When he walked into the cabin, Jack’s eyes were immediately drawn to LeAnn. It was the first time he’d seen her up close, and he was surprised by how young she was. Even though her pregnancy had thickened her waist, she was still slender. A wealth of thick wheat- colored hair cascaded down and framed her oval face. She kept her soft brown eyes on her plate and ate very little in spite of Mabel’s coaxing.
“You’re eating for two, LeAnn. Have some more potatoes and gravy.”
“Save room for the berry pie,” Maggie added.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Maggie,” Nona said gently.
“I knew that was coming.” The young girl groaned.
Jack looked up from his plate, his eyes moving from one sister to the other. Nona was certainly a beauty; her curly red hair would have grabbed any man’s attention. While Maggie was younger and didn’t have that remarkable hair color, Jack could see that she would break a heart or two during her lifetime. One thing was for certain: The two of them sure argued like sisters.
“Just stop your moaning, Maggie. Our mother would never have permitted such bad table manners. She had dignity, something you need to learn.”
“Did she have red hair like yours?” Jack asked.
“Not quite as red as mine, but it was beautiful,” Nona told him. “Our father loved her red hair. He used to sit and watch her comb it. He was glad that I’d inherited it from her.”
“And I got this hair,” Maggie said as she pulled a strand from her head and held it out for everyone to see. “It’s the same color as Daddy’s.”
“What color hair does your brother have?” Jack asked.
Mabel and Nona fell silent as Maggie answered, “Brown like mine.”
Nona looked up at Jack with new eyes. Was he one of the men looking for Harold? How did he know she had a brother? Surely Simon wouldn’t have him staying with them if there were a doubt about his intentions. But what if they were in it together? What if they were trying to lull her into a false sense of security? Maggie was innocent and would talk until the cows came home. Oh, Lord, how did I get into such a mess?
Simon didn’t return until the middle of the afternoon. When he arrived, he went directly to Nona’s cabin. Mabel met him at the door.
“Come on in, Simon. I saved dinner for you.”
“You’re a treasure, Mabel. I’m as starved as a grizzly bear coming out of hibernation. I didn’t have time to eat in town.” He hung his hat on the deer antler hat rack inside the door. “Mind if I wash up?”
“Of course not,” she said as she moved the skillet over the fire and added a little milk to the gravy. Simon turned on the water spigot. He rubbed his hands furiously before toweling them dry.
“Has LeAnn been here today?”
“Yes, she was here most of the morning. As long as we don’t know what happened to her husband, we thought it would be best if she stayed with us. We even went to the outhouse together.” Mabel chuckled.
“Bet it was pretty crowded in there.” Simon grinned. “Where is she now?”
“Jack’s with her.”
Footsteps echoed across the porch and Nona came in. She took a long look at Simon. “Did everything get taken care of with the sheriff?”
“Pretty much. How’s LeAnn holding up?”
“As well as one could expect from a woman whose husband was murdered.”
“I don’t think they got along very well,” Mabel added as she lifted the skillet and poured the gravy into a bowl. “She seldom said anything about him.”
“She’ll have a rough time alone,” Simon said.
“I asked her once if her husband had been happy about the baby,” Mabel said. “She shook her head and said that he’d rather they weren’t having one now. She even hinted that he wanted her to get rid of it.”
“What a cruel, insensitive man,” Nona declared. “Maybe she’s better off without him, but you’re right, she’ll have a rough time. I can tell she’s worried about what she’s going to do.”
“Does she have family she can go to?” Simon asked.
“From what she told me, they’re dirt poor and have three more kids at home to feed. I doubt she’ll go back there unless she absolutely has to.” Mabel set a pan of corn bread on the table. “It’d be hard for a woman with a baby to make a living for herself.”
“I know something about that,” Nona explained. “It was hard enough for me, and Maggie was older. But then I’ve always had Mabel to help.”
Mabel placed her hand on Nona’s shoulder. “You’re my family.”
