“Did you like Texas?” Her eyes flashed.
“Met some of the best people in the world in Texas. I’d live there, if I could make a living…”
“Then, you liked it there?”
“Well, now I tell you, it’s hotter than blazes there, in the summer, and you can freeze to death in the winter, it’s so cold. But it does have some wide open spaces. Prettiest trees you ever did see.” Lee remembered Chase and Katherine with fondness again. “Met some of the best people there, too.”
“I always wanted to see Texas. Most people talk about it like it’s a place of its own.”
“Oh it is, alright. Davy Crocket took one look and fell in love.” Lee smiled.
“Well, speaking of which, are you married Mr. Luke?”
“No ma’am. Never had the pleasure. Went to war kinda early like.”
“The war. I wish there had never been a war. So many good men died.”
Lee stirred restlessly. “Like maybe Lee Nelson?”
“Yes, like Lee and Dil Nelson,” she said winsomely.
Lee tried not to look at her, but her words thrilled him.
“You talked about this Gloria. Was she not your mother?”
“No, but she acted like one. She was so good to me and Sam. You see, Lee Nelson found us when our folks died, took us to town and he found Miss Gloria to take care of us. She promised him she would, and she held that promise. She was a good woman, and me and Sam, we loved her.”
“What happened to her?”
“A dog of a man shot her down. They was robbin’ a bank and she happened to run out in the street. Caught the first flyin’ bullet. It wasn’t that long ago, but it seems like years now. Sam took her death real hard, Miss Gloria spoiled him a might. She mothered him like he was her own, me too for that matter. But he loved her too. We both did.”
“Sounds like a right nice lady.”
“Right nice.” She smiled.
“Sam, you’re awful quiet tonight. Somethin’ wrong?” Hattie asked.
“He sure do ask a lot of questions.” Sam shook his head and went inside. “And one other thing, Miss Gloria was my ma, don’t matter what anyone says. She was!”
Hattie smiled sadly at Luke and Joe. “Don’t let Sam upset you. He thought Mr. Lee was the only white man in the world that was any good. Sam barely knew him, but there was just something about Lee.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, even I thought Mr. Lee was special. But you gotta understand, Lee came along when our Pa had been strung up. And Sam was just cryin’ there in the mud. Lee took him, buried his Pa, and made sure he was provided for before he left us. Well, naturally, that just made a big impression on Sam. So he kinda measures every man by him now.”
“That’s a fact. He talks about him like he’s ten feet tall, or somethin’.” Joe chuckled.
Hattie hung her head. “Well, don’t scoff at him so much. He goes out to that cemetery every day and says a prayer for Lee. Every day, rain or shine. That’s how much he thought of him.”
Lee choked up. He couldn’t have said anything if he tried. Guilt made him want to reach out to Sam and tell him.
Joe nodded. “Mr. Lee was a good man.”
“So tell me ma’am, so the Nelson’s both fought for the confederacy?” Luke asked after a long quiet spell.
“Yes, they did. He actually became a Corporal before he was killed.” She smiled proudly.
Luke watched her face light up when she spoke of him and he wondered about it. If a woman cared for a man, she’d react that way. So it was possible she loved him all along. He couldn’t stop his thoughts from running away, though. Did she love him? Putting that word to her feelings had him growing warm in all the wrong places and wanting more than he could give at the moment.
“But he died before the war was over, ma’am? You said Dil hung?” Luke kept prying. Joe rolled his eyes skyward. “Why would they hang an officer?”
Hattie bit her lower lip and looked at both men. “At first, I had no idea. The Federals made no statement as to why. But later, I got this letter from his commanding officer. It said he was a spy and that he’d been looking for his brother all along. He’d wandered into this town in Georgia; the Yankees had just taken possession. General Sherman, I believe. Anyway, he’d heard Lee was there, and he went into town to try to find him. Lee wasn’t there, hadn’t even been there, but Dil didn’t know it. He kept enquiring, until someone got suspicious of him and followed him. As per his instructions, he reported to a Captain there, and didn’t know the man was under house arrest. Dil was caught and hung the next day for conspiring with the enemy. From what was told, they barely gave him a trial since they caught him red handed. His commanding officer recommended him for a medal. They sent that later; it’s in his room.”
