Love and Glory: The Coltrane Saga, Book 3 (6 page)

“You knew all that when you married him,” he reminded her, then added with a teasing grin, “That’s probably one of the reasons you fell in love with him, girl. He’s the only man you ever met that you couldn’t charm right around your little finger.”

He frowned and scratched his beard. “I could’ve told you he’d blow all the way to the moon, but I didn’t figure he’d be so cockeyed drunk by then. Golly damn, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to run him down. No tellin’ where he’s gone.”

She clutched the front of his ill-fitting coat and pleaded, “You’ve got to find him, Sam. I want him to go with you, but I can’t just let him go this way, so blind angry that he won’t even say good-bye to me or to our son.”

“I know, I know.” He touched his lips to her forehead and pushed her away with a gentle shake.

“Must be close to seven,” Lottie interrupted in a worried voice. “I heard the marshal say his train left at ten. It’s a good hour’s ride into town, maybe more. He ain’t rightly got time to get out here and back if’n he ain’t left town yet.”

Kitty gulped down the hot coffee. Lottie rambled on, but she did not hear. Her mind was whirling and in a moment she knew what she had to do. “Get John dressed for me, will you, please?”

Kitty roughly jerked the gown over her head, heedlessly. She would never wear that emerald gown again, ever. She should not have worn it last night. The damn thing was probably cursed because it had been paid for by Corey McRae. She found an old faded pair of cotton trousers that had once belonged to one of Mattie’s sons.

John was fussing, not wanting to eat the corn mush Lottie had prepared for him. “You wanna see yo’ daddy, don’t you?” She hovered over him, urging him to spoon the food through his puckered lips. “If you don’t eat, you ain’t gonna go.”

Tears welled in his eyes. Kitty saw and rushed over to kiss his forehead. Giving Lottie a warning look, she told him, “Mommy is in a hurry, darling, but I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Lottie gave her a cold stare, broadcasting a message that
she
was not the one sending the boy’s daddy away, so there was no cause to look at
her
like that.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they were in the wagon. Lottie insisted on going along to hold John in her lap, and Kitty was grateful. She had always hated the ride into Goldsboro, for the scenery brought back so many unpleasant memories. Oh, there had been happy trips before the war, riding with her father, riding with Doc Musgrave, but such misery later on. She thought of the day she had ridden in with Travis, sitting on the back of his horse as the Yankees moved into Goldsboro. She had been furious when the Yankees sang, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” their song, so she had begun to sing “Dixie” as loudly as she could. The soldiers had fallen silent, glaring at her. Travis had tried to stop her, but she kept right on singing. Then General Sherman himself came galloping back through the line to see what was causing the disturbance. Kitty smiled tearfully, thinking of it.

Lottie leaned over to place her dark hand on Kitty’s arm and give her a gentle shake. “You know it ain’t too late, missy,” she said quietly. “You could tell him the truth.”

Kitty did not reply. Was she just possibly sending Travis away so she could follow her own dream and return to nursing? Was
she,
too, tired of grubbing on the little dirt farm? No! She gripped the leather reins tightly, squeezing her fingers against the worn thongs. She loved the farm and she loved Travis, and she would never send him away except for his own terrible needs.

She looked over at John, sleeping contentedly with his head against Lottie’s big bosom. His home was being torn apart because his parents could not settle down and make a life for him. One had the wanderlust, and the other was not content without doing a man’s work. Selfish, John’s parents were selfish. It wasn’t fair. But Kitty knew they could not help being what they were.

The clouds that had been gathering since they had left home now began to unleash a steady downpour. Kitty twisted around to retrieve the tarpaulin kept in the wagon bed, and Lottie spread it on top of her and John, but Kitty pushed it away when part of it was offered to her. Perhaps the cool rain would soothe a little of the pain, she thought.

By the time they reached the train station, Kitty was soaking wet.

“You gonna catch a cold,” Lottie fussed with agitation. “You gonna take the fever and die. Just you wait and see.”

“It’s not a very cold rain, Lottie,” Kitty said quietly, glancing around at the few people waiting for the train.

