Song of the Road (36 page)

“She’s worn out.” Trudy closed the door softly after she looked into the room. “Thank goodness word didn’t get out about the buryin’. It went off as nice as she could make it.”

“Word is out that Mrs. Finley killed Frank. The sheriff kept it under wraps as long as he could. Now the town is buzzin’ about it.” Jake had changed into his work clothes.

“You look nice, Eli,” Trudy said. “Mr. Finley’s white shirt was a little big on you, but no one noticed.”

“How about me, darlin’? Did I look nice?” Deke playfully pinched Trudy’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“Was that you in that blue shirt and your hair all slicked down? Glory! I thought I was seein’ the back end of a mule.”

“Now, darlin’, you hadn’t ought to talk to me like that when I’m fixin’ to ask you to go to Sante Fe with me. I might even take ya out for a bite to eat at the five-and-dime.”

“What’s the catch, buster?”

“No catch. I’m goin’ to get a couple of mattresses.”

“On your cycle? How are you going to carry them — on your flat head?”

“I was plannin’ on you holdin’ ’em in the sidecar, but Jake offered the truck. Now, come on, darlin’. Eli will be here in the house, and Jake isn’t goin’ to let that woman out of his sight once she comes out of that room.”

Trudy glanced at Jake and saw his lips tighten before she went through the door Deke held open for her.

“I gave Deke money for just one mattress,” Eli said worriedly after the truck had left the motor court.

“He can get a better deal in Santa Fe than he can here in Cross Roads. He may be able to get two for twenty dollars.” Jake went to the stove to heat up the breakfast coffee and stepped in water in front of the icebox. “Hey, the water pan has run over.”

“Shit, shit, shit! I forgot to empty it this morning.” Eli pulled the pan out from under the icebox and emptied it in the sink. “I’ll get the mop out of the washhouse and mop up this mess.”

“You’d better not let Mary Lee hear you talking like that. She’ll wash your mouth out with soap.”

“I know.” Eli grinned. “I’m careful.”

Later they sat at the table eating a sandwich made from the ham Trudy had baked the night before.

“I wonder why Mr. Clawson came to the buryin’. He didn’t talk very nice about Mrs. Finley the other time he was here.”

“He came because he’s trying to get on the good side of Mary Lee. He wants her to move out to the Circle C.”

“She wouldn’t like it out there. I hope she don’t go. That Lon Delano is a son of a bitch. He’s mean and sneaky. He didn’t like me none a’tall. He was always accusing me of sittin’ on my ass eatin’ my head off.”

“Did he run you off, or was it Ocie?”

“He did. Said the boss told him to get rid of me. Shit fire. I worked. You can ask old Ben or Tom. I ain’t no sponger.”

“So Ben’s still there.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think Lon likes him. He has all the men in his pocket except for Ben and a couple others. I heard them talk sometimes. Ben was always telling the other two to be careful of crossin’ Lon.”

“Or what? Lon would run them off?”

“They’d end up with a busted leg or back. It’d happened a couple of times before.”

“Did Ocie know about it?”

“Ben didn’t think so. Lon has a shack out east of the ranch that he goes to once in a while. He doesn’t think Ben knows about it, but he does; and he and his friends stay clear of it.”

“What does Lon do out there?”

“I don’t know. Meets with fellers and such. One of the men —Howdy was his name — said he thought Lon was making cattle deals out there, but he couldn’t prove it.”

“Did they say where the cabin was?”

“It’s on the range that runs along the Pecos River Canyon. Ben told me to keep my mouth shut about anything I heard or I might end up with a hole in my head. I’ve not said a word till now.”

“Ben’s right. Talk like that could get you killed.”

Jake had a lot to think about. They finished their meal in silence. Eli put their soiled plates in the dishpan, and Jake moved the icebox out from the wall.

“I thought I might drill a hole in the floor so that the ice water will drain under the house. It would save her from having to lift that heavy pan.”

“I try to remember to do it, but I forget sometimes. Do you have a drill?”

