Dorothy Garlock (9 page)

“Watch what you’re swearin’ to,” he growled at his brother.

“What’re you doin’ here?”

“Come to ask Miss April to the picture show.”

“You’re too late. I’ve already asked her. Besides, you haven’t even been introduced to her.”

“What difference does that make?”

Joe slapped Jack on the back. “Give up, little brother. I’ve already beat your time with Miss Asbury.”

Little brother? April looked from one big man to the other. Joe was taller but Jack was heavier.

“When we passed the house, Pa said you’d gone down to the paper to help Corbin.”

“We?” Jack’s eyes darted to April.

“Me and Joy. I got talked into bringin’ the brat to town.” “I lucked out there. Where is she?”

“Over at the picture show watching a near-naked man swing through the trees.”

“Who’s s-swinging through the tr-trees? Relative of yours?” Doc came through the door connecting the house to the office.

“Howdy, Doc. Tarzan. Don’t you read the funny papers?” “Yeah, but I don’t r-remember seeing anything n-naked in them.”

“He isn’t really naked.”

“It’s a he, huh? That’s why I didn’t n-notice. What’re you two doing here b-bothering my nurse?”

“Well, I—” Joe was immediately interrupted by his brother.

“I came to ask her to go to the pictures with me.”

“If I were she, I’d not go with either one of you.”

“If you were her, I’d not ask you, Doc.” Joe winked at April, who sat behind the desk disbelieving the nonsense she was hearing.

“Miss Asbury, Joe’s got to look after the mutt. I’m free for the evening.”

“I’ve got plenty of time to take the brat home and come back, Miss Asbury. I’m far more trustworthy than this kid who thinks he’s a man.”

“I’d like to meet this brat you’re talking about.” “Oh, no!” the brothers said together.

“She’s in constant motion and has been since the day she was born. She’s fifteen and can look so helpless you melt. All the while she is working on you to get you to do what she wants. She’s a cross between an angel and—” Jack looked at Joe to supply the word.

“Mata Hari.”

“Lizzie Borden.”

April laughed. “She can’t be that bad.”

“You think not?” Jack snorted. “The little mutt can make you believe a cow pie is a cupcake.”

“She could coax the bark off a tree,” Joe said, and Jack nodded agreement.

“She wheedles. She knows just how to butter you up. She tells you that you’re the most wonderful brother in the world—”

“She gets her way. Most of the time.”

April looked at Doc. “If all of this is true, why is she running around loose?”

Doc chuckled. “They spoiled her when she was l-little. Now they g-got to live with it.”

Joe pulled out his watch. “Show is over in half an hour. I’ll take her home and come back.”

“No need to go to all that trouble, Brother. I’m here. I’ll take Miss Asbury to the picture show.”

“I believe I have some say in this great debate.” April stood up. “I’m playing canasta with Doc tonight.”

Two heads turned toward the doctor. He merely lifted his brows.

Finally Joe spoke. “Good idea. We’ll all play. Is that all right, Doc? I didn’t really want to see a near-naked man swinging through the trees anyway.”

“G-guess so. If it’s all right with April. I’m going down to see if the r-river’s come up. Want to go, Jack?”

“Sure, but I don’t want to leave April with
him.
No tellin’ what he’ll tell her about me.”

“I’m going home.” April put away the ledger and moved out from behind the desk.

“I’ll walk with you,” Joe said quickly and smirked at his brother.

April was not sure what to make of the Jones brothers. They were fun. She had to admit that. Joe was a good-looking devil. She’d be on her guard against him. Her mother had loved a good-looking man who enjoyed the freedom of being with women other than his wife. He had brought her nothing but heartache.

Joe walked with her to the rooming house. She stopped at the steps leading to the porch.

“Thank you for being so gallant.”

“Gallant? I’ve not heard that word lately. What time shall I come back and take you over to Doc’s?”

“You don’t need to come back. I told Doc I’d come down after supper. One of his ladies brought him a peach cobbler, and he invited me to help him eat it.”

“Do you and Doc have something going?”

She tilted her head to look into his eyes. He was gazing down at her without even the hint of a smile on his face.

“Inside the office he’s my boss. Outside we’re friends.” “Honest?” The smile that came back in a flash spread his lips and put creases in his cheeks. “I didn’t want to step in and edge him out.”

