For the Love of Annie

by Sabrah Huff Agee

  He sighed heavily and turned his face toward the wall. "All right, you win. But only for a couple more days."

  SHE WAS trying to decide what to prepare for Cooper's supper when she heard him call— or rather, bellow her name. She hurried down the hall and into his room. "My goodness, Cooper, what's the matter? The way you were yelling I expect the people in the street heard you."

  "Get Joe Bob in here on the double."

  "Deputy Simmons went off duty a few hours ago and he's gone home to get some sleep. He's tired, Cooper, he worked all day yesterday and last night, too."

  "Then get Charlie."

  "Charlie's working. What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

  "Yes, I'm in pain."

  "I'll give you some laudanum as soon as you've eaten."

  "No," he snapped. "I don't need laudanum, it's not that kind of pain."

  She put her hands on her hips and gave a weary sigh. "Cooper, what are you talking about?"

  He scowled. "If you must know, Miss Nosey Markham, I need to...to...relieve myself. So if you don't mind, please go and get someone to help me get out of this damned bed."

  Mary Louise stuck out her chin. "I most certainly will not. Dr. Morrison said you were to stay as still as possible for several days. That means that you may not get out of bed— for any reason."

  "Since when did you start listening to Dr. Morrison?"

  "I told you, I use common sense. In this instance, what the doctor said makes sense. Moving around could cause your wound to start bleeding again. So you can't get up."

  "Then what do you suggest I do? Drown?"

  "Don't be vulgar, Cooper."

  "It's rather difficult to be polite when one is in a state of emergency."

  Shaking her head, she knelt on the floor beside the bed and reached under it. When she rose, she was holding what appeared to be a porcelain vase with a handle on one side. "Here," she said, "use this."

  Cooper stared at the contraption. "What is that?"

  "It's a..." She felt her cheeks growing pink. She cleared her throat and drew in a deep breath. "I think the proper name for it is 'urinal.' Dr. Morrison brought it for you. It's for gentlemen who can't get out of bed to...to..."

  "I understand." His eyes twinkled in amusement. "Want to show me how to use it?"

  "I think I'll let you figure that out all by yourself, Mr. Matthews." And with that, she set the urinal on the bed, spun on her heel and hurriedly left the room. She could hear his chuckles even as she hastened down the hall toward the kitchen.

  MARY LOUISE finished preparing Cooper's supper tray and carried it to his room. She shifted the tray and knocked on the door. "I have your supper ready, Cooper."

  "Come on in."

  She had to balance the tray with one hand while she twisted the door knob and went inside. She made a mental note to put a small table outside the door before time for his next meal.

  "Here you go," she said as she placed the tray on the bed beside him.

  Cooper looked at the bowl of clear brown liquid. "What in God's name is that?"

  "Mrs. Peterson brought you some nice beef broth."

  "I hate broth. Bring me something I can sink my teeth into."

  "I will not. Dr. Morrison said you need to eat nothing more than clear broth for at least a few more days. You can't have solid food until he returns from his trip."

  "That's crazy. Why?"

  Without meaning to, Mary Louise cut her eyes over to the urinal that Cooper had left on the bedside table. Cooper followed her gaze and suddenly understood. "Oh." He sighed in resignation. "All right, give me the damned broth."

  She flipped down the legs on the bed tray and settled it across his lap. Then she plumped the pillows at his back. "I'll be sure and tell Mrs. Peterson how much you appreciated her thoughtfulness," Mary Louise muttered drily as she laid a napkin over his chest. "Shall I feed you, or can you manage by yourself?"

  "I can feed myself," he grumbled. He looked away for a moment and then back at her. "And tell Mrs. Peterson that I absolutely love broth."

  She smiled in amusement. "Yes, I'll do that." Then she picked up the porcelain 'vase.' "And I'll take care of this, too." She started out the door.

  "Mary Louise."

  She looked back at him. "Yes?"

  "I'm sorry I've behaved badly."

  She raised her brows. "It's quite all right. I didn't know you could behave any other way."

  He scowled. "Bring me a pencil and paper, will you. I'd like to write a note to someone."

  "Who?"

  He chuckled and shook his head. "I never realized you were a busy— body as well as the bane of my existence."