“No, but there’s more ways than one way to skin a cat. I’ll chisel a small hole in the floor. I saw a piece of old garden hose out on the trash pile we can use.”

“Now that we know that someone didn’t come off the highway and kill Mr. Pierce, there’s no need to stick so close to Mary Lee. She won’t like it.”

“You don’t have to breathe down her neck, but you should stay within shouting distance in case she needs you. Her baby could come early or she could fall.”

“Trudy thinks you like Mary Lee a lot.”

“I do. She’s top-notch.”

“Well, you could marry her and come help her run this place.”

Jake noted the anxious expression on Eli’s young face and thought a minute before he spoke.

“I’m a rancher, Eli. All I know is horses, steers and a little bit about welding. And don’t forget, as long as I live, I’ll be known as a jailbird. It doesn’t matter if I was guilty or not.”

“That wouldn’t bother her.”

“It would bother me. She’s too sweet and proud to be known as the wife of a jailbird who can barely scratch out a living.”

“She’s goin’ to lose the court and she doesn’t know what she’ll do or where she’ll go. Can’t somethin’ be done to help her?”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed that something will happen and she won’t lose it.”

“Maybe something will happen and she won’t lose the court,” Trudy was saying to Deke. “That greedy old banker can hardly wait to get his hands on it.”

They were sitting in the truck, eating the hot tamales Deke had bought from a vender on the walk in front of the Sante Fe telephone office.

“What do you do, sugar, when you’re not at the motor court?”

“I help Mama at the café.”

“Really? I’d a swore ya was a belly dancer, darlin’.” Trudy froze in shocked silence. Her mind shut down for seconds, then cleared with amazing speed.

“Where in the world would a belly dancer find work in Cross Roads?”

“Red Pepper Corral? Pedro’s Place? Or I can think of another place where your talent would be appreciated.” Deke lifted his brows.

Trudy let her arm fly out and thump him on the chest.

“Deke Bales, if I stripped off my clothes to belly dance it would scare you to death. You’d run for your life and I’d have to send Jake chasing after you.”

“I’ll tell you what . . . when we get back, let’s rent a cabin for an hour or two. You can dance for me and we’ll see who runs.”

“You’re an idiot. Did you know that?”

“Yeah, and bein’ with you has been the most fun I’ve had in all my born days, darlin’. I’ve never met a sweeter or sassier girl.”

“You’re butterin’ me up for somethin’. You wantin’ to borrow money? I got twenty cents.”

“There ya go,” he moaned. “Can’t ya see that I’m serious?” “You don’t have a serious bone in your body.” Trudy spoke flippantly. She didn’t dare look at him, afraid that he would see the longing in her eyes. Instead she focused them on an old dog going down the street with its tail hanging low. After a short silence, she asked, “What’re you going to do after you build Mr. Quitman’s motorcycle?”

“Well, darlin’, I’ve thought of running for governor. But then, I wouldn’t want to live in Albuquerque.”

“You wouldn’t have to. You’d live here in Santa Fe.” She looked at him now and grinned.

“Smart mouth! On the other hand maybe I’ll hang around and keep an eye on you.” He reached over and took her hand. “Is that all right with you?” He was serious and a little nervous. She could tell by his tone of voice and the tight grip he had on her hand.

“If . . . you behave yourself.”

“Speakin’ of behavin’, darlin’, I fully intend to kiss you before we get back to the court. I may pull off the highway and into the woods when I do, because it’s going to curl your toes, and I don’t want anyone to hear when you yell like a raidin’ Apache.”

Trudy’s heart was chugging like a runaway train. “All right, Romeo, get this truck moving. We’ll just see who yells the loudest.”

It was late afternoon when they returned to the court. Trudy jumped out of the truck and ran toward the house, giggling.

“I’ll get ya for that!” Deke yelled.

“What in the world?” Mary Lee hurried to the door. “What’s going on?” she asked as Trudy burst through the door. Her eyes were shining with happiness.

