Deep Dixie (42 page)

“
Oh, Daddy, you
’
re acting all gooberfied!
”

That snapped him back to reality—or what passed for reality around this place.

“
I can
’
t imagine where she heard that.
”
Dixie looked skyward, striking a pose not unlike the chubby stone cherub that stood watch from the top of its tall pillar at the bottom of the wide, stone stairway.

Riley laughed and chucked his sweet child under the chin.
“
Yeah, well as long as you don
’
t start calling me a rowboat or saying I
’
m oober-gay ied-fay, I guess I can live with it.
”

“
Obber-what? Daddy, you
’
re a big sillyhead!
”
She threw her arms around him.

“
Ahhh, the wisdom of youth.
”
Dixie whooshed out an exaggerated sigh.
“
Now, you were saying what if...something?
”

“
Um, yeah. What if...
”
Riley brushed Wendy
’
s bangs out of her eyes, gave her another kiss, this time on the forehead, then propelled her around his feet and toward the front door.
“
What if Miss Wendy runs inside and picks out a jigsaw puzzle, preferably not one that
’
s been made out of cell phone, and takes it into her grandma
’
s room? Then she can round everybody up and we
’
ll all work on putting that together for a while, okay?
”

“
Thanks.
”
Dixie said the word softly, her gaze fixed in his.

“
Jigsaw puzzle! Hooray!
”
Both of Wendy
’
s hands shot up in the air.
“
First a treat at the drugstore now a jigsaw puzzle! This is turning out to be a great day!
”

The slapping and scuffing of her small shoes as she scampered off echoed through the high-ceilinged porch. The front screen door creaked open.

Riley kept his eyes on Dixie, and she on him.

The screen door fell shut with a
whap
. The distinct sound of Wendy running toward them
reached Riley
’
s ears just seconds before she whisked past him.

“
Thank you, Miss Dixie, for being so nice to me.
”
Wendy stretched her arms toward Dixie, Baby Belle slung over her shoulder. Wendy went up on tiptoe, and even her fingers wriggled and strained to reach the woman standing at the foot of the steps. Her small body tensed as if singularly concentrated on getting her hands on something that she feared would always remain just beyond her grasp.

And just a moment before that thought and sight broke his heart, Dixie bent at the knees and wrapped his daughter up in a hug so all-encompassing that if he had not already admitted to himself that he loved the woman, he would have realized it on the spot and never been able to deny it again.

“
You
’
re welcome, sweetie-pie. I just wish I had more time to do things with you, but things have just been so hectic since you came to stay
”

Wendy drew back.
“
Maybe when my bedroom is finished you can come in for a sleepover.
”

“
I
’
d like that.
”

“
Daddy, you can come too and it
’
ll be like a slumber party.
”
Wendy beamed at him in her exuberant innocence.

Dixie kept one hand on Wendy
’
s back and put the other on her own hip.
“
If he so much as jokes about doing that, honey, he
’
ll find himself sleeping in the doghouse.
”

“
But Peachie Too doesn
’
t
have
a doghouse. She sleeps under Grandpa Smilin
’
Bob
’
s bed.
”

“
All the better.
”
Dixie winked at Riley

He grinned.

“
Now, you go on inside like your daddy asked.
”
Dixie urged Wendy back up the stairs.
“
And pick out that puzzle. And not one of those easy hundred pieces, either. Get one with lots of sky and sea.
”

“
But those are harder and take longer.
”
Wendy trudged up the stairs this time, slowed, it seemed, by trying to process the logic of Dixie
’
s request.
“
And sometimes Aunt Sis and Grandpa Smilin
’
Bob fight over which piece goes where.
”

“
To quote a wise woman,
‘
all the better.
’“
Riley pretended to take a swat at Wendy
’
s backside to hurry her along.
“
Now get a wiggle on and hop to it.
”

Wendy giggled, then she wiggled, and then she hopped right on up the stairs and through the front door.

“
So, how did the talk go with your mom?
”
Dixie put her foot on the next step and leaned against the concrete handrail, the stone cherub looking down over her shoulder.

“
She gave me some sound advice about not borrowing trouble by worrying over what Marcia might want. I need to set my own goal then deal with things as they arise.
”

“
Not borrowing trouble is always a smart way to go.
”
She bowed her head slightly and put her fingertips to her lips.

Riley wondered if she was thinking of their kiss. He knew he was. Unfortunately, that led to thinking about the promise they
’
d made to not get involved. He started to push up from the steps, to go to her and take her in his arms and tell her—or perhaps show her—how much he regretted sealing that bargain with her.

