PluckingthePearl (22 page)

“I can’t do this,” he announced.

One motion naturally followed the next as Caleb stood up,
snatched off the robe and hood, tossed them on the floor and walked out.

When he got outside, the cold air surrounded him like a
cleansing mist. All the worry and illness blew free as euphoria danced through
his blood. Never again would he be a prisoner of the mayor’s. No more drunken
fishing trips and jumping whenever the man told him to.

He was free!

* * * * *

Pearl waited in the parlor for Caleb to come home from his
initiation. Worry needled her chest as she wondered if he’d be a different man
when he walked through the door. Would he still want her? He’d told her he
would love her forever and she had to believe that.

When he breezed through the door with a big grin on his
face, she didn’t know what to think. She got out of her chair and approached
him slowly.

“What happened?” she asked. “Did they cancel the ceremony?”

“No. I couldn’t go through with it,” he declared.

She hugged him as relief washed over her, followed by an
equal dose of worry. “But you could lose your business.”

He gripped her arms and looked into her eyes. “That’s what
the mayor wants me to think so he can control me. I’m not giving up Rockfield’s
without one hell of a fight.”

Oh, no. What had this wonderful, foolish man done? And all
because of her.

“Caleb, if you’d never met me, would you have done the
initiation?”

His blue eyes grew serious. “I’m not sure but I probably
would have.”

She turned away from him and hugged her arms around herself.
“Then whatever happens is my fault.”

He spun her around again. “Stop saying that. Nothing is your
fault. You changed me for the better. I’ve been the mayor’s prisoner all this
time. Now that I’m free I can really be happy.”

“Even if you lose everything?” she asked.

Caleb sighed and spoke slowly. “Even if I lose everything, I
still won’t regret the decision I’ve made.”

Pearl squeezed her hands together, hoping for both their
sakes everything would turn out all right.

* * * * *

The next day at work, Caleb arrived early to see his plant
before the workers arrived. He ran his hand over the shucking tables and a
stack of oyster cans, wondering just how hard he’d have to fight to keep from
losing it all.

“Daddy,” he said aloud. “You always taught me to do the
right thing and I believe I have.”

He would face rough seas for a while but they would
eventually calm again. Then he could enjoy his new freedom from not being under
the mayor’s thumb anymore. With Pearl’s love giving him strength, he couldn’t
lose.

Someone came in, disturbing the silence. Caleb’s heart sank
when he recognized the man as one of the waiters from the Sapphire Crab.

“Mr. Lewes asked me to deliver this letter to you, sir,” the
young colored man said. “He says it’s real important.”

“Thank you.”

Caleb opened it after the man left and stopped breathing as
he read the message.

“He’s canceling all his orders for my oysters,” he said
aloud. “He can’t do this!”

Caleb staggered against a shucking table. The restaurant was
his biggest buyer. What if the local seafood markets canceled next? All he’d
have left were his shipments to other towns. Or did the mayor control those
too?

So the war had begun, he thought as he crumpled the letter
in his fist. Well, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

Hours later, the mayor himself entered his office and sat
down across from his desk without being invited.

“I was very disappointed by your behavior last night.” Mayor
Carter crossed his ankle over his knee. “You insulted the brotherhood.”

“I didn’t mean to insult anyone,” Caleb replied calmly, “but
the Klan is just not for me.”

Hatred burned from the mayor’s eyes. “Would this have
anything to do with your colored whore?”

Caleb fought the urge to jump across his desk and throttle
the man. What did he know about Pearl and how had he found out?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I heard from the jeweler you bought her a big, fancy ring
like she’s your wife or something,” Mayor Carter said. “Is that why you turned
your back on the rest of us, so you can marry her?”

Caleb blinked in shock as he digested the mayor’s words.
He’d always told Pearl he couldn’t marry her because he’d been worried about
appearances. Seeing Tom Lewes’ crumpled cancellation letter sitting on his desk
told him the time for appearances was long past.

“If I choose to marry her, that’s my concern,” he said. “It
should have nothing to do with my company.”

Anger flushed the mayor’s face. “It has everything to do
with it. Oyster Island is a clean town with decent values. Your kind isn’t
welcome here.”