She got down out of the wagon and tied the mule’s reins to a hitching post. “Take John and go wait under the shelter,” she told Lottie. “I’m going to look for Sam and Travis.”

Everyone under the shelter turned to stare at the young woman with golden-red hair stringing down her back, wearing wet and clinging men’s trousers. Her shirt also stuck to her, revealing her firm, rounded breasts, the nipples protruding. But Kitty was oblivious to the stares or the picture she was presenting. There was one thought in her mind, to find Travis and Sam.

She glanced at the large clock hanging just above the door to the station ticket office. Nine forty-five. There was little time left, and even as she had the thought, the distant, mournful wail of a whistle sounded. She looked down the lonely stretch of crossties and railings to see puffs of grayish smoke drifting upward. At any moment, the big engine would chug into view. Where is Travis? Where is Sam?

She pushed her way through the crowd on the platform. With her heart pounding, Kitty suddenly spied a familiar face. Of all people, she sighed. She started to push on by, not about to waste precious moments dickering with the little snit.

“If you’re looking for that no-good husband of yours, I might be able to tell you where you can find him.”

Kitty froze, then turned slowly to look at the smug smile on Nancy Danton’s haughty face.

“I said I
might
be able to tell you,” Nancy said in a syrupy voice. “I didn’t say I
would,
now did I?”

Kitty could hear the train. There was no time to waste. “Nancy, if you know where Travis is, please tell me,” she cried, unable to keep the desperation from her voice. Let the vixen enjoy her moment of gloating, Kitty could stand that.

Nancy, wearing a bright yellow dress trimmed in lace and ruffles, twirled her matching parasol, which pointed at her neat kid boots.

“Please,” Kitty said through gritted teeth, “tell me where I can find Travis.”

With a shrill laugh that grated against what was left of Kitty’s nerves, Nancy pointed a white-gloved finger toward the station. “The dirty old drunk is in there, passed out in a corner. That nasty Marshal Bucher is in there trying to get him on his feet and on the train. I assume the two are leaving town. That will be
such
an improvement. Why don’t you go with them and take Corey McRae’s brat with you? Wayne County would be such a better place without the likes of you all.” Nancy’s shrill voice got higher and higher as Kitty turned away.

Without sparing time to retort, Kitty pushed her way to the door, jerked it open, and stepped inside just as the engine screeched to a halt. Travis was slumped in a corner, with Sam. standing next to him.

“If you’re going, boy, you gotta get up,” Sam was saying desperately. “The train’s here. I gotta be on it. If I have to leave you behind, I will.”

“Don’t leave me.” Travis took the hand Sam extended, stumbling and weaving as he allowed himself to be raised. “I gotta go, gotta leave this goddamn place. Never should’a come back. Kitty never loved me.”

“I do love you,” Kitty stepped forward and spoke quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Travis looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. Sam stepped back, leaving Travis to struggle with his own huge, weaving body.

“Well, look at you.” Travis hiccuped. “You get me outta the way, and then you can traipse around and do as you damn please.”

He almost fell but grabbed a nearby bench to steady himself. Sam picked up his worn bag and moved toward the door.

“You wait for me,” Travis yelled. “Don’t you leave me, Bucher.”

To Kitty he said in a heavily slurred voice, “I tell you one thing, woman, I’ll be back to get my boy. I don’t have any money now. I sank it all in your stinking farm. But I’ll get paid for this trip, and when I come back, I’m coming for my boy. You can do whatever the hell you want to do.”

Suddenly, Kitty could stand it no longer. “Travis, I love you,” she cried, moving to put her arms about him, but he gave her a shove that sent her reeling.

“Leave him alone, girl,” Sam called to her gruffly. “He’s dog-ass drunk and has been all night. I’ll talk to him after we get on our way, but there ain’t no point tryin’ to explain to him now.”

She shook her head from side to side wildly, wet hair flying through the air as she sobbed, “I can’t let him go like this, Sam. I want to tell him the truth.”

