Tenderness (10 page)

The sun sprinkled the ground with gold dust. The birches that lined the road stood whitely clean. A mockingbird trilled high
up in the trees and a jay scolded him from the bushes below. Jesse smelled the clean May air and felt the warm sun of the
bright blue day.

Suddenly a horseman appeared out of the trees at the side of the road. Jesse drew a deep steadying breath and pulled up on
the reins. Her eyes were wide and confused, her face flushed with surprise. Her mouth formed a silent O. She and Wade looked
at each other for what seemed to be a long while before he spoke.

“You’re leaving.” His voice was strained.

With an effort she pulled her gaze away from him, determined that he not know how upsetting it was to see him. A thought came
unbidden to her brain, undeniable in its truth. He knew that I was going home today. He wanted to see me again.

“Why are you surprised? You’ve known every move I’ve made since I’ve been up here.” Something dark and angry welled up inside
her.

He nodded in agreement.

“Well, good-bye and… thanks for your help.”

“I’ve brought a picnic.”

“Picnic? What on earth for?”

“To pay back for eating the lunch your sister packed.”

“Oh, that—I was invited to eat with the Fronys.”

“But you didn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“You weren’t in there long enough.”

Jesse stared at him as he edged the horse up closer to the buggy. All she could think of to say was, “It was presumptuous
of you to think I’d picnic with you.”

He smiled at that. “I guess it was. Down ahead is a stream where Molly can get a drink of water.”

“She had one at Fronys’.”

“She’ll need another one. Come on, Nurse Forbes. Don’t be difficult.” His laughing eyes held hers. The devilish grin on his
face made him so incredibly handsome that, if asked, Jesse would have been unable to recall her own name.

He led Molly off the road and into a clearing beside a slow-moving stream. Stones along the bank were white in the sun, and
tiny silver minnows darted frantically from shallow to shallow. The roots of a large sycamore tree sprawled out toward the
water. It was a beautiful, peaceful place.

Wade tied his horse and, carrying a cloth bag, came to the buggy. Jesse was standing beside it.

“It’s pretty here. Listen to the lark.”

“You like birds?”

“Love them. Who doesn’t?”

“You’d be surprised at how many people don’t even hear them, can’t even identify one from the other.”

She looked up at him and later realized that she had said something absolutely stupid.

“Were you this tall the other day?”

He laughed, spreading charm all over his usually serious face. His lips widened, making deep creases in his cheeks. His green
eyes shone like a mountain pool in the sunshine. Again, she was aware that when he smiled he was breath-takingly good looking
in a wild sort of way.

“I’m walking on stilts. Didn’t you notice?”

Her eyes went quickly to his booted feet and back to his eyes before she turned her head away. He cupped her elbow in his
hand and led her toward a grassy spot near the stream.

“I forgot the blanket.” He placed the bag on the ground and loped back to his horse to take a roll from behind the saddle.

“You’ve thought of everything. I’d not be surprised if you produced a freezer of ice cream,” Jesse said irritably, and took
a corner of the blanket to help him spread it on the ground. “I really don’t have time for this.”

“You have time for a piece of chicken. I fried it this morning.”

“You fried it?”

“You’d better hope so. Jody’s cooking isn’t fit for the hogs.”

“I’ve not seen Jody since that first day.”

“He keeps busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Studying.”

“Studying? Who teaches him?”

“I do—with the help of the teacher at Coon Rapids. There’s a school of sorts at Violet, but he refuses to go. He wants to
go to a school where he can run on their track team, but he has a lot of studying to do first.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? You think it’s a waste of time teaching a… nigger.” His tone more than his words made her angry.

“Climb down off your high horse, Mr. Simmer, and stop being so defensive where Jody is concerned. I don’t think anything of
the kind.”

He grinned at her sheepishly. “I guess I do get defensive, but it’s an uphill battle to see that Jody gets his chance. Who
knows, Jody could be the next Booker T. Washington.”

“I’ve heard of him. President Roosevelt invited him to the White House. Caused quite a stir.”