His kind? Caleb had always known bigotry existed and that it
must be difficult to bear. Now he knew firsthand how it felt to be the target
of it. This couldn’t be happening.

The mayor stood up to leave, which was fortunate because
Caleb was seconds away from throwing him out.

“You won’t win,” Caleb said. “You’ve tried to control me for
years but it isn’t going to work anymore.”

Mayor Carter spread his short arms and gave him a mocking
smile. “Enjoy your office while you can, Mr. Rockfield. With no buyers or
oysters, I don’t think you’ll be very busy for long.”

A long blade of fear stabbed Caleb in the gut. “You cut off
my suppliers too?”

“I’m working on that, as well as pulling the leases for your
oyster beds, but it isn’t very difficult.” The mayor looked at his watch and
smiled. “You see, no one else wants to deal with your kind either.”

After he left, Caleb gripped his desk with both hands as if
he were on a sinking boat. Despite the fact everything was crumbling around
him, he felt strong on the inside—stronger than he’d ever felt before.

* * * * *

Caleb came home late that evening, looking exhausted and
wrecked.

“You look as if someone beat you up again.” Pearl led him to
the dining room where a platter of chicken with dumplings and peas waited for
him.

“I feel beat up,” he replied, “and I’m not hungry.”

She’d worried so much all day about the consequences of his
decision she hadn’t eaten much either.

“These are hard times and you need to keep your strength
up,” she told him as she pushed him toward his chair.

While he picked at his food, she drummed her fingers on the
tablecloth. “Caleb, if you don’t tell me how your day was I’m going to die of
anticipation.”

He looked at her with eyes so haunted and dead they froze
her soul. “It didn’t go well. My orders and suppliers are dropping off. It
seems no one wants to do business with
my kind
.”

She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. How
much…how much longer before…?”

Before he lost everything, but she couldn’t say it.

“This isn’t your fault,” Caleb said. “I’m trying to find
other options but it’ll take time. I may have to furlough some workers.”

“Maybe you should have joined after all,” she said.

Caleb threw down his fork. “No. I have no regrets about my
decision.”

“Well, I do,” she exclaimed. “Watching your business die and
you along with it kills me inside. How long will it take before you hate me?”

He stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. “Damn it,
woman. I told you I would love you forever and that will never change.”

To her surprise, he clasped her hands and pulled her against
him so hard she tripped.

“Marry me, Pearl.”

“What?” Had someone hit him in the head today?

Fury burned in his pale eyes. “I refused to marry you all
this time because I worried about what people might think. Well, I can’t live
with myself anymore if I have to hide behind one more appearance.”

“Caleb, calm down,” she said.

“I made you feel like a whore.”

Pearl tried to pull away, her pulse fluttering in her throat
as if it were a trapped bird. “That’s behind us now.”

“The mayor knows about us.”

She gasped. “What? How?”

“The jeweler told him. All that matters is that I’ve heard
you called a whore for the last time,” he insisted as he tightened his grip on
her. “It’s past time I got the guts to make you the wife you deserve to be.”

The irony of his words made her want to scream with
frustration. All this time she’d longed to be his wife, figuring it was a dream
that would never come true. She wanted it more than anything, but not this way.

“No, Caleb,” she cried. “There’s too much trouble already.
Marriage is supposed to be about love, not proving something.”

“We can do it in your family’s church if you like,” he
added.

“So the Klan can burn it down?” she yelled. “Think of my
family. Think of me!”

The angry fire in his eyes dimmed with disappointment as he
finally let go of her. “Are you saying no?”

She looked around the room, which seemed to spin out of
control. Everything was happening so fast. Her hand trembled as she touched his
cheek.

“Caleb Rockfield, there’s nothing I want more than to be
your wife. I’m so honored that you asked me, but we can’t marry unless this trouble
fades away. We just can’t.”

Without a word, he abandoned dinner and closed himself in
his study. Pearl paced around the parlor, wringing her hands with worry. The
whole atmosphere of the town seemed to vibrate with hatred.

How simple things were when they’d first met, she thought.
Those stolen moments in the shucking room, exploring their bodies, were all
their own. Now everyone knew about them. Caleb shouldn’t have bought her that
ring. They shouldn’t have been so careless. Most of all, he should have joined.

