“Evan and I were going to play a couple games of checkers while everyone was gone,” Joe said while washing his hands. “With you two here, we could play a couple hands of pitch. Course it’d be a runaway, ’cause you’re both lousy players.”
Deep in his own thoughts, Evan vaguely heard what Joe was saying. Since meeting Julie on the road and seeing her at the ball game, he had been thinking about her a lot. Today he coaxed more information about her from her unsuspecting brother. She didn’t have a steady beau, in fact no beau at all. What was the matter with the men around here? He had not seen another woman worth looking at twice since coming back to Fertile.
Knowing that Evan’s eyes were still on her, Julie felt her cheeks grow warm. She became suddenly and uncomfortably aware of the faded gingham dress she wore, but she couldn’t do anything about it now. He would think that she was primping for him if she did anything about her hair. Julie was careful to keep her features deceptively calm, masking her swirling thoughts.
“I suppose you think that you and Evan will team up against me and Julie.” Jack gave a vigorous shake of his head. “Not fair. You and Julie against me and Evan.”
“That’s not fair! Evan’s the best player. He can have Julie.”
Julie turned with her hands on her hips. “Thank you, brothers mine, for the confidence. I can remember when Papa and I skunked you two. Three games out of three, and you didn’t even come close to winning any of them.”
“That was because I was sick with a cold and couldn’t think straight and you tallied the score.” Joe clapped his hand down on Julie’s shoulder. Over her head he winked at Evan.
“I’ve not said that I’ll play,” Julie replied haughtily, with her chin tilted so that she appeared to look down her nose at her brother. “Besides … how dare you give me away like … like an old shoe.”
Julie looked up to see Evan staring at her intently. A muscle stood out in the hard plane of his cheek and his mouth was grim. Then, in the flash of an eye, he smiled. His expression changed drastically. His smiling eyes caught hers and held them captive. She couldn’t have looked away if the house had been on fire.
“Shall we take on these two scamps? They’ll lose, and I’ve got a pile of wood over at my place that needs working up. It wouldn’t take them more than a couple of days with me cracking the whip.”
“How about if they wash dishes here for a week?”
“Wait a dadgummed minute,” Joe said heatedly. “What do we get if we win?”
Still smiling at Evan, Julie said, “You won’t.”
“Bull-foot!” Jack dropped a deck of cards on the table, sat down and began to shuffle them. “Let’s show ’em, Joe.”
“Yeah. Our little sis is gettin’ a mite too feisty. We’ll put her back in her place.”
Evan watched Julie as she teased with her brothers. She looked younger with her hair down. Joe had said that she was two years older than his eighteen years.
“I’ll play, but I’ll keep score.” Julie looped her hair behind her ears and sat down. “I don’t trust either of you.”
Joe passed the tablet to Julie. “You think we’d cheat? Jack, our little sister thinks we’d cheat.”
“Cuts me to the quick that she’d think that,” Jack said and dealt the cards.
Julie snorted. “The only thing that cuts you to the quick is missing a meal.” She threw away two cards. “Give me two.”
“One,” Evan said when his turn came to bid.
The hand ended with Evan taking all five tricks.
“What do you think now, little brothers?” Julie crowed.
Jack overbid and was set on the next hand.
Julie and Evan won the first game. Joe and Jack won the next game and wanted to quit while they were even. Evan and Julie insisted on playing another game, which they won.
“We won two games out of three!” Julie looked across at Evan. His smile matched hers. “We showed them, didn’t we?” She was breathless, excited and felt young and giddy.
“We sure did. Do you think they should have any of the fudge?”
“If I don’t give them a little, they’ll not be fit to live with for a month.” Julie brought the platter to the table and cut the candy in squares.
“You’re sure doing a lot of crowing. It’ll be different next time,” Joe said, reaching toward the platter. “I was just getting warmed up.”
“Company first.” Julie swatted his hand with the flat of the knife and pushed the plate across to Evan.
Evan couldn’t recall having spent a more enjoyable evening and he hated to see it end. He watched Julie and listened to her good-natured banter with her brothers. There was a great deal of affection between them. Not having had a sibling, Evan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
“Take another piece, everyone, then I’m putting it away so there’ll be some for the kids.” Julie wrapped a cloth around the platter and was placing it on a shelf when she heard Sidney’s bark, then the sound of a car. “Papa’s back.”
