Mama assessed the store owner up and down. “When have I or any of my friends given you that impression?”
Dixie Mae Meeker, shop assistant, wrung her hands. “Surely you’ve heard your friends say they wouldn’t shop where the loose women who worked as saloon girls did.”
“No, I have not. I’ll not have Lula insulted. She is a good girl whose family fell on hard times and she had to work. Would you have hired a sixteen year old girl here? I daresay you would not. Waiting tables at the saloon was the only job she could get. Thank heavens we learned of our kinship before something terrible happened to her.”
Lula had tears in her eyes as she laid a hand on Mama’s arm. “Why don’t we go? I have so many lovely new things to put away. I can make my own bonnets.”
As if sensing lost revenue, the store owner clutched at Lula’s hand. “Please, Miss, I do apologize and assure you nothing like that will ever happen in here again.”
Mama sniffed in her haughty way that intimidated everyone—including Papa. “Since we’re here and Mrs. Nichols has apologized, Lula, do you feel comfortable choosing a few hats?”
Lula sighed and regarded Mama. “I-If you wish. Really, though, I can create my own.”
With apparent reluctance, Lula chose only two hats. Each was designed so that it was versatile.
Mrs. Nichols fawned over Lula as if she were the Governor’s wife. Lula was polite but cool. Alexandra had intended to get a new hat but she certainly wasn’t in the mood now.
Chapter Six
Alexandra marveled at Lula’s patience with people like the milliners. After they left, Mama walked ahead. “I think we should go next door to the drug store and have a soda or ice cream… or both if you wish.” She laughed, but Alexandra recognized that Mama’s mirth was forced.
Alexandra glanced at Lula. “I’m thirsty, Lula, are you?”
“What? Oh, yes, a sarsaparilla would be nice.”
They placed their orders with Bert Nixon and sat at one of the small tables provided by the soda counter.
Rudy Evans, the druggist and owner, came out of the pharmacy to greet them. “Good day, ladies, and I hope you’re having a good day. Can I get you anything?”
After their recent encounter, Mr. Evans’ friendliness was a balm.
Mama smiled at him. “We’re having a lovely day shopping, thank you.”
“We have some new scents.” He gestured to a display in the toiletries section of the store.
Mama looked at Lula and raised her eyebrows as if in question. Lula shook her head. “Thank you, Mr. Evans, we’ll return and look at them another day. We were thirsty and this sarsaparilla is precisely what we needed.”
Through the drugstore’s front window, Alexandra spotted the sheriff on his rounds. She hatched a plan to intercept him. She hoped her timing was correct.
They finished their drinks and rose to leave. When they turned onto Houston Street and could see home, Mrs. Eppes’ deliveryman was at the front door.
Mama’s leisurely steps quickened. “We timed our outing perfectly. Lula, don’t wait for us if you’d like to hurry ahead.”
Lula kept pace with Mama. “I’ll walk with you. I’m sure Mrs. Connor will accept the delivery.”
Alexandra gasped. “Oh, no, I’ve left the package with my new combs at the drugstore. You two go ahead and I’ll hurry back and retrieve them. I… um, I might stop in the Mercantile for a few seconds.”
She turned and strode toward Main Street before Mama had a chance to tell her to wait. If she had estimated correctly, by the time she retrieved the package, the sheriff would be walking her way. How else was she to talk to him on her own now that Lula was constantly with them?
When she entered, Mr. Nixon waved from behind the soda counter.
“I have the package you left, Miss Novak. I’d planned to drop it by your house on my way home.” He smiled and leaned forward.
“You’re kind to think of doing so.” She didn’t want to encourage him. He was nice but not the man for her.
She picked up the package. “Thanks again. Good day.”
***
Virgil looked down at his muddy boots and britches. The recent rain had left the streets a morass of mud. With several others, he’d had to help push Ron Masters’ ice delivery wagon. Poor guy had stopped in a place even his horse couldn’t handle. At least today’s bright sunshine and light breeze would help dry up the quagmire.
