Tenderness (15 page)

“It could be the scarlet fever,” Jesse said laughingly. “We’re expecting it to hit town in a few days.”

“It’ll have to be something else that brings me to your door. I’ve had scarlet fever.”

“How about a loose, glib tongue? I’ll save you the cost of an office call. I don’t think the doctor can do anything about
that.” They both laughed.

Jesse decided she liked Ethan Bredlow. He was light-hearted and fun. She wished Pauline hadn’t been so abrupt with him. Her
friend had said she would like to meet a man who was fun and made her laugh. Ethan was a stranger in town and was trying to
make friends. On the other hand, considering what Pauline had been through, Jesse could understand her attitude.

“Is your friend a nurse too?”

“Pauline is a teacher.”

They approached the bank. Edsel stood on the steps with a disapproving frown on his face. Jesse glanced at him as they passed,
nodded politely, and pretended to be very interested in what Ethan was saying.

“Is she married? Is that why she gave me the icy glare? I didn’t see a ring.”

“No, she’s not married.”

“Steady beau?”

“No.” She gave him a sideways look and caught his laughing eyes.

“She’s awfully pretty,” he said.

“Yes, and she’s a very nice person. Any more questions?”

“Oh, Lordy. I’ve shown my hand, haven’t I? To tell the truth, I was sitting on the porch of the rooming house one evening
and saw her walk by. I thought then that she was mighty pretty. I couldn’t believe my luck when I stepped out on the walk
today, and there she was. Not that I wasn’t glad to see you again, Miss Jesse,” he added quickly.

“That’s nice of you to say, Ethan. Don’t worry about it. I understand perfectly.”

“It’s lonesome being in a town and not knowing anyone.”

“You’ll get acquainted quickly enough when it’s known you work in the newspaper office. There’s nothing the ladies like more
than seeing their name in print.”

“Ladies like Mrs. Harper?”

“You’ve met the town’s socialite?”

“She has a musician visiting from North Carolina. Actually he’s from Asheville, but she said to say North Carolina because
it sounded farther away. I think he plays the piccolo or something. Maybe I’ll make a mistake and say he plays the Jew’s harp
or a harmonica.”

Jesse laughed. “You wouldn’t dare! You’d lose your job.”

“Maybe not. Mr. Marsh was happy when she left.” Ethan stopped. “We’re here already. That just proves what fascinating company
you are, Miss Jesse.”

“Mr. Bredlow, you are a flatterer of the first degree.”

“Ethan. And thank you. I have always wanted to be something of the first degree.”

Jesse laughed. “Good-bye, Ethan.”

“Good-bye, Miss Jesse.”

Ethan watched Jesse proceed on down the brick walk. She was a woman a man could be proud of. He wished he were free to present
his real self to her. Well, so much for daydreaming. He was here to do a job and he was satisfied with the day’s progress.

Wade Simmer rode his horse down the main street of Harpersville. A few people nodded a greeting; others with solemn, disapproving
faces stopped and stared. He passed close by two men unloading a wagon. One spit contemptuously.

“Somethin’ ort to be done ’bout that bird,” he said.

“What’s he done?” The other man cut a chew from a plug of tobacco and shoved it into his mouth before he lifted a heavy grain
sack to his shoulder. They both watched as Wade turned his horse into the alley beside the marshal’s office.

“If you ain’t knowing’ that, yo’re dumb as a stump.”

“Guess I’m dumb then.”

“I’d betcha my bottom dollar he’s in town spottin’ the next woman he’ll strip ‘n’ scare the shit outta.”

“Ya think it’s
him
doin’ that?”

“ ’Course it’s him. He ort to be hung… like his pa was.”

Wade saw the men eyeing him and ignored them. In the alley next to the marshal’s office he alighted and tied his horse to
an iron ring set in the stone wall. He patted the animal’s rump as he went around him and walked back down the alley to the
Main Street entrance of the office rather than entering through the back door.

Marshal Wright was seated behind a desk, his booted feet on the cluttered top. A thick mug was clutched in his hand.

“Howdy, Dusty.”

“Howdy, Wade. Help yourself to the coffee.”

“Thanks.” Wade wrapped the rag Dusty used as a pot-holder around the handle of a blackened coffee pot and filled a cracked
mug. He took a sip and grimaced. “How long have you been boiling these coffee grounds, Dusty?”