  Mary Louise raised her chin another notch. "I was only passing the time. Forget I even asked."

  "Oh, get off your high— horse, Weezie. I'm sending a note to Katybeth Norris, a young woman whom I've been seeing off and on for several months. I expect she'd like to hear that I'm recovering from my wounds."

  It was all Mary Louise could do to remain calm. He'd said when he was drunk from laudanum that he was going to propose to somebody. Was it this Norris woman? Not wanting Cooper to notice her concern, Mary Louise shrugged nonchalantly. "If she's really interested, all she has to do is ask Joe Bob or Charlie."

  Cooper cocked his head and studied her. "Is there some reason you don't want me to contact her?"

  Yes, there's a reason, she wanted to scream. "Of course not," she said. "I'll get the pencil and paper for you."

  Mary Louise stood outside Cooper's room with the pencil and paper. Would he propose in a note? Surely not. She tapped her chin with the pencil. Sooner or later Cooper would be well enough to go and see this Katybeth person whether she liked it or not. She couldn't prevent him from proposing— so, failing that, she would just have to think of a way to keep Miss Norris from accepting.

  Chapter 10

  AT COOPER'S request, Mary Louise reluctantly gave the envelope addressed to Miss Katybeth Norris to Joe Bob, with instructions to deliver it to the young lady that afternoon. She was tempted to read what Cooper had written to her unknown adversary, but she overcame her curiosity. She did, after all, have some scruples. However, before he left with the accursed letter, Mary Louise offered the deputy a cup of coffee, hoping she could find out more about the woman she perceived as a significant threat to her plans.

  "Do you know Miss Norris, Joe Bob?" she asked as she filled his cup with the hot brew.

  "Yes'm. I've been knowin' her a long time— since we was kids."

  "Cooper seems quite fond of her. What's she like?"

  Joe Bob frowned. "Well, to tell you the honest truth, Miss Markham, I don't like her all that much. Both them Norris girls is sly as foxes, and everbody knows it. Lucille, Katybeth's older sister, got into some trouble a few years back when Preacher Norris caught her and her young man in what they call a compromisin' sitch'ation. They got married up the next day." Joe Bob chuckled. "Most folks think Miss Lucille planned the whole thang, and if you want to know the truth, so do I. She'd been after Don Ed Odom for a long time, kept waitin' for him to pop the question, but ol' Don Ed didn't seem to be in no hurry to get hitched. I reckon Miss Lucille decided it was time to take matters in her own hands."

  "What did she do?"

  "Her and Don Ed went over to Cullyville— 'bout eight miles from here as the crow flies. On the way home, their horse went lame and they had to spend the night at a way station. Preacher Norris found them there the next morning. Preacher Norris said his daughter was ruin't, said the onliest thang that could save her reputation was for poor ol' Don Ed to make an honest woman outta her. That Lucille was a sly one, she was."

  "But, it wasn't her fault that their horse went lame."

  Joe Bob grinned. "My first cousin works for the blacksmith and he was there when Preacher Norris brought in the horse to be looked at. The smithy told my cousin that the horse's hoof had something stuck in the pad— a lady's earbob— jus' like the ones Miss Lucille was wearin' that day." Joe Bob ar
ched a brow. "What does that tell you?"

  Mary Louise laughed. "It tells me that Miss Lucille Norris is a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it."

  Joe Bob looked at Mary Louise a long moment and then he said quietly, "Miss Katybeth knows how to get what she wants, too, Miss Markham. And she don't mind usin' tricks to do it, neither. I'd hate to see her get her claws in the Sheriff."

  "But, surely Cooper wouldn't be so easily fooled— would he? No, no, I'm certain that he's too intelligent by far to fall for some trick," Mary Louise insisted.

  Joe Bob's expression remained serious. "Maybe. Maybe not."

  This gave Mary Louise pause. Joe Bob seemed really worried, and that concerned her. Once Cooper recovered, would Katybeth try to trick him into marriage? Mary Louise frowned when she thought of Cooper's note to the woman. Now she wished shad read the note before summoning Joe Bob. At least then she'd know what was on Cooper's mind. Mary Louise thought again about Lucille Norris' chicanery and the fact that Joe Bob seemed to think that Katybeth was capable of the same sort of tactics.

