As soon as Daniel and I had stepped back inside of the café, Maria turned from where she was sitting plates of pie onto the
table, and came over to me, giving me a tight, warm hug. She held her hands on my shoulders, even after she'd stopped hugging.
"I've missed you, honey girl," she said, quietly.
"I've missed you, too," I said.
"What is this business of not coming inside to see me?" she asked me then.
I gave Daniel a passing glance as he went around us, and back to the booth, where everybody was sitting.
"I just get tired of explaining myself to a dozen people," I complained, but only loud enough for her to hear, and no one else.
"There is a passel of them, that's for certain," she said, and gave me a smile that spoke of her fondness for me.
She patted my cheek, and then said, "What would you like? How about some strawberry shortcake? Not too much sugar in that."
"I don't think I want any," I said. "But thanks, anyway."
"Well, I'll bring you a glass of lemonade, how about that?" she asked.
"Sounds good," I said,
When she'd headed back towards the café kitchen, I went reluctantly over to the booth where they were all sitting. Daniel had pulled
a chair up, and with Evan and Nancy on one side of the booth, that left an empty spot beside Clare. I slid into the booth seat beside
her, and she gave my hand a squeeze under the table.
They all four were eating pie, all apples, with the exception of Nancy, who was eating a piece of cherry.
Marie brought over my glass of lemonade, and then went back to wait on a couple who had just arrived.
"No pie?" Clare asked me, quietly.
"No."
"You could, you know. A piece of pie isn't going to cause huge problems."
"I don't want any," I said, quietly. Truth be told, my stomach was churning, and I wished that we had just headed on home.
This little 'supposed to be fun' excursion to get pie together didn't have any appeal for me any longer.
I wondered why life always had to be so complicated. I mean, I didn't like being bored, like I'd been at the beginning
of the summer, when I'd been on my long grounding from Adam.
But, I didn't like this, either. All the mystery about the shots being fired, and damage done. Warrior getting hurt, and
all this upset about Kenny. And now Seth.
I knew that the four of them had already discussed everything that had transpired during our time in town. It was
horrible waiting for somebody to bring it up. Like waiting for the ax to fall, sort of.
Nancy looked sympathetic, and I knew Clare was the same. Daniel looked like he was thinking hard, sort of
an intenseness about him. And Evan, well, he looked as though his temper was on high simmer.
"I don't know why Seth did that," I said. I couldn't stand waiting any longer. Might as well just pull up the drawbridge on
my own.
"I'd understand if it was at all of us," Daniel said. "But it was directed at you, personally. Clare says it
was pretty intense, the way he was looking at you."
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "It's alright."
It's not alright," Evan said, raising his voice. "There's nothing remotely alright about it!"
Nancy shushed him, and, while I appreciated that, it didn't really seem to help.
"I think he's mad because the sheriff might have talked to him again," I said.
Both Evan and Daniel looked puzzled, and I stirred my straw around in my lemonade.
"You mean, talked to him since the first time?" Clare clarified.
"Yeah." I sighed a little. "I already talked to Adam about this."
"About what?" Evan asked, in irritation.
So, I briefly, very briefly, repeated what Seth had told me, about being hired to go out and look at fence placements
in our entire area.
"And, so I told Adam that, and he was going to call the sheriff," I finished.
I hoped that would be enough to satisfy both Daniel and Evan, at least for the time being, but, of course that
was not to be.
Next came the question that I dreaded most. "When did Foreman tell you that?" Evan asked me. He'd only finished half
his pie, and had laid his fork down.
"I already talked to Adam about it," I repeated.
"Adam isn't here," Evan said, practically in a growl. "I'm asking you. Daniel's asking you. Now answer."
"I don't see why we have to do this here," I protested, feeling as though I was going to cry. "It's embarrassing."
"They're not trying to embarrass you, toots," Clare said, really softly, and squeezed my hand again. "They're just
worried."
"I know," I said.
"And, I'm worried, too," Clare said. "I mean, it was frightening the way he was looking at you. I wouldn't
trust him." She turned towards me a little more. "I'm scared for you, Harlie."
I saw the compassion in her eyes, and I knew she meant her words to help. But Clare doesn't have
seven brothers. Most of whom have spent the whole of my life doing just what Evan and Daniel were
doing right now. There's no way she could understand totally.
"He told me the other day," I said, giving in. "Last week."
"On the phone?" Evan asked.
I thought about lying. I thought about just letting Evan think that it had happened on the telephone. It would be so much
easier. But, besides Adam already knowing the truth, I really didn't want to lie to them. I'd already lied to them both
about it when it actually happened. Evan had asked me who I'd been talking to behind the store that day, and I'd
gotten all riled up, and told them nobody.
So I took a deep breath, and reached for Clare's hand, where no one else could see.
"No. Not on the phone," I said. "I saw him at the store."
