Vivid (42 page)

"Yes, she does."

"So does Satin. All the Cole girls
do, according to what Delia said."

Nate found all of this very troubling.
"How could he know about Majestic, though?"

"According to the butler, after Evan
found the ledgers he began an intense search through her belongings for more
clues. He found Majestic's birth paper hidden in the bindings of Delia's Bible.
Written below it was your name and the name of this place."

Vivid asked, “Delia knew about Nate?''

"Yes, she told me that a few weeks
after she moved into Mrs. Cole's, she went back to the hospital and asked after
the baby. She told one of the nurses she'd read about the abandoned baby in the
newspaper and was simply curious about what had happened. The nurse told her
about a soldier from Michigan who'd taken the baby home. Delia asked if she had
the soldier's name and hometown because she wanted to write a note to bless him
for being so caring, so the nurse gave her the information."

Mrs. Rand looked to Nate. "Delia said
she prayed for you and Majestic every night. She also wanted Satin to be
brought here should anything ever happen to me. She said she knew in her heart
you would not object."

She was right, Nate realized.

They talked until very late. Finally, they
all sought their beds.

When they awakened the next morning, they
found Mrs. Rand dead. She'd evidently accomplished her life's mission, and
having done so, had slipped into the arms of the Lord. Nate took both girls
into his study to explain the situation to them and to tell them they were
sisters.

The two girls were having a hard time
getting along.

When Nate took Magic aside a few days
after Satin's arrival to ask why, Magic said, "She's bossy, Pa, always
trying to tell me what to do. She wears those stupid velvet dresses and those
dumb little white stockings. She never ever gets dirty and talks like she's got
cotton stuffed up her nose."

Vivid, who'd joined them for the
conference, smiled at the description. “How are the other children treating
her?"

"Like she was some princess in one of
Pa's stories. Only she's not brave at all. She's scared to death of Hector,
never been fishing, and says girls shouldn't play marbles because of the
dust."

"You should try and be friends,
Majestic," Nate pointed out.

"I know, Pa, but it's hard to be
friends with somebody that doesn't know how to do anything except act
pretty."

Vivid had to admit she agreed with Magic
on Satin's daily choice of attire. When Vivid drove back from town that
afternoon, Satin was dressed in a beautiful blue velvet dress and spotless
white stockings. The slippers on her feet looked as if they'd never been worn
outside, and Vivid, like Magic, wondered how on earth that could be. Nobody
kept herself
that
clean. Even Vivid's older sister, Alicea, who had gone
almost her whole life without soiling her clothes or mussing her hair, fell off
the wagon now and again. Vivid, dressed in her trousers, boots, and old floppy
man's shirt, felt terribly unkempt next to the immaculate youngster.

One day near the end of September, Vivid
was in town sweeping off the walk in front of her office. The crisp air flirted
with her skirt hem and blew away the bits of debris brought up by the broom.
Autumn filled the air. Vivid paused to watch Vernon and his wagon go by. Beside
him on the seat sat a strange man dressed as if he were en route to church. He
had on a crisp black suit, his white collar starched and the hat on his head
proclaimed that he was from the east. Vivid eyed the man, who tipped his hat
and she nodded politely in reply. They drove by and Vivid resumed her task.
Everyone in town had been alerted to look out for strangers because of the
dangers facing Magic and her sister. Vivid didn't think the man on the wagon
could be Evan Cole because if he were he would have been riding in the bed of
the wagon trussed up. Vernon was Majestic's godfather and was especially
incensed that someone would actually want to harm his godchild.

It didn't take long for the word to spread
about the identity of the stranger who'd ridden in with Vernon. Vivid got wind
of it later that evening and stormed into Nate's study. He wanted to run and
hide, but he tried to calm her down instead. "Viveca, I—"

"Don't you Viveca me, Nate Grayson.
You sent for another doctor!"

"Let me explain. I—" Nate
had forgotten he'd sent those letters.

"You led me on,
you—you—if I had my rifle now, I'd shoot you just for the satisfaction
of hearing you yell when I extracted the bullets from your hide. You want
another doctor, then fine. If you're lucky, he'll marry you, too. I quit!"

And she stormed out.

Nate removed his spectacles and rubbed his
weary eyes. He'd really stepped into a bear trap this time.

Vivid was still angry when dressing later
that evening for dinner at Mr. Farley's. She knew she'd eventually be calm
enough to hear Nate's explanation, but damn him, she hadn't reached that state
yet. Supposedly the new doctor had received his degree from the university on
the other side of the state. Vivid looked at herself in the glass. She'd opted
for one of her fancier dresses, not to impress Mr. Farley but to keep herself
in check. In a fancy dress and with her hair up she would probably be less
likely to stride across the grass and punch Nate Grayson in the nose.

She was surprised to see she was not the
only person Mr. Farley had invited that evening. She'd mentioned her interest
in billiards to him one day in passing. To her delight, he informed her of his
own fascination with the game and invited her to play on the table he kept
under tarps in his barn. They'd played on and off throughout the summer.
Tonight's invitation had been issued last week and she wondered why the other
men were there.

She'd been in the Grove long enough now to
recognize which wagon belonged to whom. From the wealth of conveyances and
teams lining the tract in front of Hiram's place, most of the Grove's male
population was inside. Vivid eased her mule and wagon into a spot a short
distance from the barn.

She could hear the laughter and voices
spilling into the night as she approached. The entrance glowed with the lights
of lanterns. When she stepped through the door, the silence made her pause. All
the men seemed frozen in position as they stared.

Eli approached with a glass in his hand
and a smile on his face. He took a quick look over his shoulder at the men at
his back, then asked her, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to play billiards with
Hiram."

