Runabout (21 page)

}"Perfect," Tulsa May congratulated.

}Luther patted him on the back.

}Maybelle only stuck her nose higher in the air.

}When the seat was tied in position, they had Maybelle test it before they were satisfied.

}"Okay, who's going to try it first?" Luther asked.

}"Oh, of course Maybelle will," Arthel answered quickly. "You know she requires special treatment on every occasion."

}Maybelle's cheeks flamed with fury and embarrassment. She
had
expected to be first, but now she no longer could.

}"Tulsa May should go first." She gave a superior stare at Arthel. "Age before beauty, of course."

}Arthel's eyes narrowed angrily, and Maybelle gasped as she suddenly realized what an unkind thing she had said.

}"I didn't mean—"

}Tulsa May laughed. "The way I see it, Luther and I have the same advantages over you two youngsters."

}Mindful of her skirts, Tulsa May accepted the seat tentatively, as if unsure that she might end up flat on the ground. As her confidence increased, she began to swing slowly.

}"Now, Tulsy," Luther complained. "You'll have these children thinking you
are
positively ancient."

}"Just let me try it out a little," she protested. "How do I know this thing won't drop me like a stone in the creek?"

}"Did you hear that, Arthel? The woman is questioning our engineering abilities!"

}Arthel chuckled. "Believe me, Tulsa May, you are much safer in this swing than you ever could be in that pile-of-junk Buick that you drive."

}"Shhh! You mustn't talk that way in front of her."

}"Her?" the three others questioned.

}"Well, of course she's a 'her'," Tulsa May insisted. "Like a ship or a boat, an automobile is obviously female."

}Luther grabbed the ropes and began to swing her higher. "Guess you are right, Tulsy," he said. "Cars are like women. They're so pretty you're willing to spend all your money on them. Then they leave you stranded on some deserted road in the middle of nowhere."

}Arthel laughed a bit too heartily.

}Maybelle shot him a dirty look.

}Tulsa May shook her head. "No woman has ever left
you
stranded on a deserted road."

}Luther only gave the swing a strong shove, propelling her out over the falls for the first time.

}Tulsa May's squeal dissolved into laughter. She was_ clearly enjoying the ride and began pumping the swing to new heights.

}"Hang on," Luther warned. "If you fly off we'll have to be fishing you out of the creek."

}"Worried about me?"

}Luther shook his head. "Don't want to get my new overalls wet."

}"Well, then you'd best come and protect me," Tulsa May answered.

}With that, Luther took a running grab, and pulling himself up by the ropes, he placed his booted feet on either side of her.

}Tulsa May squealed with laughter. It had been years since they had shared a swing, but the motions and rhythm were familiar.

}The wind whispered around her face, tugging the loose carrot-colored strands that had escaped from the tight web of pins beneath her straw hat. But for once she didn't worry about her hair.

}"This is wonderful!" Tulsa May exclaimed as the two of them floated high above the white rippling water. The clean sweetness of bursting summer buds floated up on the cool breeze.

}As they swung back toward land, her body leaned into his. He'd grown much taller since their last tandem swing. Once she could lean back and rest her head against his stomach. She realized that now her head reached only to his thighs. She hastily jerked her head forward, trying to sit up straight, and retain her modesty. But the closeness of his body, the top of his muscled legs against her shoulders, could not be ignored. She wet her lips nervously. The gleeful giddiness of a few moments earlier vanished. The warmth of him, the scent of him, seemed to surround her. Her heart felt as if it were expanding. Her body was quivering.

}"My turn, my turn," Maybelle declared petulantly, unable to wait a moment longer.

}Tulsa May dropped one of her feet to the dirt to slow herself, grateful for the interruption. Luther dropped off the back of the swing and easily stilled it.

}"Fun?" he asked. His vivid blue eyes looked straight into hers.

}Tulsa May felt herself blushing. Could he see it? Was it there in her eyes? Desperately, she hoped that she just appeared flushed from the exertion. "Oh, yes, very much fun. Just like when we were kids."

}"Yes," Luther agreed. "Just like when we were kids."

}He offered his hand and she jumped out of the swing.

}Maybelle almost instantly took over the seat.

}"I'm going to swing so high, I'll be able to touch that branch on the far side of the falls," she declared.

}Luther and Tulsa May looked skeptical.

}"Well, if you're going to get that far," Arthel said. "You are certainly going to need some help."

}Grabbing the ropes, Arthel too jumped on to ride tandem.

}"Idiot!" Maybelle screeched from her precarious perch. "Get down from there. I don't want you to ride with me."

}"Too late," he replied as he pushed them off. But their position was awkward. The movement of his knees pushed her hands away from her hold on the ropes. She cried out half in fear, half in fury. At last, she managed a more secure position by wrapping her arms around both his legs and the ropes. This pressed her body rather too close to his.

}Luther watched the two of them, displeased. "Arthel should have let her swing alone. If she gets in a snit it will be the devil to pay for all of us."

}Tulsa May giggled. "Oh, I imagine Arthel can handle her. They are best friends."

}"Not anymore."

}"They still are," Tulsa May assured him. "You don't stop being best friends just because you start feeling more."

}Luther glanced at her quickly and then turned away.

}Tulsa May closed her eyes, horrified. She wanted to kick herself, or bite her tongue. She prayed he wasn't reading anything into her comment.

