Bart rode out to Uncle Ben's house slowly. He was well aware of the fact that he had to talk to Pappy and convince his father of the truth, but he was in no hurry to get there and face what he expected to be, at the very least, a severe tongue lashing.
When the house came into view, he shuddered. You think by the time you're old enough to father children, the idea of having to face one of your parents wouldn't be quite so daunting. This visit was going to be painful, and Bart was well aware of that fact. Pappy had seen the same 'kiss' that Doralice had seen, and she believed it enough to send him packing rather than let him explain. He could only imagine what had gone through his father's head.
He tied his horse up out front and pushed the door open slowly. There was no one in the front room or down the long hallway, and he had to go all the way to the back of the house before he found Lily Mae Connors, longtime Maverick housekeeper, cook, and surrogate mother. She looked right at him but didn't make a sound . . . there was nothing in her eyes but pain and disappointment. She shook her head sadly and sat down at the kitchen table.
"I didn't do it, Lily Mae. I did not kiss that woman. I'd just finished explaining to her that we couldn't spend time together when she kissed me. I swear to you, I love my wife, and all I want is to go home and be a good husband and father. I'd never do that to the mother of my children, humiliate her like that. I have to get her to take me back; I just have to. I never meant for this to be anything other than a helping hand to a widow. I love Doralice, more than anything in this world."
Lily Mae had practically raised the Maverick boys; they were as close to her own children as they could be. Bart had never lied to her in his entire life, and when she looked into those brown eyes now and saw the tears and the misery standing in them, she knew he was telling her the truth. But convincing her was one thing; convincing Beauregard Maverick was something else.
"Your father's heart is broken. The last thing he wanted was for you to go through the same upheaval he went through. And he thinks you were unfaithful to Doralice. I don't know what you can do to change his mind."
"But I wasn't, Lily Mae. I'll admit to being stupid, but not unfaithful."
"Then how do you explain the kiss I saw?" Bart had his back to the stairs and had no idea Pappy had come down them.
"It was a mistake, according to Josephine. She wanted to kiss me on the cheek and caught me wrong. I pulled away from her right away."
"Why was she kissing you at all?"
"She wanted to thank me for the help I'd given her. When she came to town she was all by herself and she needed assistance with a few things."
"What kind of things?"
"Buying a piece of property, helping her request a building permit from the council, things like that. I had lunch with her once; Billy Sunday was with us."
"What else?"
"That's all. Doralice wasn't happy with our friendship, and I'd just told Josephine we couldn't see each other anymore, Pa. I didn't want people gossiping about us."
"She must not have believed you, Bartley, because she sure didn't make any effort to do what you asked. Didn't you learn a thing from the story about me . . . and your mother?"
Lily had gone out the back door so the men could have some privacy. "It's not the same Pappy, I never slept with her like you did Grace. The most intimate thing I ever did was walk her home a few times."
"I told you what happened so you wouldn't ever go through anything stupid like I did. I lost over two years of our life together; two years I could never get back. Precious time that I couldn't replace. You've got three little babies, Bartley . . . how could you be such a jackass? Right out on a public street where everybody could see you. Doralice threw you out, didn't she? Didn't she?" Pappy was yelling now, red in the face and as furious as his son had ever seen him. Bart nodded his head slowly. "Good. She should have. If she's smart she won't let you come back, either."
"But, Pappy – "
"Shut up, Bartley. I don't want to hear your lies." He turned on his heel and was gone, down the hallway and out the front door. Bart felt like he'd been slapped, but he had to fix this. He had to convince Pappy he was telling the truth.
Against his better judgment, he followed Beauregard out the front door. Pappy was sitting on the front porch in one of the rocking chairs, calmly smoking a cigar. "Can I sit down?"
Pappy pointed his cigar at the empty chair. "Sit." He took a long draw on the cigar before speaking again. "Better not be no lies comin' out of your mouth, boy."
Bart's voice was so quiet he could barely be heard. "I didn't cheat on Doralice, Pa. I escorted the lady back and forth to her hotel several times; I sat in on two meetings she had with a builder friend of ours, and I bought her tea once or twice. That's the God's honest truth."
Beauregard was softening towards his youngest. "How am I supposed to believe you?"
"I did not . . . betray my vows. I swear to you on Momma's grave."
That stopped Beauregard in his tracks. The one thing in this world that Bart wouldn't do was lie about something and swear to the truth of it on his mother's grave. "How are you gonna . . . convince your wife?"
Bart shook his head. "I don't know, Pa. But I have to . . . I can't be away from her and the babies . . . I can't be." Beauregard watched his son as a single tear made its presence clear. Bart wiped it away with the back of his hand. They sat on the porch in the continuing gloom that surrounded them, both wondering how the son could make so many of the same mistakes his father had. Finally, Bart voiced a suspicion shared equally by father and son.
"Somethin' about this don't feel right, Pappy . . . almost like I had a big target on my back. You didn't recognize her, did ya?"
"No, I didn't. But she sure looked familiar. Reminded me of somebody, but I can't place exactly who."
"I got Dave Parker doin' me a favor. Gonna find out where she came from. And if she's wanted for anything. Maybe one of those two things'll turn up somethin'."
Beauregard nodded solemnly. "What if they don't?"
"Right now I don't know, Pa. I guess I'll just have to dig further."
"Where are you sleepin', boy? You didn't check into the hotel, did ya? That's the worst place you can go. You don't wanna be anywhere's near Mrs. Whitlock. You can come out and bunk with us if you want. Just until this is all straightened out, you hear."
"Thanks, Pappy, but no. I'm sleepin' in my office at Maude's. That way I'm close to the house, just in case. I gotta see the girls; let 'em know that Daddy loves 'em. Maybe blue-eyes will talk to me." Bart stood and looked down at his father, feeling more hopeful than he had when he got there. "I'm sorry I disappointed you. I disappointed me, too. I couldn't see what I was doin'. I thought I was bein' a good citizen. I kept tellin' Doralice I loved her, but I guess I wasn't showin' it because I didn't listen to what she was tellin' me." Pause. "I guess you were right, I was a jackass."
"Wouldn't be the first time you made a fool out of yourself."
"No, but I sure hope it's the last."