That brought the men to life with a buzz.

Hiram then walked over to her with a
puzzled smile. "Dr. Lancaster, what are you doing here?"

"We had a date, remember?"

He hit his hand against his forehead.
"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, Dr. Lancaster. Tonight's Men's Association
meeting night."

She looked around at the men watching so
curiously.

She saw Hiram glance at the case she held
in her hand, then heard him say, "And you brought your stick, too."

The man whom Vivid had seen in Vernon's
wagon strolled up and said, "So you're the little doctor."

Vivid looked him up and down and saw a man
entirely too arrogant for his own good. She asked coolly, "And you
are?"

"I'm Dr. David Hatcher, University of
Michigan."

Hatcher was a handsome brown-skinned man.

Vivid replied, "Dr. Viveca
Lancaster."

"And what is that you're
carrying?" Hatcher asked.

"It's a billiard cue. I'm not very
good, but Mr. Farley has been kind enough to give me some pointers."

Nate, standing in a corner with Adam and
Paul Crowley, looked at his companions with a knowing smile. Hatcher had been a
royal pain in the rear from the moment he'd arrived. Nate couldn't wait for the
man to leave town. Hatcher had spent the day looking down on folks and bragging
about the more lucrative offers he'd received from cities like Chicago and
Denver. Why he'd not taken advantage of these offers had never been made clear.
Adam said, "Two bits says she'll have him bleeding to death in, oh, a
quarter of an hour."

Nate shook his head. "I'd be a fool
to bet any other way. I've never seen her play, but I've heard her
stories."

Meanwhile, over by the door. Vivid asked
Hatcher, "Do you play, sir?"

"Oh, most definitely. In fact, I'd be
willing to give you a few pointers," he replied, smiling devilishly.

Vivid felt Eli stiffen at her side. To
prevent Eli from leaping to her defense Vivid called out to the other men in
the barn. "I didn't come to interrupt your evening, gentlemen, but would
you mind if Dr. Hatcher and I play a game or two? Then I'll leave."

Over the buzz set off by her request, Adam
Crowley's voice boomed out, "Be our guest, Doc."

Nate watched her stride to the table in
that beautiful dress. He took great exception to the way Hatcher appeared to be
observing the swish of her skirts as she walked, but Nate held himself in check
for now. He'd let Viveca get in her shots first.

While the audience took bets, Vivid
unsheathed her stick. She saw Hatcher's eyes widen as she firmly screwed the
sections together.

Hatcher borrowed one of the sticks Hiram
kept for guests, then walked up to the table. Vivid stood emotionlessly while
he explained to her that for this competition the winner would be the player
able to sink the most balls.

He looked over and said, "I will
insist upon dinner when I win, Dr. Lancaster."

Vivid smiled and replied pleasantly,
"And I will insist upon your leaving town in the morning when you
don't."

Hoots rent the air from the men watching
the exchange. Hatcher stared around coolly, then said, "Ladies
first."

Vivid took advantage of his graciousness
and stepped to the table. She remembered the first real lesson she had ever
received in billiards from a fancy Denver gambler when she was ten. He
instructed her that before playing she should pick up each ivory ball
individually and heft it to determine its weight. Next, look for nicks or
cracks. She didn't think that necessary tonight because she knew Hiram kept his
balls in good condition. The levelness of the table did cause concern. To test
it, she slowly rolled a ball down the table's surface. It pulled to the left as
usual but she could compensate. She'd played on worse.

In the end, it didn't take long.

As she sank the last three balls, the
crowd cheered with each shot she made. Her very angry opponent never even had a
turn at the table. Vivid silently set her stick against the table. As the bets
were paid off among the onlookers, Hatcher insisted the competition be extended
to the best two out of three. Vivid didn't quibble. She could best him playing
with a spoon. She even let him go first.

It didn't help.

He potted the first three and missed the
fourth. Vivid smiled sympathetically at his plight, then took a moment to study
the configuration of the remaining balls. Stick in hand, she cozied up to the
table's edge and proceeded to sink them all without mussing a hair on her
well-coiffed head.

After re-casing her stick, Vivid peered
into the furious eyes of Dr. David Hatcher, University of Michigan, and said,
"Been nice playing with you."

Then she exited with a smile.

T
he next morning brought Vivid joy as her parents arrived. Vernon
had barely helped her mother down from the hired coach before Vivid came
running across the yard to greet her with tears in her eyes. Her mother met the
embrace tightly, turning her this way and that as they rejoiced in their
reunion. "Oh, Mama..."

Vivid got the same intense hug from her
tall, handsome father. They were all in tears by the time the greetings were
done.

Vivid couldn't help grinning at her
parents. She couldn't believe they were actually there. Her mother must have
been equally as elated because she pulled Vivid back into her arms and held,
and held, and held, tight.

With Adam Crowley's assistance, her
parents and their luggage were moved into the Grayson house. Abigail met the
visitors with a smile, then showed them to the rooms they would have during
their stay.

Lunch consisted of sandwiches made of the
leftover ham from last night's dinner and melt-in-your-mouth slices of
Abigail's bread and cold, tart lemonade. It was hardly a feast, but the guests
thought the hastily prepared repast worthy of kings after the train food they'd
been consuming.

Vivid's father asked, "Abigail, what
is in this bread? This is magnificent."

"Oats, mealed corn, some honey. I'll
write down the recipe for you before you return home, if you'd like."

“Please do, and when I serve it back in
San Francisco I will call it Abigail Bread."

Abigail smiled, pleased.

"We need to have a dinner, Joseph, to
celebrate Viveca's engagement," Francesca declared. "You can
cook—"