scowls, ebony eyes glaring at the author. “Yeah, it did, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you for nearly killing off the woman I love.”

Lyn squirms uncomfortably. “Yes, well, on a more pleasant topic, is Rose a good cook? And if so, what’s your favorite food that she fixes?”

Jack’s scowl lifts. Crossing his muscular arms, he says. “P’ayn-nah – that mean Sugar, by the way – is a pretty fair cook, even if she burns our supper now and again. Her favorite food is Indian fry bread, and I reckon it’s mine too. Leastways, when I get to watch her make it.” He grins, dark eyes twinkling.

Sue laughs. “On that happy note, Jack, I’ll let you head on back to your Red River home. Thanks for coming to visit me today. Now, Lyn, why don’t you give me and my listeners a little taste of Rose and Jack’s exciting story.”

Lyn winks. “I thought you’d never ask, Sue. Here you go.”

 

Dearest Irish

Texas Devlins, Book Three

Blurb:

Although the story begins in Bosque County, Texas, where the first two books in this series both end, much of this paranormal Native American romance takes place in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) ca. 1876.

Rose Devlin, like her older siblings, possesses a rare psychic power. Rose has the extraordinary ability to heal with her mind, a secret gift which has caused her great pain in the past. She also keeps another, far more terrible secret that may prevent her from ever knowing love.

Choctaw Jack, a half-breed cowboy introduced in Dashing Irish, book two of the trilogy, hides secrets of his own. If they ever come to light, he stands to lose his job, possibly even his life. Yet, he will risk everything to save someone he loves, even if it means kidnapping Rose. The greatest risk of all may be to his heart if he allows himself to care too much for his lovely paleface captive.

Excerpt:

Rose stretched and yawned. Something hard supported her head, and another something lay half across her face. This object felt like cloth and gave off a vaguely familiar scent. Swatting whatever it was away, she opened her eyes and had to squint at the bright sun glaring down at her from on high. In the time it took to blink and shield her eyes with her hand, everything that had befallen her during the night burst upon her like a waking nightmare.

Realizing she lay on the hard ground – she had the aches and pains to prove it – she turned her head to the right and saw Choctaw Jack lying a hand’s breadth away. He lay on his back, head pillowed on his saddle and one arm thrown over his eyes. Where was his hat, she wondered absurdly. Recalling the object she’d pushed off her face, she rose on one elbow and twisted to look behind her. First, she saw that she’d also been sleeping with a saddle under her head; then she spotted the hat she’d knocked into the high grass surrounding them. Jack must have placed it over her face to protect her from the sun’s burning rays. In view of his threat to beat her if she tried to run away again, she was surprised by this small kindness.

A throaty snore sounded from her left. Looking in that direction, she saw Jack’s Indian friend sprawled on his stomach, with his face turned away from her. He was naked from the waist up, his lower half covered by hide leggings and what she guessed was a breechcloth, never having seen one before. His long black hair lay in disarray over his dark copper shoulders.

He snored again, louder this time. Rose’s lips twitched; then she scolded herself for finding anything remotely amusing in her situation. Glancing around, she wondered how far they were from the Double C. Jack had been right to chide her last night. She’d had no idea where they were or in which direction to run for help. Even more true now, she conceded with a disheartened sigh.

She heard a horse snuffle. Sitting upright, she craned her neck to see over the grass and spotted three horses tethered among a stand of nearby trees. She caught her breath. Was one of them Brownie? Aye, she was certain of it. Excited and anxious to greet him, she folded aside the blanket cocooning her and started to rise, but a sharp tug on her ankle made her fall back with an astonished gasp. Only then did she notice the rope tied loosely around her ankle. To her dismay, the other end of the rope was wrapped around Jack’s hand.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, startling her.

“You’re awake!” she blurted, meeting his frowning, half-lidded gaze.

“Thanks to you, I am. You didn’t answer my question. Where were you going?”

“I saw Brownie over there.” She pointed to the trees. “I was only wishing to let him know I’m here, nothing more.” She swallowed hard, fearing he would think she’d meant to climb on the stallion and make a run for freedom – though without a saddle on his back and no one to boost her up¸ ’twould be well nigh impossible.

Staring at her a moment longer, Jack evidently came to the same conclusion. “I reckon he’ll be glad to see you,” he said, sitting up and freeing her ankle. “Go ahead. Say howdy to him.”

She again started to rise, but he forestalled her, saying, “Hold on. You’d best put your boots back on.” Reaching behind his saddle, he retrieved her footgear.

“Aye, I suppose there could be cactuses about,” she said tartly, recalling what he’d said last night. She forced a tight smile.

“Yeah, or snakes.”

Amazon: Dearest Irish                 Barnes & Noble: Dearest Irish

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This article is adapted from a 2013 post on Ruby On Tuesday. http://rubypjohnson.wordpress.com/