Dorothy Garlock - [Route 66] (16 page)

“But you won't—”

“No, I won't. Relax,” he said softly. “You'll scare the girls. I won't go any faster than this.”

“Thank you.” Leona looked out the window and watched the fence posts flying by.

“Did you ever hear of Barney Oldfield?” he asked after a short pause, then continued when Leona turned toward him and shook her head. “Back in 1910 he drove a car 131 miles an hour.”

“No! That's hard to believe.”

“It was a special racing car. Thirty years ago in 1902 he drove one a mile a minute.”

“I don't know why anyone would want to go that fast.”

“There's a spot over in New Mexico where it's level and smooth. I like to open up and see how fast I can go.” Yates was grinning like a schoolboy.

“Why, that's foolish,” she exclaimed. “You'll get yourself killed.”

“Not if I'm careful.” He was still grinning. Her breath caught. The stern lines on his face shifted and left him looking exceedingly young and handsome. Their smiling eyes caught and held for just a second or two.

“You're a daredevil,” she accused.

He laughed. While he watched the road, she watched him. His large hands were relaxed on the wheel, his long legs sprawled as much as the space would allow. He was at home in the car.

“Have you ever seen a barnstorming show?” he asked.

Leona shook her head, then said, “No, but I've heard of them.”

“Barnstormers usually appear at county fairs and carnivals. They give exhibitions of stunt flying and parachute jumping. Sometimes they have a daredevil wing-walker.”

“While the airplane is in the air?”

Yates nodded. “And without a parachute.”

“What in the world would possess a person to do such a dangerous thing?”

“The thrill of it, I guess. If he's smart, he stays on the good side of the pilot. One little dip of the wings and he'd be a goner.” Yates shot her a teasing glance.

“I don't want to see anyone doing anything as foolish as that. My stomach would be tied in knots,” Leona said in a positive tone.

Yates laughed. “If I hear of a show nearby, I'll take you and the girls. It's a sight to see.”

“Aunt Lee, are we there yet?” JoBeth asked.

“Honey, we're not even to Elk City yet.”

“I want a drink of water.”

“You had one just before we left.”

“But I'm thirsty.”

“Wait until we get to Elk City,” Yates said. “There's a schoolhouse on the other side of town with good, cold well water. I've stopped there a time or two.”

Leona met his eyes straight on. As cold and remote as he usually was, he was remarkably patient with the girls. It suddenly occurred to her that he would be a good father: stern, but fair and protective. Did he have children somewhere? No, of course not. If he had them, he's the kind of man who would be with them.
Now why did she think this?

Yates stopped the car beside the square brick schoolhouse. A black iron pump sat on a concrete platform in the school yard. Nearby were swings and a slide.

“Don't get your dresses dirty,” Leona called when the girls left the car. She followed the trio after she had given Yates a tin cup from the picnic box.

“Stand back and let me pump. The water will splash,” Yates cautioned. He worked the pump handle, then filled the cup when the water flowed. After the girls had had a drink, he filled the cup, handed it to Leona and watched her while she took a few swallows, then took the cup and drained it.

Yates spoke to the girls. “We'll not stop again until we get to Weatherford. That's a little more than half way to the city. If you feel the need, use the outhouse over there.” He pointed to two small wooden structures with a big
B
on one and
G
on the other.

“I don't have to go. Can I swing? Pleeease—” JoBeth caught Yates's hand in both of hers and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“You'll get your dress dirty,” Ruth Ann scolded, then to Yates with disgust, “She's just a baby. I want to go on and see Daddy.”

“We shouldn't take the time now. Your daddy will be looking for us.” Yates lifted the child up to sit on his arm and carried her back to the car.

On the road again, Ruth Ann read aloud a Burma Shave sign attached to fence post.
“Car in ditch, driver in tree, moon is full, and so is he. Burma Shave.”

“Why is the driver in a tree, Aunt
Lee?”
JoBeth stood leaning over the back of the front seat.

“He bounced out of the car when it hit the ditch. Sit down and try not to get your stockings dirty.” The wind coming in the open window was scrambling Leona's hair. Yates placed his hand on her arm.

