Dorothy Garlock (22 page)

“Me, too?”

“Of course, you, too.”

Joe flung his arm across her shoulders. “This woman knows the way to a man’s heart.”

“Behave yourself, Joe Jones.” A rosy glow covered Mrs. Maddox’s plump face. “I’ve known this rascal since he was in short pants.”

When April glanced at him, Joe winked at her. “Tell her something good about me, Mrs. Maddox,” he said, his eyes still holding April’s.

“He’s a good, honest, hardworking man.”

“That sounds terribly dull.” April put a note of boredom in her voice.

Mrs. Maddox laughed up at Joe. “He’s one of my favorites, you see.”

“You’d better stand in line with half the women in town.” “She’s the jealous kind,” Joe said confidentially as he walked Mrs. Maddox to the door.

“Thank you for the pie,” April said and stood up. “I’ll see that you get the pan back.”

“I’ll stop by in a day or two and pick it up.”

Joe stood at the door and watched Mrs. Maddox until she crossed the street. When he turned, April was putting away one of the ledgers.

“Hello, April.”

“Hello, Joe.”

“I haven’t seen you for a week.”

“Has it been that long?” For a minute it seemed she couldn’t breathe. There wasn’t enough room in her chest. She wanted to appear nonchalant. Actually her bones had turned to jelly and her muscles to mush the instant he walked in the door.

“Seems like months to me,” he said quietly. After a brief silence, while he watched her tidy the desk, he said, “Lucky Jack got to be with you last night. It’s just my luck that I wasn’t in town when Doc needed a driver.”

“I thought you came to town every night.”

“Not every night, although since you’ve been here, I find myself looking for an excuse to come to town.”

“What’s your excuse today?”

“I came in with Julie and the brat. She left Logan and Nancy with Eudora. Evan had to go to Mason.”

“Shame on you for calling your sister a brat.” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“I left the brat at the church and Julie at the grocery store. Joy’s giving Julie some anxious moments right now.”

“I don’t know much about kids, but surely it’s just a stage she’s going through.”

“You haven’t forgotten about tonight, have you?”

“No. I told you we’d take my car. It hasn’t been farther than around the block a time or two since I’ve been here.”

“Want me to take a look at it?”

“It might not be a bad idea. I’d hate for us to get out of town and have something go wrong.”

“I’d not hate that at all.” His grin was back. His eyes flirted with her. He was in his teasing mode once again. “Are you going to cut the pie?”

“Not until Doc gets back. After all, Mrs. Maddox brought it to him.”

“You don’t seem to be quite so chipper today. Is something bothering you?”

She opened her mouth to deny his observations, then closed it. “How could you tell something was bothering me?”

“I don’t know. It was a feeling I had when I first came in and saw Mrs. Maddox bent over the desk whispering to you.”

“And you thought that we were up to no good.” She tried to make her voice light.

“No, I didn’t think that.” His hand reached for hers. “A trouble is only half a trouble when shared.”

“Where did those words of wisdom come from?” She tried to appear nonchalant.

“I’m not prying.” His fingers worked between hers. “Did Mrs. Maddox say something that disturbed you?”

April sighed. “You’re very astute. I didn’t realize I was so easy to read.”

“You’d make a lousy poker player, sweetheart. What did Mrs. Maddox say to upset you?”

“Only that Miss Davenport is spreading rumors around town about Doc.”

“What could anyone say about Doc that was bad? He’s one of the straightest shooters I’ve ever known.”

“Three things, according to Miss Davenport. Number one, he’s allowing me to practice medicine without a license. Two, I’ve been alone with him in his house late at night. And three, he’s visiting a colored woman down in Shanty Town for what Mrs. Maddox said was—her words—‘you know.’ ”

“Did Mrs. Maddox believe any of this?”

“I don’t think so. She thought we should know the rumors going around. I kept telling myself that she may be making this up. She is trying to catch Doc herself, although she hasn’t been as blatant as some of the others.”

“I don’t think she’d make up something like that. She’s a nice lady raising three kids by herself. She’s done a good job so far.”

“I should tell Doc. He has the right to know what has been said about him. I hate to do it.”

“I don’t think that it will bother him too much except the part about you.”

“Miss Davenport is a vicious cat!”

