The Heaviest Rock (An Ozark Mountain Series Book 3)

by Alan Black

  Reverend James spoke up, “I’m living in the cabin, so I’ll keep an eye on everyone and make sure no one even goes up to the main house. I am a minister after all.”

  Mrs. Hollister shook her head. “Propriety must be served, Reverend James. Minister or not, you’re a single man. We all here trust you, as I’m sure Grace Grissom does, but we’uns don’t need gossip about Grace and we certainly don’t need any more gossip about our new preacher than we already have.”

  Grace felt a tug at her dress sleeve. She looked behind her and realized LillieBeth had not gone back to her young friends. She had been listening and making the adult conversation her own.

  LillieBeth said, “I would be pleased to stay with Mrs. Grissom if she would ask me to visit her. I may not be of a great advanced age, but I can certainly act as her chaperone.”

  Mrs. Billie Albright, Jim’s wife, laughed and bobbed her grey-haired head. “Being of a great advanced age ain’t the picnic it appears to be, young lady.”

  Grace looked at LillieBeth. She could tell, even through her young friend’s grim expression, she was tickled at the thought of a girl her age acting as a chaperone for an older woman.

  Mrs. Hollister said, “I don’t much think that a child would be-”

  “Child!” Clare Hazkit interrupted with a snort. “My great aunt Fanny’s fanny that my LillieBeth is a child. This young woman you call a child stopped the Braunawalls attack on me. She beat them both with a five-foot length of oak wood, leaving them both bruised and bloody. She even made them strip naked and ride away on their mules bare to the world.”

  Grace was shocked. This was not the first time she had heard this story from Clare, but she was shocked at the level of pride in the woman’s voice. LillieBeth’s mother was just short of laughing with joy at her twelve-year-old daughter visiting such violence on grown men. She realized she was also prideful about LillieBeth. The girl, no!... the young woman had taken the recent troubles in hand, facing issues and seeking solutions, regardless of the cost to her own childhood. Grace would be prideful beyond measure if she and Clayton had ever had a daughter like LillieBeth.

  Steve Buckner said, not speaking to Mrs. Hollister, but to the whole fellowship, “Recently Miss LillieBeth Hazkit questioned me about my part in Trance and Dangle’s escape from Sheriff Grissom’s custody and the sheriff’s murder. And honestly, she scared me so much I wet my britches. I’ll never again get on the wrong side of anyone she is chaperoning or even someone she considers a friend.”

  Schmitt said, “Does that include my daughter Fern, you young owl hoot?”

  Buckner nodded. “Yes, sir, that especially includes Fern. I didn’t start with the best intentions when I first met your daughter, although I told Miss Hazkit I did, but I surely do now. And I haven’t changed my intentions just because Miss Hazkit told me to. I’ll admit I’ve never thought I was so close to dying in my life at Miss Hazkit’s hands. I did not like it. It made me realize most of all that I hadn’t spent enough of my life with Fern.”

  Joe Carver spoke up, “I knows that you’uns don’t know me from the archangel Gabriel’s younger brother’s pet duck, but I’ll tell you this: I’d rather wrestle a rabid polecat naked as a jaybird in a briar patch than get on Miss Hazkit’s bad side.”

  Grace said, “LillieBeth, would you like to stay with me for a few days? It’d be a big help, maybe you could help me go through some of Clayton’s things and such.”

  LillieBeth smiled without humor, “I would like that very much, thank you for asking.”

  Grace looked at Mrs. Hollister. “Satisfied?”

  Mrs. Hollister nodded. “It’ll have to do for now.”

  The conversation shifted to other topics as they often do in large crowds. Grace was grateful she was no longer the central topic. Like most farmers’ talks, it quickly turned to hogs, crops and the volatile spring weather. She had ears listening for any word about horses, but most of the talk flew by. Without thinking, she grabbed LillieBeth’s hand and they stood together letting the words flow around them.