"What store? When?" Evan demanded, not understanding.
"The grocery store. Last week," I said, and then waited. It took both Daniel and Evan about the same amount of time to
reach the conclusion. The conclusion that I'd been with the both of them when it happened, and had lied about it.
Evan sort of sat back with a snap, against the booth seat. "You're kidding me," he said, sounding midway between
disbelief and anger.
I sat there, not saying anything, and trying not to let my gaze flicker away from either of them.
"So, besides the fact that you lied to us about it, what are you doin' even talking to him at all?" Evan demanded.
"It just happened," I said. I knew that such statement would not impress them, but I couldn't think of what else to say.
"Bullshit," Evan said. "It didn't 'just happen'."
"Sometimes things do just happen, that way," Nancy said, speaking up for the first time. Evan turned to give her
a look, and Nancy gave it right back.
"They do, Evan," she maintained.
Evan sort of gave a 'humph' sound, and crossed his arms.
Marie came over then, and laid her hand on Daniel's shoulder. "This is a sorrowful looking group," she said, lightly.
Daniel gave a half-smile to Marie, and said, "Good pie, as always."
"Sit down and join us," Clare said, leaning around me to say to Marie.
"Oh, I've got to get ready for the lunch rush," Marie said.
"Well, we need to be goin', anyway," Evan said, and stood up.
"Yeah. We do," Daniel said. He stood up, and gave Marie a kiss on her leathered cheek.
We all said goodbye, and Marie gave me another quick hug.
"You want to make some extra money sometime," she said. "Come in and help out here. I'm down a waitress on Wednesdays
and Fridays."
"That'd be good," I said, though I wasn't sure what the family would have to say. "I'll talk to Adam."
On the way out, and in front of the café on the sidewalk, Clare said, "We still need to get a few groceries."
"Well, let's do it," Daniel said.
"I've got to get back to work," Nancy said, and Evan said he would walk back over with her.
That left Daniel, Clare and I to get back into the truck, and drive the short distance to the grocery store.
I thought seriously about not getting out once Daniel had parked. I mean, I'd gotten out at the café, at Daniel's insistence,
and been grilled with questions. So, I didn't see any reason why I couldn't stay out in the truck now.
But it was a moot point, really, because Daniel stood beside the open driver's side door, and gave a 'come on' motion
with his other hand.
So I went into the store, too, where Daniel pushed the cart, while Clare looked over the list.
"It's not too many things," she said, looking down the first aisle.
"What do we need?" Daniel asked, reading over her shoulder.
"Some more BBQ sauce," Clare said. "Crane said he was going to do some ribs for Adam's birthday."
"Adam likes his BBQ," Daniel said.
I remembered then that I hadn't gotten Adam anything for his birthday. That made me feel even worse right then. I sort
of just followed along behind Daniel and Clare while they got the things on the grocery list.
"Do we have enough sugar?" Clare asked, turning to me for the answer. "It's not on the list, but I know Hannah was
going to do some baking. The birthday cake and all."
I tried to push my own stuff back in my mind, and think about the sugar container up in the cabinet at home.
"Half-full or so, I think," I said.
"Well, I'll get another bag of sugar, just to be sure," Clare said.
Clare went ahead of us then, and Daniel slowed down a bit, so that I was walking right beside him, while he pushed the cart.
"What are you thinkin' about?" he asked me, quietly.
I shrugged, and shook my head in answer.
"You should have just told us, Ev and me, about the day here in the store," he said.
"So what happened today could have happened then?" I pointed out, watching Clare as she went around
the corner aisle.
"This is more about you lying to us, than it is about you exchanging a few words with that kid," Daniel said.
I looked at Daniel then, considering what he said.
"It's hard," I said, "Always having to measure up to what you guys expect of me."
Daniel stopped pushing the cart, coming to a halt right there in the middle of the aisle. I stopped, too, surprised at the look on
his face. It was one of surprise. And hurt.
"Am I that hard to please?" he asked. "Is that what you think of me?"
His hurt, it hurt me. I hadn't meant to wound his feelings. I was irritated at both he and Evan, and dreading getting
more lectures from them, but I hadn't meant to hurt him.
"Not usually," I said, trying to sound conciliatory.
Daniel still looked serious, pensive.
"I'm sorry, Daniel," I said. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
After a moment, Daniel said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, either. By sounding as though I was accusing you of
something. I didn't intend for it to sound that way. I'm sorry if it did."
For a second or two, I thought I was going to tear up. I bit at my lip. "I shouldn't have lied about talking to Seth," I admitted.
"No," he said, quietly.
"Sorry about that, too," I said.
"Okay," he said, still sort of quietly.
Clare came around the corner and stood there, her arms full of several bottles of BBQ sauce. "Hey, you two," she said. "How about
some help here?"
