Deborah Camp (22 page)

Jennie watched until it was a dot on the street before she turned and went back into the house. She wandered into the kitchen where Oliver and Molly were having milk and cookies with Gloria Philpot and Dottie Dandridge.

“Mama, want a cookie?” Oliver asked, a grin widening his milk mustache.

“No, thank you. I bet they’re good, though.”

“Deeelicious,” Oliver declared.

“Deeelicious,” Molly echoed.

“I’m glad you’re both here,” Jennie said, looking at Mrs. Philpot and then at Dottie. “I have an announcement.” She waited a few moments, letting the drama build. “It appears that Oliver is going to inherit the land Charles bought.”

Mrs. Philpot clapped her hands together and gave a little squeak. Dottie’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened to the size of silver dollars. Delighted by their reactions, Jennie couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s true,” she assured them. “Zach discovered that Charles’s marriage to Luna isn’t legal because he married her before he was divorced for a full six months.”

“Glory be,” Mrs. Philpot said. “I’m so happy for you, I could bust out in song.”

“Why does Oliver inherit the land and not you?” Dottie asked.

“Because our divorce, unfortunately, was legal and stands. Although, I will never feel like a divorced woman.”

“How could you?” Mrs. Philpot stood and draped an arm around Jennie’s shoulders. “As far as you were concerned, he was your husband until he drew his last breath.”

“Mama, are we going to move?”

“Yes, Oliver. We are going to move into that little house on the land that Papa bought.”

“When? Can we move tomorrow?”

“No, not that soon,” Jennie said with a laugh. “There are still some legal matters to handle. I also hear that Melvin Parks has been arrested for –.” She glanced at the children and chose her words carefully. “For what happened to Stella Carlson.”

“It’s a day full of wonderful news,” Dottie said. “Sarah told you about her divorce?”

Jennie nodded and sat at the kitchen table. The other two women joined her there. Dottie reached for a cookie. Mrs. Philpot shrugged and grabbed one too.

“My divorce hearing is next week,” Dottie said.

“That means I will be losing both of you lovely ladies soon,” Mrs. Philpot noted with a sigh. “That’s the hardest part about running this house. Some people I can’t want to see the backside of and some of them I wish could live here forever.”

“I won’t ask which group I’m in.” Dottie bit into the cookie, her light brown eyes dancing with mischief.

“That’s good because I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Mrs. Philpot said, playing right along.

“Oh, you two.” Jennie batted a hand at them and they all laughed. “We will remain friends, won’t we? I told Sarah that I would write her and I will do the same for you, Dottie. As for you …” She turned toward Mrs. Philpot. “I expect we will visit back and forth.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Mrs. Philpot said. “I’ve grown right fond of you and Oliver.”

“Oliver, don’t you think it’s time to get ready for bed?”

“I guess.”

“Drink the last of your milk and let’s go upstairs.”

“Mama, I want to move to the ranch tomorrow!”

Jennie shook her head at his impatience and that deviling melancholy stole through her again, tempering her happiness. “I know, but we don’t always get everything we want, son.”

Bertha Polk entered Zach’s office, came to an abrupt halt, and propped her fists on her ample hips. “Well, what’s wrong with you this morning?”

Zach sat straighter in the office chair and gave her a quizzical glance before he remembered his bruised face. “It’s nothing. Judge Bishop threw some sucker punches.”

“I’m not talking about your kisser. You’ve been moping about all morning. I got here bright and early and you were already sitting there in that chair staring out the window like you’d lost a big case. You should be as happy as a cat! You got Jennie Hastings’ land for her, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I am happy about that.”

She pursed her lips and scowled at him. “I can see that you’re overjoyed.” She waited for him to say something more and when he didn’t, she heaved a sigh. “And I hear that Melvin Parks is in jail for Stella’s murder.”

“Not yet,” Zach said, raising a finger. “I saw Deputy Lane last night at the Blue Belle Saloon and he said they were going out to the ranch today and arrest him.”

“So you were at the Blue Belle last night? Trying to drink yourself into a better mood? What’s wrong with you, Zach? And don’t hand me horse manure and tell me it’s a chocolate pie. I know the difference!” Sitting down in the chair, she folded her arms and set her face in stubborn lines.

Zach knew he had lost the battle, so he surrendered with a groan. He washed his face with his hands and then faced his inquisitor. “It’s Jennie.”

“What about her?”

“She says she loves me.”

“And this makes you unhappy?”

“No, it makes me … feel blessed.”

“You don’t look like a man who feels blessed. You look like a man who’s miserable.”

“She’s just so damned stubborn. She won’t give an inch. Not an inch!”

“I don’t follow.”

“She wants marriage. It’s either marry her or lose her.”

A slow smile spread across Bertha’s face. “She’s got you by the short hairs, doesn’t she, Zachary Thomas?”