  Grace thought about Clayton’s things. They were her things now. There wasn’t a man in the congregation big enough to wear his clothes. She thought of Odie Washington in Oasis. The big black man was the same size as her Clayton. Maybe he would…

  She was about to sink to the ground and sit when it occurred to her that she had less money than she thought. Clayton had taken a large part of their bank account with him to Galena. The money was in his pocket to pay the taxes on their land, with the plan of ‘killing two birds with one stone’ by stopping at the clerk’s office in Galena. The money was gone, stolen by the men who murdered him. Not only was the money gone, but their taxes were still due. Clayton handled all of their cash, but she did not know if there was enough money in the Oasis Bank to pay the land tax twice. There was a few dollars in a jar in her kitchen, but not enough to even do more than buy a few pounds of coffee, some bacon, and a small bag of flour.

  LillieBeth looked up at Grace. “Is something…?” Rather than finish the question, the young girl pulled Grace away from the congregation where they could talk in private. “Something is wrong. I can see it in your face.”

  Grace said, “Well, it’s Clayton…” Her voice faded away. She did not know how to say it. How could she express her concern over money, when just a short while ago the Hazkits were almost without a home. The Hazkit’s had lived from meal to meal more than most folks in these hills, but they were always willing to help another neighbor in need.

  She owned two sets of horses that would fetch her almost a thousand dollars a pair. She owned her home and the eighty acres it sat on…well, Clayton and she had owned them. Her cupboards at home were still full and their smokehouse was well stocked with meats.

  Expressing her lack of money would sound foolish to a twelve-year-old girl who had eaten more meals of squirrel and rabbit than she had eaten ham and chicken. She chided herself for such selfishness. She shook her head, shaking off the feeling of impending doom.

  LillieBeth said, “No. Do not shake your head at me, Mrs. Grissom. I may be young enough to be your daughter, but that does not mean I cannot be a friend and offer a helping hand.”

  Grace said, “It was a silly thought. The Braunawalls stole money from Clayton after they killed him. It was the money to pay the land tax on our property.”

  LillieBeth looked thoughtful. “You mean you have to pay taxes on land that you already own? Huh! Somehow that does not sound right. The clerk in Galena charged me for something he called a land assessment. I guess that is a fancy word for tax, but fancy words or not, it still does not sound right.”

  Grace said, “No, I suppose it doesn’t sound right, but the county has to get money from somewhere to pay for the county sheriff, the county clerk and such.”

  LillieBeth said, “I have met both of those men. The sheriff is not worth what he is being paid since the Braunawalls are still wandering around free as you please. And it seems to me that if we did not have to pay taxes then there would not be a need for a clerk to take the taxes from us. Still, I suspect you are worried because the Braunawalls took your money.”

  Grace nodded. “I was just worried I don’t have enough money to pay the tax. It isn’t much. In fact, it’s only assessed at twelve cents per acre. That’s just a bit less than ten dollars.” Ten dollars did not sound like much when spoken out loud, but for many of the men in the church congregation, ten dollars would be half a week’s wages.

  She said, “I can sell one of the sets of Belgians to get more than enough money.”

  LillieBeth shook her head, “But, you love those horses.”

  Grace said, “Yes. They were a big part of our lives, but if I don’t get the money to pay the tax, the county will kick me out of my home and I’d lose the horses anyway.”

  LillieBeth’s eyes flashed in anger. “There is too much of that going on. People should not have their homes taken way just because they rent, or they live in a spare lean-to room,
or even a nice house on nice pastureland.”

  Grace said, “Please don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

  LillieBeth shook her head. “You were right to tell me. That is what friends are for, talking, sharing and helping. You cannot sell your teams. We can sell my Missouri Fox Trotter stallion.”

  Grace said, “You can’t sell you horse just to give me the money.”

  LillieBeth said, “I guess it is my horse and I can sell him if I want to. And I cannot force you to take the money, but I will try even if I have to go all the way to Galena again and pay your taxes for you.”

  Grace smiled, “You would do that wouldn’t you.”

