The Whippoorwill Trilogy

by Sharon Sala

  Letty caught the glitter in his eye and knew what he was feeling. The troubling part about it all was that she wasn’t sure what she was feeling back. Before, it had come as a shock to even think about caring for another man. But she’d learned the hard way how short life could be. She wasn’t the kind of woman to waste a moment of her own and now, the notion of testing the waters with Robert Lee often crept into her dreams. She had apologized daily to Eulis for the betrayal, but Eulis hadn’t bothered to voice any kind of disapproval, so she was stuck to deal with her own sense of what was right and what was not.

  The fact that Eulis hadn’t answered her was nothing new. He did a lot of that these days, and it was beginning to aggravate her to no end.

  “I said… your hair looks nice.”

  She saw his chest expand as he drew a deep breath. Expecting him to turn away as he always did, she was shocked when he reached toward her instead, brushing the loose tendrils of her hair away from her face with both hands.

  “Yours looks like Little Bit has been swinging in it.”

  Her eyes widened as she considered the familiarity of his touch.

  Robert Lee meant to draw back, but he got caught in her gaze. He saw her nostrils flare. When she lifted her chin, he shuddered. Her mouth was too damn handy for his peace of mind.

  “I suppose he has,” she said, and then reached up, pulled out what pins were still left.

  Her hair fell down around her shoulders.

  Robert Lee froze.

  Letty’s lips parted, as if she was about to speak. Nothing came out but a sigh.

  “Letty…”

  There was a warning in the way he said her name. She hesitated. Once this step was taken, there would be no going back.

  And then the baby cried.

  Robert Lee’s eyes narrowed sharply as he took a step back.

  “Don’t tease, woman. I’m not a man to mess with.”

  “I didn’t mean to—”

  “Yes, you did,” he said. “Don’t do it again unless you mean it.”

  He left abruptly.

  Letty’s heart was pounding as she listened to the sound of his receding footsteps, then she went to her child. Later, as she was letting Little Bit nurse, she couldn’t help but wonder if the pain in her chest was from the abundance of milk she had for the baby, or from what was lacking in her life.

  Was she ready to take another man? She knew if she offered, he would take her in a heartbeat. But would it last? Even more important, was she ready to take a chance on love one more time? Losing it hurt so damned bad, she wasn’t sure she had the guts to try it again.

  The day of the party finally arrived. The cooking was done. The house was decorated to the hilt with garlands of red ribbon and fragrant pine boughs. Katie and Alice had decorated a small cedar tree with bits of colored paper and ribbon. The sideboard was awash in dainty edibles, and Letty’s silver was as bright as a new moon.

  Alice’s excitement was palpable as she flitted from room to room, making sure all was ready for the arrival of their guests. The final stitches on her plum-colored dress had gone in after midnight last night, as had the ones on the smock that Katie was wearing. Technically, she was a widow like Mary, but mourning a man like George seemed ridiculous considering what he’d done to all their lives. It was nothing less than a miracle that Letty Potter could forgive the misery her presence had caused, and she thanked God every night for delivering her unto this house.

  Mary’s choice of black taffeta was befitting the widow she was, although she had yet to admit how pissed off she was at her Robert for the cowardly act of suicide. He’d thought nothing of what would befall her by leaving her alone, and she wondered if she was being a hypocrite to present herself to the public in this light. Still, she wouldn’t let it bother her. Not today.

  Delilah had chosen a cream-colored taffeta to make her gown, and the demureness of the color was almost lost in the low neckline and tight fit. Tonight, she was going to be an elegant woman, and to hell with those who judged her past.

  Letty had left the color of her dress a secret. All she’d admitted to was that it was Eulis’ favorite color on her. She’d fussed with her hair between tending to the baby, and finally chosen to pin it all up on top of her head and let the curls cascade down the back of her neck. She was leaving her throat and chest bare, except for a narrow, black velvet ribbon tied around her neck. Dangling from the ribbon was a single gold nugget, held within a cameo-like setting; a reminder of what had changed her life.

