Читать книгу TY HOLT-TEXAS RANGER - Aubrey Smith - Страница 12

Sue Carol ran to hug Ty almost as soon as his feet hit the downstairs floor. Ty figured she missed her dad and the girl was glad to have a man around.

“Did you sleep good last night, Mr. Holt?” she asked. “Jeb said you snored.”

“Sue Carol!” Mary Jane was taking biscuits from the oven but stopped midstride to scowl at her sister. Ty couldn’t get over how pretty Mary Jane was. Her blonde hair hung loose. It covered her shoulders, even though she had it tied up in the back with a blue and white ribbon. The look she gave her little sister said a lot more than “Sue Carol.”

“Pay her no never-mind, Ty,” Mary Jane said. She smiled and Ty felt his face flush. “Go on, now,” she curtly told Sue Carol as she set the iron pan on the stove. She told Ty to sit in the same chair he’d sat in last night. He could see who was in charge of the house this morning and did what he was told. The chair Mary Jane nodded toward was at one end of the table. Another chair was at the other end. There were benches along both sides of a hand-hewed oak table. Ty admired the way the table, benches, and chairs had been made. He knew whoever made them was a skilled woodworker.

“These are mighty fine chairs,” he remarked as he ran his hand along the back of one. “Your pa make them?”

“Mostly I did,” Mary Jane said, “and the table and benches. Pa cut the wood, but I dried it, and whittled and axed the shape. Pa and I killed a deer and tanned the hide. I cut it into strips and laced the bottoms.” Mary Jane appeared very proud of herself.

And she should be, Ty thought. This is first-class work.

“There’s not much to do around here in the winter,” she said as she placed a small crock of butter on the table next to two glass jars of red jelly. “Sue Carol.”

The girl jumped at the sound of her name, giving Mary Jane her meanest look. It wasn’t hard to recognize her anger. Sue Carol was still plenty mad at her sister for shouting at her earlier. “Go tell Mama and Jeb breakfast is ready and that Mr. Holt is ready to eat. Hurry.”

Sue Carol tried to stare down Mary Jane but there was no doubt in Ty’s mind as to who was going to win the contest. In a few seconds, Sue Carol followed her jutted lip out the door and shouted, “Mary Jane’s sweetheart finally woke up, and he’s ready to eat.”

Both Ty and Mary Jane turned crimson. Sue Carol glared at Mary Jane and then smiled. She knew she had won that round after all. “Can I sit by you, Mr. Holt?” she asked as she ran to the other side of the table and away from Mary Jane.

“Sure. I’d be honored to have you sit by me,” Ty said, still embarrassed, knowing he was the color of a cardinal. Mary Jane was two steps toward strangling Sue Carol when Mrs. Barrow and Jeb came through the door.

“What are you two spatting about?” Mrs. Barrow asked Mary Jane, not expecting an answer. Ty decided Mrs. Barrow already knew what the tiff was about and stared at the table. He figured the best thing he could do was keep his mouth shut. “Sue Carol, leave Mr. Holt alone and sit down.” Sue Carol quickly did as she was told. She gave Ty a sly smile then slid between the table and the bench.

“Mr. Holt said I could sit next to him,” she announced triumphantly. She turned to Jeb, who was pouring milk through a rag strainer. “I slept in the same room with Mr. Holt, too, and he didn’t snore, Jeb.”

Ty nearly laughed out loud at the look on Mary Jane’s face.

“Mother!”

“All right, Mary Jane,” Mrs. Barrow said. “Sue Carol, you behave yourself or I’m going to take you out to the barn and wear a little smart off your behind.”

Sue Carol didn’t say another word, but the look of victory on her face said it for her.

The biscuits and fried ham were placed on the table and everyone took their place. Ty sat at the head of the table, with Mary Jane and Sue Carol on either side of him. Mrs. Barrow sat at the other end of the table, in what Ty assumed was her regular place. Jeb was sitting next to Sue Carol, ready to eat.

When Mrs. Barrow asked Ty if he would like to give thanks for the food, he was a little startled. However, Aunt Izzy required grace at every meal, so he was used to praying, and he decided he’d give it his best shot. Everybody bowed their heads and joined hands around the table.