}Luther looked back at the young couple. The spoiled Miss Penny was squealing and laughing loudly now, kicking her feet wildly as if she were afraid she might plunge to a watery death. She was clearly, however, not the least bit afraid. And her enthusiastic kicking only succeeded in giving Arthel, her rider, a generous view of her exceptionally lacy pink undermuslins. Arthel's animosity seemed to have disappeared and he was now smiling broadly.

}Luther's brow wrinkled in concern. He wondered if he should do something. Arthel and Maybelle were both very young and probably very foolish. When it came to men and women, those two could be a dangerous combination.

}"Don't they look just darling together?" Tulsa May said beside him.

}"What?"

}"Arthel and Maybelle," she answered. "They are the most perfect couple, I think."

}"They can't stand each other," he declared emphatically.

}"Oh, don't be silly," Tulsa May told him. "They are a match for sure."

}A match? Luther wasn't certain. He saw only a couple of rowdy, lawless children flirting with a headlong race away from the straight and narrow.

}However, that was not quite the thing to tell a decent young woman like Tulsy, so he simply smiled agreeably and said nothing.

}Secretly, he just hoped his brother kept his head, and that young Maybelle's virtue would prove to be more formidable than it currently appeared.

}Chapter 11

}After lunch the ladies had agreed to nap leisurely on the quilt for an hour as the gentlemen headed for the swimming hole.

}But once they were alone, it had not been easy to persuade Maybelle to take that nap. "Do you think they are down there stark naked?" she'd asked Tulsa May as she slipped off her boots.

}"Don't even think of such a thing," Tulsa May said sharply. Then she firmly closed her eyes, hoping Maybelle would not pursue her improper conversation.

}When Luther and Arthel returned, they were damp headed, but their clothes were perfectly dry. Tulsa May tried to forget Maybelle's question.

}"You shoulda come and joined us," Arthel said with a grin. "The water was just right."

}"I suppose you think it'd be 'just right' for two unmarried females to swim with two unmarried males?" Maybelle answered with a tone of indignant reprimand.

}Tulsa May looked at her curiously. "Arthel was only joking."

}"Moral turpitude is not something that should be joked about." Maybelle sniffed.

}"Especially when one is speaking with a person totally lacking in humor," Arthel replied politely. "But of course, I wasn't talking to you, Maybelle. I try to avoid that at all costs. It's so lowering."

}The pretty young woman's cheeks puffed out in fury. "Why ... why ..." She fumbled for a stinging reply.

}"Now, you two. Don't start another fight." Luther was looking toward the sinking sun, concerned. "It's getting very late. Tulsy, why don't you drive Maybelle home in the Runabout while Arthel and I follow you to make sure that you don't have any trouble."

}"What?" Both Arthel and Maybelle sounded put out.

}"Don't be silly, Luther," his brother said. "It's really not that late."

}"You and Tulsa May have hardly had a minute alone," Maybelle protested. "You must at least ride home together."

}Luther stared at the two, amazed. For two people at each other's throats, they were awfully anxious to spend time together. But he wasn't sure it was a good idea. And not just for Maybelle and Arthel.

}"If it gets dark, we shouldn't be alone on the road with the ladies," Luther said. "What would their fathers think?"

}"Oh phooey, Luther," Maybelle complained. "You talk like an old-maid Sunday school teacher. This is the twentieth century, you know."

}The young woman's sudden lack of interest in propriety did not go unnoticed, but Luther didn't comment.

}He glanced at Tulsa May for help, but she kept her thoughts strictly to herself. He considered arguing the case another minute, then gave in. If there was anyone more stubborn than his brother Arthel, it was probably Maybelle Penny.

}"Okay," he finally agreed. "But you two are going first. And Tulsy and I will be right behind you."

}Although the young couple had been at each other's throats all day, Luther suspected his younger brother would try to linger on some darkened road stealing kisses from the grocer's daughter. And he hoped to prevent that.

}"The Runabout is much more likely to break down than the Commercial," Arthel said. "We should follow you."

}"If the Runabout has trouble, then I'll fix it. Now you two get going before Maybelle's father begins to worry."

}He didn't have to ask twice. Luther barely had the Runabout cranked and in gear before the Commercial completely disappeared from view.

}"Does Arthel always drive so fast?" Tulsa May asked.

}"Not always," Luther answered with a disgusted sigh. Adjusting his goggles, he gently let up on the throttle and the Runabout chugged forward at its very moderate pace.

}Beside him, Tulsa May was quiet. Luther wondered what she was thinking. Her profile was fine and rather delicate for a woman who was so strong. Strong? The thought had come to him suddenly but he knew that it was true. That determined chin and tidy little hat couldn't hide the strength that had always drawn him to her. But there were secrets in her eyes. And whatever was on her mind, he knew she would not share. And Luther knew he was to blame.

}He was attracted to Tulsa May, he could no longer deny the obvious. But he didn't have to act upon his impulses either, he reminded himself. She was a sweet, loving friend, almost a sister. He hoped that someday she would make some lucky man a wonderful wife. But Luther Briggs was not in the market for marriage, he reminded himself. He had a business to run and a brother to raise and educate. He would wait to marry until the time was right. And now was not the time. Now, women were for fun and foolishness. To Luther marriage was a serious step. He knew firsthand the pain that came from taking marriage vows lightly.