“Stubborn. Women are stubborn.”

“So are men. You’re stuck on your ideas of marriage and she’s stuck on hers. Most women want marriage.”

“Why? I keep thinking that humans aren’t cut out for staying true to one person forever. It happens so rarely.”

“That’s not true, Zach. You see marriages that don’t work, but there are just as many – no, a lot more that do work. I can’t imagine life without Adam Polk. I wake up thinking about him and I go to bed thinking about him.”

Zach smiled. “That sounds nice.”

“It is. Finding your mate is wonderful, but Jennie has more to think about than just finding a good husband, you know.”

“Oliver,” he said, reading her mind. “That’s why she is insisting on marriage or nothing.”

“That’s because she has a good head on her shoulders and she’s a good mother. She won’t place any man above her son and that’s the way it should be. He is flesh of her flesh. You are someone she has fallen in love with, but you aren’t family.” Bertha unfolded her arms and leaned forward. “Don’t you understand? Once you take those vows, you become each other’s closest living relative. Closer than your mama or papa or brothers or sisters. You are joined. You’re partners in life. It means a lot, Zach.” She took a breath. “How do you feel about her boy?”

Zach felt a grin tug at his mouth. “He’s the son I would want to have. He’s smart and brave and he has a big heart.”

“Oliver and Jennie just don’t mean enough to you.”

He stared at her, not liking the sound of that.

“You’ll lose them because you won’t take a chance on marriage. I’ve seen you take all kinds of risks in the court room and I’ve seen you place bets on poker hands that weren’t worth spit, but marriage is just too high a mountain to climb.”

He stood up so quickly that his chair almost toppled over. “Well, hell, when you put it like that!”

“That’s the way it is, Zach,” Bertha said softly. “That’s the way it is.” She stood and left him to brood.

Turning toward the window, he looked down at the street and saw a couple walking hand in hand. The sight stabbed him in the heart. God, he was a miserable piece of —. His thoughts were cut in two when he spotted a familiar vehicle speeding along the road, People moved out of its path. One man shook a fist at the buggy, angry at almost being flattened by it.

“That’s Luna …” Zach whispered. And she was heading out of town – out toward the Hastings property where Melvin Parks was staying. “Hell, she’s going to warn him about the arrest!”

Zach grabbed his hat and gun belt off the tree and bolted from the office.

Chapter 17

Jennie slowed the horse and buggy as the house- now empty of any inhabitants – came into view. It’s just the right size for us, she thought. Giving the reins a tug, she stopped the horse and wished she’d brought along Oliver now that so that she’d have someone to talk to and to dream with, but it was his last day of school and he wanted to be with his new friends. Soon, she and Oliver would move here and plant for a late harvest of vegetables that would see them through the winter.

“I’ll buy a milk cow,” she said, and Chief flicked his ears backward. “Steady, boy,” she said and he settled. She would have to purchase a wagon and horse, too because she wouldn’t be able to borrow them from good-hearted Mrs. Philpot anymore. So much to purchase! She would have to take in more handwork to supplement her wages at the dry goods store.

The place seemed to be more her own now that she knew Oliver would inherit it and Melvin Parks was in jail. The house was empty, waiting for her to make it a home. She let her imagination loose and pictured rose bushes around the porch, a porch swing, a couple of rocking chairs, hens clucking in the side yard, a rooster crowing on a fence post. She could hang out laundry on the lines in back and plant an herb and flower garden by the back door. It would be a slice of Eden.

“Just as we had planned,” she murmured, remembering how she and Charles had discussed the life they would carve out for themselves in Indian Territory. She had been excited thinking of them as pioneers, and although Charles had never been as thrilled with the idea as she had been, he had agreed it was their best shot at an independent life. Or, perhaps, it had never been his dream.

“Only mine,” she said. “He just went along because that’s what Charles did – he followed.”

Sighing, she thought how different it felt with Zach. He was not a follower. In fact, their relationship wouldn’t have hit a wall if he were a little more like Charles and would at least meet her halfway to find a compromise. If not for Oliver, she would have agreed to live with him, sans marriage. That, in itself, went completely against her grain, but she would learn to accept it if it had meant staying together.

But it was not to be. Oliver deserved a father and not simply a “partner.”

Chief stamped, stirring up dirt and then shook all over, making the bridle and reins tinkle.

“Yes, I know. You don’t like standing still unless there is hay, grass, or oats in front of you.” She flicked the reins and let Chief move on slowly. She wanted to have a good, long look at the house now that she didn’t have to worry about Melvin Parks spying her.

The outbuildings all looked to be in good shape. She supposed it hadn’t been that long since they were built. Some of the wood wasn’t even weathered yet. A windmill stood tall in the distance beside a pond, its water sparkling in the sunlight. Cattle dotted the area and an occasional “mooooo” drifted across the grassland. She felt almost giddy, bursting with pride. Charles could not have chosen a better spread, she thought.