Travis hiccuped again. “The truth is we never should have got married. I’m not the marrying kind, and you’re not the kind a man should marry, either.”

“That’s enough of that!” Sam stepped forward and grabbed Travis by his shirt and gave him a jerk. He knew he was no match for the man’s strength, but anger was blinding him. “I ain’t goin’ to stand here and let you talk to her that way. Now let’s just go get on that train, and when you sober up, we’ll talk. I’ll tell you what she’s trying to tell you. You’re too drunk to listen now. You can take a train back from Washington after I explain, if you want to, but this fussin’ ain’t doin’ nothin’ but hurtin’ both of you.”

“Come back?” Travis laughed, lurching sideways. “Are you crazy, Sam? I’m not coming back here till I’ve got the money to take my son away from this woman.”

“He’s outside,” Kitty said quickly, hoping the thoughts of seeing John would sober him. “I brought him so you could say good-bye to him, Travis. Lottie has him outside, under the shelter. Be angry with me if you want, but don’t take it out on John. Please. I told him he was coming to see his daddy.”

Travis threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll just bet you did. It would really give you pleasure for my son to see me like this, wouldn’t it?”

Dear God, why hadn’t she listened to Sam and everyone else? They could have talked. Perhaps Travis would have admitted his craving for adventure. Not this way. Lord, no, not this way. He must not leave hating her.

“Travis, at least say good-bye to John,” she pleaded, moving toward him again. Sam pulled her away.

“All right,” Travis slurred, eyes squinting down at her with such loathing that her heart constricted. “I’ll see him. I’ll tell him I’ll be coming back. But you stay away from me, Kitty.”

He stumbled to the door. Kitty clung to Sam, crying, heart breaking as she watched Travis stumble away.

“He’s pretty upset, Kitty,” Sam sighed. “Not just over what happened last night. It’s the way things have been goin’ the past months. I guess it’s just finally caught up with him.”

“It’s caught up with me, too.”

He cupped her chin in his hand, forced her to meet his probing gaze. “You been doing some soul-searchin’, too, haven’t you, girl? You’ve missed your work, haven’t you? Now you feel like hell, because you’re thinkin’ how maybe this is all for the best, you two goin’ your separate ways. But I can tell you this. It won’t stay this way. I’ve known you two kids too long. You love each other. You’ll get back together. I just feel it in these old bones of mine. Maybe this is what you both need, being apart for a while. It might just do you some good.”

Kitty moved to the window to stare out at the people milling about on the platform. There was Lottie, eyes wide with shock over Travis’ drunk and disheveled appearance. And there was Travis, holding John tightly in his arms, his head bowed over the little boy’s head.

“But don’t you fret.” Sam came to stand beside her. “Once we’re on our way and he’s sobered up, I’ll tell him the whole story, how you had it planned all along. Once he understands, he won’t be mad no more. He’ll come runnin’ back here when our business is done. You’ll see.”

She turned to look at Sam as hope fluttered within for the first time since the nightmare had begun. “Do you really think it will be like that?”

“Well, I think you better do some thinkin’ yourself while he’s gone,” he answered uncomfortably, clearing his throat and glancing away, not wanting to meet her anxious gaze. “I think maybe you better think about how you just might be lookin’ forward to goin’ back to work at that hospital. Maybe Travis wasn’t the only one gettin’ itchy britches on that farm. Maybe you were just as miserable as he was.”

Kitty felt a rush of love for the grizzled old man as she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You always could see right inside me, Sam. I never could hide anything from you.”

“That’s right,” he grinned proudly, giving her a squeeze. “I told you you was in love with Travis before you’d even admit it to yourself. And I have to admit there was a time when even I got to thinkin’ you two would never get together, ’cause you’re both so goldang stubborn.”

Suddenly the cry of “All aboard!” wailed through the air and the train gave three short whistle blasts.

Sam took her hand and led her outside. They walked to where Travis stood, holding John against him. Lottie looked at them and shook her head from side to side in dismay. John looked up, saw Kitty, and began to cry, “Mommy!”