Will
and Patty were getting cozy when the fire alarm went off. The
school's barn was on fire. The four of them help put it out.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt or killed.
The
county sheriff showed up to make sure no one got hurt in the fire.
The fire chief from Harlan came out next. After an inspection, he
took the sheriff and Mr. Bertram aside. A few minutes later, the
three men came over to where Will and Lucius were standing. The young
men had their arms around Dollie and her sister, watching the debris
for hot spots.
"You
the Henry boys?" The fire chief asked.
"Yes,
sir," Will replied. "I'm Willem, this here's Lucius."
"Boys,
the men up here have reason to believe it was your pa as set it."
Will
and Lucius stared at him, then at one another.
"Pa
was pretty riled about something. Never did cotton as to what set him
off. He was yelling at us," Lucius replied.
"Be
fair," Will said. "He was yelling at me. He thinks I
betrayed him by moving to town. I couldn't live out my life on the
farm. He needed fewer mouths to feed and I needed more than raising
chickens and milking cows. I gave my brother the option of joining me
soon. Pa musta heard about it."
"Not
from me," Lucius assured him.
"Ma
prolly told him," Will replied, ignoring the other men
completely.
The
brothers nodded, silently concurring. The three older men glanced at
one another. Mr. Bertram stepped forward.
"I
hate to ask.... But what were you boys doing just before you came
down here?"
Will's
arms tightened around Patty. Blushing, she hid her face in his chest.
"We
helped clean up after the party and saw the girls home," Lucius
replied, his ears burning.
Mr.
Bertram and the other men, who'd had their share of after party
encounters, didn't press for details. It was pretty obvious they'd
had nothing to do with the fire.
"Pa
ain't right," Will explained. "He got the shell shock in
the War. Mr. Bertram, you know that. He drinks, you know that, too.
When he gets riled, he might crack some heads, but he ain't one for
setting a fire. Truth be told, he don't like fire much. And if he's
got a grudge, it ain't against the school, but me. If he set fire to
anything, might be my drawers, but ain't gonna be the school. He and
his daddy helped build this place."
"The
boy's got a point, Edward," Mr. Bertram said to the sheriff.
"Earl's got a destructive streak, but it's pretty self-directed.
I can't really see him doing this either."
"Did
y'all see anything at all?" Sheriff Squires asked them.
"We
was kinda occupied," Lucius said quietly. Hands shoved in his
pockets, he met the sheriff's eye defiantly.
"Reckon
I know," the older man said quietly. He hadn't missed the traces
of lipstick on Will and Lucius. He leaned toward them, speaking
quietly. "Y'all don't do nothing you'll be shamed of later."
"No,
sir," Will replied rapidly.
"I'm
done here," Sheriff Squires said loudly. "You coming,
Nolan?" he asked the fire chief.
"In
a bit. Me and the boys are gonna watch for hot spots. Reckon I'll be
back later. Run by, tell my wife?"
"Will
do." The sheriff tipped his hat. "Ladies."
"We'll
see y'all home and go up to check on Pa," Will said as he opened
the truck door.
The
four of them squeezed into the front seat and drove in silence back
to the girls' dorm.
"Y'all
ain't misbehavin'?" Will raised an eyebrow at is brother.
"Fine
one to talk," Lucius said, wiping lipstick off his brother's
cheek.
Will
did the same, holding up his thumb for his brother to see. Both men
looked away. Concentrating on the narrow track that passed for a
road, Wil said nothing more.
"Y'all
don't want a shotgun wedding," Lucius said quietly.
"Like
you'd know."
"Done
my share," Lucius said defensively. "How you gonna feel if
you have to tell Mama you got Patty in the family way? She'd have
your hide. And her parents?" He made a disgusted noise. "Be
lucky their daddy didn't skin you and cut off your...."
"Enough!
Like to see your self-control later on. Before you lecture me,
remember Betty Mae."
Lucius
hunched down, leaning against the door. He stared out the window,
ignoring the others.
"Who's
Betty Mae?" Patty asked the question that Dollie wanted to.
"Never
you mind," Lucius snapped. "Will spoke outta turn."
"She's
the girl he almost married couple years back just 'fore y'all got
here."
"Willem!"
Lucius' eyes blazed dangerously.
"They
got a right to know. Patty's almost family."
"But
Dollie isn't."
"She's
got a right to know," Will maintained.
"And
I'd have told her in my own time," Lucius growled. "Do I
tell your secrets?"
"Why
didn't you marry her?" Dollie asked.
The
truck stopped in front of their apartment. Lucius jerked the door
open and ran off into the night. Dollie wanted to follow, but the
dark closed around them, scaring her.
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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