Dorothy Garlock (35 page)

“News about her d-death will spread all over town like wildfire. As s-soon as folks know you were there, they will ask you a million questions.”

“I can say that I didn’t cause her to fall, because I didn’t.” “You’re lucky Fred saw w-what she was going to do.” “He seemed quite content when I first went there, but I can understand his wanting to move out and have a place of his own. Mrs. Poole was not easy to live with.”

“It will be a b-big funeral even though Mrs. Poole wasn’t very f-friendly with any of the other m-merchants. Folks here in Fertile t-turn out for one of their own. The stores will close.”

When Corbin arrived, April went to the back room. She changed the linen on the bed Jack had slept on and put the instruments in the sterilizer. She could hear the men talking in the reception room and wondered how much Mr. Appleby knew about Doc’s affair with Caroline.

Corbin was still there when April went back to her desk. “The marshal is sending a man up here to help out until Jack gets on his feet. He gave me permission to deputize Joe if I should have more than I can handle.”

“Folks d-down in Shanty Town should be too b-busy cleaning up to get into t-trouble.”

“There are always a few,” Corbin said.

“How’s the new baby?” April asked.

A huge smile came over Corbin’s face. “She’s beautiful. She has dark blond hair like her mother and big blue eyes.”

“What does her brother think of her?”

“Not much.” Corbin laughed. “He wanted to know when she was going home.” He put on his hat. “I’ve got to get this over to the courthouse. Are you doing all right, Miss Asbury? What happened this morning was horrible for you.”

“It was. But I’ll be all right.”

Shortly after the noon hour, desperate to use the bathroom, April rapped on the connecting door and called out to Caroline.

“Come in.”

When April came from the bathroom, Caroline was working with a pile of yarn, rolling it into balls. She had been crocheting.

“My grandmother used to crochet,” April said. “I have a crocheted tablecloth she made. I never got the hang of following a pattern. About all I could make was a chain.”

“I just finished these.” Caroline shyly held up a tiny pair of blue booties. “Todd hasn’t seen them yet.”

“They’re so little.” April held them in the palm of her hand.
Oh, my Lord. Caroline is pregnant! No wonder Doc is desperate to leave here.
“Caroline, has Silas been to the back door?”

“A little while ago. He’s getting some things I left out at the house.”

“The back door is locked now?”

She nodded. “And the front.”

“I’ll not let anyone in through the connecting door, but if I rap on it, go into the bedroom and lock the door. Someone may come in to use the bathroom besides me.”

“It’s what Todd told me to do.”

“I’d better be getting back. Doc said that he’d be gone for a while.”

“He told me what happened this morning. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Thank you. I hope I never have to endure such a thing again.”

April went back and sat down at her desk. She was a little ashamed for feeling sorry for herself. Caroline was pregnant, and there was no one in the world who cared for her except Doc and an old Negro man. But she was lucky, too, to be loved by Doc. A wave of loneliness swept over April, and tears filled her eyes.

Who in the world cares diddly-squat about me?

April’s premonition that something unpleasant was going to happen materialized in late afternoon. She heard the sound of sharp heels on the porch and looked up to see Miss Davenport and two other ladies come into the reception room.

April stood. “The doctor isn’t here.”

“I know that. I saw him leave. I also saw a woman in the back door talking to that Negro who hangs around.” Miss Davenport went to the connecting door and rattled the door-knob. “Locked like the front and back doors are locked. What is he hiding? People in this town don’t lock their doors.” She looked at her two companions to verify what she was saying.

“What the doctor does in his living quarters is no business of yours, Miss Davenport.”

“It’s the business of the women of this town to know that the doctor who touches their bodies is a man beyond reproach. If he has nothing to hide, why is he keeping the doors locked?”

“Ask him when you see him.” April moved over in front of the connecting door.

“I think not,” Miss Davenport said. “I want to see this hussy he’s keeping in there. Come on, girls.”

“You will not go in there!” “Get out of the way.”

“Miss Davenport, I will hurt you if I have to. You’ve no right to break into Dr. Forbes’s house.” April looked past her to the other two women. “Don’t let her goad you into this. It’s illegal and you could be arrested.”

