“What do you want me to do, Papa?”

“I want you to make her welcome. Set the example. The others will follow your lead.”

“How long will she stay?”

“I don’t know. She’s going to get in touch with her in-laws in Tennessee and see if she can go there.”

“Why didn’t she go to them in the first place instead of coming here?”

“I don’t know about that.”

“She could get a job and work for her keep. Other widows do.”

“Christ on a horse, Julie. Birdie has always had someone to take care of her. She doesn’t know the first thing about working and taking care of herself.”

“She could learn. I’m sure there are a great many things she could do.”

Jethro shoved his hands down into his pockets and paced the porch, seeming not to have heard what Julie said.

“The Humphreys have made her life miserable for the last few weeks. Birdie can’t do anything to please Mrs. Humphrey. She complains constantly to Wilbur about his sister being there. Poor little Elsie is picked on by the Humphrey kids until she’s scared to leave her mother’s side.”

“Ruth Humphrey has her hands full taking care of her own family, without taking in extras to wait on,” Julie murmured.

Jethro stopped pacing. “I thought that you, of all people, would understand that things can happen beyond a woman’s control. And at that time a woman needs the support of family and friends to help her weather a rough time.”

The words were said slowly and whipped Julie like a lash. Julie felt as if her father, her beloved father, had kicked her in the stomach. She took a deep breath and braced her thin shoulders. Her eyes glazed over as she gazed at the back of his head as he stared out across the field. Determined not to let him know how much he had hurt her, she looked him straight in the eye when he turned to face her.

“Do you plan to marry her?”

“Would it be so bad if I married … someone?”

“It’s your right.” She switched her gaze to some point behind him.

“Birdie thinks that you don’t like her.”

“I’ve not given her a reason to think that.”

“She says that when she tries to talk to you, get to know you, you turn away and give her the cold shoulder.”

“That’s not true. She’s never tried to get to know me, or Jill, or Joy, for that matter.”

“If you’re afraid she’ll set her cap for Evan Johnson, you can rest easy. She said for me to tell you that she has no interest in him because of Walter, and as far as she’s concerned, you have a clear field with him.”

“Evan isn’t good enough for her, but he’s good enough for me. That’s very generous of Mrs. Stuart.” Julie’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.

“Don’t be nasty!” Jethro said sharply. “Birdie thinks that you like him, and that as long as he’s here, you might as well go out with him. That doesn’t mean she would approve of you marrying him.”

Julie stared at some point beyond his head for a long moment before she answered. “

You’ve discussed me with her. Have you shared all the family secrets with Mrs. Stuart, Papa?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Birdie thinks you should get out more and mix with other young people—that it isn’t fair that you be tied down here. She suggested that you cut your hair and dress suitable to the times. She’s promised to help you.”

“Are you ashamed of the way I look, the way I dress, of what …I am?”

“You know damn well I’m not!”

“Do you want me to leave, to make it easier for Mrs. Stuart to be here?” Julie felt as though someone else were speaking the words for her. She heard them but couldn’t feel them in her mouth. An incredible numbness had settled over her like a heavy cloak.

“Leave? Hell, who said anything about you leaving? Where would you go, for God’s sake?”

“Women who find themselves in a situation beyond their control usually call on family and friends to help them weather a rough time.” She was glad to see the sparks of anger glitter in his eyes when she repeated his words. She wiped the swath of hair from her forehead and turned to open the screen door.

“She wants to be a help to you, Julie.”

It was the second time he’d said that. Julie looked at her father as if she had never seen him before. His words hung in the air between them. Anguish worked in her face, threatening her control.

Birdie Stuart knew exactly what she was doing. She had him so infatuated with her that he would believe whatever she told him and would turn against his own family in order to have her.

“Julie? Can I count on you to make Birdie and Elsie welcome?”

“As long as I’m living in your house, eating your food, I’ll not disgrace you. I owe you that, Papa.” She trembled with the force of unreleased emotions and backed away from the cold fury in his eyes that her words had provoked.

“Julie! Julie! Come quick. Joy cut her hand with the butcher knife.”

Julie threw open the door and ran down the hall to the kitchen. Jill had Joy astride her hip and was holding her hand over the wash dish. Joy was screaming, “Julie, Julie!”

“Let me see.” Julie worked the handle on the water pump until water gushed out. After the water washed the blood away, Julie could see only a small slice on the end of the child’s thumb. “It’s isn’t bad. Just a little cut.”

“Blood,” Joy shrieked. “It hurts!”

“We’ll have to put iodine on it, honey. It will sting for a minute.”

“Come to Papa, pumpkin.” Jethro crowded in behind Jill and lifted Joy from her arms. He sat down and cuddled the child on his lap.

“It hurts, Papa.”

“It won’t hurt long. Julie will put iodine on it, then wrap it in a bandage. You’re a big girl.”

Julie got out the iodine and a strip of clean cloth. She was so wrung out from the emotional scene on the porch that she couldn’t even look at her father while she bandaged Joy’s finger. When she finished, she put away the iodine, took the little girl up into her arms and headed for the stairs.

“Julie.” Her father’s voice stopped her, but she didn’t turn. “What am I going to do with my things?”