She looked at them and saw their eyes widen.
Lee wanted more answers now that he’d been satisfied of his brother’s death. Guilt riddled him that he hadn’t stayed in touch with Dil, but war didn’t permit that much anyway. “But the kids, they aren’t yours?” Luke went on, hoping she would keep opening up.
“I guess you done suspected they weren’t mine!” She watched their reactions but found none. “I never told anyone when I got here all of this, so you two gotta be tight lipped about it. It isn’t anyone’s business anyway. But maybe I should have told someone. Maybe they would understand me better and not be trying to force me off my land. You see, although I didn’t know Mr. Lee long, he taught me in that brief time to love others, no matter what color they are. Our Pa never trusted no white men. But he didn’t know Lee. Anyway, Lee told me to take care of Sam and that we were a family and family stays together. For some reason, I believed him. And when I came to Alabama, I run into a few kids that were in the same situation as me and Sam had been. I remembered what Mr. Lee taught me, to love…”
“An’ the kids, the girls?” he asked, his eyes lighting and waiting for her answer.
“These kids I met along the way here. Their folks were killed, so I told them I’d be their Mama from now on, just like Miss Gloria was to me, like Lee did for me. I love them like they were my own, and to anyone else, they are, understood?”
“Yes ma’am. I understand.”
Daisy eyed him up and down with a suspicious glance, as Sam watched them all with a frown. “You sure are a nosy one, aren’t you?”
“I guess I am.” Luke sat down and began shucking the corn much faster. “I’m sorry, Sam.”
Violet stared long and hard at him. “How you do that so good?”
“What?”
“Shuck that corn; you’re so fast. And you only got one good arm.”
“My mama taught me how. And I’ll teach you if you wanna learn.”
“I’ll be right back.” She smiled.
Violet came back and sat beside Luke. Luke smiled and picked up the corn. He showed her that if he held it up at the base and peeled it like a banana that it came off in two or three strips. The little girl’s eyes bulged and she tried it, and smiled. “Gosh, this is fun. Wait ‘til Mama sees me.”
“Look Mama, Luke showed me how to shuck it right,” Violet cried as she demonstrated her new talent. Daisy scrambled to try it, and smiled.
“Well now, that’s fine. I guess you’ll be a great help to me, after all.” She smiled, then glanced at Luke with a smile.
When the men became quiet, she looked at them both. “I buried them over there…” she pointed. “Dil had some money on him when he died. The Marshall here gave it to me. So I bought a headstone. I should have paid the taxes with it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. That was Lee’s brother, so I pulled his body and the stone home in the wagon. He deserved a stone, and much more, it was the least I could give him. And Lee too. And no amount of money, nor bloodshed will get me off this land, because they died so we could have this place, me and my girls. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone just take it from me.”
“You mean you wouldn’t even consider movin’
?” Lee frowned.
“It’d have to be for a powerful reason.” She smiled at him.
Luke wanted to see the graves, but he couldn’t afford to be too anxious.
In time, he would pay his respects to his brother. In the meantime, he whispered a soft prayer for him. He so wanted to tell Hattie and Sam who he was, but the danger involved in that was too great. He’d have to make some kind of plan, though. It was unbearable hearing how much she loved him and not telling her himself how he felt.
Chapter Six
The crickets jumped about, and Daisy and Violet chased one around the house. The sun cast an orange glow over the horizon as dusk stirred the evening breeze. They were about to go inside for supper when three men road up with reckless abandon. Luke recognized them instantly; it was the Jeffries. J.B., the oldest and probably the only one with a bit of brains; Tor, the middle hot-head, ready to gun down anyone who laughed at him for being such a fool most of the time, and they laughed a lot at Tor because he was an idiot. And then there was Frank, the Romeo of the bunch. All the Jeffries boys were raised to think the world belonged to them. Pushy and arrogant, they were used to getting their way. From the way they rode up, Luke was sure they hadn’t changed a bit. Luke bowed his head and pretended to be busy. He wanted the advantage of letting them think he was a meek hired hand. Obviously it worked, for they paid little attention to him at first.