“Hello, Sheriff. Heroically rescued anyone today?” Alexandra Novak smiled up at him.
She’d caught him by surprise. Inwardly, he groaned but he managed a polite smile. “Good day, Miss Novak.”
He nodded toward the small package she carried. “That’s all your shopping?”
“After Mama, Lula, and I finished shopping we stopped for sarsaparilla. I forgot my package when we left.”
She gazed at the mud covering him and grinned. “Making mud pies or wrestling pigs?”
“More community service. Ice wagon was stuck.” He tipped his hat. “I’d better be getting home to change into clean clothes.”
She fell in step with him and they paused at the corner. “Where is your home?”
“Not far from the jail. I’m never really off duty, you know, and need to live close. My deputy and I split days, but I always have to be available.” He wasn’t about to let her know he lived one street over from her and directly behind her house.
“Don’t you have any private time? I mean, could you go on a picnic or a drive? Surely your job doesn’t exclude those things.”
He rubbed at his jaw. Lying didn’t set well with him so he took a deep breath before he answered honestly. “I’d have to arrange with my deputy to be sure he was in the office.”
Her blue eyes lit up. “Would you like to go with me on a picnic? I could bring all the food and a blanket. We could even use Papa’s buggy.”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “Miss Novak, I’m flattered at your invitation but the answer is no. To be frank, I’m not playing the sort of games you did with Scott.”
She looked as if he’d thrown cold water on her. “Why would you say such a mean thing? I issued a friendly invitation and you act as if I had a gun at your back.”
“Please don’t be offended. I’m not getting involved in a situation I can’t win. You’re used to luxuries I can’t provide. You’re also used to having your own way all the time. There’s no point in us becoming closer friends.”
Tears gathered in her eyes and made him feel like a cad. He had to protect himself and she was deadly poison as far as he was concerned.
“You are just the orneriest man I’ve ever met.” She stamped her foot, slid off the slippery boardwalk, and lost her footing.
Splat, she landed in the muddy street on her rear. When she tried to get up, she slipped again and fell on her front.
“Alexandra… Miss Novak, are you all right?”
“I am perfectly fine, Sheriff Witt. Can’t you tell?”
He waded into the mire and extended his hand. “Let me help you.”
Tears made trails through the brown spots on her face. For a moment he thought she would refuse. Heaving a huge sigh, she reached for him. “Hurry, I don’t want anyone else to see me. Enough are staring already.”
“At least you’re close to your home.” Gently, he helped her rise from the muck and step onto the boardwalk.
She shook her hands, flinging mud from them. “Oh, this is awful. The sludge smells like it’s only partly dirt. Ugh.”
He couldn’t help laughing. “Brown’s not a good color for you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How is it for you, Sheriff?” She shoved him.
In trying to keep his balance, he grabbed her arm. Didn’t help and he went flying backwards, pulling her with him. Wham, he had mud up to his neck.
She let out a scream and landed on top of him. She pounded his chest. “Now see what you’ve done.”
“Me? I was trying to help you and you pushed me. That wasn�
�t ladylike or nice. Why did you do it?”
“You know I-I have a terrible temper sometimes. You shouldn’t have laughed at me. You shouldn’t have pulled me with you either.”
“Perhaps you intend to remain here and make the mud pies you mentioned. If you’d get off of me, Miss Novak, I’d like to get out of this mud bath and go home.”
“You simply have to stop running from me.” She made an attempt to rise but slipped and put her hand on his face. “Oh, no, now you’re brown all over.”
“Alexandra? What in the world are you doing cavorting in the street?” Byron Novak stood across the street.
His bank was on the corner. He crossed the street on the planks laid at each crossing. When he was on the boardwalk by them, he glared. “What brought on this public display?”
Before Virgil could answer, Alexandra did, “I-I fell in the mud… you see… and the sheriff tried to rescue me… but then he fell too.”
