Dorothy Garlock - [Route 66] (23 page)

“Doctor, will he …make it?” Hazel asked.

“I'll be truthful, Mrs Dawson. I'm not sure. If I could have gotten to him even twelve hours before and given him the antitoxin, he would have had a chance. Now, I don't know. His throat is coated with crust.”

The doctor was looking down at the child and didn't see the look of pure hatred in Hazel's eyes when she looked at her husband lounging in the doorway.

Virgil was allowed to leave after he had scrubbed down and changed clothes.

“Don't come back into the house. If you do, you'll stay until I lift the quarantine.”

“My wife will need help, prayers—”

“I think God can hear you out in the road or wherever you use that buzz saw.”

The doctor had heard rumors about Virgil Dawson being a man who ruled his family with an iron hand, but he hadn't known how cruel he was in the name of God. His wife and kids were scared to death of him. He wondered if he would have been called at all if not for Pastor Muse. Thank goodness all the Holiness folks were not like Dawson.

“I'll be back in a few hours,” he said to Mrs. Dawson as he prepared to leave. “Keep a cold cloth on Paul's head and put ice chips in his mouth.”

“We don't have any ice.”

“Get some,” the doctor said to Virgil as he passed him on the way out. “Leave it on the porch. This young man looks husky enough to get it inside. You can do that and give your mother a hand, can't you, son?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That's a good boy.” The doctor placed his hand on Isaac's shoulder, and, with an exasperated look at Virgil, stepped off the porch.

Chapter 19

R
UTH ANN AWAKENED WITH A START.
It was time.

Birds were chirping in the big pecan tree that hung over the house, and it was light enough outside to see the barn. She eased out of bed and sat on the floor beside it to pull on her clothes. After she dressed, she reached under the bed and pulled out the bundle she had hidden there the night before. Peering over the bed she watched to see if Margie had awakened. When several minutes passed and she hadn't stirred, Ruth Ann crept out the back door and hurried across the yard and into the woods.

She had decided to leave last night after Deke came and everyone was laughing and talking. Her eight-year-old mind concluded that she was the only one missing her daddy. She would go ask Mr. Fleming to take her to the city. She would stay with her daddy in the rooming house. By the time they came home the strangers would be gone. It'd just be her, JoBeth, her daddy and Aunt Lee again.

Ruth Ann thought, now, as she came out of the woods and walked down the highway toward the turn-off road that led to the Fleming ranch, that she didn't have anything against Margie except that she was there in her mama's house, taking over, using her mama's things. And Mr. Yates might take Aunt Lee when he left. If that happened, she'd take care of JoBeth and her daddy.

It hurt to have strange people in their house. Her mama was gone; her daddy was gone; and Aunt Lee didn't care about her and JoBeth like she used to. She'd let Mr. Yates hold her hand all the way back from Oklahoma City. They thought she was asleep, but she'd heard most of what they'd said. Aunt Lee liked him. She'd never let Deke hold her hand. Maybe she planned for Margie to stay and take care of them, so she could go off with Mr. Yates when their daddy came home.

Tears of self-pity rolled down Ruth Ann's cheeks.

The sun was up and it was getting hot. Several cars whizzed by on the highway. Ruth Ann was careful to stay over to the side of the road, far from the pavement. She was almost to town when a car pulled up beside her and stopped.

“Where you goin, girl?”

“To the Fleming Ranch.”

The man behind the wheel studied her for a minute, then it dawned on him who she was. He leaned over and shoved open the door.

“Get in. That's too far for a little girl to walk.”

The air was fresh and cool when Leona stepped out onto the back porch on her way to the barn to milk MaryLou. The rain had washed the dust from the bushes and trees, leaving them green and sparkling.

She was tired this morning, having had a hard time falling asleep. Torn between the pleasure she'd had in Yates's arms and the fear that he had expected no resistance because of her reputation, her mind had been tortured. Her heart had pounded as she relived each kiss, each touch, each whispered word. The logical part of her mind told her that a man like Yates who had been to a lot of places and done a lot of things would never be seriously interested in a nobody who hadn't even finished high school. And especially one with her reputation.

