the kitchen table. "You stay in here with me and I'll
tell you about how your mama brought home a half-drowned man who'd been
badly beaten and dumped in the Chickasaw River."
With his attention focused solely
on the tale yet to be told, Will pulled out a Windsor oak chair from the
round table and sat.
"When did this happen? How old
was Mama?"
Lillie Mae grinned. She could kill
two birds with one stone-keep Will occupied so Lane could talk to Johnny
Mack and at the same time give Will some insight into Lane's past relationship
with his biological father.
While busying herself with preparations
for the coffee machine, Lillie Mae let her mind drift back to that night nearly
fifteen years ago when Miss Lane had dragged a half-dead Johnny Mack through
the back door. She had never seen a sorrier sight. His face had been so
bruised and bloodied, she hadn't recognized him at first. Them that had done
the deed had meant to kill Johnny Mack. But they had miscalculated the
boy's strength, determination and sheer survival instincts. He'd
grown up hard and tough and wild. It took a lot to kill a man like that.
"This man… well, he wasn't much
more than a boy back then, but he was a tough kid… he had done things that
got some of the menfolk here in Noble's Crossing all riled up."
"What had he done?"
"Don't interrupt me. Besides,
some of this story is X-rated, and you'll have to wait until you're twenty-one
to hear it."
That comment gained Lillie Mae
one of Will's beautiful smiles. Those smiles had warmed her heart for
fourteen years and would continue to do so until the day she died. There
was absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for this boy.
"Go on," Will said.
"But don't leave out the X-rated parts, even if you have to sanitize
them for me. Okay?"
"Sanitize them, huh?" Lillie
Mae grinned. "Well, this young man had romanced a few ladies who belonged
to other men. He was a regular heart-breaker, and your mama'd had a
crush on him since she was fourteen. Just the age you are now."
"Then, why didn't she marry
this man instead of marrying Kent?" Will's smile vanished, erased
by memories of the man who had so cruelly disowned him.
"That's another story, but mainly
because this other man left town a long time ago-before Miss Lane married
Kent." Lillie Mae paused, took a deep breath and then continued
her tale. "Your mama used to spend a lot of time down by the river.
Thinking. Daydreaming." Using her thumb, Lillie Mae motioned toward
the back of the house. "Her favorite sanctuary was the old boathouse.
Anyway, that night she went down there and guess what she found lying on
the riverbank, half-drowned and beaten so bad he couldn't even stand
up?"
"This man-the one she'd had a
crush on since she was fourteen?"
"Right. So, she helped him get
on his feet, and halfway dragging him, she got him to the back door of
this house. That's when she started hollering for me. We took him to my room
because it was the only bedroom on the ground floor. Miss Lane wanted
to call a doctor, but he said no, not to call anybody. That's when he told
us that they had tried to kill him."
"Who had tried to kill
him?" Will sat perched on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide with
speculation.
"He didn't tell me who, but I
suspect he told your mama. And I got my suspicions."
"How'd he get better without
seeing a doctor?" Will asked. "And what did Grandfather and
Grandmother Noble think about him staying here in their house?"
"Your grandparents were out
of town, so they never knew about Miss Lane rescuing him. Your mama and
me took care of him, the best we could. He was tough as they come and he
was determined not to die. I think plotting revenge is what kept him alive.
That and… and your mama."
"Who is he?" Will looked
Lillie Mae square in the eye.
"Best your mama tells
you."
Will
tell you about how your mama brought home a half-drowned man who'd been
badly beaten and dumped in the Chickasaw River."
With his attention focused solely
on the tale yet to be told, Will pulled out a Windsor oak chair from the
round table and sat.
"When did this happen? How old
was Mama?"
Lillie Mae grinned. She could kill
two birds with one stone-keep Will occupied so Lane could talk to Johnny
Mack and at the same time give Will some insight into Lane's past relationship
with his biological father.
While busying herself with preparations
for the coffee machine, Lillie Mae let her mind drift back to that night nearly
fifteen years ago when Miss Lane had dragged a half-dead Johnny Mack through
the back door. She had never seen a sorrier sight. His face had been so
bruised and bloodied, she hadn't recognized him at first. Them that had done
the deed had meant to kill Johnny Mack. But they had miscalculated the
boy's strength, determination and sheer survival instincts. He'd
grown up hard and tough and wild. It took a lot to kill a man like that.
"This man… well, he wasn't much
more than a boy back then, but he was a tough kid… he had done things that
got some of the menfolk here in Noble's Crossing all riled up."
"What had he done?"
"Don't interrupt me. Besides,
some of this story is X-rated, and you'll have to wait until you're twenty-one
to hear it."
That comment gained Lillie Mae
one of Will's beautiful smiles. Those smiles had warmed her heart for
fourteen years and would continue to do so until the day she died. There
was absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for this boy.
"Go on," Will said.
"But don't leave out the X-rated parts, even if you have to sanitize
them for me. Okay?"
"Sanitize them, huh?" Lillie
Mae grinned. "Well, this young man had romanced a few ladies who belonged
to other men. He was a regular heart-breaker, and your mama'd had a
crush on him since she was fourteen. Just the age you are now."
"Then, why didn't she marry
this man instead of marrying Kent?" Will's smile vanished, erased
by memories of the man who had so cruelly disowned him.
"That's another story, but mainly
because this other man left town a long time ago-before Miss Lane married
Kent." Lillie Mae paused, took a deep breath and then continued
her tale. "Your mama used to spend a lot of time down by the river.
Thinking. Daydreaming." Using her thumb, Lillie Mae motioned toward
the back of the house. "Her favorite sanctuary was the old boathouse.
Anyway, that night she went down there and guess what she found lying on
the riverbank, half-drowned and beaten so bad he couldn't even stand
up?"
"This man-the one she'd had a
crush on since she was fourteen?"
"Right. So, she helped him get
on his feet, and halfway dragging him, she got him to the back door of
this house. That's when she started hollering for me. We took him to my room
because it was the only bedroom on the ground floor. Miss Lane wanted
to call a doctor, but he said no, not to call anybody. That's when he told
us that they had tried to kill him."
"Who had tried to kill
him?" Will sat perched on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide with
speculation.
"He didn't tell me who, but I
suspect he told your mama. And I got my suspicions."
"How'd he get better without
seeing a doctor?" Will asked. "And what did Grandfather and
Grandmother Noble think about him staying here in their house?"
"Your grandparents were out
of town, so they never knew about Miss Lane rescuing him. Your mama and
me took care of him, the best we could. He was tough as they come and he
was determined not to die. I think plotting revenge is what kept him alive.
That and… and your mama."
"Who is he?" Will looked
Lillie Mae square in the eye.
"Best your mama tells
you."
Will
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