  LillieBeth grinned. “Daddy says I got my stubborn streak from Mama’s side of the family. Besides, I would not know where to sell Fletch. You know horses and horsemen.”

  Grace said, “I do know a man up near Branson who would give you more than a thousand dollars, maybe as much as twelve hundred for that big stallion, but you don’t love that horse any less than I love mine. You already named him, didn’t you?”

  LillieBeth laughed. “I have more horses. We have sixty-seven horses and mules on our place, including Fletch. I suppose I will love more horses before I get too old to ride them. And if you help me sell Fletch then you get your…what do you call it?”

  Grace said, “Commission?”

  LillieBeth nodded. “That’s right. You get part of the price of the sale as a commission for helping me. I will miss Fletch, but I would miss you more if you lost your place and had to move.”

  Grace said, “I have an idea. Maybe we can… oh lordy, don’t tell your mother I talked about such things with you, but maybe we can put Fletch out to stud. A big Missouri Fox Trotter stallion like him should collect some stud fees and you’d still get to keep him.”

  LillieBeth nodded, “We can split those fees if you help me with setting it up. Do you know who to talk to?”

  Grace shook her head, “No. The fellow I know would be interested in buying your horse, but not in setting him up to stud. But, the black man that runs the stable in Oasis, Odie Washington would know. He keeps his ear on all such goings on.”

  LillieBeth said, “Will that get us enough money fast enough for you?”

  Grace said, “I’ll have to check with the bank, see how much is in there. I don’t really know how much Clayton saved. I doubt it was more than a few dollars. I’ll just have to start taking on more blacksmith work.”

  “Excuse me, ladies,” Mr. Hollister stood by waiting to talk to them. “Grace, I am sorry, but I’m not going to be able to bring my wagon over to have the leaf springs fixed this week. It would worry my wife for me to go visiting a widow even with Miss Hazkit in attendance.”

  Grace nodded, “Of course, I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”

  Another man walked up. “Excuse me for interrupting, but I needed to let Mrs. Grissom know that I can’t bring my mare by for new shoes. Um…” He looked around at his wife. He shrugged. “Sorry, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to come by your house.”

  Grace sighed. “I understand. I love my Clayton and I know that he would never be unfaithful to me. But, I can see how I might be nervous if he was to go visiting an unmarried woman. Thank you for telling me.”

  LillieBeth shook her head in obvious disgust as the men walked away. “How can they think such things?”

  Grace said, “Don’t be too angry at them.” She wanted to be angry with the men. She was sure it was not their doing; rather they were cancelling business at their wives insistence. It was no less natural than a badger marking his territory. She could almost hear the wives thoughts, ‘This is my man and you can’t have him.’ It was unkind to think of neighbors and fellow church members being so suspicious, but she could not help it. She was sure the women did not think less of her, but how little trust did they have in their husbands to think such things of them?

  LillieBeth looked as if she wanted to spit a bad taste out of her mouth. “But, they know you and say they love you, how can they think such evil of you?”

  Grace said, “They’re just trying to avoid the appearance of evil. It protects me as much as it protects them. But it does look like I’ll not be taking on more blacksmithing work in the near future.”

  LillieBeth said, “Well, then, I guess we had better go into Oasis first thing tomorrow to see what Mr. Washington says about Fletch.”

  Grace nodded. “I can check with Mr. Cummings at the bank as well and find out how much Clayton has put away.”

  LillieBeth said, “I spent last week riding around Stone County in my good Sunday dress. Mama would tan my hide if I did it again. I will go home, change and ride back tonight on Fletch. That way I can be there to protect you from all the evil men lurking about that Mrs. Hollister is worried about.”

  Grace chuckled. “Mrs. Hollister may be worried about protecting the men of this community from me and my wild ways, not the other way around.”