“You think you could?”

“I’d give it my best try.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You don’t lack for confidence.”

“Sure I do. At times I feel like I was fourteen again.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

“Not now. It’s too soon.” He reached for her hand, squeezed it and walked quickly back down the street.

In her room April removed her uniform and after looking at it carefully, decided that she could get one more day out of it if she pressed it. She hung it on a hanger. In her bra, panties and robe she picked up a towel and a bar of her favorite scented soap and went across the hall to the bathroom. Standing before the small mirror, she washed her face and under her arms, blotted them dry, slipped her robe back on and returned to her room.

Remembering she had left her soap in the bathroom, she opened her door to go back to get it and almost ran into Fred, who had come from the storage room.

“Oh! You scared me.”

“Sorry. I was putting some things in the storage room.” His voice was not quite steady, and his hand went to his perky bow tie to straighten it. “Are you about ready to come down to supper?”

“In ten minutes or so.”

“See you there.” Fred hurried down the hall to the stairs. A creepy feeling wiggled its way into April’s mind. The house was big and quiet. Surely she would have heard his footsteps if he had walked past her room. Something about the way he looked at her made her uneasy. It was silly, of course, but at times he made her feel as if he were seeing right through her clothes to her naked body.

April crossed to the bathroom, scooped up the bar of soap and went quickly back to her room.

Joe stood outside the movie theater and spoke to those he knew as they came out. The crowd thinned to a trickle, and there was still no sign of Joy. He went into the lobby and spoke to the doorman as he emerged from the semidarkened theater.

“Is everyone out?”

“All but a couple of kids in there necking.” His grin disappeared when he saw the scowl on Joe’s face. “I told them to get a move on.”

Joe moved past him and into the semidarkness. His eyes swept the auditorium. On the far side, at the end of a row of seats, Joy stood close to a tall boy. His arms were wrapped around her waist, hers around his neck. Their faces were a mere breath apart.

“Joy!” Joe barked.

The two sprang apart. Then Joy leaned close and whispered to the boy before she moved away from him and toward Joe. The boy followed.

“I was coming.” She had a rebellious look on her face, and Joe wanted to shake her.

“It didn’t look like it to me. Come on.” He took a firm hold on her elbow.

The boy followed them outside.

“This is Sammy Davidson,” Joy said.

“I know who he is.
Good-bye,
Sammy.”

Sammy’s smile was contemptuous, as if he knew that Joe wouldn’t do anything to him right out here on the street in plain view. He briefly thought of arguing, then thought better of it.

“Bye, Joy. I’ll see you Monday in school.” There was a definite tone of defiance in his voice. “And after school ...if they have play practice.” He gave Joe a smug grin.

The frown on Joe’s face and the look he gave Sammy would have scared a less confident boy. But it had no effect on Sammy. He smirked and sauntered on down the street. Joe took his sister’s arm and propelled her in the opposite direction.

“Did you know he was going to be at the show?”

“No.”

“He’s a tough little nut.”

“He isn’t. He’s on the Y.P. party committee. Mrs. Poole chose him. She thinks I’m a good influence on him.”

“Mrs. Poole’s hind leg,” Joe snorted. “What does she know about raising kids? She’s never had one.”

“She likes Sammy.”

“He drinks and smokes.”

“So do you.”

“Don’t be smart. I’m a man. He’s a kid.”

“I suppose you’ll tell Pa and Julie.”

“Don’t you think they should know that you’re meeting a boy like Sammy on the sly?”

“It wasn’t on the sly. He . . . just happened to be there.” “Joy! I’m not stupid. I saw him at the library when you went in to see if Sylvia was there. So don’t tell me he just happened to be there. Do you kiss every boy who just happens to be in the theater?”

“No. Sammy’s got a right to go to the show if he wants to. Why don’t you like him?”

“I told you. He’s too young to be drinkin’, smokin’ and hangin’ around with that bunch from the river joints. I don’t want his reputation rubbing off on you. Folks judge others by the company they keep.”

“He’s sixteen. You and Thad were younger than that when you got drunk in the barn. I saw you pukin’ your heads off.”

“And you ran to the house and blabbed it.” Joe went into the poke corral and saddled his horse. When he came out, Joy had started walking toward home. He mounted the horse and caught up with her. “Give me your hand.”

