Dorothy Garlock - [Tucker Family]

by Keep a Little Secret

  “There’s no rest for the wicked, is there?” she teased him as she neared.

  “I suppose not.” He chuckled. “But then I suppose that explains why you’re up and about so early.”

  Charlotte smiled at the easy way she and Hale kidded with each other. Though they had only met the night before, she felt as if she had known him for years; it was as if he were the brother she’d never had. She felt certain that the warmth and friendliness in his heart easily matched his bulk, maybe even exceeded it.

  “Did you manage to sleep last night?” he asked, dropping his playful manner, if only for a moment, “what with it bein’ your first night and all?”

  “Yes, I slept very well; thank you.”

  “Most evenin’s round here are very pleasant, once you get used to the sound of about a hundred horses roamin’ ever’ darn way,” Hale explained. “As for myself, I’m usually so tired after a day’s hard workin’ that I don’t know if I’d wake up even if a tornado pulled the roof off over my head!”

  “Well, let’s hope that it never comes to that.”

  “You can’t ever tell about Oklahoma weather.”

  Before Charlotte could ask Hale what he was doing with the horses he had brought into the corral, she was interrupted by the loud, fevered sound of dogs barking. From around the corner of the nearest barn, dust rising in clouds from the striking of their paws against the ground, came a pair of mutts. One was much larger than the other, a fluffy white beast with slightly upraised ears. His companion was much smaller, black as the night sky, hurrying to keep up on legs a third shorter.

  The white dog raced up to Charlotte and began to run awkward circles around her, playfully barking, his tongue lolling out, and his eyes never leaving her. Once the black dog managed to keep up, he stayed out of the way near Hale; Charlotte wasn’t sure if it was because the mutt was wary of her or wise enough to avoid being trampled by his partner.

  “Salt, you big dummy!” Hale shouted. “Don’t you know that ain’t no way to greet a lady?”

  At the sound of Hale’s booming voice, the white dog instantly broke away from his circling around Charlotte and leaped up on his hind legs, placing his paws squarely in the enormous ranch hand’s midsection. With his tail wagging furiously, the dog clearly enjoyed the scratching he was receiving behind the ears.

  “This here is Salt,” Hale said in introduction, “on account of his color and that we figure he’s got nothin’ but rocks between his ears.”

  Salt gave a merry bark, as if he agreed with Hale’s assessment.

  “And this little fella down here is old Salt’s constant companion,” he explained, nodding to the little black dog who, upon being mentioned, inched back behind Hale’s leg until he was nearly out of sight, giving a low growl for good measure. “He goes by—”

  “Let me guess,” Charlotte offered. “His name is Pepper.”

  Hale laughed heartily. “I suppose it were to be expected, weren’t it!”

  Charlotte bent down, straightening her skirt on the dusty ground, and carefully reached out her hand to Pepper. Skittish, the little dog leaped back, offering a hint of his teeth to go with his earlier warning. Patiently, Charlotte waited. Slowly, Pepper’s fear and trepidation began to wane as his curiosity grew. His tiny black nose twitching this way and that, he eventually made his way to Charlotte’s hand, allowing her to pet his small body and lifting his head as if in triumph.

  “Looks like you’re the sort who gets along well with dogs,” Hale remarked.

  “I had a special one when I was younger.”

  “Can’t say that you’ve lost your touch, then.”

  “I suppose it’s not something that ever really goes away.” Charlotte smiled.

  “I reckon not.”

  Now that Pepper was getting special attention, Salt became jealous and decided that he wasn’t about to lose out, even to a friend. He jumped away from Hale and pushed his canine companion completely out of the way, before finally sitting down in front of Charlotte, waiting for the surely inevitable petting that was to come.

  After a few moments of showering the two gluttons with affection, scratches and petting, Hale finally asked, “So what are you doin’ out so early?”

  Charlotte smiled playfully. “Hannah offered to have her brother take us both into town this morning. She thought I might benefit from being shown around a little before I was expected to start teaching.”