  Downstairs, Robert Lee was carrying in extra wood for the fires, and making sure that the front porch had been swept free of snow and pine needles so that the guests wouldn’t be tracking up Letty’s floors.

  Katie’s yellow smock, with the matching ribbons in her hair, made her look like the angel atop the Christmas tree. Alice had set her on a little chair near the parlor fireplace with orders not to mess herself up. It was an unnecessary warning. Katie didn’t want to miss a minute of the upcoming event.

  When it was almost time for the guests to arrive, Robert Lee disappeared. It didn’t occur to Letty until she saw the first buggy pulling up to the house that he was missing, but by then it was too late to figure out why. After that, the arrival of guest became steady. While new arrivals were still stomping snow from their shoes, others were being shown into the parlor to join the festivities.

  Letty stood at the door, calmly welcoming Denver City’s finest into her home—well aware that as they talked and smiled, they were mentally taking her apart. The funny thing was that she no longer cared what they thought.

  Milton Feasley and his wife arrived in a flurry of awkward excitement, followed by Dr. Warren and his wife, Mildred. Amos Trueblood, her banker, preened as if he was responsible for all of this himself, and barbers, lawyers and a couple of dentists who’d set up shop down in town followed in on his heels. There were three new preachers who’d set up business down in town, as well as a few bachelors who didn’t miss the opportunity to check out the women who’d taken shelter in this place. Anyone who had a business, or had ever done business with them was here under her roof.

  Letty couldn’t help but note that, while she had been busy burying a husband and birthing his child, Denver City had been undergoing a change, too. She didn’t know half of these people, but they all sure knew her.

  “Please, you must try some of Alice’s fruitcake,” she said, as she waved toward a table laden with food displayed on crystal and silver.

  Within the hour, the whole downstairs of the Potter mansion was full of people talking and eating and making merry. It was at this point that Letty disappeared upstairs. She reappeared twenty minutes later with her baby in her arms.

  She was halfway down the stairs when her guests realized an introduction was imminent. The oohs and aahs were followed by someone tapping their cane upon the floor to signal the coming speech.

  “Ladies and gentlemen… my friends and I are honored to have you in our house tonight. Some of you I’ve known since the early days… some of you I’m meeting for the first time tonight. But I’m inviting all of you to meet my son, Eulis Slade Potter. We call him Little Bit… a name he will probably grow to hate.”

  There was a round of easy laughter as she unfolded the blanket from around him and then lifted the crook of her arm so that they might easier see his face.

  At nearly three months and twenty-plus pounds, he was a sight to behold. A little round face, a turned up nose, and a thatch of dark, mahogany colored hair, not unlike his mother’s.

  He stared at the crowd with as much curiosity as they all stared at him, then delighted the gathering with a sudden flailing of his arms and a loud, piercing squeal.

  Letty laughed.

  “That means he likes you, and while he’s still making a good impression, he’s also going to make his exit before he shames himself, and me, by revealing how much I’ve already spoiled him.”

  “A toast… to the little rooster in the hen house!” someo
ne called.

  “Here, here,” they all shouted, and raised a glass to the baby in her arms.

  “Give him to me,” Alice said, and waved Katie up with her. “Katie here is almost asleep on her feet, too. I’ll put them both to bed, and then come down later. You stay with your guests.”

  “He’s already nursed,” Letty whispered.

  Alice nodded, took the baby from her arms, and herded Katie along with her.

  The blacksmith had brought his fiddle, and was seated in a corner near the parlor fireplace, tuning up his bow.

  The sounds of chairs being scooted back against the wall signaled the start of a dance.

  Letty had moved to a spot near the punch table, and was holding a cookie in one hand and a napkin in the other, listening to two women who’d once shunned her, now gushing about her son, when she heard a low, familiar voice at her ear.