The car came to a stop and a little later turned around in the yard and headed back down the lane. Jill came across the porch and into the kitchen. Jason was close behind. Never one to hide her feelings, Jill had a mutinous look on her face.
“Have a good time?” Julie asked.
“No.”
“No?” Julie quirked a brow at her sister’s grumpiness. “Wasn’t Ruby May there?”
“She was there.”
“Where did Papa go?”
“To take her home.” Jill slumped down in a kitchen chair. “Her and her whiny … brat.”
Evan sat back, watching the family. Julie’s wide mouth, its lower lip fuller and softer than the upper one, turned down at the corners, told him that she was less than happy at the news her sister had imparted. The grin had left Jack’s face, and Joe had turned his head to watch his older sister.
“Would a piece of fudge cheer you up?” Julie brought the platter from the shelf. “Jason, honey, come have some.”
“I didn’t even get to sit in front with Papa.”
“You got to sit in front on the way to town.” Julie put her arm around the boy and drew him to the table. He leaned his head against her for a moment.
“No, he didn’t,” Jill blurted. “When we got to the Humphreys’ he had to get in back with me and the four Humphrey kids. Mrs. Stuart got in front with her … brat.”
“Didn’t Mrs. Humphrey go?”
“They went in the wagon so the kids could ride to town in the car.”
“Well, let’s not be grumpy about it. Tomorrow is Sunday. Maybe Papa will take us for a ride.”
“I don’t like her. She never said one word to me or Jason. Papa treated her like she was … Queen of the May.” Jill popped a piece of fudge in her mouth. “He helped her get in the car and lifted the brat up to sit by her. I don’t like her,” Jill said again.
“It isn’t important whether you like her or not. Papa was just giving her a ride.”
A quick spate of words broke from Jill’s lips. “If you believe that … then there’s a cow sitting out in the oak tree chirping like a robin.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Julie stood still, head tilted back, arms folded. She looked at her sister with a mixture of exasperation and desperation.
“Evan was their first choice,” Jill continued with the brashness of youth. “He was too smart to be taken in. I thought Papa was smarter, too. He’s not thinkin’ straight or he’d not—”
“Watch your mouth, Jill,” Joe said sharply.
“I’m not saying anything that isn’t true, am I, Mr. Johnson?”
Julie darted a glance at Evan. His narrowed gaze was on her. His eyes held a combination of sharp intelligence and quiet strength. Embarrassment reddened her cheeks. He turned his head slightly toward Jill.
“Young lady, I’d say that you have a pretty good handle on the situation.”
“See? I’m not so dumb.”
“I wondered why Papa
was so eager to get a car. He hadn’t mentioned it before.” Jack sat quietly with his hands clasped on the table.
“Arrr-woof!” Sidney had his nose pressed to the screen door.
“Can I let him in, Julie? He’s not muddy or nothin’.” Jason looked imploringly at his sister.
“Honey, he’s been in the cockleburs. They’ll be on the floor and Joy will be getting them in her feet. You should be in bed. It’s almost ten o’clock.”
“Arrr-woof!”
“Oh, all right,” Jason said dejectedly. “Ever’thin’s goin’ wrong ’round here anyhow.”
“It’ll be better tomorrow. You’ll … see.” Julie’s voice was not quite convincing.
Jill raised her eyes to the ceiling. “You guys are so dumb! You’d better do somethin’ before she gets her hooks deeper into him.”
“And what do you think we ought to do?” Joe reached out a hand, clapped it on the top of Jill’s head and gave it a gentle shake.
“How do I know? You’re always tellin’ me that I’m just a kid. You think of somethin’.” Jill glanced at her sister’s frowning face, then down at the table.
“You and Jason head on up to bed. I’ll see if the quilt I put on the line is dry.” The stress lines between Julie’s brows deepened and her mouth tensed as she hurried out the door.
“You’ve upset Julie with all this talk about Papa and that woman,” Jack said. “I hope you’re satisfied.”
Evan got to his feet. “I’ll be going. Tell your father I’ll see what I can do about fixing the fenders on his car.”