Daniel sort of grinned at me, and then gave the cart a push with one foot, and hopped on, careening down the aisle.
He looked back towards me. "Try to keep up," he joked.
"You weirdo," I said, and went to catch up.
7
After we were done inside the store, and coming back out, it was to find Evan sitting on the tail gate of his truck.
"You could have come inside and helped, you know," Daniel pointed out.
Evan, holding a bottle of strawberry pop, took a drink, and said, "I figured you had it under control."
We put the groceries in the back of the truck, and climbed back into the cab, heading towards home.
I was squeezed in between Evan and Clare this time, with Clare next to Daniel.
I could still feel tension from Evan, and I wanted for it to be over. But, in front of Daniel and Clare, I didn't want
to start up with him. He was likely not done hollering at me, and I'd just as soon do that part of it in private.
We talked about Adam's birthday some more, and I said, with regret, "I don't have a present for him."
"You know how Adam is," Daniel said. "He won't care about that."
"I know," I said, with a sigh. "But I'd still like to get him something. Not just any old thing at all. Something great."
It was when we were almost home that I first noticed Evan's hand. It was his right one, which he'd had resting on his
leg most of the drive home. Afterwards, I didn't know how I'd missed seeing it all that time.
His knuckles were scraped, and raw looking. I looked closer, without being obvious about it. Then, I thought that
he must have done it while choring earlier, and I just hadn't noticed.
Parking, in the driveway, Daniel and Clare got out, and both grabbed a couple of bags.
"You two get the rest?" Daniel asked, as he and Clare went up the front steps.
"Yeah," Evan said.
He got out, reaching for another sack of groceries, and then stood there, looking at me, as I just sat there in the
seat, not moving.
"I'm sorry about lying to you and Daniel. Saying that I hadn't been talking to anyone, when I had," I said, quietly, looking out
the windshield straight ahead, and not at him.
I heard Evan sigh heavily, and then he said, "That guy is bad news, Harlie. He's a loser. Worse than a loser."
"Yeah," I said, in resignation.
"He'd hurt you, if he had the chance," Evan said, and I turned to look at him.
"You really think so?" I asked, feeling my heart flutter with nervousness.
"Yeah. I do."
I bit at my lip again, and I guess Evan could see that he'd succeeded in scaring me, because he said, "I'm not gonna let that
happen, though. None of us will. But you can't lie, just because you think we're gonna yell at you or somethin'."
I nodded. "Got it," I said.
"Alright. Well, come on, and help carry some of this stuff in," he said.
7
Predictably, everybody was all stirred up about Seth, when it was explained by Clare and Daniel how he'd
been looking at me, all threatening and like that.
I honestly thought Hannah was going to come unglued. She laced her hands together, and then twisted them, looking frightened.
"This is unbelieveable," she said.
We were all sitting at the kitchen table, after having finished a simple lunch of sandwiches and chips.
"It was pretty unnerving," Clare admitted.
"But there goes your wife," Daniel said to Brian, "Walking right up that punk, and gettin' in his face,
wanting to know what in the heck he thought he was doin'."
Daniel's look at Clare was admiring. "Spunky," he said with a grin.
"I'm not so sure that I think that was a good idea at all," Brian said, sounding a little mad.
"Brian-" Clare said.
"We'll talk about it later," he said shortly, and Clare gave him a worried look, and then was quiet.
"Likely the kid was mad, due to the sheriff talking to him," Adam said.
"What difference does it make why he's mad?" Hannah said, in an uncustomary burst of temper. "The point of it being, that he is!"
I shot Adam a glance at the other end of the table, feeling my stomach tighten with nerves.
"Hannah," he said, really quietly.
Hannah looked towards him, and then gave a sigh, and seemed to try to settle down.
The atmosphere at the table was tense. I felt so, so badly right then. All because I'd talked to Seth in the grocery store, and
taken him at his word, that he was trying harder to be a good person, well, now everything was a mess. The family was all upset,
and worried about me, and Seth was giving me looks that chilled me thru and thru.
I got up, sort of suddenly, and said, "Excuse me," and went out the back door, going over to the hammock. Clarence, who'd been
sleeping in the sun near the back step, got up to follow me. I hoisted him into the hammock first, and then
situated myself in it.
I rubbed Clarence's velvet ear, and closed my eyes, thinking.
After just a few minutes, I felt somebody take hold of the toe of my sneaker and shake it back and forth.
I opened my eyes, to look up at Ford.
"Hey, you," he said.
"Hey."
"Move over," he said then, and while I tried to move over in the hammock, which isn't the easiest thing in the world,
Ford flopped alongside of me.
Clarence gave a groan of protest.
"Sorry, boy," Ford said to him.
After a couple of moments of silence, I asked, "Are they still talking about it?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Great," I said, with sarcasm.