Virgil used the opportunity to stand. He pulled Alexandra to her feet. “Sorry, Mr. Novak.”
Her father looked at him. “Appears to me you have no reason to apologize, Virgil. You, miss, get yourself home immediately.”
“Yes, Papa.”
Virgil shook his hands as she had previously in a feeble attempt to dislodge part of the grime. “I’ll walk her, sir. I’m going to my house, too.”
“Thank you, Virgil. You may as well cut through our back yard. Young lady, I’ll speak with you this evening.” He turned and strode to rejoin his friends. They usually went to the hotel dining room for lunch.
Alexandra groaned and laid her hand on his arm. “Uh oh, I’m in for a stern lecture now. He’s really angry.”
“I don’t think so. Probably he was more surprised than anything. He dotes on you and will have calmed down by evening.”
“He dotes on Lula more than me.”
“Nonsense. Surely you’re not jealous of her. Look at the life she’s had compared to yours.”
“I’m sorry she had a terrible life but I don’t want Papa to act as if she’s more important than I am. I don’t mind sharing him like I do with Ron, but that’s not how he behaves. He appears as if she’s his favorite.” She wiped at her tear-streaked face, which only smeared the mud splatters. “Everything in our lives has been in a terrible mess since the bank robbery.”
He tried to keep censure from his voice, “And you think you’re the only one affected?”
“Don’t be so judgmental. I realize circumstances have involved many other people. Poor Mama almost died and so did Moriah from saving her. You were injured getting the money back. We had to live in the hotel while our house was repaired. I know a lot of people were affected. I’m talking about how I feel about my personal, private life, Virgil… um, sorry, Sheriff.”
“You should call me Virgil. I’m more comfortable with people using my first name.”
“I’d like that. You can call me Alexandra. Soon there’ll be two of us named Miss Novak. Anyway, you already call Lula by her name.”
“I met her under different circumstances. Ah, here we are at your house.” They turned and strolled up the walk toward her front porch but he veered in a new direction. “We’d better go to the back door or Mrs. Connor will skin us both.”
She still held on to his arm. “What did Papa mean when he said you should cut through our back yard? Do you live behind us on Goliad Street?”
He hesitated then confessed. With his free hand he gestured toward his place. “Yes, if you could see behind your carriage house, you’d see my home.”
She met his gaze and he saw fresh tears gathering in her eyes. “Where the Wesley family used to live? All this time you’ve lived next door and never said?”
“There’s been no occasion to tell you where I live.”
She looked down. “Yes, there has. You just didn’t want me to know. Fine, Sheriff Witt, I won’t bother you ever again.”
Before he could stop himself, he gripped her shoulders. “Don’t cry, Alexandra. I explained why. You know you have a different lifestyle than I do. I can’t afford a housekeeper or beautiful clothes. There’s no future in me courting you.”
She laid her hands on his chest. Her tears had darkened her eyelashes and they glistened in the light. “Why would you think that? Haven’t I told you over and over that I’ve changed?”
He covered her hands with his. How he wished she really had changed enough for him to court. Even covered in mud she was beautiful. “I know you’re trying and I applaud your efforts. But, some things become a habit so strong you can’t cast them from your mind.”
“Such as?”
“Think how you’d feel if there was a formal party and you had to wear an old dress you’d had for years while your friends were dressed in splendor. How would you feel wearing the same dress to church every Sunday for a year? What if you were at a tea or some gathering of women and they talked about their latest gowns but you didn’t have anything new?”
“I can’t know how because it hasn’t happened but I hope it wouldn’t matter.
He shook his head. “Aw, Alexandra, you’d remember how nice it was to have new things whenever you wished. You couldn’t help not doing so and wishing you had the means to have those things again.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’d better go in before that mud solidifies and you’re a beautiful statue.”
She tiptoed and pressed her lips to his. “Thank you for walking me home. I’ll prove to you that I’ve changed.” She turned and went inside the wash room.
He strode through the back yard and climbed over the fence onto his own grounds. What was he going to do about Alexandra? She was a force unto herself.
