Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma (22 page)

Read Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma Online

Authors: Janice Hanna

Tags: #Love Finds You in Daisy, #Oklahoma

BOOK: Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma
10.9Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

“Chewing tobacco?” Gene and Jonathan spoke in unison.

“Yep.” Old Man Tucker leaned back against the wall, as if he’d just delivered the best punch line in the world.

“I don’t know what to make of it.” Jonathan looked perplexed.

Gene shook his head. Something about this story seemed fishy. “You talked to Mrs. Hannigan yourself?”

“Well, no.” Old Man Tucker scratched his head. “Not exactly. I heard it from Donald Johnson, who heard it from the mayor’s wife, who heard it from Molly Harris. If’n you don’t believe me, ask Mrs. Hannigan. She’ll tell you. Miss Jewel bought a pouch of Red Man chewing tobacco just a short time ago.”

“There’s got to be some mistake.” And then from across the street, he caught a glimpse of the very person they were talking about. Rena Jewel, looking quite fetching in a new dress.

“Well, there she is.” Old Man Tucker let out a whistle. “And don’t she look perty today? Don’t look the sort to be chewin’ and chawin’, now, does she?”

“No.” Gene took a couple of steps toward her but stopped, unsure of what he would say to her if given the opportunity. After all, the story he’d heard was just a rumor. Besides, Henry was with her. No point in dragging the child into the woman’s sin…if indeed it was a sin.

Still, what kind of woman chewed tobacco? Certainly not a good, upstanding one…one who had claimed in her original letter to be temperate in every way. On the other hand, if she’d purchased the chewing tobacco for one of the boys, they had an even bigger problem on their hands, didn’t they? Surely she would never do that…right?

Old Man Tucker gazed at Miss Jewel with a look of admiration in his eye. “I daresay there’s a lot about that woman we don’t know. She’s a mystery, that one. But I aim to figure her out.” He quirked a brow. “And speaking of figures, she’s got a nice one, don’tcha think?”

Gene found himself too preoccupied to respond. Miss Jewel was, indeed, a mystery. Why would a woman—a genteel, Southern woman—be buying chewing tobacco?

He didn’t have a clue. But he made it his mission to find out.

Chapter Sixteen

T
IPS FOR
D
EALING WITH
U
NRULY
Y
OUNG

UNS

Folks ’round these-here parts call me Old Man Tucker. Ain’t never understood the name, what with me only being sixty-seven and all. Don’t they know “old” is a long way off? Guess some folks is ready to spit nails over my letter to the editor at that-there
Atoka County Register.
Cain’t blame me. Jonathan Brewer brought up the subject of the children from the orphanage, and I just gave him my mind. What was left of it, anyhow. Said my piece. Folks ’round here know how I feel about the children, anyway. I’d be just as happy if Mayor Albright picked up that orphanage and moved it to another city. Then, for once, I could sleep at night without wonderin’ what those kids was gonna do to me the next day.

—James Tucker, Farmer

Rena spent the next twenty-four hours trying to come up with recipes that would include garlic…and trying to make sense of the letter she had received from Gene. Neither effort seemed to be paying off, particularly the issue of the letter. On Sunday morning before church she read it over and over again, just to make sure she had not misunderstood its contents.

No. There was no denying the obvious. The man had declared his feelings and would be waiting on a response. But how would she go about it? And what would she say? Why, she barely knew him, after all. Sure, they’d had that one conversation in the kitchen, but how could she declare her affections after one chat?

The children were quiet that Sunday morning. Suspiciously quiet. They came and went from Sunday school, their behavior better than ever before. Why this made her nervous, she could not say. She should be celebrating the fact but could not seem to relax.

Seeing Gene in church did little to calm her nerves, particularly when she noticed his anxious demeanor. He clearly had something on his mind. She could tell from the way he stared at her. The whole thing made her a bit uneasy. Thank goodness Jonathan and Jenny distracted him. Otherwise, she might’ve had to face him on the church steps in front of the whole congregation. She made it back to the house in time to serve the garlic-ladened stew, which the children hated. She felt so bad about it that she offered them sandwiches after the fact.

Just as the meal ended, a gagging sound startled her. She looked over to see Oliver hunched forward, clutching his belly. Rena rose and rushed his way just in time to see him lose the stew all over the dining-room carpet. She flew into action, racing for the kitchen to fetch dishcloths to clean up the mess. From inside the kitchen she heard the sound of children’s laughter. A quick peek back inside the dining room clued her in to the fact that he wasn’t sick at all. He’d hidden a hot water bottle under his shirt. The little stinker had planned the whole thing. He had perfect timing, considering the awful stew. She had to give it to him.

And give it to him she did. Rena handed him the dishcloths and put him to work at cleaning up the mess. Turned out he’d used last night’s pea soup in the hot water battle. He claimed it tasted disgusting and looked even worse. She couldn’t help but agree with him. Still, there was only so much a weary soul could handle. She needed rest, and she needed it now.

On Sunday night Rena reached under her pillow for her notebook, determined to write down her thoughts before dozing off. Surely she could process them on the written page. Her thoughts always came easier when she penned them.

Strangely, she couldn’t find the notebook. Her heartbeat quickened as she thought about where it could be. Just as quickly, she reminded herself that she’d taken it down to the kitchen to copy down a recipe. She would have to remember to fetch it later. In the meantime, she would just have to process her thoughts in her head.

She fell asleep thinking about the words in Gene’s letter. Her dreams, lovely and sweet, were the stuff fairy tales are made of. She wore a white gown—very princess-like. Her prince, dressed in a sheriff’s uniform with a gun strapped to his side, met her at the altar, where he took her hand. The only thing odd about the dream was the one performing the ceremony—Mayor Albright, dressed as a coachman.