“I took Jody to the Chautauqua down in Chattanooga to hear him speak. It got him all fired up to go to a colored college.
Folks up here don’t understand how important it is to send their own kids to school, much less a colored boy. Hill people
are more closed-minded about some things than town people.”

“Papa says that some folk have so little self-worth that they need to feel that they are better than someone. Jody is handy.”

“I never thought about it like that.”

He opened the bag and laid out fried chicken, bread-and-butter pickles, slices of light bread spread with butter and two pieces
of applesauce cake.

“Cake? You have all sorts of hidden talents.”

Wade grinned. “I was a little short on time so I got the cake from Mrs. Frony.”

“What would you have done if I had accepted her invitation to dinner?”

“I was holding my breath that you wouldn’t.” Wade produced a tin cup, went to the stream and brought it back brimming with
clear, cool water. He set the cup between them. “Go ahead and eat. I promise I didn’t fry the chicken in croton oil.”

Color tinged Jesse’s cheeks. “You say the darndest things.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you swear.”

“I know a couple more swear words, all of which describe Otis Merfeld.”

“Did he give you any trouble?” The smile had left Wade’s eyes.

“None to speak of.”

They ate in silence, Wade leaning on his elbow, Jesse sitting with her legs drawn up under her, each stealing sly glances
at the other.

Wade waited to drink from the cup until after she had drunk. He told himself that he was ten times a fool. He had vowed to
stay away from this woman, and here he was with her in this secluded place. He had convinced himself that he only wanted to
see her, talk to her one last time. The idea of the picnic came to mind and he, idiot that he was, gave in to the impulse.

Talk to her? Hell! He wanted to lay her down on the blanket and kiss her all over. He wanted to hold her, feel her bare breasts
against his chest, feel her arms curl around his neck in sweet surrender. He wanted to take her in his arms, carry her back
to his home and lock the doors against the world. He had never been so enamored, so completely captivated by a woman before.
It was scary as hell.

Say something, you numskull, Jesse told herself. She searched her mind for something casual to say. The weather! That was
a safe topic.

“It’s warm for May. I suppose we’ll have a hot summer.”

She looked at Wade, trying to smile, but her smile faded as the seconds ticked by and Wade said absolutely nothing. The silence
stretched. Jesse felt a knot of discomfort forming in her stomach.

“Goodness, it’s getting late,” she said in a tight, jerking voice. “I should be getting on toward home.”

“When will you be back?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She got to her feet and shook the cake crumbs from her skirt. “Thank you for the lunch.”

“My pleasure.” Wade stood and folded the blanket. “I’ll ride with you to the flatland.”

“Oh, you needn’t bother—” Jesse followed along behind him and climbed into the buggy.

“It’s no bother.” His voice was curt. He mounted his horse and rode up beside the buggy. “When will you be back?” he asked
for the second time.

“I don’t know,” she said again. “Thank you for helping me. I couldn’t have reached all those families without you.”

“Doc shouldn’t have let you come up here by yourself.”

“I suppose you told him that.”

“Bet your life I did.”

“What did he say?”

“He said you were not a weakling and that you could take care of yourself.”

“Well, forevermore! People in Harpersville think you’re The Looker. Why would he think I was safe with you up here?”

“Do
you
think I’m The Looker?”

“I haven’t given it any thought.”

“Liar!” He turned to look at her. She forced herself to meet his eyes. All this fluttery stuff in her stomach was distracting.

“I’d not have picnicked with you if I thought you were that… pervert.”

“Good answer. I’ll have to stop making my night trips to Ike’s garage and maybe, just maybe, folks will stop talking.”

“Why do you go to Ike’s garage?”

“We’re building a gasoline engine. As a matter of fact I was there last night.”

“My little brother loves to go to Ike’s garage.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve met him.”

They came out of the woods and onto the flatland road.

“Were you put out with me for kissing you the other night?”

“Nooo…” She lifted her shoulders in a careless shrug as if it were nothing.