Dusty grinned. The handlebar mustache on his upper lip lifted. “What day is this?”

“Friday.”

“Four days.”

“Tastes like it’s been a month or more.” Wade placed the mug on the desk and dropped down in a chair.

“We operate on a tight budget. “How’s things up around Mill Springs?”

“The same. How’s things here in Harpersville?”

Dusty took his feet off the desk and leaned on it with his elbows. “Shitty.”

“I hear that folks think I’m the man that’s doing the looking at naked women.”

“Yeah, some think that.”

“The Harpers?”

“Yeah.”

“And you, Dusty?”

“Hell, Wade. I’ve got no evidence it’s you or anyone else for that matter.” The marshal picked up a pencil and jabbed at a
paper on his desk. “Whoever it is, I’ve got to catch the bastard before he rapes some poor woman. I can’t think he’ll go on
looking
for much longer.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“Why’er you here, Wade?”

“Visiting an old friend,” Wade said with a grin. “You don’t come up to the high ground anymore, Dusty.”

“I’ve not had enough reason to. ’Course, I could come up there and bust up Merfeld’s still or go over to Jensons’ and try
to settle the feud between them and the Maxwells. Wouldn’t do any good. They’d be right back at it as soon as I left.”

“Yeah. You’re right about that. They’ve been at it for a hundred years.”

“At least the killing has stopped. All they do now is harass each other.”

Dusty sat back in his chair, propped his feet on the desk and clasped his hands over his stomach. He had known Wade since
he was a stripling, had followed behind him and his granny when they came to town for Alvin’s body after he was hanged. He
wasn’t the marshal then, and he thanked God for it. Wade would tell him the purpose of the visit in his own good time. All
he had to do was wait.

“I hear Jody thumbed his nose at you as he ran down the middle of the street.” Wade tried hard to keep his lips from twitching.

“Yeah. The brassy little bugger. Boyd thought I should’ve arrested him.”

“On what charge?”

“Being uppity.” Dusty laughed and Wade laughed with him.

“Doc Forbes wants Jody to do some work around his place this summer.”

“Yeah? Is he a good worker?”

“Like any other kid… when he’s pushed. I want him to be around white folk and know how to live with their attitude toward
Negroes. He needs to know that he’s got a tough row to hoe and that he’ll have to fight twice as hard as a white boy for everything
he gets out of life.”

“What do your neighbors think about you taking in a darkie?”

Wade snorted. “They’re more narrow-minded than townfolk. I made it plain it was none of their business, so they ignore him.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“Keep an eye out. Jody won’t cause trouble unless someone jumps him; then he’ll fight. I don’t want him beating the hell out
of some white kid and getting sent to a work camp.”

“That law Boyd got the city council to pass forbidding darkies in town after sundown wouldn’t stick if taken to court, but
Boyd would see to it that it caused a stink and stirred up folks against you and the boy.”

“Jody’ll come home at night. I wouldn’t want him to sully the Harpers’ lily-white town.” Bitterness crept into Wade’s voice.
“Another thing, Dusty. For the past few months I’ve been coming to town on Wednesdays and Fridays to work with Ike Spangler
on a motor.”

“I know that. Not much goes on that I don’t hear about.”

“How do those dates coincide with what’s been going on in town?”

“I’ve heard of one that was on a Wednesday. No telling how many women this low-life skunk has messed with in this town and
other towns. The women are so embarrassed they won’t come forward. One begged me not to tell her husband because he would
think it was her fault, that she’d seen this bird on the street and encouraged him.”

“If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

“It’s best you stay out of it, Wade.”

“Well, thanks for the coffee if that’s what you call it.” Wade went to the door. Before he opened it, he turned back. “If
you catch the bastard they’re calling The Looker, I’d like a few minutes alone with him before you throw him in jail.”

Dusty raised his brows. “You’ll have to stand in line behind me.”

Wade nodded and went out. He liked Dusty Wright. He was a fair man—always had been. He’d do the best he could for Jody, but
he was in a tough spot if he wanted to keep his job. The damn Harpers owned the town council.

He mounted his horse and rode down Main Street. Edsel Harper was standing in front of the bank. Wade followed the direction
of his gaze and saw a tall, slim woman walking beside a man in a derby. He didn’t have to see the chestnut hair beneath the
straw hat to know the woman was Jesse.