Then she had cried herself to sleep.

In the morning light, it was hard for her to believe that Yates had held her and kissed her with such tender possession. She was sure that it meant no more to him than a pleasant passing of time while they waited for the storm to break. She dreaded facing him and had already decided that she would act as if it had not happened and make sure that it never happened again.

When Leona returned to the kitchen, Margie had coffee started on one burner on the kerosene stove and the portable oven heating on the other.

“Mornin'.” Leona strived to put a cheerful note in her voice. “It was a nice steady rain we had last night. We'll not have to water the garden for a while.”

“Mornin'. I hope Ernie slept in the rain.” Margie's smile was a surprise. It made her look young and pretty. “I thought about it while I was snug in that comfortable bed and was half glad he'd run off and left me.”

Leona set the milk pail on the counter. “I hope that his old motorcycle got so wet it wouldn't start.”

“And he can't find anything to eat. That would kill him 'cause he dearly loves to eat,” Margie added, bringing a laugh from Leona. “And he camped in a dry-wash and a flood washed him clear down to Texas.”

“My goodness. You're mean as a cornered cat this morning.” Leona smiled to take the bite out of her words.

“I woke up with the feeling that my luck started when we camped here. Everything will be all right, now. I'll manage somehow. I'm so grateful that you will let me stay here for a while.”

“I'm not doing you a favor. You're working for your keep, and I'm so glad to have your help. I've been looking at that big garden and wondering how I was going to do all that canning by myself. The girls aren't old enough to be much help.” Leona spread a cloth over the bucket of fresh milk.

“Give them a couple of years. They are both smart girls.”

“I'll make biscuits if you'll slice bacon. We've had eggs every morning. Let's have gravy with the biscuits. Yates won't care. He'll eat anything as long as it doesn't bite him first, and there's biscuits to go with it.”

It was while Margie was setting the table that Leona said, “We'll let the girls sleep a while longer this morning. They can eat later.”

“Ruth Ann was up when I got up.”

“That's odd.” Leona put the pan of biscuits in the oven. “I usually have to pry her out of the bed. She's the sleepy head. There's a crock of butter in the icebox. I'll open a jar of plum butter.”

“I thought she'd gone to the privy, but I didn't see her.”

“She may have gone to the front porch. The breeze is there if there is one.”

Leona was carrying hot biscuits to the table when she said, “Would you mind telling Yates breakfast is ready?”

“He's at the water pump. I saw him pass by the window.”

“He may come in, but call to him if he doesn't. I'll round up Ruth Ann. As long as she's up she might as well eat with us. I'll save something back for JoBeth.”

Leona peeked into the girls' bedroom thinking Ruth Ann might have gone back to bed. JoBeth lay alone, curled up on the top sheet, sound asleep. Passing through the house, Leona glanced into the front bedroom and the living room before stepping out onto the porch.

“Ruthy,” she called toward the garage, then walked down the path and looked in the back door. She called again. When she received no answer, she circled the garage. If she wasn't here she had to be in the privy, the barn or the chicken house.

Leona didn't even have to open the door of the privy to know that Ruth Ann wasn't in there. The door was latched on the outside. She opened it anyway. Irritated, Leona left the privy and headed for the barn. If Ruth Ann was hiding out and sulking because Margie was here, she was going to give her a good scolding.

Irritation turned to sudden panic when, after searching the out-buildings, including the barn and loft, there was no sign of the child. She hurried to the house, jumped up onto the porch and threw open the screendoor.

“I can't find her!”

Yates was standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He never sat down at the table until Leona and the girls sat down unless the table was set just for him. He saw the panic on her face and set his cup aside.

“Can't find—”

“Ruth Ann. I can't find her.” Leona's voice rose to a near hysterical pitch. “She wasn't in bed when Margie got up. She thought she'd gone to the privy. She's not in the garage, not in the barn. Something has happened to her! I just know it—”

Yates reached her in two strides and grabbed her shoulders. “Calm down. If you're thinking Virgil has been here, you're wrong. He couldn't come on the place without me or Calvin knowing it.”

“Then where is she?”