Perhaps the neighbor would still want his cattle to graze on the land and she would be able to collect money that way. Eventually, she could afford to buy her own herd.
Her own herd. Their land.
Oh, she liked the sound of that.

As the buggy drew even with the road that led to the house, Jennie pulled the horse to a stop again. She could have a closer inspection now. Smiling, she turned the horse and buggy onto the road and stopped it again beside the house. Setting the brake and tying off the reins, she alighted from the buggy and pulled off her leather driving gloves. She reached up and laid them on the buggy seat, then smoothed her hair back off her face and looked around.

The corral was empty and the barn door was closed. She wondered what had happened to Parks’ beautiful pinto after Parks had been hauled off to jail. It was probably in one of the stables in town, she reasoned, and would be sold once Parks was tried and convicted. She actually looked forward to taking the stand and telling what she knew about Stella’s run-ins with him.

A cool breeze floated across the grassland, bringing with it the scent of dirt, hay, and cattle. She closed her eyes for a few moments, enjoying the sunlight bathing her face and the breeze combing through her hair. Yes, she would love living here, she thought. In fact, she might be more cut out for the country life, even though she had been born and raised in the city. She had spent much of her childhood in the garden and had craved outings outside the city. Sometimes her family would go on picnics in the country and they were her favorite memories.

She hitched up her skirts to clear her ankles and went around to the front of the house and up the three steps to the wrap-around porch. It was solid, but sucker vines were growing around a few of the railings. She bent over and pulled them off the rails. A coat of white paint would make the porch more inviting. Now it looked as if the place had been abandoned or that the owner didn’t waste a care on appearances. Straightening, she glanced at the front door and saw that it was ajar. It stood open a few inches.

Why hadn’t the deputies closed it when they had taken Parks away? Just like men not to leave things tidy. She opened the screen door and reached for the doorknob. She wrapped her fingers around it, but then temptation tapped her on the shoulder. She could take a quick look inside before closing it, she thought. She’d like to know for sure if there were one or two bedrooms. Was there a cookstove? How big was the fireplace? Were all the window panes intact?

She just had to know!

Pushing the door open further, she took one step inside and then another. The room was dark, full of shadows because blankets were hung over the window, blocking out the sunlight. She looked down, seeing a frayed, dirty rug under her shoes. Peering into the gloom, she could see a couple of chairs sitting by a good-sized fireplace and a mattress lying on the floor. Were there no bedrooms at all?

Jennie walked further into the room until she could see a kitchen to her left at the back of the house and two closed doors to her right. Those had to be bedrooms, she thought, starting in that direction.

A loud bang sounded behind her and what meager light had been spilling in from the door was extinguished. Spinning around, she confronted a shadowy man standing in front of the closed door. His dark eyes glinted like sunlight off of knife blades and his lips parted in a toothy grin.

“Looky who finally came inside for a visit,” he drawled, his hands flexing at his sides as if he were anxious to put them on her. “I’ve been watching you watching me.”

Oh, my God. She stared at him, growing cold all over. Melvin Parks.

“You look surprised to see me. Why are you surprised? I live here. You know that. You’ve been driving by and looking at me for weeks now. You think I didn’t see you out there on the road, staring at this place, waiting for me to come outside?”

She swallowed the ball of fear that clogged her throat. “I wasn’t looking at you. This is my land.”

“Is that right? Your land. Last time I heard it belonged to Luna Lee.”

“Not any more. It belongs to my son.”

“That little boy you tote with you?” His grin grew, making her think of a jack-o-lantern. “You didn’t bring him today. That’s good.” He lifted one hand and crooked his finger at her. “Come over here. Come on now. You better mind me if you know what’s good for you.”

“You killed Stella,” she said, backing away from him. “I know you did.”

“You don’t know nothin’.” His eyes were like burning coals stuck in his face. “Stella was a whore with a big mouth and anybody coulda kilt her.”

“She was frightened of you. You hit her.”

He made a grab for her, but she danced out of his reach. “Come here, you. I got something for you. Something long and thick.”

She shivered with revulsion and edge farther away, trying to get him as far away from the door as she could so that she could escape. “Stay away from me.”

“You’re trespassin’. I got a right to deal with you now ‘cause you got no business here.”

“I told you. The land is not Luna’s. She took it unlawfully.” She took mincing steps in a semi-circle, allowing him to follow as she inched closer and closer to the door. “You should talk to her. She’ll tell you.”

“I’ll talk to her later. Right now, I got you in my sights. And I like what I see.” He ran his tongue over his lips, then lunged for her.

She screamed and ran for the door, but was yanked back. Her skirt tore at the waist as Parks gathered a fistful of it and hauled her backward. She kicked at him and then laid her fingernails into his cheek. He yelped like a kicked dog, but loosened his grip enough for her to yank her skirt out of his grasp.