  “Ha… Hannah… asked you… to go?” he stammered.

  Rising to her feet, Charlotte fixed Hale with a curious look. He stared at her for only a moment before turning away, color rising in his cheeks and his foot kicking nervously at the dirt.

  “You’re sweet on Hannah, aren’t you?” she ventured.

  “No… no… I—I don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout,” he answered.

  “Tell me the truth, Hale,” Charlotte insisted.

  The man’s mouth opened wide, as if he wanted to argue the point a bit further, but when his eyes met hers, it was clear that he could see the uselessness of lying. “I reckon that fact’s ’bout as easy to see as that sun in the sky, ain’t it?” he asked rhetorically. “It ain’t too easy to bear knowin’ that everyone on the ranch figured it out but her.”

  “I’m sure she knows.” Charlotte smiled, despite her desire not to.

  “Awww, now that’s just great to know,” Hale despaired, throwing his hat into the dust with a thud.

  “But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t think you’re… nice,” Charlotte offered as a salve to his wounded pride. “For all you know, she might have the same feelings for you.”

  “Then why hasn’t she said somethin’?”

  “Maybe it’s because she’s waiting for you to tell her exactly where you stand,” Charlotte explained. “I’m sure it doesn’t help that every time you are in the same room as her, you can’t seem to say anything without mumbling like you’ve got your mouth full of mush.”

  “It’s not that bad,” Hale said defensively.

  “I’d only just met you, but as soon as Hannah came through the door, I could hardly recognize you,” Charlotte argued. “If I could notice it, then there is no doubting that she did.”

  “I just get so darn flummoxed!”

  “Women want a man who’s confident, someone who’s not afraid to let them know how he feels.”

  “But I don’t know how to do that!”

  “You need to learn, then.”

  Hale’s eyes suddenly lit up; it looked as if a light switch had been thrown. With his enormous hands, he reached out and grabbed her by the arms, momentarily startling her. “You can teach me!” he exclaimed.

  “Wh-what are you talking about?”

  “It makes total sense,” Hale kept on, his enthusiasm so great that he lifted her up and off the ground as if she were a bag of feathers. “You can tell me everythin’ that I’ve been doin’ wrong, what with you bein’ a woman and all! Hell, I ain’t the least bit tongue-tied round you, which means that I must not feel the slightest ’ttraction to you!”

  “Thanks a lot, Hale,” she said sarcastically.

  “Aw, you know what I mean.” He chuckled, finally hopeful.

  “Hale McCoy, what do you think you’re doing with her!”

  Both Charlotte and Hale turned to see Hannah striding toward them, consternation written across her face. As if what he was holding were ablaze with fire, Hale quickly set Charlotte down and stepped awkwardly back, looking for a moment as if he were considering running away.

  “Why did he have you up in the air like that?” Hannah asked Charlotte once she had reached her side.

  “He… he was…” Charlotte said, now the one to be tongue-tied.

  “I was just showin’ her how strong I am,” Hale jumped in, the words tumbling from his mouth.

  “Anyone with one working eye would know that,” Hannah said with a chuckle. “You should practice with the horses instead.”

  Relief washed over Charlotte at Hale’s
quick thinking, although she was just as surprised that he’d been able to form a complete sentence while in Hannah’s presence.

  “Well… then I suppose… I should probably get goin’… what with all the chores to do… and all,” Hale flailed, reverting to his bumbling ways.

  “Bye, Hale.” Hannah smiled.

  “We’ll talk when I get back,” Charlotte added.

  As he walked away, Salt and Pepper trailing happily at his heels, it was Hale who looked like a dog slinking off with his tail tucked between his legs.

  Just as she had when she had first arrived, Charlotte took in all the strange sights and sounds of the ranch as the truck drove down the dusty drive and out onto the road to Sawyer.

  Her bare arm rested on the open window, soaking up the warm sunlight; even with a gentle breeze rustling the tree leaves, the day was growing hot. Scissor-tailed flycatchers dipped and dived beside the gurgling stream, the birds’ beaks open as they tried to catch insects before retreating to what shade could be found in the summer afternoon. Only the wildflowers seemed unaffected by the heat, still standing tall under the glare of the sun.