“There are boxes in the attic,” she said and continued on up the steps.

Out of breath from carrying the child, she sank down on the edge of her bed when she reached it. She cuddled Joy to her and rocked back and forth. She wished that she could lie back on the bed and give way to her grief. She felt as if her heart had been pounded to a pulp. Her father’s infatuation with Mrs. Stuart was tearing the family apart.

Julie abandoned any notion of going to church. The thought uppermost in her mind was that she had to get herself together. The others were depending on her to help them get through this. But was it something that would end? Was Birdie going to be a permanent part of their lives?

* * *

It wasn’t until Jethro got into his car and left that Julie had a chance to talk to Joe. He and Jack came to the house as soon as the car turned from the lane onto the road.

“Jason’s sick about having to keep Sidney tied up.” Jack set a couple of ripe cantaloupes on the counter. “That dog trails him everywhere.”

“What do you think, Sis?” For once her brother Joe was not teasing. He and Jack looked dead serious. “I saw you and Pa on the porch.”

“He wants us to make her welcome. Joe, I don’t know if I can do it. If it was anyone else, I’d be happy for Papa.”

“I’m not stayin’ here to wait on her. I’m going to write Aunt Blanche and see if I can go stay with her.” Jill was so angry her voice was shrill. “To hear the Humphreys tell it, she’s sweet as pie when her brother is around and mean as sin when he isn’t. It’s how she’ll be here.”

“Now, hold on,” Joe said and put his arm across Jill’s shoulders. “She’d like nothin’ more than to get rid of us. Then she’d have everything her own way. Jack and I have been mulling this over, and we think that her coming here is the best thing that could have happened.”

Jill jerked from under his arm. “Are you crazy?”

“We’ll give her the rope to hang herself. With her here day after day, Pa will finally see what she’s really like. We’ll have to be careful and be polite and give her nothing to use against us. It’ll be hardest on you, Julie and Joy. Jack and I will keep our distance and try and figure out a way to keep Jason from clobbering her brat.”

“Jack?” Julie’s questioning eyes went to her younger brother.

“It’s the best we can do right now. Let’s hope Pa comes to his senses before he marries her.”

“She’s told Papa the Humphreys were mean to her and that I wouldn’t talk to her.”

“She’s a big fat liar,” Jill said angrily. “She told Mr. Humphrey that This would sic the dog on Elsie whenever she was outside and she wanted him to give This a whipping. They hate her over there.”

“We’ve got to be smarter than she is, Jill,” Joe said patiently. “Don’t let her see how much you hate her. It’ll just make Pa feel sorry for her.”

“Where did you learn so much, Joe?” Julie asked, hugging his arm.

“Why, Sis, I’ve been smart all along and you just haven’t noticed it.”

“Can I give you a hug?”

“Hadn’t you better save your hugs for Evan?” he said laughingly and threw his arm around her shoulders when her cheeks reddened.

“That’s another thing—Mrs. Stuart told Papa that she couldn’t be interested in Evan because of who his father is, and would step aside and give me a clear field with him. Wasn’t that nice of her?”

“Name of a cow! Wait till I tell Evan she’s lettin’ him off the hook. He was on to her from the start. He calls her a piranha.”

“Whatever that is, I hope it’s bad,” Jill said.

“I asked him what it was and he said it was a fish with powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth. It kills animals or humans and eats them.”

“Don’t tell Evan,” Julie said quickly. “Please. It’s embarrassing to think that Papa discussed me with her.”

“Why not tell him? He’ll get a laugh out of it. But I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to.”

Julie felt a little better after talking to her brothers. Joe’s reasoning had made sense. If they criticized Birdie, their father would be forced to take her side. Julie took comfort in knowing that she and Jill were not alone in their dislike of the woman.

The front screen door slammed. Seconds later Joy burst into the room.

“Julie, Julie. The runnin’ man’s comin’.”

Chapter 18

C
HIEF APPLEBY
?”

“The runnin’ man,” Joy shouted again and raced back down the hall to the front door.

As the others followed, Julie asked, “Where’s Jason?”

“The last I saw of him, he was on the back porch with Sidney.”

“Go on and meet Mr. Appleby. I’ll talk to Jason.”

Julie had been unable to voice the fear of Walter Johnson’s threat to anyone but Joe. He believed that the man was just being mean and trying to scare her; but she knew that his threat could be real, and with that thought she went out into the yard and called to Jason.

When she didn’t receive an answer and there was no sign of him or Sidney, she went down the slope to the barn.

“Jason? Are you in here?” She walked between the silent stalls. “Jason.” She reached the open doors at the end of the barn and scanned the cow lot and the pasture beyond. After going back through the barn and up the ladder to the hayloft, she called him again, then hurried to the shed where the plows and other equipment were kept. “Jason!” She continued to call as she went to the tack room attached to the barn.

Julie’s anxiety was escalating by the time she finished searching the outbuildings. Jason always answered if he was within hearing distance of her call. She made one more trip to the barn, then ran around to the front of the house.

The oak water bucket was on the porch, and Corbin Appleby had just poured a dipper of water over his head to the shrieks of delight coming from Joy, who sat astride Jack’s hip.