The Silent Harp
Page 27
“Know each other!” Daniel said. “Why, we go way back. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“It’s me all right, Dan. How are you?”
“I’m just fine. But you haven’t told me yet what you’re doing here. You seem to know these people,” he said, waving his hand toward the Winslows.
Temple thumbed his Stetson back. “I’m here with my family, Dan. I talked Sharon into marrying me, so I guess you’d have to say I’m part Winslow now. What have you decided about the loan?”
“They turned us down, Temple,” Sharon said, still trying to get over the surprise reunion of these two men. She couldn’t fathom how Temple would know Mr. Wright.
“It’s just as well,” Temple said with a broad grin. “I’ve been talking to Jefferson over at Chase National.” He turned to Leland. “They’re waitin’ for us over there, Leland. The loan will be set up right away.”
“Wait a minute!” Daniel exclaimed. “Don’t be in such a hurry, Temple. You always were an impulsive fellow.”
He glanced down the table at the members of his committee and said, “I’m sure the committee will want to reconsider. We didn’t know you were involved in this.” He looked directly at Temple and said, “You’re signing the note at Chase, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Sure am.”
“Well, let me tell you right now: whatever rate of interest they’ve offered, we’ll cut it by half a percent.”
“Make that three-quarters.”
“Done!” Daniel said instantly. The committee members all looked at one another and shrugged. “Now, Leland, I’m so happy this has worked out this way. If you’ll come back tomorrow, we’ll have the papers ready.”
All of the Winslows were staring at Temple, and Leland voiced their question. “Who are you?”
“Why, I’m your son-in-law, Leland.”
Daniel jumped in. “You mean you don’t know who your own son-in-law is?”
“I know he’s Temple Smith,” Leland said.
“But don’t you know he owns Okla Oil Company—and a lot more besides?”
Leland stifled an exclamation.
“Let’s get out of here,” Temple said, taking Sharon’s arm. “We’ll be back tomorrow, Dan, to sign the papers. Come along, sweetheart.” Pale with shock, Sharon left with Temple, followed by the other stunned Winslows. As soon as they were outside the bank, Sharon turned to him while her parents and Clayton huddled around them. “I don’t understand this. You own an oil company?”
“He owns Okla Oil Company,” Leland said in a strained voice.
“It’s like this,” Temple said. “I started out working on rigs when I was sixteen years old and pretty much worked myself to death for nothing. A few years ago I bought some wildcat stock and struck it rich. It was fun for a while, and then one day I got tired of the rat race. I hired a man to run the company, and I’ve had fun just bummin’ around trying to serve the Lord in small ways since then.”
Sharon was at a loss for words, and then suddenly she began to giggle, which soon turned into a laugh.
“What in the world are you laughing at?” Temple asked.
“I’m laughing because I gave you money to buy gas to go home and see your mother.”
Leland stuck out his hand to shake Temple’s. “Here I had resigned myself to being saddled with a poor, worthless son-in-law. Looks like I’ll have to give up on that expectation.”
“You may have one yet. You know how the oil business is.”
Clayton shook his hand too. “I’ll have to be nicer to you now that I know how important you are.”
“You shore will,” Temple said in his Oklahoma drawl and grinned. “Anyone wanna go get a hamburger? I’m starved!”
****
Sharon sat at the dressing table that night brushing her hair that came down well below her shoulders. She was studying Temple in the mirror, who was seated on the bed watching her. He rose from the bed and came over and took the brush. She had learned on their honeymoon that he loved to watch her brush her hair and at times even took over the job. “Let me do that,” he said. He began to brush her hair slowly, and it gave her an odd feeling to have this tall, strong man performing such a lowly service. “I think I would have made a good lady’s maid,” he said, “at least for this lady.”
She rose and turned to face him. “I feel like such a fool.”
“Look, Sharon, I didn’t set out to deceive you, but it troubled me that your family was so set on your marrying a rich man.”
“I think Mother and Dad are cured of that. They don’t have any more daughters to marry off anyway.”
“I just wanted to be sure you loved me for me and not for what I had.”
Sharon smiled wryly. “Here I’ve been worried about your marrying me for money, and now the shoe is on the other foot.”
Temple put the brush down on the table and ran his hand over her hair. “You have beautiful hair,” he said quietly.
“I wish I were more beautiful—and a better wife.”
“Impossible!” Temple said emphatically. “I don’t know where God will lead us, but with you in my arms, I know we’ll make some beautiful music together!”
She laughed and tilted her chin up to kiss him.
“We’ve got a lot of living to do, Sharon Smith. And we’re not kids anymore, so let’s make every minute count!” He glanced at the bed and winked at her.
Sharon pulled his head down and kissed him thoroughly, whispering, “We will, Temple—oh, we will!”
GILBERT MORRIS spent ten years as a pastor before becoming Professor of English at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and earning a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. A prolific writer, he has had over 25 scholarly articles and 200 poems published in various periodicals, and over the past years has had more than 180 novels published. His family includes three grown children, and he and his wife live in Gulf Shores, Alabama.