"It'll be alright, Har," he said, in his quiet sort of way. Soothing.
"Sure," I said dully.
"Don't doubt me," he said, giving me a jab in the ribs with his elbow.
"Oh, okay," I said, and we were quiet again.
After awhile, we were just looking at the clouds overhead, pointing out the ones that appeared to be certain figures or shapes.
We both heard the motor of an engine, turning into our driveway.
"Somebody's here," Ford said, but neither one of us moved right then. We could hear voices coming from around the front of
the house, but couldn't make out the words.
Ford got up, and went to look around the corner of the house.
"It's a sheriff's car," he said.
"Really?" I asked, and scrambled out of the hammock, leaving Clarence, and going to stand beside Ford.
"Do you think maybe they've found out something, about all the stuff going on around here?" I asked Ford.
"Maybe so," he said.
The back screen door was pushed open, and Crane stood there.
"Hey, you two," he said. "Come on inside."
Ford and I headed towards the door.
"What's up?" Ford asked him.
Without really answering, Crane just ushered us inside, and when I looked up at him, I could tell he was
upset.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Just come on in," he said.
Once in the kitchen, Crane led the way, and Ford and I followed as he went back thru, towards the living room. Once there,
I was struck immediately by the tension in the room. A deputy stood there, a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.
He was just sort of standing there, in the middle of the room, and everybody else was standing up, too, in a cluster.
Clare was talking, while the deputy was writing things down.
"It was really frightening," she was saying. "There was no mistaking his intent. He did not mean it in a harmless way." She sounded
sort of mad.
"And this was twice?" he asked her.
"Yes. Twice," she said, and I, listening to the conversation thus far, wondered if the family had called the deputy to report Seth. I thought
that was sort of crazy. I mean, for looking at me? Even if was a menacing way, it wasn't against any law, was it?
"Here's Harlie," Adam said, looking to his side and seeing Ford and I walking in.
Adam held out his arm and I went to stand next to him, where he put his arm around my waist.
The deputy nodded to me, in greeting, I guess.
"I understand there was a bit of problem in town today," he said to me. "Concerning Seth Foreman?"
Everybody was looking at me, and I felt so uncomfortable.
"Yes," I said.
"Your sister-in-law says he seemed angry, threatening in a way," the deputy went on.
To deny it would be a lie. Absurd. "Yes," I said.
"He has a history of violence with females," Hannah spoke up.
"Uh huh," the deputy said, writing away.
After a moment he looked up from his pad. "I understand your concern, and we will definitely talk to him about this. I have a daughter
of my own, and I would most likely have similar feelings as you did," he said, and he looked at Evan.
"But," the deputy went on, "That in no way justifies what you did."
I looked at Evan, and his face was like stone. Set, and he looked funny. As in, peculiar funny, not ha-ha funny. What was the deputy
talking about, I wondered. What was it that Evan had done?
I looked around the circle at the rest of the family, and everybody's expression pretty much mirrored Evan's. They all apparently knew
what was going on. Only Ford and I did not.
I wanted to ask what they were talking about, but I was sort of scared to. And besides, Adam spoke up before I could.
"We understand that," he said, sounding grim. And then he said, "I'm not saying that it was the best idea, but we've had
problems with this kid before. And for Harlie, or any of my family, to feel unsafe on the streets of their own town, well, that's
not okay."
"As I said, I understand your feelings in this," the deputy said, as if trying to pacify Adam.
"He had it coming," Brian said, sounding furious.
"Brian," Clare said, really low, pulling at his arm to hush him.
The deputy gave Brian a look, obviously not impressed by his show of temper.
The deputy tucked his pad of paper back into his shirt pocket. "Well, as of right now, we'll call this situation, no harm no foul. But
if he chooses to press charges, then that would be his right, since Evan was the one who precipitated it. I just came out now to
get his side of the story."
What? Now I was really confused. I looked at Evan, as the deputy took his leave, with Crane walking him out.
Evan stood there for a moment, and then sat down on the arm of the couch.
Hannah moved to lean down and press her cheek against Evan's. "Oh, Evan," she said.
"What happened?" I asked, as Crane came back inside, and closed the door. Thru the window I could see the deputy's
car going down the driveway.
Nobody really answered me, and I said again, a little louder, "What happened?"
"Evan decided to convince Foreman to stay away from you," Adam said, and now he sounded angry. He went to sink to
a seat on the couch, sighing heavily.
I looked at Evan more closely, and then let my eyes drift to his hand. Scraped, and red.
"You didn't," I said, almost in a whisper.
"Oh, he did," Brian said.
"Oh, Ev," I said, suddenly frightened so much more for Evan than I was for myself, or of Seth.
Evan gave a slight shrug. "I meant it to be a talking conversation," he said. He ran his other hand over the sore one. "It didn't
turn out that way."
7