  Owen was driving, his left hand lazily steering the wheel; he didn’t seem particularly concerned about his driving, making no attempt to avoid the depressions and deep holes that pocked the road. Hannah sat sourly between them, a hand raised above her head to ensure the truck’s roof remained a safe distance away.

  “You don’t have to hit every hole in the road, you know,” Hannah said, her voice broken as she tried to maintain her balance in the bouncing truck.

  “Anytime you want to start drivin’ yourself into town, you just let me know,” Owen answered with indifference, as he purposefully steered the truck toward an enormous hole at the edge of the road. When the wheel struck, it was as if they had been caught in an earthquake; Charlotte clung tenaciously to the door frame, fearful she might be tossed outside. “If I were you, I’d keep my comments to myself. Otherwise, you can drive yourself.”

  “But you know that I’ve never learned to drive,” Hannah argued. “Besides, the truck’s needed on the ranch.”

  “Then put a cork in all the complainin’!” he barked. “You’d think you’d be grateful!”

  Charlotte was both shocked and horrified by just how openly Owen disparaged his sister, especially while someone else was present. Though she had met him for only a moment the night before, it was hard to believe he was related to someone as outgoing and friendly as Hannah. Squirming in her bouncing seat, she found it impossible to sit quietly by as Owen belittled Hannah.

  Clearing her throat, a touch of sarcasm in her voice, Charlotte said, “Thank you for taking us into town, Owen.”

  “See?” Owen said, turning to Hannah. “She knows what to say!”

  “Maybe your sister would be more willing to give you a kind word here and there if you didn’t throw everything back in her face,” Charlotte interjected, resentment toward Owen twisting in her gut.

  “Must not have much along the lines of manners up there in Minnesota,” he retorted, his green eyes never wavering from the dusty road. “That is, unless something got lost on the trip.”

  “Don’t pay him any mind.” Hannah laughed, ignoring the rude and demeaning way in which he had spoken to her. “If there’s one thing Owen has always been good at, it’s arguing!”

  Owen frowned. “I hope you remember how funny all this is when I’ve driven off and left you in Sawyer.”

  Biting her tongue to keep from adding fuel to the fire, Charlotte fumed while she stared out the window. Though the landscape tried to grab at her divided attention, full of long, open views the likes of which she had never before seen, she paid them little mind. If Hannah hadn’t spoken up, joking about Owen’s words, there was no telling what Charlotte would have replied.

  He’d best not take that tone with me ever again!

  “It’s a lot different from Minnesota, isn’t it?” Hannah asked, following Charlotte’s gaze but not understanding its meaning.

  “More than I would ever have imagined,” Charlotte answered truthfully. “I guess I’m used to a place with lots of trees.”

  “It’s a far cry from where we come from in Colorado, too. There, just about everywhere you look is as pretty as a picture, full of snowcapped mountains, towering evergreens, and gurgling streams around every corner. And that’s to say nothing about the flowers and animals!”

  “It sure sounds beautiful,” Charlotte said. “So then why did you come to Oklahoma?”

  “Well… it’s because…” Hannah struggled. “Because…”

  “If Minnesota was so damn nice, then why in the hell did you leave?” Owen interjected.

  For an instant, Charlotte thought about going into detail about the decision to leave Carlson, her family, and the only life she had ever known behind, but something stopped her. “I suppose it’s because I wanted to see somewhere else,” she answered simply.

  “ ’Bout the same reason for us, Charlie.”

  “What did you call me?” she asked incredulously.

  “Charlie.” Owen smirked. “That’s your name, ain’t it?”

  “I’ll have you know that… isn’t my name.”

  “Hey! Look here!” Hannah shouted. At first, Charlotte thought that she was trying to break up the building argument between Owen and herself, but instead Hannah leaned across Charlotte’s lap and pointed excitedly out the open window. “What’s that?”