She stopped short, realizing the man she loved couldn’t go
through with it. If he had, he wouldn’t be Caleb. For better or for worse, they
were who they were.

An hour later the phone rang and she answered it. “Rockfield
residence.”

“Is Caleb there?” It was Henry and he sounded rushed.

“Yes,” she replied, forcing a calmness into her voice she
didn’t feel. “Just a moment and I’ll get him for you.”

“No time. The oyster plant…tell him…tell him it’s on fire.”

Terror raced through Caleb’s limbs when Pearl told him the
news. A fire could be caused by a lot of things like bad wiring, but he knew it
wasn’t the wiring.

It was the Klan.

When he saw Pearl putting on her coat, he seized her by the
shoulders. “You stay here and keep the doors locked.”

“But, Caleb, I want to help.”

“It’s too dangerous out there with the Klan at large.” He
gave her a gentle shake. “Stay here!”

He scurried into his car without a hat and nearly drove into
the water when he saw the ugly orange flames on the second floor of his plant,
the white paint eaten by a spreading ring of black. Damn. They’d managed to get
his office.

When he got out of the car and ran to the building, he
noticed fire burning the unloading dock in back too. Several men, white and
black, worked a bucket brigade using water from the river. Instead of the
splashing and frantic voices, Caleb could only hear the sickening hissing
breath of the flames.

Off to the side, he saw a couple of men in the dreaded white
hoods and robes, carrying torches and watching the spectacle. Murderous rage
seared every muscle in his body as he rushed toward them, tempted to kill them
with his bare hands.

“Caleb!”

Henry’s voice stopped him, giving the masked men a chance to
run away. He didn’t even know who the miserable cowards were.

“We could use some help over here,” Henry called out.

Caleb ran toward his plant, panting from the heat, smoke and
horror that stole his breath away. His brother’s face was red and slick with
sweat as he hauled water from the river. Caleb waded in and put his hands
around his throat.

“What do you know about this?” he demanded.

“I heard a tip at the restaurant so I came to—” Anger made
Henry’s face even redder. “Are you suggesting I set this fire?”

“You’re one of them now, aren’t you?” Caleb asked with a
growl.

Henry pulled free of the grip around his neck, falling in
the water. When he came up, sputtering, he grabbed Caleb’s throat in return.

“Do you think I’d burn Daddy’s company? Damn it, Caleb. You
should have joined. You should have joined!”

Caleb stumbled out of the water and ran toward the open dock
doors, the oven-hot heat contrasting with the cold, wet trousers clinging to
his legs. He couldn’t stand by and watch his very life disintegrate before his
eyes. A good captain went down with his ship.

Henry ran after him and pulled his arm. “Don’t go in there!
The roof could cave in.”

Caleb grabbed the empty bucket out of Henry’s hands and
tossed it aside. “What’s the use? It’s gone. They’ve won.”

Henry picked up the bucket again and shoved another one into
Caleb’s hands. “They will if you don’t stop gabbing and start working. Come on.
We can minimize the damage.”

“Where’s the hell’s the fire department?” Caleb asked.
“After all that money I donated, they could have at least shown up.”

But he knew the answer. The police and fire department were
part of the Klan now. Henry was right. He had to work to save it. At least it
kept his mind off the fact that everything he’d worked for was going up in
smoke.

* * * * *

At home, Pearl paced for so many hours she swore she’d worn
holes in the rugs. More than once, she’d opened the door and looked outside,
tempted to run to the burning plant. The thought of being assaulted, or worse,
by the Klan stopped her. Caleb had been through enough. The least she could do
was obey his orders.

The tang of more smoke seeped inside from the cold night air
every time she opened the door. As the hours ticked by on the mantel clock, she
began to fear the Klan had killed him too.

Caleb didn’t get home until well after midnight, sooty,
tattered and exhausted. He staggered through the door and collapsed to the rug
on his knees, coughing. Tears streamed down Pearl’s face at the pitiful sight
of him. He’d always exuded such power and now he looked completely broken.

She knelt beside him on the rug, not sure what to do for
him. He’d probably lost everything and there wasn’t anything she could possibly
do to fix it.