“Move over to the middle of the seat and the wind won't be so strong.” Leona hesitated, then moved leaving a foot of space between them. “Isn't that better?” Yates's eyes left the road to glance at her.

“Much. I'll never get the tangles out of my hair.”

“I'll help you.”

Surprised by his words, Leona looked up to find him pondering her quietly. Suddenly terribly aware of him, she felt very young, unsure of herself and couldn't think of a single word to say.

“Can I get up there, Aunt Lee?” JoBeth stuck her head between Leona's and Yates's.

“It's windy up here, honey.”

“It's windy back here, too,” JoBeth whined.

“Let her get up here,” Yates said. “Ruth Ann can stretch out back there and take a nap.” When Leona stirred to move so that the child could sit between them, his big hand shot out and took her arm. “Let her sit on the outside. She's short. The wind won't hit her so hard.”

Leona was forced to move closer to Yates when JoBeth climbed over the seat and settled down beside her. Her hip and thigh came in contact with his. She moved as if she had touched a hot stove. Now there were only inches between them. She was careful to keep her arm close to her side and her knees away from the gear shift.

“Deke told me that you were fond of hot tamales,” Yates said, after miles of silence.

“He brings me some when he goes to Amarillo.”

“He wants me to take you out for tamales and chili.”

“He asked you to do that?”

“He wants you to have a good time.”

“He can make me so …mad—”

“The man is crazy about you.”

“He is not! We've been friends since the fourth grade and that is all. Most folks overlook the fact that he's a good and decent man just because he …he—”

“Because he doesn't look the part?”

“Exactly. Deke has feelings just like anyone else.”

“And you've been defending him since the fourth grade.”

“We've been defending each other. And … I'd better not hear of anyone making fun of him.” From Leona's tone of voice it was clear that she would brook no argument on the subject.

“I'd not do that. I admire his attitude.”

“You do?” She dared to peek up at him and saw that he was smiling down at her and was suddenly reminded of the kiss they'd shared in the dark kitchen.

“Yes, I do.”

“Andy says that he's the best mechanic he's ever known. If it's a motor he can fix it. Mr. Fleming depends on him to keep their machinery going.”

“Deke told me about the motorcycle he built out of spare parts.”

“He brought it to the garage a few times. He likes to race it against anything that moves. He'll get himself killed one of these days.”

Leona looked down to see that JoBeth had fallen asleep. She eased the child's head down onto her lap.

“You can move closer to me. I won't bite you,” Yates said with amusement in his voice. “Come on, move over. It'll give her more room.” Leona had barely moved when her hip and thigh were touching his.

“She was too excited to sleep last night and was up early this morning.” Leona rushed into speech to keep from remembering the brief moment when she had been pressed tightly to him. She smoothed the hair back from the child's face.

“Have you been to the city?” Yates asked, knowing that Deke had told him she hadn't been, but he wanted to keep her talking to him.

“No. But I've been as far as Weatherford.”

“How did that come about?”

“I went with Andy to take Irene to a doctor there.”

“Did the doctor help her?”

“No. Andy was frantic to find someone to make her well. He loved her desperately. I don't think he'll ever get over losing her.”

“Does Andy have relatives nearby?”

“He ran away from an orphans' home when he was twelve. The only home he ever had was with Irene. He has no one now but me and the girls.”

Yates was quiet while they passed through the small town of Clinton. Leona admired the way he handled the big car. His fingers were curled loosely around the steering wheel. He was a relaxed driver. They didn't speak again until they were out on the open road. They passed a caravan of cars and trucks headed west.

“So many people on the road,” Leona said as if talking to herself. “All going west.”

“This area was hit hard, not only by the Depression, but by the dust storms brought on by the drought.”

“Mr. Fleming said that they should never have plowed the prairie north of here hoping for a wheat crop. Some of the soil is in Canada by now.”

“Have you known Mr. Fleming long?”

“He's been stopping at the garage for several years. He's well liked even if he is—”

“Rich?” Yates glanced down at Leona.

“Because he's rich and an Indian, some people hunt for a reason to despise him.”

“Like Virgil?”

“He doesn't have a good word to say for him in spite of the fact that Mr. Fleming has given money to the school and is almost the sole supporter of the soup kitchen in town.”