“This house was paid for by the taxpayers,” one of the women said.

“That’s not true. The doctor paid for this house.”

“But Hattie said—”

“Hattie is wrong!”

Miss Davenport’s anger was causing her to lose control. She attempted to push April aside.

“Don’t push me!” April balled her fist and drew it back. “I’m going in there!” When her hands came out to grasp April’s shoulders to shove her aside, April kicked her on the kneecap.

Miss Davenport screamed and fell back. Her friends caught her and helped her to a chair.

“She broke my leg!”

“I told you that I’d hurt you. Now, get out of here or I’ll call the law.”

“You . . . you bitch! I’ll make you sorry you were ever born. I’ll find out what you’re keeping in there that you don’t want anybody to see.”

The front door opened and Joe stood there. Miss Daven-port continued to rant. “I’ll run you out of this town and . . . the high-and-mighty doctor, too. Even Shanty Town won’t have you when I get through with you.”

April ignored Joe and went to the phone. “Are you going or do I call Mr. Appleby? He’s been deputized by the marshal.”

“Come on, Hattie. Let’s go.”

When she had difficulty getting to her feet, Joe went over to help.

“Don’t touch me, you . . . you sidewinder!”

Joe lifted his shoulders and backed away. The two women helped Miss Davenport to the door, where she turned and glared at April.

“I’ll not forget this.”

“I hope you don’t, and maybe you’ll think before you try to break into someone’s house.”

“He’s got someone in there. It’s probably that slut from down on the river. All the men from Shanty Town used her; now it’s his turn.”

“Leave!” April shouted, her patience at an end. When the door closed behind them, she glared at Joe. “Why did you have to come? What do you want?”

“I told you I’d be back.” The tone of his voice, soft, smooth, almost a caress, was her undoing.

April swallowed, her stomach clenched in a rush of mingled emotions. She burst into tears, sank down in her chair and buried her face in her arms.

“Ah . . . sweetheart.” He knelt down beside her chair. “You deserve a good cry. Most women would have buckled under your load long ago.” His hand smoothed the hair back from her wet cheek.

“I kicked her. I’ve never done such a thing.” April sat up but kept her hands over her face. “She pushed me . . . tried to get into Doc’s rooms. I couldn’t let her go in there.”

“Of course not. But why did she want to?”

April pulled the handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. She felt miserable about letting herself go in front of Joe—of all people. She straightened her shoulders and checked to see if her cap was in place.

“She’s been spying and saw Caroline giving Silas a plate of food out the back door. I don’t know why she thinks it’s her business, but she does. She was here yesterday demanding to see the woman Doc kept in his rooms.”

“And you were determined she wasn’t going in. Good for you.” Joe’s hand was now massaging the back of her neck. It felt so good she didn’t have the strength to tell him to stop.

“She wanted Doc, and he had to tell her that he wasn’t interested. She turned mean and has been spreading rumors about him. Mrs. Maddox told me the day she was here.”

“Where’s Doc?”

“He went to Mason. He should be back soon.” “Caroline all right?”

“Seems to be. She’s an awfully sweet girl. Doc wants to leave by the end of the week.”

“He told me.”

“I’m scared of the responsibility I’ll have until they can get another doctor. There’s so much I don’t know.”

“You’ll do just fine. Isn’t that a steel rod I feel running up and down your back?” Joe’s fingers traced her spine.

“I don’t want Doc to know of my doubts. He deserves to be happy.”

“I won’t tell him if you don’t.”

“Do you know someone who will wash my uniforms? I can’t wash them at the hotel.”

“I bet Mrs. Maddox would do it.”

“She wouldn’t have to iron them. I can do that.”

“When do you need them washed?”

“This is my last clean one. I can make it do for tomorrow unless something unforeseen happens.”

“After we take your things to the hotel tonight, I’ll take them to her.”

“I’m only taking my suitcase. Fred will let me leave the rest of my things there in the storage room until I move in here.”

“Feeling better now?”

His gaze anxiously searched her face. His lovable grin was gone. His handsome face was creased with concern for her. She could scarcely draw a breath. All the reasons for wanting to put distance between them faded into oblivion. She wanted him because he was Joe, and he made her feel as no other man ever had, or probably ever would. No man had stirred her desire and her heart as he did.