“Hattie,” Frank called as though he had every right to seek her out. He rode a roan and his demeanor spoke for him as he rushed up to her side and threw an arm around her shoulder.
She disengaged the arm.
A well-dressed man in his early thirties, Frank’s brown hair kept longer than most flapped in the evening breeze, his burrowing brown eyes stared at Hattie like a nail being driven by a hammer.
Agitated by her rebuff, he frowned then chose another tack.
Hattie’s body stiffened, her lips firmed, her jaw moved, as she half-turned. “Yes…?” she asked, her face a turmoil of expressions. Luke watched her tense, and stiffen. He also saw the Jeffries brothers look him over.
“Nice to see you again.” Frank moved closer to her, his hand going possessively to her waist to draw her near. Hattie moved away, out of his reach.
Luke bristled. Joe shook his head just enough for Luke to see. Luke watched with silent rage once more. How dare the man think he could take control of Hattie like that.
“Nice to see you too Frank, but I just put supper on and we were about to eat.” She started for the front door, trying to ignore him. It didn’t work.
“Hear that, boys? Hattie’s got supper on. Well come on, looks like we came just in time.” He smiled into her face and took her arm. “Hattie’s about the best cook in these parts. This will be a treat.”
Hattie’s eyes widened. “Why don’t you go play somewhere else, Frank? I’m busy.”
He let out a howl, determined that she would not see his disappointment.
When that didn’t discourage him, she turned and firmed her lips. “Look, I didn’t cook a mess of food. Jest enough for us,” she replied with a frown centered on Frank. “I got three kids to feed, and there isn’t enough to go around.”
“Aww, now, these two are hired hands I reckon. Hired a white one, did you? Well, lookie here. More white trash. Ain’t even got two arms. Now ain’t that somethin’? Cain’t even shave. Surely they don’t eat with you too, do they?”
“They most certainly do. I don’t have time to fix two meals at each mealtime and take them out to them. They can come to my table and eat. I’m sorry, maybe I’ll invite you another time,” she insisted, turning away from him.
“But I want to come now,” he insisted with a chuckle, grabbing her arm and circling her waist with the other hand. “In fact, I insist on it.”
“I’m sorry, but…”
Just then, Luke jumped between them. “She said you wasn’t invited, this time.”
“Well now.” Frank looked Luke up and down, and smiled, glancing at his friend. “What we got here, boys? Who the hell you think you are, mister? Do you know who you are speaking to?” Frank spoke with all the arrogance of money and position. “Why, shorely you don’t or you wouldn’t put your mouth in trouble’s way. You better learn your place around here, boy. You’re just the hired help. A one-armed hired help at that. Can’t be much use to you, Hattie. Reckon I’ll have to set you straight as to how to hire men next time, won’t I? Now, do you understand me, mister? Get out of my way.”
Frank’s brothers watched and laughed as Frank pushed past Luke as though he were a pesky fly. “You shore put him in his place, Frank.” The others dismounted and joined them.
Hattie’s mouth fell open for a moment. She gathered the children to her. Her limbs trembled and her frown grew. “Please, I don’t want no trouble. They are welcome, but they won’t get much. And he might be only one armed, but he works like a mule, so leave him be.”
“Hattie, you need to set your help straight before he gets killed for a little bit of nothing. I’m sure you boys don’t mind takin’ your meals in the barn tonight, do you?”
Hattie looked from one to the other. She could see that Luke was bristled and ready for a skirmish as was Frank. She pulled on Luke’s one arm. “Please…just for tonight…go eat in the barn.”
“Well now, that’s not the way to tell hired help anything, Hattie. You gotta be firm and set them straight. Somethin’ like, ‘You know your place, don’t you, white boy? In the barn with the rest of the riff-raff.’ I don’t know if I want them eatin’ with you Hattie. After all, you done hired you a white boy, and he might get ideas that you like him or somethin’. And we shore can’t have that now, can we?”