Rena overslept on Monday morning. The children, most of whom had already dressed, met her downstairs in the kitchen, where she fixed a quick pot of oatmeal. After a hurried breakfast, they lit off for school and she found herself in the house alone. She could have done any number of things: swept the kitchen floor, changed out the curtains in the dining room, painted the door trim in the parlor, telephoned Sadie to discuss her upcoming visit, composed another letter to Reuben to ask why the furniture had been delayed…yes, she could have done any of these things, but she chose not to. Instead, she got back to work on the Christmas dresses for the girls.

After adding lace to Lilly’s dress, Rena realized she’d forgotten to check for her notebook in the kitchen. She scolded herself for being so out of sorts before going downstairs to fetch it. Oddly, she could not find it.

Thinking of the notebook reminded her of Gene’s letter, which she carried in her pocket. All the way up the stairs she thought about the words in that precious letter. They were so dear to her now, so touching. How would she go about letting him know that she cared about him too? Not that she’d really had time to watch her affections grow, but she could no longer deny the obvious: she had feelings for the man.

I, Rena Jewel, have feelings for a man. After thirty-eight long years, I’ve crossed that bridge.

She practically waltzed her way into the bedroom to return to her sewing. Oh, but the task felt so much lighter, now that she had more exciting things on her mind.

Rena had just started the process of making up her bed when she bumped her pillow, knocking it to the floor. Underneath, she found the notebook, the very one she thought she’d left downstairs.

“For heaven’s sake.” She chuckled. “I must be losing my mind.” She shook her head and chastened herself for being so flighty. If this was what falling for a man could do to a person, she couldn’t afford such nonsense. She needed to keep her wits about her, after all.

Oh, but she didn’t want to keep her wits about her. She wanted to grab the mop, make it her partner, and dance around the room with it. Would the neighbors think her nutty if they saw her through the window? Likely, but who cared? Let them say what they might; she had happier news stirring.

A knock on the front door roused her from such luxurious thoughts. It was probably Carolina, stopping by with another batch of recipes.

Rena practically floated down the stairs. She swung wide the front door, fully expecting to see Carolina on the other side, but almost fell over when she saw Gene standing there, dressed in his uniform. At once her face grew hot. “Oh.” She smiled but tried not to look too obvious. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

He removed his Stetson and nodded. “Hope it’s all right that I stopped by without calling first. I know you’re very busy.”

“The children are already in school, so I’ve got time to visit.” Her words came out with a lilt, which she could not help. How could a woman in her situation speak without allowing her innermost joy to shine through?

“There’s something I need to talk with you about.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze, gazing intently into her eyes. “Is it all right if I come in?”

“Come in? Why, of course. Please do.” She gestured for him to come inside then closed the door behind him. She half wondered if Molly Harris or Mayor Albright were outside, spying on them. If so, she’d just given them plenty to talk about, hadn’t she?

A nervous giggle escaped.

“You okay?” Gene asked as he took a few steps toward the parlor.

“Oh, I, uh…” She nodded. “I’m good. And you?”

“Well, I’ve got something on my mind, as I said.”

“Yes, you do.” She gave him a little wink. Where it came from, she could not be sure. Still, the words in his note gave her the courage to step out and live dangerously.

He took a seat and gestured for her to sit next to him. She was happy to oblige.

Gene tried to work up the courage to speak but found it difficult. How did one go about asking a woman if she chewed tobacco? A fella didn’t just dive into a conversation like that, did he? Especially not with a woman who looked as if she might spring off the sofa at any moment and fly across the room. He’d never seen her so nervous.

Gene finally broke the silence with a question. “Rena, can I ask you something?”

“Well, sure.” She batted her lashes.

“Okay. Now, please don’t be upset, but I really have to know the answer. It’s very important.”

“Y–yes?” She inched her way a bit closer until they were almost touching. Odd.

“There’s a rumor going around town about you. Just wanted to hear your response to it for myself.”

“A rumor?” Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink. “What are folks saying now? That I don’t watch the children closely enough? Or maybe that I’m not feeding them the proper foods?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Nothing like that.”

“Then what?” Her lips curled down in a pout. A cute pout. He almost lost his thoughts for a moment as he analyzed it.

Gene finally managed to get to the point. He cleared his throat, looked her in the eyes, and let her have it. “They’re saying you chew tobacco.”

“I—I w–what?” She gasped and her mouth dropped open in a most unladylike fashion. Her entire demeanor changed. She went from being a gentle lamb to a lion, in a split second. Her voice grew more intense. “Why in the world would they say a ridiculous thing like that?”

He rose and paced the room, stopping in front of the fireplace. She remained on the sofa, still looking perplexed. Angry, even.

Looked like this wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped. Still, he must forge ahead. “Did you, or did you not, buy a pouch of Red Man chewing tobacco from Mrs. Hannigan yesterday?”

“Oh my gracious.” Rena buried her face in her hands. “I did. But to be honest, I’d forgotten about it until this very moment. You see, something happened yesterday when I was at the store to, well, to distract me.” Her lips curled up in a coy smile, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Other books

The Legacy of Heorot by Niven, Larry, Pournelle, Jerry, Barnes, Steven
Ransom by Julie Garwood
Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson
False Nine by Philip Kerr
Bellringer by J. Robert Janes
Truck Stop by Lachlan Philpott
Glorious Sunset by Ava Bleu
0692672400 (S) by Sam Sisavath