“Dear God in Heaven,” he started. “Thank you for this food we are about to eat. Thank you for this family. I’m sorry I had to meet them under such bad circumstances. There’s been so much happening these last few days I don’t know what to think anymore. We, who are still here, ask for your protection against the evil one. He sure is a good shot, and we need your armor to help us get him caught. I’m sure sorry about Shine getting shot, and Dade and Matthew getting ambushed, and all the rest of ‘em, too. Smite the dirty bushwhacker that done it. Amen.”

“Amen,” Mrs. Barrow said, and they ate in silence. Ty was sorry breakfast hadn’t gone as Mary Jane had planned, but there wasn’t much to say.

After they ate, Mrs. Barrow and Mary Jane washed the dishes. Jeb went outside to finish feeding the stock. Ty took scraps to Dog. The yellow Lab thumped his tail on the floor when he saw Ty. He was now half-sitting up, leaning against the wall, and looked a lot better than he had yesterday. Ty fed him scraps and rubbed his head for a long time. His wounds were healing and his fever hadn’t returned. As Ty stroked Dog, he spoke to him with a soft, reassuring voice. Dog looked up at him as though he understood every word his master was saying. Ty now felt sure Dog would survive the gunshot. When the table scraps were gone, he gently eased Dog’s paw out of his lap and fetched a pan of fresh water from the river.

After he’d taken care of Dog, Ty sat on the porch, trying to come up with a plan to get Sarah back. Sue Carol came out and played with some rocks and a small ball. She’d bounce the ball and pick up some of the rocks and then catch the ball before it hit the floor again. Sometimes she’d pick up one rock, sometimes she’d get more. Ty watched in silence. Every now and then, Sue Carol looked up at Ty and smiled. Ty saw the smile, but he also saw a lot of sadness in Sue Carol’s eyes, and he felt very sorry for her. He knew that without a pa, the whole Barrow family would have a hard time making it.

Ty heard the door shut behind him. He knew it was Mary Jane from the look Sue Carol cast toward the sound. He’d never had two women competing for his attention before, and he liked it, even though one of the women was only a girl. Ty decided he was cut out to be a family man. He knew he would be happy with a wife and children, and a steady job that didn’t require him to traipse over half the state of Texas, getting shot at.

“Hello, Mary Jane,” he said without looking up. “Come sit a spell.” He moved over a few inches to indicate that she should sit beside him.

“How did you know it was me?” Mary Jane asked, pulling her skirt around her legs to sit beside him. Sue Carol stopped playing with her ball and scooted closer, where she could hear a little better.

“I could smell you.”

Sue Carol snorted and laughed out loud.

“Are you saying I need a bath?” Mary Jane asked with a touch of winter in her voice.

“No,” Ty stammered. “I mean, you smell nice.” He blushed at the boldness of his statement. Even though he had become quite fond of Mary Jane, they didn’t really know each other well, and he felt he should not be so presumptuous. Sue Carol was still giggling as she started to bounce her ball again. “It must be your toilet water or French powder,” he said, trying to get out of the predicament he’d gotten himself into.

“A little vanilla, maybe,” Mary Jane responded, her mood picking back up. “Sue Carol,” she said. “Would you get my knitting box from the parlor? I feel like knitting a spell while I talk with Mr. Holt.”

Sue Carol howled with laughter. “We ain’t got no parlor and you ain’t got no knitting box. That box belongs to Mama, and you’d better let it alone.”

“Sue Carol Barrow, you get it, and you get it now, or I’ll swat you into next week.”

“Mama!” Sue Carol screamed, as she slammed her ball down and took off through the door. Ty heard the other door slam as Sue Carol went out the far side of the house looking for her mother.

“Ty, we need to talk,” Mary Jane suddenly said. Her voice had gone from coy to dead serious. It always amazed Ty how fast a woman could shift stride and catch a man flat-footed, still thinking about what they had been talking about moments earlier. “What about the cave?”

“Have you got a rope and a lantern around here?” he asked.

“In the barn’s a rope. We have two chimney lanterns in the house.”

“Mary Jane.” Ty paused to get the words right. “Look, I think we’d best tell your mother what you found and what we have in mind. First off, your mother isn’t going to let you and me get too far out of her sight. I’m sure she’s noticed I’ve got an eye for you.” It was a sudden shock to Ty when he realized that he had never really felt this way about Sarah. He felt himself blush at his confession.