  "Well, I guess I'll be going. Thanks for the coffee, Miss Markham."

  Suddenly something that her father often said came to mind. Know thy enemy, Papa had said. "Just a moment, Joe Bob, while I write a note to Miss Norris, too." Mary Louise hurried to find a pen and paper and quickly scribbled a message. Then she tucked the note into an envelope and handed it to the surprised deputy. At his curious glance, she smiled. "I thought I might invite Miss Norris over for tea."

  Mary Louise watched Joe Bob hurry down the steps with the two envelopes and she smiled to herself. The woman might cast out a line for him, but Mary Louise was not about to allow Miss Katybeth Norris to reel Cooper in like some prize fish— not without a fight, anyway. If Katybeth wanted a war, Mary Louise would give her one. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, " she mumbled, "And in matters of the heart, all is fair."

  MARY LOUISE opened the door to an older gentleman and a young woman whom she knew instinctively was Cooper's Miss Norris. "May I help you?"

  The woman smiled prettily and the man said, "I'm Rev. Calvin Norris and this is my daughter, Katybeth.."

  Mary Louise opened the door wider. "Oh, of course. Please, both of you, do come in." She stepped back so that the man and woman could enter. "I'm so glad you've come. I'm sure you'll want to see Cooper while you're here. He's resting right now, but should wake, shortly. His naps rarely last past two o'clock."

  Katybeth eyed Mary Louise suspiciously. "You said in your note that you were a relative of Sheriff's Matthews, but I don't remember his mentioning any Markhams."

  Mary Louise side— stepped the remark. "How do you like your tea, Miss Norris? Reverend?"

  Rev. Norris replied, "With just a touch of sugar, if you don't mind."

  Katybeth, not to be deterred, looked pointedly at her hostess. "You were going to tell us how you're related to Sheriff Matthews?"

  "I'll get the tea pot while you and your father make yourselves comfortable. I shan't be a moment." Mary Louise said quickly. Then she hurried out of the room before the young woman could question her further.

  Mary Louise's hands shook as she prepared the tea tray and mentally kicked herself for not being better prepared for that particular question. She should have known Miss Norris would be curious, if not downright suspicious of Cooper's "relative." Oh, well, she thought, I'll just have to keep side— stepping until she grows weary of asking it.

  "Here we go," Mary Louise said with forced cheerfulness as she set the tea tray down. She poured their tea and spooned "a touch" of sugar into the cups. Then she sat down across from the visitors.

  "Miss Norris, I understand that you and Sheriff Matthews were seeing a great deal of each other before his terrible misfortune." She smiled as she handed the young woman her tea. "'I must say that I'd expected you to call on him days ago."

  To Mary Louise's pleasure, the question seemed to make Katybeth uncomfortable. "It's true that we've been keeping company for about two months," she said. " And, I— I know I probably should have been to see him before now, but, to be quite frank, Miss Markham, I don't do all that well in the sickroom."

  Mary Louise picked up her cup and quickly took a sip to hide the smile that hovered on her lips. She'd hoped that were the case, and having it affirmed by her young rival made her almost giddy with relief. Summoning her most sympathetic demeanor, she said, "I understand, my dear. Playing nursemaid isn't an easy job, nor a pleasant one." She looked directly at Katybeth and asked, "Tell me, is your relationship with my cousin a serious one?"

  The younger woman flushed and her father glowered at Mary Louise. "I find your question a bit too personal, Miss Markham."

  "Oh dear, of course it is. I'm sorry, Miss Norris, but with Cooper's condition being what it is, I just wondered..." She paused and waited for the seed of doubt to take root. Her patience was rewarded.

  Rev. Norris sat forward. "To what condition are you referring? I know he was wounded in a gun battle, but I was told— "

  Mary Louise lowered her gaze. "Yes, he was shot in the...er...in an unmentionable area— terrible wound, just terrible."

  "But I understood it was healing," Rev. Norris's brow furrowed in concern.

  Mary Louise smiled. "Oh, it is. It will take a little time until he gets full use of his...ah...leg, but I dare say within a year or so you'll hardly know he was injured. Except for the terrible scar, of course."

  Katybeth's eyes widened. "T— Terrible scar?"