  MONDAY - MORNING

  Grace was up early. She was always up early, but this morning her worries woke her well before sunrise. Trying to list her worries was like trying to tie knots in a snake. The more she twisted, the more the knots moved, untied themselves, and then tried to bite her. There were worries about back taxes on the land, the lack of cash for essentials, the cancellation of blacksmithing business and most of all, this morning she was worried about having strange men on her property. She was not so worried about the men from her congregation at the Methodist church, but she did not know or trust the Carvers or Steve Buckner.

  She knew her young friend was here, asleep in the small guest bedroom. That did not help with her worry. No matter what the gossip said about LillieBeth’s handling of the Braunawalls, Buckner and the Carvers, Grace was worried about the twelve-year-old girl being able to protect her, not physically, but more of her ability to protect her reputation. Clayton was too recently gone; any untoward action on her part would still reflect poorly on her late husband. She had every intention of avoiding even the appearance of evil.

  No matter how worried she was or was not about being physically protected, LillieBeth had shown up Sunday afternoon on Fletch and trailing another horse. The young girl had a revolver in a shoulder holster and carried a short, lever action rifle. LillieBeth was more than ready for any trouble that might come visiting, but Grace knew a twelve-year-old the girl lacked enough years of wisdom to deal with human males.

  Once again, Grace wondered how LillieBeth and Susanne Harbowe had dealt with Dangle and Ike Braunawall. Everyone knew both men were dead and everyone knew both women had been there when the men died. The gossip speculated wildly between saying the women were just witnesses, all the way to the women killing the men and staging it to look like the men killed each other.

  Grace was dying to ask LillieBeth about her part in the deaths of two of the men responsible for Clayton’s murder, but she struggled to control her own tongue. She held her tongue not from fear of being thought of as a gossip, but because she was embarrassed about how these two young women tracked these men for her; to visit revenge on them for the killing of her beloved Clayton.

  Revenge was her task, yet LillieBeth and Susanne had accomplished what she had not. And now LillieBeth stood with her, chaperoning her and from the looks of her guns, willing to stand by her with extreme violence if necessary. A heavy lump in her throat stuck and she was unable to tell if it was from missing Clayton or for the love of this young woman. This young woman was the physical embodiment of the daughter she and Clayton tried for and never had.

  Grace read her Bible at the kitchen table to calm her worries. Her reading took her time and time again to 1 Peter 5: 6-7: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

  She sighed, knowing that it was easier said than done. God would take care of her worries, but she did not know how to stop worrying about them
other than to keep reading the scripture over and over again until it stuck in her brain and pushed the worries out. She sighed again; she would just have to keep reading since she did not think her mind would rest easy until the Braunawalls paid for their earthly crimes.

  Once the sun had been up for an hour, Grace felt the need to call LillieBeth, getting the girl up and dressed for breakfast. She did not know much about youngsters. God had not seen to gift her and Clayton with the blessings of children. She assumed children needed extra rest to grow though most of the children she was familiar with had more energy than the adults around them could cope with.

  She heard often enough from mothers about how getting children out of bed in the morning was like pulling a tick stuck shoulder deep in a part of the body you can’t reach. She did not want to start breakfast until the girl was ready as she planned on having biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon. The biscuits were the only thing that would take any real time to cook and she was using yesterday’s biscuits.

  She was about to go get the girl up when the kitchen door flew open and LillieBeth came in from the yard, flushed and breezy. The girl’s revolver was strapped to her shoulder, but otherwise she looked like any youngster who came in from play. Her long hair was unbraided, hanging long and loose around her shoulders.

  LillieBeth said, “It is about time you got up, lazybones.” Her grin took the sting out of her words.

  Grace laughed, “Lazybones? You aren’t so big that I can’t paddle your backsides for sassing me.” She set the pan of bacon on the hot stove.

  LillieBeth agreed with a nod. “I do not think I will ever reach a size where you could not whip me, besides all you would have to do is to tell Mama that I spoke that way to an adult and she would paddle my bottom for you, or even again, after you. And then she would turn me over to Daddy for another whipping to boot.” The girl went to a basin, poured in water, and washed her hands and face.