“Didn’t your brother help out?” Simon asked.
“He wasn’t a part of our lives. I didn’t even hear from him until after Daddy died. He came to the house to tell me that it would be several months, maybe even a year, before the will could be probated and we would get any money.”
“Why was that?”
“He said it was complicated, that there were legal things that we wouldn’t understand. Most of Daddy’s money was tied up in stocks and real estate. Harold said it would take time to get it out.”
“Didn’t you have a lawyer to represent you and Maggie?”
“I didn’t think we needed one. Harold’s our brother.”
“But Harold is the type of man who . . . ,” Simon began but clammed up as Maggie bounced through the door with Sam Houston at her heels.
“Simon! You’re back!” The young girl straddled a chair at the table and grinned brightly. “Does the sheriff know who killed LeAnn’s husband? Where’d you take the body? Will there be a funeral? Do I have to go?”
“Whoa there, squirt. One question at a time,” Simon cautioned. “If the sheriff knows who killed the man, he didn’t tell me. We took the body to the funeral parlor. I don’t know if there will be a funeral. It’s up to Mrs. Leasure and your sister whether or not you go.”
“Out of courtesy to LeAnn we should all go,” Nona said. “That is if there’s a service, and if LeAnn wants us there.”
“There’s going to be a lot of togetherness around here from now on until they catch whoever murdered Leasure,” Simon said.
A knock sounded on the back door.
“Mr. Wright?” Russ’s voice called from the porch.
Mabel walked over to the door and opened it. Russ stood with his hat in his hand and smiled warmly at the older woman. “Hello, Mr. Story. Come on in,” Mabel said.
“She saved some berry pie for you,” Maggie called.
Russ stepped into the kitchen and nodded to each of them. “Well, what do you know? I’ve sure got a fondness for berry pie.”
“Then have a seat.”
Mabel set a slice on the table in front of the old fisherman.
“Thank you kindly, ma’am. That looks delicious. I ain’t had no berry pie since I lost my wife years ago.” He sat down at the table and took a large bite. His eyes lit up as he said, “Just as delicious as it looks.”
“You sweet-talker, you!”
After a couple of more bites, Russ turned to Simon and said, “I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner, but there’s a couple of guys down at the dock who want to rent a cabin.”
“Did they come over by boat?” Simon said with a furrowed brow. Nona knew that he was wondering if they were the same men that had frightened Maggie the day before.
“Naw. They got a pretty good-lookin’ car.” Russ took the last bite of pie, then, after resting his fork on the edge of the plate, grinned at Mabel. “That was more than delicious. That was a slice of heaven itself.”
“If Russ is any indication,” Simon said, “you’re going to be a big hit with the hunters this winter. If I don’t watch it, I just might lose you to a big oilman. I hear there’s a dozen or more who come here to hunt.”
“Well now, wouldn’t that be grand.” Mabel beamed. “I’d marry him for his money, buy that run-down place across the lake, and then drive you out of business.”
“But I’ll have Nona,” Simon said laughing, “and that red hair will draw hunt
ers like flies to a honey pot.”
“You’re taking a lot for granted,” Nona fumed.
Without a word, Simon got up from the table, snatched up his hat, and headed to the door, followed by Russ. As he pulled it open, he stared at Nona. “You won’t talk to me that way after we’re married.” He winked at Maggie and closed the door quickly behind him before she could answer.
Nona sat at the table, her face flushed with embarrassment. That man has more nerve! Her irritation grew when Maggie started snickering.
“I don’t know why you fight it.” She chuckled. “Just marry him.”
“This is exactly why I keep a close eye on you,” Nona scolded. She turned in her seat to face her sister. “Young lady, you’re getting too smart for your britches!”
Maggie’s face crumpled. Her eyes searched her sister’s face for a sign that her harsh words were a joke, but Nona’s frown grew deeper. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Maggie said meekly.