“That . . . that jackass!” Trudy looked over her shoulder to be sure Deke hadn’t followed her to the house. “I pinched him.”

“Pinched him? Why’d you do that?”

“Because he . . . because he deserved it.”

“You two act like a couple of two-year-old kids. Trudy Bales, are those whisker marks on your face?”

Trudy’s hands flew to her cheeks. A rosy redness rushed up her neck and covered her face.

“Does it show?”

“No, but I guessed that you and Deke would get around to kissin’ before you got back.”

“You . . . tricked me!”

Mary Lee put her arms around her friend and hugged her. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’m scared, Mary Lee. I know it won’t last.”

“Maybe it will.”

“I just can’t believe that he likes me. He said I was . . . pretty.”

“You are pretty. I’ve been telling you that for years.”

“But . . . my legs are so . . . short. They’re only half as long as yours. And . . . my butt is big.” Trudy’s brown eyes flooded with tears.

“I bet if you asked him, he’d say he didn’t care. I bet he’s glad he’s met someone who has to look
up
to him for a change. Someone who likes him and is fun to be with. I don’t imagine life has been easy for him either.”

“But . . . he’s always so cheerful.”

“It could be a cover-up to hide the hurt he feels when someone calls him ‘runt’ or ‘squirt.’ ”

“Every morning when I wake up, I wonder if this is going to be the day he leaves.”

“Don’t think about it. Get all the happiness you can out of each day.”

“Hey, Jake! Get out here. It’s goin’ to rain.” Deke’s voice reached into the kitchen.

Mary Lee went to the door to see Jake come out of the washhouse and hurry around to where Deke and Eli were pulling a new mattress out of the truck bed. Jake grabbed one side, and they carried it up onto the porch. When Mary Lee opened the door, they brought it into the bedroom and hurried out.

Jake got in the truck and drove quickly down to number six. He had moved the mattress from that cabin up to replace the one they burned. They had just got the new one inside when the rain came pelting down.

In the house, Mary Lee looked at the mattress on her mother’s bed with dismay. Her mind automatically counted the money left in the fruit jar.

“This is a nice one.” Trudy began spreading a clean sheet over the blue and white striped ticking.

“Why did you get two mattresses when Eli gave Deke money for one?”

“That’s a long story and a good one. You would have gotten a kick out of hearing the pitch Deke gave that store man.” Trudy rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and tucked the sheet securely on one side. “Lordy, that man can dicker with the best of them. He dragged me to the door of the store twice, making out like we were leaving, before he got the man down to two mattresses for twenty dollars.”

“He got both for twenty dollars? Mr. Collins at the furniture store here charged me fifteen dollars for one. I’ll give Deke the extra five.”

“You can try. He said that he owed you much more than that for meals and staying in the cabin with Jake.”

“Jake paid the rent in good faith. It wasn’t his fault that Mama let him have it so cheap. And he’s entitled to share it with whomever he wants.”

“You’ll have to fight it out with Deke. But I’m warning you, he’s as stubborn as a mule . . .
darlin’
.” Trudy laughed, and it was such a happy sound that Mary Lee laughed with her.

The rain came down for an hour, keeping the men in the end cabin long enough for Mary Lee and Trudy to prepare supper from the leftover food. When all was ready, Mary Lee went to the front door and looked out onto the highway. Cars were going by slowly. She was sure that if the court were open she would fill the cabins.

It was strange to pass her mother’s room and have the door open. Trudy would sleep in there tonight, and the canvas cot could go back to the washhouse. It was also strange not to feel the dread that Dolly would come storming out of the room and embarrass her.

She had locked her feelings for Jake in a little secret chamber of her heart. He had been kind, wonderful in fact. She could no longer deny to herself that she had fallen in love with him. He had held her at her mother’s bedside as if she were a little child who needed comforting. She had felt his face in her hair, his lips on her forehead, but she couldn’t let herself think that his feelings for her were anything near what a man felt for the woman he loved. He may have been alone when his mother was dying.