“I'm thinking Virgil doesn't throw out his good words very often.”

“Oh, he has friends. The radicals who go to his church are chummy with him. Some hang on to his every word. The deputy sheriff is one of them.”

They lapsed into silence and the miles sped by. At first Leona tried to avoid touching the man beside her. Now she seemed to be relaxed and Yates could feel the warmth of her thigh against his. He was completely unaware that in this unusual situation in which he found himself, he was feeling a happy contentment he'd not felt for a long, long time.

Chapter 14

Y
ATES PULLED THE CAR CLOSE TO THE CURB
in front of a twostory house and stopped beneath a large elm tree.

“Is this it, Mr. Yates? Is this where Daddy is?”

Ruth Ann was so anxious, Leona feared she would be sick. She had insisted that Leona comb her bangs and smooth her curls. After the trauma of losing her mother, the child lived in constant fear that something would happen to her daddy.

“This is it. Your daddy is on the porch.”

Yates got out of the car and hurried around to open the door Ruth Ann couldn't seem to manage. She jumped out of the car and ran up the walk to the porch. At the top of the steps she grabbed Andy about the waist and almost toppled him over.

“Daddy! Daddy! Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, honey. How's my girls?”

Hugging both his girls, Andy, with bright teary eyes, looked at Leona and Yates over the tops of their heads.

“This has been the longest ten days of my life,” he said in a husky whisper.

After Andy introduced his family to his landlady they gathered around him on the end of the porch.

“The shots are not as bad as I thought they'd be,” he explained. “They are painful for the moment but, thank goodness, I'm not now sick afterward.”

“You'll get well?” Ruth Ann asked for the third time.

“The doctors tell me that I'll be as good as new after the shots. I'll come home as soon as they give me the last one. Barker Fleming comes to the city about once a week. He said he'd keep in touch and would bring me home.”

Yates brought Andy's crutches from the car and the box of clothes Leona had packed. Then, wanting to give her and the girls time alone with Andy, he prepared to leave them, saying that he had a few things to do.

“You'll be back for the picnic?” Leona asked.

“You bet. I don't intend to miss out on that chicken and the deviled eggs. When I come back, we can go to the park we passed for the picnic.” He looked down at JoBeth. “They have swings there, sugarfoot.”

Andy's eyes followed Yates back to the car, then turned to Leona. “Are things all right at home?”

“Fine. But we miss you.”

“I had to put my trust in Yates. I couldn't leave you out there alone. Deke would have quit at Fleming's and come to stay, but I didn't have time to ask him.” Touched by the misery in his voice, Leona smiled and covered his hand with hers.

“You made the right decision.” Her smile widened. “Mr. Yates didn't talk much at first, but I knew right away that he would take good care of the garage. And at night we felt safe with him there.”

“It had been a long time since I'd seen him. Sometimes you have to go on gut instinct.”

Leona opened her mouth to ask about his acquaintance with Yates when JoBeth, snuggled against Andy, blurted, “Uncle Virgil come, Daddy. Mr. Yates hurt him.”

“Oh, Lord. I forgot to tell him about Virgil.”

“The news that you'd been bit by a skunk and were in the hospital spread around town like wildfire,” Leona said. “Naturally Virgil took the opportunity to come out and rant and rave. He figured that we were alone out there. He got a surprise.”

“He was saying mean things to Aunt Lee and was goin' to hit her, but Mr. Yates hurt him. Uncle Virgil yelled loud,” JoBeth said with a broad smile.

“He told us to get our things and come home with him. Aunt Lee said she'd kill him before she'd let him take us,” Ruth Ann added.

“Mr. Yates throwed him in the car. Then Aunt Lee cried 'cause she was …mad. I like Mr. Yates. He said he'd hurt Uncle Virgil again if he tried to take us away from Aunt Lee.”

Andy's eyes went from one girl to the other while they were telling about Virgil's visit. It occurred to him then that he should take his girls and move to where they didn't have to worry about their crazy uncle. His troubled glance sought Leona's.

“They held up just fine, Andy. You would have been proud of them.”

“I am proud of them and you, too, Leona. I don't know what we would have done without you.”