“And another thing,” Nona continued. “Don’t go trying to arrange things for me. I’m perfectly capable of deciding who I will marry without any help from you!”
Without another word, Maggie shot up from her chair and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. Her anger subsiding, Nona found herself shocked at what she’d said. One look at Mabel and she knew that her old friend felt the same.
“Go after her,” Mabel prodded.
Nona went out the door and stood on the porch. She didn’t see a sign of her sister. Why did I snap at her like that? She had taken her frustration with Simon out on Maggie.
A splash of color down near the lake caught her eye. Looking closer, she could see Maggie out on the dock, trying to untie a small boat that bobbed on the water. Sam Houston barked loudly behind her. Fear gripped Nona’s heart and she jumped down off of the porch and ran toward the lake.
“Maggie!” she shouted.
The young girl turned at the sound of the shout, but instead of stopping she hurried even faster to untie the rope. Nona scanned the area for Russ, or Simon, wanting to yell at them to stop Maggie from getting in the boat. Nona ran. After what seemed forever, she reached the wet planks. Maggie had stopped at the end of the dock and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest. As Nona called to her again, Nona’s feet slipped out from under her and the world turned upside down.
For a moment, she felt weightless, but then a searing pain filled her as the back of her head slammed into the dock. Her vision swam and stars jumped in the afternoon sky. She tried to get back on her feet despite the pain.
Without warning, the ground dropped out from under her. There wasn’t any time to wonder what happened before the cold water of the lake surrounded her.
Normally, she would have just swum to the surface, but the throbbing pain in the back of her head disoriented her. Even worse, her mouth was full of water. Her arms flailed but she couldn’t grab hold of anything. Panic seized her. She couldn’t breathe; nor could she see what she was doing. Her lungs felt as if they would explode. She was pulled down into the blackness and knew with certainty she was going to drown.
Chapter 11
OOOAAHH!” Water coughed its way out of Nona’s lungs. Someone was pounding on her back. She turned on her side and lake water gushed out of her mouth. Coughs racked her as her vision slowly began to clear. The pain that filled her was a happy reminder that she wasn’t dead.
“Cough it up, honey. You’ll be all right.” A man’s voice seeped into her mind.
Darkness came and went. The coughing slowly began to subside.
“Feeling better?”
“Will she really be okay?” Another voice—Maggie’s, she thought.
“She’ll be fine.”
“Simon?” Nona mumbled. She rolled onto her back and blinked her eyes rapidly. Simon was kneeling on the dock beside her, his shirt soaked to the skin. His face was creased with worry. Maggie stood behind him, her face wet with tears.
“Whatever am I going to do with you?” he whispered softly.
“What happened?”
“Maggie says you were running on the wet planks, fell, banged your head, and tumbled into the water. She tried to reach you but you’d slipped too far under. Luckily, I was close enough to hear her yelling. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were doing your best to drive me out of my mind.”
Nona’s head was pounding. She reached back to tenderly touch the knot growing on the base of her skull. She tried to rise up, but dizzily fell back onto the dock.
“Whoa, there,” Simon warned. “Let me handle that.”
He picked Nona up off of the dock as if she were nothing more than a doll. He pulled her close and cradled her against his chest. She coughed up more water as Simon carried her off the dock.
“Why are you carrying me?” she asked.
“How else are you going to get to the cabin?”
“I can walk.”
“I don’t think so. Just be still and enjoy the ride,” he whispered.
“Is she hurt bad?” Maggie asked as she trotted along beside them.
“She’ll be all right. Run ahead and open the door.” Maggie sprinted ahead and jumped onto the porch. She’d pulled the screen door open when Mabel appeared in the doorway.
“Lord have mercy! What happened?”
“I’m all right,” Nona said weakly.
“All right? My foot! You fell in the lake,” Simon explained as he walked through the door and headed straight for Nona’s room. Mabel followed behind. He continued, “She’s going to have a lump on the back of her head the size of an egg. We’ll need to get some ice for it.”