A pang of jealousy hit him in the gut like a baseball bat. He turned his horse in the middle of the street lest he overtake
them and with a lonely, vacant feeling in his chest, rode through the alley behind the stores and on down toward Ike’s garage.

T
he family was at breakfast on Monday morning when Mrs. Klein arrived to do the wash. Jesse knew immediately there was going
to be trouble when Louella Lindstrom began giving orders about how the starch should be made and how Doctor Forbes’ shirts
should be washed.

“I been makin’ this here starch for six years. Doctor ain’t had no complaint.”

“He’s too nice a man to complain. He realizes how badly you need the job. However, from now on I will make the starch and
I’ll add the bluing to it. After washing the first two loads of clothes, I want you to change both the wash and rinse waters.
And—”

“—Doctor don’t like scratchy collars.” Mrs. Klein’s voice quivered.

“I’m well aware of that. Doctor also doesn’t like his collars starched with lumpy starch. I suggest you get started with your
work. The doctor is paying you wages to wash, not to stand around arguing. If this arrangement is not satisfactory, you know
what you can do.”

Mrs. Klein let the back door slam as she left the kitchen.

“How dare you talk to Mrs. Klein like that!” Jesse came into the room as Mrs. Klein left it. She rudely brushed the housekeeper
aside and went out the door.

The washhouse was only a few steps from the back porch. Mrs. Klein was inside, her eyes wet with tears.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Klein. I’m so sorry. I never dreamed that woman would have the gall to say such things to you.”

“Ain’t I been doin’ good work, Miss Jess?”

“You certainly have. We couldn’t have managed without you.”

“I ain’t never scorched but one of doctor’s shirts.”

“—And it wasn’t so bad he couldn’t wear it. Don’t worry about Mrs. Lindstrom. I’ll speak to her.

“I ain’t wantin’ to cause no trouble for doctor. He’s been so good—”

“What’s old Ghost-face done to Mrs. Klein?” Susan burst through the door, went straight to the crying woman and put her arms
around her. “That gal-dammed old biddy!”

“Stop yore swearin’, girl, or I’ll spank yore behind,” Mrs. Klein said between sniffs.

Susan turned to Jesse, her eyes blazing. “I hate that old poot! When’s Papa going to get rid of her? Does he know what she
said to Mrs. Klein?”

“Papa is out on a call.”

“She just makes me so mad—”

“You better get moving,” Jesse said. “I heard the first school bell.”

“I’ll see you at noon, Mrs. Klein.” Susan kissed the woman’s wet cheek. Jesse had never been prouder of her little sister.

That afternoon when Jesse complained to her father about the housekeeper’s treatment of Mrs. Klein, she was concerned about
how readily he jumped to the woman’s defense.

“It was a misunderstanding. Louella said she didn’t mean to hurt the woman’s feelings, and she’s sorry she upset you and Susan.
You must realize, Jess, she’s not used to the way we do things here in this small town.”

“I’m beginning to feel as if I’m a guest in my own home, Papa. It’s difficult for me to stand by and see our way of life changing
right before my eyes.”

The doctor looked at his daughter affectionately. “You’ve run the house very well. You’ve done your duty to the family, but
it’s time you turned loose and stopped finding fault with Louella. She’s good at running things. She’s quiet, capable, obviously
self-possessed, and I find her a truly charming person, interested in people. I surprised myself by being chatty when I’m
around her… and she’s a pleasant-looking woman too.”

Jesse felt an odd ache within her. She wanted to dismiss her reaction to her father’s words as jealousy, but she felt sick—sick
at heart and sick in her legs. They could hardly carry her out of the room.

She had thought her father too smart not to see through the woman.

While she was busy in the surgery, and her brother and sister were in school, it was easy for Jesse to ignore Mrs. Lindstrom.
However, the evenings, which she had always enjoyed with her father, brother and sister were severely strained.

The evening Mrs. Lindstrom announced she would serve after-dinner coffee in the parlor, then seated herself behind the service
and proceeded to pour three cups, Jesse realized the woman was going to horn in on the private time she spent with her father.
She left the parlor and went to the dining room, where her brother and sister had started clearing the table.

“How about a game of hide and seek?” Her mouth was smiling, her eyes twinkling mischievously.