April nodded slowly. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips.

“I don’t want you to go out with Harold Dozier.”

“How did you know about that?”

“He’s been bragging. Word gets around.”

“I had forgotten about it until you mentioned his name this morning. Don’t you like him?”

“He’s all right. I just don’t like the competition.”

“You’re much better-looking than Harold.”

“Thanks.” He grinned but the smile faded quickly. “I don’t mean in looks. He’s got so much to offer a woman, and I’ve got so little.”

“You think I choose my friends by what they’ve got?” “No. I didn’t mean that. I mean ...I just wish I had more to offer, and you might . . . just might . . . see me in a different light.”

“If you were Mr. Rockefeller and had all the money in the world, I would still have to know your heart. I want a man who wants me and only me. I don’t want a flirty man who chases off after every pretty skirt that comes along.”

“You think that I’m that kind of man.” He made the statement with undisguised bewilderment.

“Your reputation precedes you.”

He was quiet for several moments, then he said, “I didn’t realize that people thought I was . . . flirty.” Without a doubt he was absolutely sincere. “I tried too hard with you, is that it?”

“No. I’ve not had many . . . boyfriends. I’ve tried to be cautious and not get involved with someone I thought would break my heart.” April never dreamed that she would be talking to him like this.

“And you think I could do that?”

“The danger is there.”

When footsteps sounded on the porch, Joe stood, but not after first squeezing her hand.

Fred stood in the hall near the front door. He had just admitted Herman Sellon, the funeral director. It was early afternoon, and already the kitchen table was loaded with food brought in by the neighbors. Even as he greeted Herman, his mind was wondering whom he could bring in to deal with it.

“Fred, I know this is hard for you to think about right now, but we need to settle a few things about the funeral, and I need to get Mrs. Poole’s burial clothes.”

“Burial clothes?”

“Undergarments, dress, stockings and shoes. Miss Thompson from the beauty shop will fix her hair. She’ll finger-wave it. That seems to be the style Mrs. Poole wore.”

“Come upstairs to her room. I’ve not been in there since . . . the accident.” Fred’s voice became husky.

Herman followed Fred. At the top of the stairs they went into Shirley’s room. It was neat as always. The bed was made, and nothing appeared to be out of place. Fred opened the wardrobe.

“Should it be black?”

“Not necessarily.” Herman looked over the selection. In the back of the wardrobe he spotted a pink dress with small white flowers. “This one would be nice.”

“I don’t think she’s worn that one since Ron was killed. It may not fit.”

“If you want to bury her in it, it’ll fit.”

“All right. Now for undergarments.” Fred opened a bureau drawer, found nothing but gowns and handkerchiefs and stockings. He pulled out the stockings and opened the next drawer and removed a petticoat and underpants. A small tin box caught his eye. He lifted it out and recognized it as the box she had taken from behind the shelving they’d had to tear out when the roof leaked. He placed it on top of the bureau and closed the drawer.

“Is this all you need?”

“Does she have another pair of shoes?”

Fred found the shoes and they left the room.

After he had showed Herman out, Fred sat down beside the window and looked out onto the street. What would he do now? His sister was so unpredictable: She might have left the house and the business to distant cousins in Alabama. Should that be the case, he would have only what he had saved out of his wages. She had never allowed him access to the store’s bank account. He hoped there was enough ready money there to pay the funeral expenses.

His life had changed drastically in just a few days’ time. And, he realized suddenly, it all started when the river began to rise.

Chapter 28

A
PRIL SPENT THE NEXT TWO NIGHTS
at the hotel. She took one of her evening meals with the Jones family after she had gone to the farm to change Jack’s bandages. Joe had not been there. Jack made it a point to tell her that he was expected later.

“Coming to the wedding?” Jack asked with a wide grin. “Wedding? Is someone getting married?” April acted uninterested and packed her supplies back in her bag.

“You know perfectly well who’s getting married. Ruby and I are going to have a Christmas wedding. She’s giving notice that she’ll be leaving her job at midterm. God, I can’t believe it. I could almost kiss Tator Williams for shooting me.”