Joe laughed. “Honey, there’s one in every town.”

Chapter 17

“Y
OU DON
’
T HAVE TO COME IN
.”

“I want to. Perhaps there’s something I can do.” Julie got out of the car.

“Do you think I lied about a committee meeting?” Joy’s young face set in lines of resentment.

“I don’t think that at all. I want to offer to help.”

Julie followed Joy into the church. She had an uneasy feeling that Mrs. Poole’s influence was overriding hers. It seemed to her that the woman was taking more than a casual interest in a fifteen-year-old girl.

Mrs. Poole met them at the door and nodded a greeting to Julie.

“Hello, Mrs. Poole. I know you must be busy this last week before the party. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Thank you, but we’ll not be needing any help. Come along, Joy, we’ve been waiting for you.” Coolly dismissing Julie, she put her arm around Joy and drew her to the front pew, where Sammy Davidson sat with Richard Myers.

“I’ll be back by three o’clock, Joy,” Julie called.

“You’d better make it four,” Mrs. Poole said over her shoulder. “We have a lot to do today.”

Julie backed out the door feeling like she’d been slapped in the face with a wet rag. Mrs. Bradbury was coming down the walk with Evelyn. After Evelyn had gone into the church, Julie exchanged a few pleasantries with her mother and headed for her car. The woman placed a hand on Julie’s arm to detain her.

“I’m puzzled about something, Mrs. Johnson. I’d like to talk to you about it.”

“Puzzled? I don’t understand.”

“I’m wondering why Mrs. Poole chose Evelyn and Richard Myers to be on this committee. Evelyn is only ten years old and Richard is eleven. I doubt that they are contributing anything to the planning of the party, but Mrs. Poole wants them at every meeting. All the planning must be falling on Joy and Sammy Davidson. Then again, I think Sammy is also a poor choice. He seldom used to come to church. He attends more often now that he and Joy are friends.”

“I thought that myself at first. But Sammy needs the influence of the young church group. That may be why she chose him.”

“Shirley Poole has made it perfectly clear that she has absolutely no use for anyone who lives in the area along the river. She considers them trash.”

“Some of them may be, but some are good folk trying to make a living like the rest of us.”

“Mrs. Poole hasn’t given any of us the time of day for quite a few years. She seemed to have turned in on herself until just lately when she took an interest in planning the harvest party.”

“She’s been having a lot of committee meetings.”

“I feel sorry for Sammy. Everyone does. But that doesn’t mean I want Evelyn associating with him. Dorie Myers feels the same about Richard. She’s afraid that he will take up some of Sammy’s wild ways.”

“Joy doesn’t seem to think that Sammy is as bad as people make out.”

“She should know, I guess. Evelyn says they spend a lot of time together at school.”

Julie left the church with a lot on her mind. She drove to Mr. Oakley’s store, parked in front and sat in the car for several minutes before she got out. Evan had taught her to drive the first year they were married, and promised to teach Joy when she graduated from high school. Now Julie wasn’t sure that she wanted him to.

Where had the time gone? It seemed such a short time ago that Joy was a little girl running though the house, teasing Jason and annoying Jill. She was a happy, bubbly child bestowing kisses to friends and relatives who grabbed her up in their arms. It was hard to relate that Joy with the sullen, resentful girl she had become of late.

Oh, Lord. What if Mrs. Poole knows! What if she has a plan to reveal her late husband’s crimes and expose their results? All these years, while the town held Ron Poole in high esteem, Julie held the secret close to her heart—the secret she shared with her brothers, her father, Corbin Appleby and Dr. Forbes.
Would Mrs. Poole jeopardize her husband’s reputation? The reputation she has nurtured since his death?

Thank God for her dear, wonderful Evan. Whatever happened, she wouldn’t be alone. Her pa had been a good father to Joy. Both the men in her life, Julie thought now, had loved and provided for her. The only times Evan had harshly corrected Joy were when she had been disrespectful to her.

Wearily Julie went into the store and placed her order with Mr. Oakley. While waiting for him to fill it, she wandered around the store but couldn’t keep her mind off her worries about Joy. As soon as her groceries were stowed in the car she drove the few blocks to Dr. Forbes’s office.

When Julie entered the office, she found Joe sitting on the edge of the desk talking to April.