“Caleb, can I get you something?”

But he just looked at her instead of answering. His pale,
blue eyes looked eerie against his sooty face.

“Is it…all gone?” she whispered.

“Not quite.” His voice came out as a croak from all the
smoke.

The sound of a siren wailed down the street.

“Did you hear that?” she asked. “It must be a fire engine.”

“Too late,” he replied.

He coughed again, grimacing from physical or emotional pain.
She wasn’t sure which. At some point, his coughs turned to sobs. Pearl’s heart
reared into her throat at the pitiful, gut-wrenching sound of it.

She reached out and touched the top of his head, pulling him
toward her as she sat with her legs folded under her. His head found her lap as
his arms went around her hips. Thinking he might want to eat when he got home,
she still wore her apron.

Caleb’s soot and tears stained the white fabric while silent
tears streamed down her face as well.

She rested calming hands on his heaving shoulders. Why? Why
had those hateful people destroyed this man and their love?

He used to be so happy and powerful. Now that she was part
of his life, he’d nearly lost everything. As she stroked the hair of the man
she loved, her tears stopped as quiet resolution filled her.

She knew what she must do.

* * * * *

The next day, Caleb drove Pearl to the plant so they could
see the damage. The vibration and sound of the car engine reminded her of the
days she’d spent on his boat. She kept her hands folded in her lap. Neither of
them spoke of how he’d cried in her lap last night. She imagined Caleb
Rockfield didn’t cry very often. The last time had probably been when his
father had died.

She didn’t tell him she planned to leave him. The last thing
she wanted was for him to try to change her mind or come after her. He’d
already lost so much because of her. She had to get away from him before he
lost the rest of Rockfield’s and maybe even his own life.

When the backs of her eyes burned, she stared out the car
window to keep her tears in. True love wasn’t about selfish passion. It was
selfless and doing what was best for the other person. Caleb had always tried
to do what was right for her. Now it was her turn.

He reached over and touched her folded hands. “Don’t look so
sad. We’ll get through this, together.”

Pearl bit her lip. How could he possibly want to continue
their relationship after what had happened?

“It’s my fault,” she said.

“You stop that kind of talk right now,” he said as he turned
toward the plant.

The sight of the damaged building brought her hand to her
mouth as he stopped the car. She saw the second floor was badly burned and
partially missing. Half the unloading dock was gone too.

“Oh, Caleb, no!”

When he helped her out of the car, his face was pale and as
grim as stone but a tiny smile flickered over his lips.

“Well, at least it’s still standing,” he said.

They walked around back. The sight and smell of so much
charred wood pressed a band so tight around Pearl’s chest she could hardly
breathe. It was like the cross at church all over again only much worse.

Henry emerged from inside with a clipboard. His eyes had
dark circles under them and his overalls were filthy with soot. He looked just
as tired and beaten as Caleb. In spite of everything that had happened and the
fact he was part of the Klan now, he greeted her politely and took off his cap.

“The fire truck came after you left,” he told Caleb.

“I heard,” Caleb replied. “I don’t know why they bothered.”

“They were afraid the fire would spread to other buildings,”
his brother replied.

Caleb turned and peered at the clipboard over Henry’s
shoulder. “How bad is it?”

“The second floor needs major rebuilding. Your metal file
cabinets managed to save some of the papers but even those are somewhat
charred. We’ve lost about half the shucking space.” He pointed to the dock. “I
guess we’ll get that bigger dock after all.”

“We’ll rebuild,” Caleb said. “We’ll just have to run at
reduced capacity for a while.”

“Assuming the hardware store will sell us lumber at
reasonable prices,” Henry added.

“Then we’ll get it shipped in,” Caleb said. “We can’t let
them win.”

Henry sighed. “If you join the Klan now, they might pitch in
and help you.”

Caleb glared at him. “I’ll burn the rest of it down myself
before I do that.”

Pearl stared at the water, hoping Caleb would reconsider his
brother’s advice after she left.

Looking into the main shucking room reminded her of first
coming here to work. What job awaited her now? She didn’t even know where she’d
go. All that mattered was getting out of Caleb’s life so he could get back
everything he’d lost. Even though Henry had offered to find her other
employment, she didn’t want Caleb to know where she’d gone.