The others snickered.
“What happened to your shed, Hattie?” Frank looked about the place for a minute. “Looks like it went up in cinders.”
More snickers from his brothers followed them.
“I had visitors…not very polite visitors…” She frowned and stepped ahead of him again.
Luke watched, barely controlling his anger.
Luke gave Frank a warning glare then he and Joe went to the barn as the three men laughed at them. “Dumb farmers, gotta keep ‘em in their places. You let them get the upper hand, then you’ll never get nothin’ done around here.”
When Hattie didn’t comment, he laughed.
“Where’d you pick up that white trash?” Frank laughed, looking over his shoulder at Luke.
“He needed a job, I gave him one. You don’t frown on someone that is down on their luck,” Hattie replied. “Said his place burned during the war. But I don’t think I owe you an explanation as to who I hire…”
“Ooh, hear that boys? She’s sassy tonight, ain’t she? I like sassy women. They don’t bore you to death.” Frank laughed, his hand going to the round of her hips and patting her there. She removed his hand quickly.
She moved away again.
The kids followed her, all of them frowning and speechless.
“So, tell me Hattie, where you been keepin’ yourself…lately…” Frank asked as he waltzed up to her again, this time hurting her arm ‘til she relented and let him put his arm around her waist...and just under her breast. Hattie’s breath hitched like a snake.
Hattie glanced back at Luke, but didn’t say a word.
They went inside and closed the door.
Chapter Seven
“The damn Jeffries, what are they doin’ here?” Luke demanded as soon as they were in the barn and Luke began to pace. His fist was doubled, his pacing impatient and his brow furrowed.
“I told ya they’ve been comin’ around.” Joe glanced at Luke’s fisted hands. “You better settle down, boy. We gotta think our moves through. Those boys will kill us sure if we don’t. And we can’t save Hattie if we’re dead.”
“What do they want?” Luke paced up and down as Joe lit the lantern.
Joe shook his head. “Now you ain’t that dumb, you knows what they want. You still ready to fig
ht them no matter what, ain’t you?”
“Joe,” Luke loomed at him with a frown, “they’ve been tryin’ to get this land for a long time. You know that. Now they are messin’ with family.”
“Luke, I love ya like my own…but have you thought this through…lovin’ a Negro woman here in Alabama, it don’t mean nothin’ but sorrow…”
Luke studied him for a moment. “She hasn’t said one thing about my arm, not one thing. Acts like it ain’t even gone. How many other women you figure would act that way?”
“Yes sir…she didn’t make no fuss about you not havin’ an arm when you asked for work, did she? But you know there’s gonna be a heap of trouble because of the two of you.”
“Yeah, I know all that, but we could leave Alabama.”
“Leave Alabama? Where you gonna go?”
“I got an idea. If it works out, everything will be alright, Joe.”
“Do you love her that much?”
“I think I’ve loved her ever since I laid eyes on her. I kept telling myself I was a fool, but in my heart, I couldn’t change the feelings.”
“Good Lord…”
After a long silence, Joe smiled and scratched his head.
“Well, I’m glad you set me straight on that, so I know how it is. You’re in love with her. Ain’t the land the Jeffries want so much now. They figure they can get that as soon as the sheriff forecloses on her for back taxes. Which’ll be next month. Frank wants her,” Joe said solemnly. “He’s made it pretty clear. Aww he don’t love her, he jest wants to take her down a notch; maybe two notches.”
“Has she ever encouraged his attention?” Luke asked, his frown still marring his better features.
“Does it matter?” Joe suddenly asked, watching Luke’s reaction carefully.
“Hell yes, it matters. If she wants him too, then I’ll stay out of it, as long as it don’t involve the farm. But if she don’t…then I’ll stand beside her all the way,” Luke hollered. “I may not be able to tell her how I feel, but I can damn sure show her.”
Just One Kiss (The Dream Catcher Series-Book Two) Page 9