“I’ll walk.”

“No, you won’t. It will take too long and I’ve got things to do. Give me your hand or I’ll get off and paddle your rear end.”

“Oh, you make me so mad. The whole damn family watches me like I’m a criminal or something. I’ll be glad when I’m out of school and out from under your thumb.”

“So will I, little sis.”

Chapter 7

W
HEN
A
PRIL WENT DOWN
to the dining room, she saw that the table had been set for two, and there was no sign of Mrs. Poole. Fred stood beside the place where she usually sat, waiting to seat her.

“Shirley is at the store,” he said in way of an explanation for her absence. “She spoils me. She wants me to sit down and enjoy my meal without having to grab bites behind the counter.” He sat down and passed the bowl of potato salad. “How do you find our little town after living in the big city?”

“Compared to Kansas City, Independence isn’t a big city. Fertile is a nice little town.”

“There’s one drawback.” He chuckled and placed a deviled egg on his plate. “There are very few secrets in a small town.”

“I suppose you know some of them.”
And you’re going to tell me.

“Well, let me see . . .” He appeared to be thinking. “It’s no secret that a dozen single women in town have squared off in a cooking contest. The prize is Dr. Forbes. It’s no secret that Joe and Jack Jones chase every new girl who comes to town. It’s no secret that a few of them have left town in a hurry, and it’s no secret that a certain merchant on Main Street visits his lady friend while his wife is in church.”

“You’re just a fountain of information.”

Fred ignored the sarcasm in her voice and chuckled again. “Folks come into the store and want to talk. I’ve no choice but to listen.”

“Very accommodating of you.”

Her voice was so heavily laced with sarcasm that Fred suddenly became aware that she did not like the topic of the conversation. He quickly changed it.

“There’s a beautiful drive along the river.”

“I heard that the road is terribly muddy now.” “Probably so. Our great-grandfather was one of the founders of Fertile. He moved his family here just after the Civil War. The railroad didn’t come through until quite a few years later. He brought the goods for his store in a freight wagon.”

“Really?”

“Shirley can show you pictures of how the town looked before the turn of the century. Would you like more tea?”

“No, thank you.” April tilted her head to listen as the clock in the living room chimed the hour. “You’ll have to excuse me, Fred. I’m expected back at the clinic in a few minutes.” She placed her napkin beside her plate and stood.

Fred immediately got to his feet. “You’re working tonight?”

“Book work that I didn’t get done today.”

“I’m surprised the doctor expects you to work evenings. I’ll walk with you.”

“He doesn’t
expect
me to work. I want to. You needn’t walk with me, Fred. Go ahead and finish your meal. After the trouble your sister went to prepare it, she would be disappointed if you didn’t do justice by it.”

April made her escape. When she reached the sidewalk in front of the house, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to go to Doc’s so early. If Joe was there, he’d think she was eager to spend the evening with him. Yet she didn’t like being alone in the house with Fred. Next Saturday night, she’d plan to skip supper or eat at Sparky’s.

She wondered if she had made a mistake in renting the room from Mrs. Poole. Regret traveled through her mind as she walked the block to Doc’s. The woman was nice and accommodating and the room pleasant. She had been so sure that she would like it there that she had paid a month’s rent in advance. She hadn’t counted on being so uncomfortable with Fred.

Doc answered her knock on the door and led her to the kitchen, where he and Jack were eating.

“Don’t let me interrupt your supper. I came over early so that I could help you . . .” Her voice trailed off. “I really came early to tell you that your books are in a mess.”

“You told me that today. Have a seat.”

“Hello, pretty lady.” Jack jumped up and pulled out a chair for April. “Have some potatoes. I fried them myself.”

“Are all the Jones boys flirts, Doc?”

“Don’t know. I’ve not s-seen Jason lately.”

Occasionally April had been attracted to men, mostly professionals: doctors or businessmen who wore suits and ties. None of them compared with Joe Jones. She had never expected to be attracted to a farmer. Jack was every bit as handsome as his brother, only in a different way. His hair was darker, his face broader. His eyes, a deep blue, gleamed with a friendly light, but not the same friendly light as Joe’s. Joe’s smile was spontaneous. Jack’s was rather forced at times.