Their eyes met and held for a timeless moment. Jesse was mesmerized, and what she saw in the green depth of his gaze barely
registered in her mind. Later she was to decide that it was loneliness, fear of rejection.

“You’re perfectly safe with me. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know that. I just don’t go around kissing every man I meet—” Her voice trailed and she became lost in the tender concern
she saw in his eyes.

“Thank God for that. Jesse,” he whispered, her name a caress. The eyes that looked into hers were dark with emotion.

Jesse was almost moved to tears. She knew with certainty that this man would never hurt her, never force his attentions on
her. The decisions would be hers.

“You’ll be all right. I’ll watch until you reach town.” His voice was tight, strained.

“You don’t have to—”

“I’ll watch. Bye, Miss Jesse.”

“B-bye, Mr. Simmer.”

J
esse held the reins as Molly trotted down the road toward Harpersville. She refused to dwell on whether or not she had acted
properly when she had allowed Wade Simmer to kiss her. It had come about naturally. The sweetness of it is what surprised
her and even more than that, how comfortable she had felt being held close in his arms. The few quick kisses she had shared
with suitors from time to time had not stirred her at all. Wade’s kiss was different. It had opened up a whole new world of
feeling for her.

Jesse decided that she was attracted to Wade because he was considered dangerous, wild and unsuitable for a doctor’s daughter.
She had heard tales about Wade Simmer and the reasons he had left the hills after his granny died. Some said he had been in
prison; others said he had been involved in some illegal activity and had made a pocketful of money. They speculated that
he would leave again when his money ran out. The tales had not seemed so outlandish at the time she heard them, but now that
she had met him she had reason to question their validity. If he were as bad as people said he was, would he be concerned
about sick children and about the education of a homeless colored boy?

The buggy rolled smoothly down the road. Jesse, lost in her thoughts, was oblivious to her surroundings. Few in Harpersville
had taken the trouble to know Wade Simmer. It was unfair to condemn him for what his father had done.

Molly’s hooves were loud on the plank floor of the bridge that spanned the creek just outside of town, and Jesse was abruptly
jolted back to the present. She passed the creamery where milk wagons lined the dock. The flag still fluttered from the pole
when she passed the school. It told her that school was still in session. She would be home before Todd and Susan. She was
eager to see her sister and brother. She had not been away from them for so long since she’d been at nursing school.

Wishing she didn’t need to pass the bank and the mercantile but knowing there was no help for it, she drove down Main Street,
nodding to those who waved, grateful that no one stopped her to ask about the epidemic. In the alley behind the house she
guided Molly to the barn, where the mare nickered a greeting to the doctor’s riding horse. Old Mr. Adams, who cared for the
animals, came leisurely down the alley from his little house at the end of the block.

“ ’Lo, Mr. Adams.”

“Howdy, miss. You been gone a long time.”

“Yes, and I’m glad to be home.”

Carrying her medical bag and suitcase, Jesse walked up the drive to the house and let herself into the surgery. A note on
the desk said her father had gone on a house call. She surveyed the office, grimaced at the disorder, and wondered why her
father thought it unimportant to return things to their proper place. Tired, but knowing that sooner or later she would have
to tackle the job of restoring order, she set about putting away bottles of tonic, gauze and swabs, and boxes of pills in
the medicine cabinet.

A voice from behind Jesse startled her so that she almost dropped the bag she was emptying.

“What are you doing in here?”

She whirled to stare at the woman who stood in the doorway leading to the private part of the house. Her hands were on her
hips and a look of indignation darkened her face.

“Close that cabinet at once.”

Jesse was jarred from her stupor when the woman brushed past her, closed the door to the cabinet firmly, twisted the key in
the lock and put it in her apron pocket.

“Who in blazes are you?” Jesse blurted when she finally found her tongue.

“I’m the doctor’s housekeeper. I’m in charge when he’s away.”

“Are you now!” Anger made Jesse’s voice sharp. “I’m the doctor’s daughter and I was not aware that
we
had a housekeeper.”

The woman’s face registered shock, then changed in an instant. The frown was replaced with a cheerful smile.