What a day he’d had and it wasn’t even one o’clock yet.
Chapter Seven
A few hours later Byron Novak sat at his desk. He hated this kind of interview.
“You’ve got plenty of money, Novak. We’ve been doing business for years and you got no call to turn me down.”
“Mr. Becknell, I have to follow rules that protect the depositors. You have an overdrawn account and liens against your property. I can’t loan you money with no collateral.”
“You think you’re so much better ‘n me with your fine house and me with nothing. My wife left and took the kids to her folks’. They won’t even let me on the place. It’s your fault, I tell you. If you’d loan me money to get out of this slump I could get it all back.”
“You’re not in a slump. I have the records here. Your income has decreased every year since you took over from your father. The quarry made money every year before then.”
“You saying it’s my fault? Well, it ain’t. Long as I can remember, my family owned that quarry. That there Scroggins opened and undercut me right and left. Took my customers. Now you plan on taking my quarry.”
“That’s what you put up as collateral for the last loan, Mr. Becknell. The loan on which you have made only one payment. One. What did you expect to happen when you signed the loan paperwork?”
“I didn’t think my neighbors would take advantage of me and steal my livelihood out from under me. You got to give me more time.”
“Sir, I gave you a six month extension then two months longer than you were due because of your family. You’d be better off looking for someone to buy the quarry from you so you’d at least get some capital. You could invest that in another business or live off the proceeds until you find a good job.”
Becknell leaned over the desk and shook his finger in Byron’s face. “You’ll regret this day, Novak. I’ll see you in hell for this.” He stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him.
Seconds later Ron opened the door a few inches. “Papa, are you okay?”
Byron pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now that he’s gone I am. A most unpleasant man who won’t accept that he’s responsible for the mess he’s in.”
Ron came into the room. “We heard him yelling. I was worried he’d shoot you or something. He sounded ha
lfway insane.”
“He’s never been quite right in the head. His father was little better but at least he made a go of the business. Lonnie drinks all night and sleep most of the day. He expects workers to show up and do their jobs without him. Then, he gets mad if things aren’t done to his satisfaction. The men don’t have any respect for him. The good ones have left.”
“Looks like the bank’s going to own a quarry.”
“Plus a rickety boat. He and his father built a shack on an old dredge formerly used to pull sand from the river bottom. Not much of a vessel but I hear he’s living on it now that his wife’s left him. Apparently the house they lived in belonged to her father. Her father and her brothers evicted Lonnie and sold the house.”
Ron took out his pocket watch. “Almost five. I’ll see to things out here.” Ron closed the door softly behind him.
Byron gave thanks for his blessings. His wife was almost well, his children were all under his restored roof, and—in spite of Alexandra’s muddy display today—things were smoothing out. A man couldn’t ask for more.
***
Alexandra opened the back door but didn’t dare step inside. “Mrs. Connor? Mama? Lula?”
Mrs. Connor appeared first. “Miss Alexandra, have you met with an accident?”
Could the housekeeper think she’d done this to herself deliberately? Before she could answer, Lula came into the room.
“Alexandra, are you all right? Let me help you get out of that dress.” She tugged Alexandra just inside the door and turned her. She unfastened the gown quickly.
Mama entered and gasped. “Alexandra Novak, how on earth did you get so filthy? I hope no one saw you looking like that.”
Alexandra stepped out of her dress and saw her petticoat was also dirty. She untied the tapes. “Everyone by the bank and the drugstore saw me, including Papa. He’s going to lecture me this evening.”
Mama crossed her arms. “Well, I should think so. Tell us what happened.”
Chapter Eight
Alexandra rolled off her stockings. “I fell in the mud then when the sheriff tried to help me, he also fell in. That’s when Papa saw us. Please, forego a lecture because Papa will have plenty to say. I was beyond humiliated and don’t even want to think about the fiasco.”
Alexandra's Awakening (Pearson Grove Book 2) Page 5