“Where have you looked?”

“Barn, chicken house, garage, everywhere—”

“Cellar?”

“She can't lift the door. I can hardly lift it.”

“Would she deliberately hide from you?”

“She never has. She was upset last night…because of Virgil and …other things.”

“Upset enough to run off?”

“I don't think so. Surely not.”

“I'll take a look around. Wake up JoBeth and see if Ruth Ann said anything to her about running away or hiding.”

“I'm scared that Virgil—”

“Don't be scared, honey. We'll find her.”

The endearment didn't even register with Leona. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chest for an instant and thanked God he was here.

“After the rain last night, there may be tracks. Stay on the porch and let me see if I can find anything.”

Yates circled the house once, then again in a wider circle. Leona waited on the porch, her heart in her throat. Margie brought JoBeth to her. The bewildered child stood rubbing her eyes. Leona squatted down and put her arms around her.

“Honey, we can't find Ruth Ann. Did she say anything to you about going somewhere?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Did you wake up this morning when she got out of the bed?”

“Uh-uh. Where'd she go?”

“We don't know—”

“Leona, come here.” Yates called from out past the privy.

“Stay with Margie.” Leona stepped off the porch and hurried to where Yates was squatting down.

“Here's a small footprint. Take a look and see if it could be Ruth Ann's.”

“It could be,” Leona said, after bending and looking at the indention in the dirt. “That's about the size of her shoes.”

“She went into the woods.”

“By herself?”

“Looks like it. A man would be heavy enough to leave prints.” He put his arm across her shoulders and hugged her briefly. “Stop worrying. I could look for more prints, but I doubt I'd find any. There's not much bare ground in the woods. I'm betting she went through the woods and came out onto the road. I'll walk down the highway and see if I can find where she came out.

“I found her tracks,” he said a few minutes later. “I'll take the car and go toward town.”

“I'll go with you.”

“Do you want to leave Margie and JoBeth here alone?” They were walking toward Yates's car, his arm still across her shoulders. “It'll be better if you stay here. Ruth Ann may come back on her own or someone may bring her home. The ice man is due. He may have seen her. If not, you can tell him or anyone else who comes along to keep an eye out.”

“I'm so scared. What if she's been picked up on the highway by a kidnapper and …and taken away? Oh, poor Andy has already had so much grief.”

He shook her gently. “Don't think about that. We'll find her. And if she's hiding I may turn her over my knee and give her a paddling, then give you one for worrying.” His attempt to get a smile out of Leona failed. He got into his car. “I'll go into town and if I don't find her, I'll go to the sheriff. Surely he isn't as big an idiot as his deputy.”

“If you don't find her, go to the Fleming Ranch and tell Deke and Mr. Fleming.”

“Good idea. Deke on his motorcycle could cover a lot of territory. But I don't think it'll come to that. One little girl can't have gone far.”

“Please find her.” Leona backed away from the car and watched as Yates turned out onto the highway. “Hurry” she called, knowing that he couldn't hear her, but somehow she needed to say the word.

Yates drove slowly along the highway, his eyes searching the area back from the road on both sides. He hadn't known many children, but Andy's had wriggled their way into his heart. He had thought all little children were happy-go-lucky like JoBeth with an occasional spell of mischief that lasted only a short time.

Ruth Ann was different. He had seen her truly happy on only two occasions—when she was with her daddy and while splashing in the water tank. He was puzzled as to what would cause her to leave the security of her home with the threat of Virgil hanging over the family.

Yates drove slowly into town. The only people who were about were the merchants preparing to open their stores. A few cars were parked around the courthouse square. It didn't take long for him to travel the length of the town and back. On a sudden impulse, he stopped at the courthouse and went into the sheriff's office.

“Howdy.” The office door was open. The sheriff was shuffling through papers on his desk. He looked up.

“Mornin.”

“Name's Yates.” Yates stepped into the room.

The sheriff stood and held out his hand. “Rex McChesney What can I do for you?”

The thought passed through Yates's mind that the sheriff was a cut above his deputy. He was tall with a clean-shaven face, dark hair and even rugged features.