Loving Eliza (13 page)

“I didn’t realize there were so many people in this town,” she told Old Willy.

“Whenever there’s food, people come scurryin’ out of their holes to find it.”

She laughed.  “You have a real sense of humor, Willy.  That’s refreshing.  Life can get too serious sometimes.”

Willy blushed and waved his hand as if to dismiss the compliment.  “Oh shoot, Miss Sweet. 
That’s awfully nice of you to say.  Hello there, John.  The Kendells like that bed frame you made for their little girl.  They’ve been braggin’ on it so much that the Ca
rsons are thinkin’ of askin’
you to make them a cabinet for their kitchen.”

Eliza turned to John.  “That’s wonderful.  I told you that was a gorgeous
bed frame, and all you did was shrug as if it wasn’t anything important.  You do beautiful work.”

“A true statement,” Old Willy agreed.  “You folks comin’ in to eat?”

“You bet.  This is a good excuse to get out of cooking.” She glanced at John.  “Not that I mind cooking, but it sure is nice to have a break from it.”

“You work her too hard
out
there, John.” Old Willy chuckled and patted his shoulder.  “Ju
st kiddin’.  I know you wouldn’
overwork anyone.”

John was too n
ervous to smile to show
his friend that he understood he was joking.  He really wished Old Willy would find someone other than Eliza
to like
.  This town needed more women.  He shifted from one foot to the other.

“I think John’s more ready to eat than I am,” Eliza said.

John
followed her into the building.  He
was relieved when he realized that they’d be sitting with Frank and Addy.  At least he
could relax
during the supper.  Afterwards however was another matter.  Troy came up to them and asked for a dance.

“Oh, I told John that I’d dance with him,” she replied as she took John’
s hand.

Troy’s gaze met John’s, and John narrowed his eyes at him.

“Come on, John,” she said and pulled on his hand.

He obeyed and lumbered to the area set aside for couples to dance.  He spotted the corner where he used to sit and hide.  He used to watch the people dance, noting the way they laughed and smiled.  Even now, people enjoyed themselves.  The only thing different was that he was out in open for all to see, and as much as he hated that, he did like holding Eliza without her trying to find a
reason to get out of his arms.

If he ha
dn’t notice
d
the way Troy glared at him or
how
a couple of people in the room snickered and shook their heads
at him
, it wouldn’t have been so bad.  But he was aware of them.  Acutely awar
e.  He stepped on her foot and nearly tripped her.  He quickly caught her by the arms and steadied her.

She flung her
hair over her shoulder.  “It’s alright.  Maybe we should get something to drink.”

He nodded and walked over to the table where a big bowl of punch and ladle waited for them.

“How quaint!  I heard of these but I’d never seen such a grand display.” She picked up one of the cups by the bowl.  “Whoever set out all these lovely flowers and lacy napkins did a marvelous job.”

“Charity did that,” a woman spoke.

They turned to see Bethany.

“She learned to do this where we came from,” she continued.

“She did a fine job of it.” Eliza scanned the room.  “Where is she anyway?”

“The poor thing is sick to her stomach.  It’s because of the child, you know.”

“Oh, yes.  Well, it’s a shame she’s missing this, especially when she took the time to set this out.”

“It’ll be worth it.  Next year, she’ll be holding her own baby.  There’s no better joy than that.”

John thought he caught a flicker of sorrow in Eliza’s eyes.

“I suppose you’re right,” Eliza softly replied before she picked up the ladle.  Her hands slightly shook as she poured the red liquid into the cup.

John took the cup and ladle from her so no more would splash onto the table.  What had caused
her unease?  The talk of a baby?
  If she wanted a child, she could marry him and then have one of her own.  He paused.  He hadn’t tried that angle yet.  Maybe he needed to get her thinking of babies.

Eliz
a wiped her hands on a napkin.

“She’s already decided on a name,” Bethany said.  “Patrick for a boy and Patricia for a girl.  Aren’t those wonderful names?”

“Yes.  They are.” Eliza took the cup John offered her and drank a sip.  “She is blessed.”

“Well, perhaps you’ll find someone to marry.  I hear that Willy is a sweetheart.  Though he’s a bit older than you, he’s a stable, hardworking man.”

John gritted his teeth.

“Of course, there is Buck, if you don’t mind a man who spends most of his time in the fields.  That wouldn’t do well for a woman who wants lots of attention.  You have to be willing to spend most of your time alone.  Thankfully, Charity didn’t end up with him.  She loves to be pampered.”

“I am content with things as they are,” Eliza said before she took another sip.

“Maybe for now.  But the future is ahead of you, even if you are nearing an unmarriageable age.  You should keep that in mind.  Oh, there is Troy Evans.  Why, he works for Buck.” The woman clapped her hands and giggled.  “What a small world.  At any rate, you can choose any of them.”

Or there’s me.  I’m right
in front of
you, you old coot.
  If John could speak, that’
s exactly what he’d tell Bethany
.

“Let me introduce you to Chloe.  You’ll like her.” Bethany grabbed Eliza’s hand and started walking away.

Eliza glanced back at John.  “Stay put.  I’ll be right back.”