Scrambling away, her hand landed on a piece of wood near the fireplace. She grabbed it and whirled around, raising it above her head as a weapon. His eyes glinted in the gloom and his teeth glowed yellow against his swarthy skin. She could see his chest rising and falling under his open shirt. Blood glistened on his cheek where she’d scratched him. He swiped at it and smeared it across his skin. It looked like war paint. Jennie knew she was in for the battle of her life.

With a menacing growl, he ran at her. She brought the firewood down onto his shoulders and back, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and flung her sideways. She lost her balance and the firewood as she fell onto the mattress. He was on top of her before she could draw a breath.

“Get … off!” She kicked and drove her fists into any part of him she could, his jaw, his head, his shoulder. Then he pinned her arms to her sides and she could only stare at him as he loomed above her, laughing at her, a globule of spit rolling off his lower lip to splatter in her face.

She winced and tried to twist away. Her legs became tangled in her skirt, tightening around her like rope. Parks lowered his face toward her and she clamped her lips together and grunted as she managed to wrench one arm out of his grasp. She slapped him. He reared back, smiled, and backhanded her. The world dimmed and a roar of red pain filled her head and poured a film over her eyes for a few seconds. She felt his mouth on hers and his hands kneaded her breasts. His salty tasting tongue invaded, nearly choking her. She bit down as hard as she could. His scream echoed in her throbbing head, but his mouth came off hers and she could fill her lungs with air again.

“Whore!” He clamped his hands around her neck, cutting off her air again.

She writhed and bucked as he tried to choke the life out of her. Panic blew through her like a dynamite blast, giving her one more burst of strength. She rammed a knee up and into his groin. But that only inflamed him and his fingers bit harder into her neck until there was no more air. Black spots bloomed over her vision. Oliver’s face floated behind her eyes and then it disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

In the next instant, the world exploded around her like a gunshot blast. The vise around her neck fell away and she rolled to her side, heaving and crawling, her instincts taking over as she looked for an escape route. She couldn’t hear much of anything except for a roaring like that of a locomotive bearing down on her. There was a loud pop inside her head and other sounds penetrated.

“What the hell are you doing, you two-timing bastard!”

“She busted in here, Luna! I was rasslin’ with her ‘cause she was trespassin’.”

“You’re a damned liar and I’m tired of it.”

Another explosion rocked the air, fire shot forth, and Parks fell back against the wall next to Jennie. He screamed and grabbed at his ear. Blood gushed down the side of his head.

“You shot off my ear!”

“I just knocked a piece of it off,” Luna said. “If I’d wanted to take off the whole ugly thing, I could’ve. Shut your crying and act like a man instead of a simpering boy.”

Jennie managed to sit up and scoot across the floor away from Parks. She turned her burning eyes toward the woman who stood in the open doorway, legs braced apart, a gun leveled at her.

“You are one sorry piece of womanhood,” Luna said, glaring with open hatred at Jennie. “No wonder Charles forgot you existed once he got hold of me. He’d never been with a real woman before me. He went plumb crazy with desire when I gave him a taste of me.”

Jennie tried to swallow, but her throat was raw and swollen. She wasn’t even sure she could speak.

“Got nothing to say?” Luna jeered. “You’ve had plenty to say behind my back, but the cat’s got your tongue now that I’m staring you in the face, huh?”

“Hey, honey … my ear is paining something awful.” Parks lurched to his feet, one bloody hand still clamped to the side of his head. “I don’t know why you shot me. It’s her you shoulda plugged.”

“I shot you because you were lying on top of her and your pants are unbuttoned.” She glared at his crotch. “I came here to tell you to get on your horse and vamoose. The law is headed here to arrest you – and me, probably. We gotta make tracks, and I mean
now
.”

“What happened to your judge husband? He won’t let anyone arrest us.”

“He’s been arrested already. I don’t have time to explain. We gotta go.” She aimed her gun at Jennie again. “You think you’ve got the best of me, but you’re wrong. I’ll be damned if I let you live on this land. I earned his land, honey. I romanced your gutless husband. I made him crazy with desire for me, even though he never could get any rise outta me. He was about as exciting as riding a turtle. Then he moped around and lit out one day, saying he was going to town, and he never came back, the yellow-bellied snake. So this land is more
mine
than
yours
.”

“My money paid for it,” Jennie choked out. “You’re a thief.”

Luna’s eyes turned stone cold. Her finger curled on the trigger. “And you’re dead.”

Jennie dove to the right just as the gun belched fire and smoke again, but the bullet slammed into the floorboards because someone burst through the door and grabbed Luna’s wrist, ruining her aim. Jennie blinked to clear her vision and to be sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. They weren’t.
Zachary
. She sobbed at the sight of him.