After
talking to the sheriff, Luke and Will decide that spending the night
with the girls again, is a good idea. They talk about Big Earl's
wishes for the land.
"He
let me keep my house land," Will said stubbornly. "I got me
a few acres to work if I have a mind. It will surely do for us and
ours when we've got kids. I don't need more than that."
"I
decided that Will can share the land evenly with me once it's mine,"
Luke said. "Mama has the house for her and the young'uns. We
work the land and provide for them like we promised. I don't hold
with Daddy saying Will ain't his son. He's my brother and we went
through hell with that old man. If I could of gone with Will, I would
of."
Dollie
took his hand in hers. "You're a fine man, Lucius Henry."
He
smiled, kissing her fingers.
"Reckon
you should go into town and check the bank box," Will said.
"Your
father had a bank box?" Patty was shocked.
"Yup.
He had a lawyer too," Will replied. "He took me up there
one day, introduced us and all. Did he do that with you, Luke?"
"No,
this is the first I heard of it. How long ago was that?"
"It
was a few months before I left home. He had a long talk with the
lawyer, but I wasn't in the room. He had him a pretty new secretary I
was trying to get to know."
"Before
or after you met Patty?" Luke winked at his brother.
"I'd
met her but we weren't courting," Will replied, his ears going
red. "Once she told me she'd date me steady, I didn't even talk
to another girl except at work."
"I
guess you'd better go with me," Luke said.
"We'll
go tomorrow," Will replied. "All that nonsense with Ed got
me thinkin' maybe there's somethin' he knows that we don't—and we
should."
"First
thing in the morning. Can you take the time from work?"
"Mr.
Prentice gave me a few days bereavement leave." He snorted.
"It
gives you a chance to get things in order," Patty said, taking
his hand. "And you can spend some time working on the house."
"Every
minute I can," he promised.
"It's
about time to go to bed," Dollie said suddenly. "You men
need to bathe and get to bed so you can be up early and head to
town."
Patty
exchanged an unhappy look with Will. "She's right. Much as I'd
like to spend more time, we need to get some rest."
The
men agreed, Will reluctantly, but he followed his brother as he went
down the hall.
"You
think Dollie was trying to keep us apart?" he asked Luke as they
headed to the showers.
"Yup,
I do. And she's right. Y'all aren't married yet. I know you're
excited, but you got to keep it under control, Will. What would her
daddy the preacher say if his daughter had to get married?"
"Reckon
he'd wanna kill me."
"Yup,
I reckon he would."
They
bathed in silence and finished getting ready for bed. They lay down
and put out the lamp on the table between them. Will stared at the
ceiling. Luke could see the outline of his profile in the moonlight
that drifted in from outside. A worried frown creased Will's brow.
"Who
do you suppose it was that broke in last night?"
"I
been wondering that. Got no idea."
"You
think he'd try comin' back?"
"Not
if he knows we're here. He'd be a fool to do that."
"We
ain't sleepin' in with the girls. We're way on down the hall. Lot can
happen in a minute. I think they ought to sleep in here with us. And
I do mean sleep. You and me could take turns resting and the girls
could take the beds."
"You
think they're asleep yet?"
"Doubt
it. Let's go find out."
They
put on their bathrobes and tapped on the apartment door. There was a
scurrying inside and Dollie opened the door. She peeped up at them,
dark eyes wide.
"Is
something wrong?"
"We
got to thinking," Luke said. "You ought to come down to our
room and sleep there. We'll behave," he added, holding his hands
up where she could see them. "We're a little concerned about
last night's visitor. We'd feel better if you came down to our room."
"Patty?"
Dollie called over her shoulder. "What do you think?"
"I
think it's a great idea." She came out of the bedroom in her
bathrobe.
They
walked the women to their room. The rooms were equipped for four
girls, so they made up the two other beds for Patty and Dollie. They
curled up and went to sleep. Will lay down to rest and Luke stayed
up, sitting in one of the desk chairs with his feet up on another
chair. It was uncomfortable, which was why he'd chosen it. He hadn't
counted on the fact that, despite his desire to stay awake, his body
needed sleep. He was still recovering from a serious infection, his
body drained of its usual reserves. Before long, he'd dozed off, head
lolling over the back of the chair.
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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