  "Yes. It's rather nasty, I must say. The bullet left quite a large hole in his...ah.... him." She waved her hand. "Oh, but that doesn't matter. Once it heals completely— if it heals completely— the redness will fade and I dare say there'll be little more than a dimple in the skin."

  "If it heals completely?" Katybeth's voice quavered.

  Mary Louise set down her cup. "Oh, don't pay any attention to me, Miss Norris. I tend to worry overmuch about such things. I saw injuries back on our plantation that never quite healed properly. Even years afterward the wounds would fester and ooze— "

  "Miss Markham! Please!" Calvin Norris said huffily. "This is hardly a proper topic of conversation for an innocent young lady."

  Mary Louise hoped she looked properly contrite as she said, "Forgive me, Rev. Norris. I'm usually not so thoughtless. I suppose I must blame my bad manners on fatigue. This has been a trying time. Forget what I said. I worry too much. And, to be quite honest, the Sheriff's wound actually appears to be healing splendidly."

  Miss Norris looked at Mary Louise suspiciously. "If that's the case, what is this 'condition' you mentioned?"

  "Oh, that." Mary Louise sighed heavily. "I was referring to his head wound."

  "H— His head wound?"

  Mary Louise leaned over to pat the younger woman's arm. "You mustn't worry, I'm sure everything is going to be fine."

  "I thought the bullet only grazed his head," Calvin muttered.

  "Oh, it did. Right here, at the temple." Mary Louise tapped the area above her ear."

  "Then what is the problem?"

  Mary Louise bit her lip and avoided Katybeth's and her father's gaze. "I'm afraid...well...the injury seems to have affected his mind."

  The woman gasped. "Oh, no! How? What did it do to him."

  "He's having some difficulty speaking." Mary Louise struggled to appear melancholy. "His words are slurred— almost as if he's suffered from apoplexy, if you know what I mean."

  "My grandfather suffered from apoplexy and was an invalid until his death," Katybeth murmured. The she glanced at her father. "Oh, Papa!"

  "It's hard to imagine a man like dear Cooper being helpless, isn't it?" Mary Louise prodded.

  "Yes. Very hard." Katybeth set her cup on the tray. "Miss Markham— "

  "Please, call me Mary Louise."

  "What exactly are Sheriff Matthews' chances of a full recovery?"

  "Well..." Mary Louise put on a brave smile. "Miracles do happen." She stood up. "Let
me see if my patient is awake from his nap."

  "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't bother him," the younger woman said anxiously. "I wouldn't want to disturb his rest."

  "Oh, you won't disturb him. And, I know he's eager to see you."

  Mary Louise bit back a smile when she heard Katybeth whimper softly as she followed her hostess down the hall. "Wait here until I see if he's up to company," she whispered to Katybeth. Then she slipped into Cooper's room.

  "Cooper?" Mary Louise said softly. "Are you awake?"

  "Yes, I'm awake," he growled. "This damned hole in my...my leg is killing me. I thought you said you were going to give me some laudanum. What took you so long?"

  "I'm sorry, Cooper, I had no idea it hurt so much. I'll give it to you right now." She poured water into his glass and added several drops from the little bottle. Then, just for good measure, she added a few more. There, she thought, that should make him sufficiently soused. "Here you go, drink it all down like a good boy." She handed the glass to Cooper.

  "Don't talk to me as if I were Annie's age," Cooper snapped.

  "Then don't act her age," Mary Louise retorted. As she waited for the laudanum to take effect, she straightened the bed covers, smoothed his blankets, and plumped his pillows.

  "Wha' you doin'?" Cooper slurred a few moments later.

  "I'm making your room presentable. You've guests waiting to see you."

  "Guess?" He struggled to form the words. "Who?"

  "Miss Norris and her father. I invited them for tea and they want to see you."

  Cooper groaned. "I can' shee her now."

  "Of course you can see her now." As a matter of fact, Mary Louise thought as she headed toward the door, now is the perfect time.

  When she returned to the hallway, she spoke quietly to Katybeth and her father, her voice grave and ominous. "We haven't told Cooper the seriousness of his condition as yet. Doctor Morrison felt it would be too much for him to deal with right now— you understand, I'm sure."