“Hi, Sis. Looking for me?”

“Now, why would I do that? I knew that wherever you were, there would be a pretty girl nearby.” Julie smiled fondly at her brother. He took her hand and drew her close so he could fling an arm over her shoulders.

“Hello, April. Is my brother making a pest of himself?” Before April could answer, Joe said, “I’m trying to talk her into running away with me.”

“Someday some girl is going to take you up on that.” “Not this one,” April said with a nervous laugh. “I’m not in the market for a ladies’ man.”

“What caused you to think that I’m a ladies’ man?”

April glanced up to see that the smile had gone from his eyes. He was studying her with such intensity that even his sister glanced up at him.

“Maybe I should have said flirt. You should have been here to see him charm Mrs. Maddox,” April said to Julie with a lightness she didn’t feel.

Damn the man for getting her flustered.

Sensing her brother’s unease, Julie laughed. “He was a charmer even when he was two, toddling around in three-cornered pants.”

“How do you know? You were only four.”

“We can argue the point later, Brother. I came to see Dr. Forbes. I can see you anytime.” Julie gave her brother a playful jab in the ribs with her elbow.

“What’s the matter? You sick?” Joe looked anxiously into her face.

“No, I’m not sick. Do I have to be sick to talk to my old friend?”

“Doc isn’t here,” April said. “He went out to see Jill and the baby.”

“I was there this morning and they were all right,” Joe said.

“It’s just a follow-up. Doc knew that Thad would be here faster than you could say scat if either one of them as much as sneezed. Mrs. Appleby is due any day. When her time comes, Doc wants Jack to take Mr. Appleby out in the country and dump him about twenty miles from town. By the time he walks back, it will all be over.”

“That sounds like Doc. I’ll stop and see him another time. I just thought as long as I had to wait for Joy, I’d chat a minute.”

When Julie left, Joe followed her out to the car.

“What’s bothering you, Sis?”

“You always knew when I was worried about something.” “You’re easy to read.”

“Only to you and Evan. It’s Mrs. Poole. I don’t like Joy being with her so much, but I don’t know what I can do about it.”

“Don’t borrow trouble.”

“I’m trying not to. But Joy has been so difficult lately.” “What does Evan say?”

“He says that she’s had a good upbringing and that she’s just trying to spread her wings. He’s being terribly patient with her. But the other night she went too far, and he was harsh with her for the way she talked to me. He told her that if she did it again, she would be confined to the house; and there would be no harvest party for her. She looked at him as if she hated him but was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. Several times lately, she’s threatened to leave and go live with Papa.

“Pa wouldn’t put up with her shenanigans. He’d not let her sass Eudora, either. Do you think Sammy is putting these ideas in her head?”

“I don’t know. She is so ...rebellious. She finds fault with everything I do or say.”

“If Sammy keeps going the way he’s headed, he’ll find himself down in the state reformatory. The company he keeps is about as rotten as it gets. I’ve told the boy to stay away from Joy, but there’s not much we can do until this party thing is over.” Joe decided not to tell his sister about Sammy and Tator Williams harassing Miss Deval.

“The party is next Saturday night.”

“Joy has always been a good kid.”

“Until now. That’s what puzzles me.”

“She’s going through the difficult time of not being quite a kid and not quite an adult. We have to hope that she’ll grow out of it. Remember Jack’s rebellion? He ran off, thinking he’d play ball in the big league. Corbin found him over on the big river and brought him home.”

“I told Joy I’d be back to pick her up at three. Mrs. Poole said make it four. It’s three-thirty. I think I’ll go and sit in on the last thirty minutes of the meeting. Joy won’t like it, but I don’t care.”

“Atta girl!” Joe’s infectious smile was back.

Julie looked at his handsome face. He had always been so dear to her. She loved all her siblings, but she loved him most of all. Until she met Evan, he was the one she depended on when she was suddenly given the responsibility of making a home for her brothers and Joy and Jill. He had helped to shoulder the work and ease her worries. She prayed that he would find a woman who would share with him the kind of love she had with Evan.

“Are you serious about April?” she asked quietly, watching his face.

“I like her a lot. But she doesn’t take me seriously. It may be because I’m a farmer, and she’s used to men wearing suits and ties.”