  Curious, Charlotte looked to where Hannah was pointing. There, just outside the limits of Sawyer, she saw a huge commotion. Men pushed and pulled on enormous poles, raising the bright blue and white fabric of a tent, occasionally hammering down a stake; the end closest to them was already straining toward the sky. Another man rhythmically turned a wrench, tightening the bolts on a barrier that looked as if it would run around the entirety of their working area. Other men were hefting large, rectangular sections of smooth wood from the back of a truck and carefully stacking them beside the tent. One man ran to and fro, shouting orders and encouragement.

  “Must be the circus coming to town,” Owen observed.

  “That’s not what it is,” Charlotte contradicted him. “It looks like they’re putting up a roller-skating rink.”

  “Really?” Hannah asked enthusiastically. “I’ve always wanted to try skating.”

  “How do you know what they’re doing?” Owen frowned.

  “One used to come to Carlson, every summer.”

  “She’s right!” Hannah yelled, still craning her neck out the window. Nearing where the men worked, they saw that a sign had been put up announcing the coming of THE BLUE TENT ROLLER RINK!

  “Huh.” Owen shrugged.

  “Did you ever go skating?” Hannah asked.

  “Sure, there’s nothing to it.” Charlotte smiled. “Not if you don’t mind falling a time or two.”

  “We’ll have to go!” Hannah cried. “We’ll just have to!”

  Owen grumbled in his seat.

  While Hannah pushed across her lap for a better view of Sawyer’s new attraction, Charlotte decided to sneak a quick look at Owen, only to be completely surprised to find him already staring at her! Though her immediate instinct was to look away in embarrassment, something in his eyes refused to let her do it, holding on to her gaze. Because of the harsh things they had said to each other, she would have expected his eyes to be full of anger and annoyance, but what she read in them more closely resembled intrigue… maybe even interest. Charlotte couldn’t help but recall how he had looked at her the night before, stopping just before he reached the door to turn back to her; though it had been too dark to see for certain, she imagined his expression had been much like how he looked at her now. Unbidden, her heart began to beat faster. Finally, he returned his gaze to the road and the moment between them was ended, leaving Charlotte to her confused thoughts.

  Owen brought the truck to a sudden halt in front of the grocer’s, stamping down on the brakes hard enough for the tires to
skid. Charlotte got out with Hannah right behind her. The door hadn’t even completely shut behind them when Owen hit the gas and was off again.

  “See you later, Charlie!” he hollered out the window before heading back the way they had come, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

  Chapter Six

  CHARLOTTE STRUGGLED TO KEEP UP with Hannah as she led the way up and down Sawyer’s Main Street, poking her head into every open doorway and introducing her new friend to each person they met. From Charles Cower, the heavyset butcher, to Anna Rodgers, the redhead sitting behind the cash register of the Five and Dime, everyone welcomed Charlotte warmly, happy that she had arrived safe and sound.

  Good folks is good folks, no matter where they call home.

  John Grant’s words to her just after her arrival in Sawyer echoed in Charlotte’s thoughts with every new face. Man or woman, young or old, well-to-do or struggling to make ends meet, all of them brightened up just a bit upon first meeting her, helping to ease what little of her nervousness remained.

  It was nothing short of amazing.

  But in the end, the most remarkable thing to her was the way Hannah carried herself; regardless of the fact that she too was a recent arrival in town, she acted as if she had lived in Sawyer all her life, giving a warm hug here and some good-natured sass there, all with a smile. Everyone they met seemed to love her.

  Somehow, I doubt that Owen is thought of as highly as his sister…

  Sawyer’s school sat in the shadow of the town’s water tower, only a stone’s throw from Main Street. Farther out, heat shimmers rose up from where the road fronting the school disappeared down a hill before finally heading toward the surrounding countryside. Standing two stories tall, sturdily constructed of dark bricks, it looked brand-new, despite the BUILT IN 1912 chiseled into a stone near the roof. Even the flagpole looked as if it had recently received a fresh coat of paint.

  It was all just as Charlotte had imagined it would be.