“I’ll get some,” Maggie said and hurried away.
Inside the bedroom, the mid-afternoon sun poured through a crack in the curtains. Simon gently placed Nona on the bed and took off her shoes. Her chilled body was shaking.
“Go help Maggie,” Mabel ordered. “I’ll take off her wet clothes.” Mabel soon had Nona stripped and wrapped in a blanket. The warmth of the cover was welcome.
“Ohhh . . . ,” Nona groaned as she snuggled into the blanket. She lifted her hand to once again reach for the knot on the back of her head, but before she could touch it, Simon snatched her hand and held it tightly in his own.
“Don’t,” he said firmly. She wasn’t sure if she were delirious, but she could feel Simon’s hands trembling as he wrapped her in another blanket. “Do you feel sick to your stomach?”
“I don’t think so.”
“How about your vision? Is it blurred?”
“A little,” she admitted. “I feel sleepy.”
Mabel came into the room with a chunk of ice wrapped in a towel. She handed it to Simon and then stood next to Maggie at the foot of the bed. Even with her splitting headache, Nona could see worry etched in their faces.
“Tell me if this hurts,” Simon said as he slid the ice pack behind Nona’s head and touched it against the knot. She flinched hard, her face twisted in discomfort. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“It’s not that bad. I don’t need a doctor.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. You may have a concussion,” he said gravely. “What do you think, Mabel? Do we need to take her to town?”
“As long as she can focus her eyes and move her head without getting sick to her stomach, I don’t think she has a concussion. But we’ll need to watch her. We need to keep her awake for a while.”
“If she doesn’t snap out of it within an hour, I’ll take her to the doctor whether she wants to go or not.”
“You’re the most ‘take charge’ man I’ve ever met,” Nona said weakly.
“And don’t you ever forget it.” Simon leaned closely, his mouth only inches from Nona’s ear. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and her own breathing became ragged. “You scared the life out of me, you sweet girl. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get you right where I want you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you with me.”
She wanted to reach out, touch his face, and tell h
im that she’d never felt safer than she did at that moment. Instead, the darkness closed around her and she closed her eyes.
“Here now. Don’t go to sleep yet. I’ll do something to make you mad, or I’ll kiss you,” he whispered for her ears alone. “But I prefer the latter.”
Nona slept restlessly through the night. When she looked in the mirror the next morning, she thought she looked like something Sam Houston had dragged in from the woods. Her face was pale, except for the dark bruise on the side of her head. Her hair was plastered to her head in tight curls. The bump on the back of her head was still tender.
Glory! What a sight!
Walking on not-quite-steady legs, she went to the kitchen, where Simon and Mabel were having breakfast. Suddenly weak, she grasped hold of the knobs on the high-back chair for support. Simon jumped up from the table, took her elbow, and eased her down into the chair.
“You’re as white as a ghost!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing up? How did you sleep?”
“Not well. I tossed and turned.”
“You poor little lamb.” Mabel set a cup of coffee and a piece of toast in front of Nona.
“I’m not hungry, Mabel.”
“Eat anyway,” Simon ordered. “Where are Maggie and LeAnn?”
“Maggie was down by the lake with Russ,” Mabel answered. “LeAnn went with Jack to her cabin to get some clothes.”
Just then, the door flew open and Maggie rushed in breathlessly. For a moment, she hung her head low, her hands on her knees, trying to gather herself to talk; she’d obviously been running. Nona braced herself for news of trouble, but the young girl finally composed herself and said, “Mr. Story wants Simon. A couple of fellas are asking about renting a cabin. High-roller types, Mr. Story said. They had questions he couldn’t answer.”
“Thanks, squirt.”
Simon got up from the table, picked up his hat, and headed to the door. “I want the three of you to stay together. Jack and LeAnn will be back soon. So will I.”
On Tall Pine Lake Page 10