You fool, he thought. You’re going to scare the girl off with your big mouth.

Mary Jane looked him straight in the eye. “Why, Mr. Holt, I didn’t know you were getting sweet on me.”

Like thunder, Ty thought.

“Mary Jane, this could be serious business. I don’t know the first thing about caves and don’t you forget there’s a plenty mean killer out there somewhere who’s shooting people.”

Mary Jane stared at the floor. “You don’t have to remind me about the murderer,” she rebuffed Ty. “If you’ll remember, he shot and killed my pa, right about where you’re sitting.”

Ty stiffened. “I think whatever is in that cave has something to do with your pa being shot. And for that matter, I think the murder of Miss Beachem and Sarah Thompson’s kidnapping are somehow connected. I don’t know how, but I got a feeling that all of this is somehow joined at the hip.” Ty sputtered, apologizing for the vulgar remark. “I’m sorry, Mary Jane. I didn’t mean to use such sporty language in front of a lady. It’s only because I get so worked up when I think about all that has happened.”

“I understand, Ty.” Mary Jane patted his hand as if he were a child. That made Ty even angrier, and he moved his hand. It was a good thing he did, because Mrs. Barrow came through the door about that time. He sure didn’t want her to catch them holding hands on the porch in broad daylight.

Mary Jane glanced over her shoulder and stood. Ty caught a glimpse of her pantalets and felt his blood rush. He stood up, and before Mrs. Barrow could chide them for courting, he quickly said, “Mrs. Barrow, there’s something we need to tell you.”

“If she’s pregnant, I’ll get the shotgun and you’ll be a dead Texas Ranger, Ty Holt.”

“Mother!” Mary Jane screamed. Tears flew and so did Mary Jane. The door never hit her backside as she went through the opening and slammed it behind her.

“Mrs. Barrow!” was all Ty could muster for a second or two. “We never.”

“Then, you better not,” Mrs. Barrow said, her voice as sharp and stern as a six-penny nail. “I’ve had about all the trouble a woman can stand for a spell. I’d have to be blinder than a bat not to see there’s a hot spark between you and Mary Jane.”

“I’ll admit I do like your daughter, Mrs. Barrow, but I can assure you―”

“Mr. Holt, I like you and that’s all there is to it. I think you’re a fine man, and I’m sure you would make my girl a good husband. But you listen to me.” She sat beside Ty. “My husband’s been killed, and, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure what we’re going to do. I’ve got enough moonshine aging in a cellar under the house that I can sell and make it through the winter. Then, I don’t know. I can still. In fact, I’m the one who taught Shine how to make brew. My daddy was the best still man in Missouri. Everyone thought it was Shine who knew everything. I can tell you though, Mr. Holt, the women in this family ain’t no dummies.”

Ty had regained his composure and took charge of the conversation. “Mrs. Barrow, before all this started I was almost engaged to Sarah Thompson. Now she’s been kidnapped. That doesn’t have two cents worth of nothing to do with how I feel about Mary Jane. I’ll admit that I am mighty drawn to your daughter, and in time—who knows?” Ty decided confession was good for the soul. “Mary Jane is the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. And she’s a pistol. I mean, she’s got spunk and I like that. But right now there’s only one thing I have on my mind, and that’s catching the sorry no-good scuzzler that murdered your husband.”

Mary Jane had been listening at the window and came back on the porch. She sat beside her mother not saying a word. Ty continued, “Mary Jane and I were about to call you, anyway. What we wanted to tell you was that Mary Jane has found a cave.” Ty left out the part about the drummer. “We went in the cave the night after Shine was murdered. Now, we need to go back.”

“Why?” Mrs. Barrow asked. Jeb and Sue Carol were now crouched at the window listening, and that was all right with Ty. He was glad everything was getting out in the open. He hated secrets. He was not the kind of man to be deceitful.

“There are two skeletons in the cave. Right now, I don’t know who or what caused their deaths, but I’ve got a feeling that somehow what’s in that cave, or what was in that cave, is the reason your husband was shot. I need to go back in there and look.” There was an abrupt and long pause before Ty asked, “Will you help us?”