“Thanks for everything you’ve done here,” Caleb told his
brother. “Go have a nice breakfast at the Sapphire Crab. I’d like to be alone
here for a while.”

Henry nodded. “The first floor is pretty stable but keep
your eyes up in case something drops from above.”

They squeezed each other’s arms affectionately. After Henry
walked toward the restaurant, Pearl followed Caleb into the plant. Ironically,
her old shucking station was unscathed but other areas were damaged.
Half-burned wooden shucking stalls lay about like driftwood.

They walked across the first floor, entering the small
shucking room. The sun coming through the small windows warmed it.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Caleb said, looking around in wonder
after he laid his hat and their coats on the shucking table. “It’s unscathed.”

So were the memories of their early times together. Pearl
headed toward the door, needing to get out of this room before she shattered to
pieces. But Caleb got there first. In a gesture she knew too well, he flipped
the lock.

Her body reacted automatically, tightening the nipples under
her bra and making her panties slick with arousal.

She shook her head. “Caleb, you can’t possibly—”

He cut off her words with a passionate kiss. Strong hands
reached around her waist, pulling her toward the hard bulge under his trousers.
Caleb’s power was back.

Don’t kiss me!
It would only make leaving him harder
than it already was.

He looked at her when the kiss ended. “Do you realize this
room is the oldest part of the plant? My daddy started out with this room. That
has to mean something.”

“It’s a special room,” she agreed. “It means Rockfield’s
will go on.”

He kissed her again. “It means we’ll go on too.”

The familiar brush of moustache on her face started a fire
of its own deep in her belly. His breezy scent penetrated the residue of the
smoke in the building. Pearl almost wished this room had burned to echo the end
of their relationship.

Caleb’s hands pulled up the back of her dress, undid her
garters and tugged her panties and stockings down several inches.

“We can’t do this,” she protested. “Not here. Not now.”

Not ever again.

“I need you,” he said hoarsely as his teeth nipped her
earlobe and his fingers brushed across the swelling mound between her legs.

Her knees buckled as resolve slipped out of her.

“How can you still want me when all of this happened because
of me?” But even as she asked, her fingers unbuttoned his shirt and reached
inside to feel his chest one last time.

Caleb squeezed her upper arms. “If you ever say that again,
I’ll spank you senseless. None of this is your fault.”

She buried her face in his neck, needing to memorize every
scent and texture of him. Many men would have decided she wasn’t worth the
trouble by now, but she’d learned a long time ago Caleb Rockfield wasn’t like
most men.

He was so special it made her heart ache.

“I wish we could live on that private island,” she said,
moaning as he pushed her bra straps down and pinched her nipples.

“I do too, honey.”

Pearl flung her head back when his hot, wet mouth moved
across her bare chest. How could she ever live without this? Without him? She
would have to figure it out somehow. There was no choice.

“You know what the problem with this plant is?” Caleb
whispered in her ear. “We never fucked in it.”

She laughed. “It’s not as comfortable as your bed.”

Her hand wandered down to his hard bulge and caressed the
cock that had given her so much pleasure. Despite all the hard surfaces, this
room was even more appealing than his bed. Their love and passion had been born
here and grown one night at a time.

She couldn’t have picked a better place for goodbye.

He spread their coats out across the shucking table and
lifted her to lie on top of them. It reminded her of the night he’d explored
her pussy with his mouth. Her clitoris tingled, wondering if he was about to do
that again.

“Lick me, Caleb,” she begged.

Anticipation made a giant pulse beat inside her body as he
pulled off her panties, stockings and shoes. She whimpered as his hard mouth
slid across her wet folds and his hands spread apart her labia. The combination
of his probing fingers, hot tongue and rough moustache nearly sent her to the
ceiling on the first lick.

“Caleb!”

Having him cry in her lap last night had brought them closer
than ever before. Because of it, the pleasure he gave her now was even sweeter
than any he’d ever given her.

Breath hissed in her throat when he let go of her.
Don’t
leave me!
The darkness of their upcoming parting chased away the heat until
Caleb grabbed her hips and flipped her over.