“
Well, I need to go inside.
”
Dixie ran her finger along the inside of her mother
’
s necklace, straightened her back, and started up the stairs before Riley could say or do anything more.
“
Do you know if Lettie
’
s up and around yet?
”

“
Yes, I helped her to her rocker just before I came outside.
”

“
Her rocker? I left that Bible on the table right by there.
”
She jogged to the top of the stairs
past Riley and onto the porch. The screen door screeched in protest as she swung it wide.

Riley leapt to his feet, not ready to let her go so easily.
“
Dixie, wait!
”

“
What is it, Riley? I
’
m in kind of a hurry.
”

“
I, uh...
”
What had he planned to do? Shout
“
I love you
”
from the front porch? He exhaled hard, gritted his teeth, then looked up and relaxed. He
’
d find another opportunity to talk to her soon.
“
I
’
m going over to Jackson Monday morning to see about getting a new cell phone.
”

“
And?
”

“
And to meet with...
”
He stole a glance into the house through the open door. The chances of anyone overhearing him were small but he chose to play it discreetly just the same.
“
To meet with our lawyer. Do you want to come?
”

Dixie looked inside, then at him again, her actions brisk and agitated.
“
Can
’
t we talk about this later? I
’
d like to come along but that may well depend on how things go with Lettie.
”

“
I understand. Good luck.
”

“
Luck? I can get along fine without luck right now. Courage, confidence, compassion—
those
I need in a big way.
”

“
Then you are going to do just fine, Dix. You are going to do just fine.
”

* * *

“
Not that one, this one.
”
Grandpa
’
s directive carried down the long hallway from the room at the back of the house.

“
I want to do one of The Great Artists of the World series, Smilin
’
Bob.
”
Aunt Sis
’
s lamenting wail came wafting even more clearly through the house.
“
Isn
’
t it bad enough I
’
ve relinquished my ties to the Every-Other-Thursday-Afternoon Arts and Culture Society and to most of my more aesthetic aspirings to stay here and run this household? Must I also be reduced to whiling away my leisure time fitting together ridiculous pictures of kittens with yarn balls or photographs of sailboat-littered harbors?
”

Dixie tensed. She did not need this now. She wanted to approach Lettie with a clear head and a calm demeanor. She wanted to present this to the old woman in an atmosphere of love and kindness so Lettie could feel safe to talk and know that her disclosures would be taken seriously. A bunch of caterwauling over the selection of jigsaw puzzles going on in the background was hardly conducive to that.

“
I
’
ll take care of it, Dix, don
’
t fret.
”
Riley had slipped in the door so quietly she had not realized he was there until he put his hands on her shoulders as he moved past her.

For a second she was tempted to grab his hand and ask him to stay, to help her do what she had to do, to be strong for her and perhaps, for Lettie, too. Funny, she thought as she watched him head down the hallway and out of sight, how quickly she had come to rely on the man, how deeply rooted her trust in him had become...how much she cared for him, despite her many protestations that she could never allow that to happen.

She sighed and whispered the words she
’
d heard him murmur as she met him on the steps this afternoon.
“
What if…
”

The commotion in Verdi
’
s room at the back of the house rose to a low rumble then ebbed until Riley alone spoke softly, but firmly. She could not make out exactly what he told them but she recognized the tone and knew he had taken things in hand. Riley had done what he had set out to do, and now she must do the same.

“
Miss Lettie?
”
She tiptoed to the sweeping archway that led to the parlor where the old gal
loved to sit, soak up the sun, and still keep herself privy to every activity going on in the main floor of the home.
“
Miss Lettie, are you in there?
”

“
Come in, lamb. I
’
ve been waiting for you.
”

“
You...you have?
”
Dixie stepped so carefully she could have walked across a field covered with wild birds feeding and never disturbed a feather.
“
That
’
s good, I suppose, because we have to talk.
”

“
Yes, child, we do.
”
Lettie patted the black Bible lying in her narrow lap.

Dixie
’
s stomach clenched and her throat went dry. For the last hour she
’
d rehearsed in her head every imaginable way to handle this except one where Miss Lettie already knew what was coming. She didn
’
t know why but this made her feel like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Having been in that actual situation a time or two with Miss Lettie doing the catching, Dixie had reason to feel uneasy.

“
I guess it
’
s really none of my business, Miss Lettie.
”
Dixie sank onto the footstool next to Lettie
’
s rocker.
“
But when I saw the names recorded in the family register there, well, I just have so many questions.
”