“Can I ride in your car someday, Mr. Johnson?” Jason asked.
“I didn’t know you had a car.” This from Jill.
“Sure, Jason.” Evan headed for the door. “The next time I get it out of the shed.”
“Why do you ride that horse if you’ve got a car? That’s dumb.” Jill failed to see the annoyance on her older brother’s face.
“That’s enough out of you, Jill.” Joe followed his new friend out the door. “Sorry about that, Evan. Jill’s mouth runs away with her, and Julie will be put out with us for airing our family problems in front of company.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Maybe you’re worried over nothing. Your father may not be interested in Mrs. Stuart after he gets to know her better.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Night, Jack. I’m going to say good night to your sister.” Evan stepped off the porch. In the darkness he could see Julie was struggling with a heavy quilt on the clothesline. As he approached, a low growl came from Sidney, who stood stiff-legged beside her. “Will the dog take my leg off if I help you with that?”
“Sidney, it’s all right.” She spoke calmly to the dog. Then to Evan: “I’ve about got it turned. I washed it this afternoon. I thought it would be dry by now.”
“There was a lot of humidity today and it looked like we were in for a good rain.” Evan easily lifted the quilt and flung it over the line. “It’s clear tonight. That moon looks like someone hung a yellow ball in the sky.”
“Or a balloon.” Julie took extra pains seeing that the quilt was straight on the line because she didn’t know what else to say.
Evan knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t blurt it right out. Damn my heart for beating so fast and making me feel like a callow youth.
“Joe is standing on the porch keeping an eye on me,” he said and chuckled.
“What does he think you’re going to do?”
“I admire him for watching over you,” he said instead of answering her question.
“He’s very dear to me. All of them are, but Joe is special.”
A breeze came up and wrapped strands of her long hair around her neck. She gathered it in her hands and brought it all forward over one shoulder.
“You’re lucky to have brothers and sisters.” His words came out slowly and fell into the quiet pool of silence.
“You might not think so if you could hear them squabbling all at once. It was tame tonight. They were united against …” Her voice trailed.
“I understand their concern.”
“Papa is a levelheaded man. He’ll not do anything to hurt the family.”
Evan made no comment. He was trying to think of a way to keep her out here in the dark with him a little longer. Worry that her father might be driving in at any minute forced him to blurt out what he had come to say.
“Julie … would you go with me to the picture show or out to Spring Lake some night?”
His head was tilted to the side. Julie could feel his eyes on her face. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could scarcely breathe. They were alone in the dark. Her thoughts were so muddled that she couldn’t remember exactly what he had said.
“If you don’t want to go, I’ll understand. It’s Walter, isn’t it?”
“You’re not like … your father,” she said quickly.
“God, I hope not. Walk with me over to the pen to get my horse.” He reached for her hand, holding it lightly to give her a chance to withdraw it. When she didn’t, he drew it up into the crook of his arm, holding the back of it pressed to his side. She slipped her hand from his arm when they reached the pole corral and he missed the warm touch.
Had he gone too fast, been too intimate?
“Joe asked me to come to the ball game tomorrow afternoon.”
“You don’t have to be invited. It’s open to anyone who wants to come.”
“How about going out with me next Saturday night?”
“All right.” Julie wondered what he would think if he knew that she had never been asked out on a date.
“We’ll go wherever you want to go, to the picture show or to the dance.”
“May I decide later?”
“Sure. I’ll have to give Jason a ride in the car before we go. I promised him.”
“He’ll not let you forget it.”
“Thanks for the fudge.”
“You’re welcome,” she said softly.
Evan opened the gate. “I hear your father coming. I’ll let myself out the back gate. Good night, Julie.”
“Good night, Evan.”
Chapter 7
THE RED LIGHT WAS ON. It was the signal for Chief Corbin Appleby to call the telephone operator or come to the office. Hung in the center of the line stretched across Main Street from the telephone office to the hardware store, the light shone for only the second time since Corbin’s swearing in three days ago.
Diane Ham, the telephone operator, had turned the signal on yesterday when the county supervisor wanted the chief’s input on the room they were remodeling in the basement of the courthouse to use as a temporary jail while a more permanent facility was being made ready.
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