John had a sinking feeling that Bethany would keep Eliza with her longer than a moment.  And he was right.  After five minutes, he found his corner and sat down.
  Again, he watched everyone else.  Eliza stood to the side with Bethany, Chloe and Chloe’s sister.  Eliza kept looking back at him, and at
one
point, she motioned for him to join her.  He refrained.  Instead, he averted his gaze so he could pretend he hadn’t seen her.

He turned his attention to the window, noting it was a clear night.  It would be a good two hours before he could go home.  He sighed and let his gaze fall back on Eliza who laughed at something Chloe said.

He hated being here.  He hated being in town.  He hated being alone.

“John?”

He l
ooked over at his brother Shawn.

“Aaron and Guy said you were here, but I didn’t belie
ve them.  Why are you hiding
?  We’re not kids anymore.”

He rolled his eyes.

Shawn sat next to him.  “You look like you saw a ghost.”

Irritated, he crossed his arms and directed his attention to Eliza who was still talking to the other women.  So much for dancing with her...or coming so he could spend time with her.

“You need to relax,” Shawn said.  “
I know how to make that happen, but we can’t do it here.  Come outside with me.”

John shook his head.  He wanted to make sure Troy or Old Willy didn’t go near Eliza.  If one of them
did, he planned to go up to her so they’d back off.

“We’ll only be gone for a minute.  It won’t take long at all.  Besides, this kind of thing relaxes me all the time.”

John
thought about it,
nodded and s
trode out of the town hall so they could be
alone. 
Interest peaked, he watched as his brother pulled something from his jacket pocket.  It was a flask.

“Take a good drink of this.  In no time at all, you’ll feel good.”

John accep
ted the flask but pointed to it.

“It’s moonshine.  Jerry makes it.”

He’d heard the term before, but he couldn’t quite recall where.

“It’s good for nerves.”

Jerry seemed like a good man.  At least, he didn’t make fun of him, and he had no reason to distrust Shawn.  He nodded and drank from it.  It had an odd taste, though it wasn’t exactly bad.  He took another drink and decided it tasted fine.

“Don’t gulp it all down.  You just want to relax, not get drunk.”

“I think I saw him come out here,” Guy said.

Shawn motioned for John to hide the flask so John slipped it into his back pocket and turned to the e
ntrance of the town
hall.  John noticed a warming sensation spread over his face.  Was that because they were almost caught or was it the moonshine?

Aaron and Guy came into John’s viewing range
.

“What are you two doing out here?” Aaron wondered, sounding suspicious.

“Just taking in the fresh air,” Shawn replied.  “Got a problem with that?”

“No.  We came to ask if you wanted to play some poker.”

“Alright, but this time I’m quitting when I get to my last penny.”

“No one forced you to lose all your money last time,” Guy said.  “Well, come on.  We’re about to start the game.”

John hated this.  Of course, they wouldn’t invite him.  They never did.

Shawn patted him on the shoulder.  “Don’t worry.  In no time at all, you’ll feel better.” He ran into the building with Guy and Aaron.

John stood there for a minute, waiting for the moonshine to do its trick, but he didn’t feel relaxed at all.  Maybe he needed more of it for it to work.  He pulled it out of his pocket and drank more.  The flask was practically full.  He wondered how much of this liquid it took to take effect.  Deciding that his tension was pretty severe, he drank the whole thi
ng.  He waited until his muscles began to relax before he sauntered back into the place.

E
liza
opened the kitchen door so Aaron and Shawn could help John into his bedroom.  They dumped him on the bed.

“Thank you,” she told them.  “There was no way I could bring him here by myself.”

“I’m sorry,” Shawn said.  “I had no idea he’d drink all the moonshine.”

“About that.  Give me that flask.” Aaron held out his hand.

“No.  I never get drunk off it.  I just drink it once in awhile to relax after a hard day of work.”

“I don’t care.  You don’t need to be drinking it at all.  Don’t you see what it’s doing to Jerry and his marriage?  Now, give it to me.”

Shawn loudly groaned but pulled it from his jacket pocket and handed it to his brother.  “Fine.  You never have any fun.”

“I’m the oldest brother in the family.  It’s my job to make sure you don’t have fun.”

Shawn glanced at her and rolled his eyes.  “He means that too.”

“We played poker, didn’t we?”

“Sure.  But you gave Ron his money back.”

“Because we don’t rip anyone off in a game.  Ron needs that money.”

“You didn’t mind ripping me off last time.”

“And you didn’t mind cheating either.”

Shawn
threw his hands up in the air.  “I wasn’t cheating.  I don’t know
how that ace found its way up my sleeve
.”

Aaron shook his head.  “We’ll get out of your way, Miss Sweet.”

Eliza waved to the arguing brothers and went to help John.  She found him asleep on the bed, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.  She’d let him sleep with his clothes on, but she had to take off his boots.  As she slid the last boot off his foot, he stirred.

She glanced up and saw that he was staring at her.  She placed his boot next to the other one and stood up, placing her hands on her hips.  “You’re drunk.”

He smiled
and motioned for her to get closer
to him.

“Oh no.  I’m not getting near you.  You, Mister, are not in control of anything you do.” She’d been around drunk men before.  The best thing to do was to get away from them.