  “Letty.”

  Robert Lee!

  She turned and then forgot what she’d been going to say. She’d never seen him like this—handsome beyond words, and so at ease in his elegance. His frock coat was black, as were the matching pants of his suit. The shirt under his silver gray vest was white, with a black string tie at the neck.

  His hair was as black as his eyes, and when he held out his hand, she took it without thought. He was as far removed from the half-starved gunfighter she’d first met, as she was from the fifty-cent whore she’d been.

  “If I may be so bold, I believe it’s the hostess’s duty to start the dancing. May I?”

  She put down her cookie and walked away with her hand on Robert Lee’s arm.

  The room fell silent.

  The blacksmith ran the bow lightly across the fiddle strings, testing the tone.

  Robert Lee couldn’t quit staring at her. She stood out in the room like a wild rose in a bed of plain daisies. The dress was satin and a deep shade of garnet, making her skin appear as white as the snow outside. Her hair was magnificent, like a crown on the queen she’d become. He wanted nothing more than the pleasure of taking it down and thrusting his fingers through the depths.

  Just as the first notes of the waltz began, she looked up at him and smiled.

  He put one hand lightly at her waist as he held the other level with his shoulder. When he swung her into the first steps, he felt like he was flying. The lights of the room spun around them as they dipped and swayed. Within a few moments, they were joined by more than a dozen other couples, until most of the room was awash in rhythm and dance. When the music was as loud in Robert Lee’s ears as the thunder was in his heart, he leaned forward.

  Letty felt his cheek slide against the side of her face. She could smell the witch hazel from his shave, as well as the scent of the man, himself.

  She shivered.

  He felt it.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said softly.

  Letty surprised him when she leaned back in his arms enough to meet his gaze.

  “So are you.”

  A sharp glint came and went in his eyes.

  “Are you teasing me again?”

  “No.”

  He tightened his grip at her waist. His voice was shaking as he whispered again.

  “You know what’s in my heart.”

  He felt her sigh, then saw the corner of her mouth tilt slightly upward.

  “I know.”

  He swung her around again, following the couples circling the room until the people around them seemed to have danced out of sight.

  “You don’t have to love me,” he said. “I love you and your son, and your crazy family enough for the both of us.”

  “Is that so?”

  He ventured a look. She was smiling.

  “Jesus, Leticia… just say what’s on your mind and put me out of my misery before I die at your feet.”

  “You’re what’s on my mind,” she said softly. “Have been for some months now. I guess what I’m needing to know now is… if you’re as good in person as you are in my dreams.”

  He stumbled, stepped on both of her feet and then cursed.

  Letty laughed out loud.

  The echo of it rocked him all the way to his toes, just as it had the night her son had been born.

  He didn’t know what it was going to be like to be married to a woman who could laugh at giving birth, as readily as she could at making love, but he was damn sure going to enjoy finding out.

  Epilogue

  The war had been over for four years. Letty had been married to Robert Lee for eight.

  On his seventh birthday, Little Bit announced he was going to black the eye of the next person who called him by that name, except of course if it was Mama, although he would certainly appreciate it if she would stop and just call him Slade.

  He was tall for his age, and in Robert Lee’s opinion, the spitting image of his mother in all the ways that count.

  He had her dark hair and blue eyes, and most times, her disposition, which meant he was mule-headed, but enough like Eulis to find a way to keep out of most troubles.

  Robert Lee went to sleep every night knowing that if he died before morning, his life thus far would be enough.

  Letty had bloomed under Robert Lee’s love in a way she would never have believed possible. The home she and Eulis had built had become the center of Denver society. The grounds once awash with wild flowers and knee-high grasses were now clipped and landscaped, with the help of three gardeners.

  They had a stable of horses, and a six-foot high rock wall around the perimeter of the mansion, with only one way in and one way out.

  Robert Lee had never gotten over the sight of seeing Letty held captive under a stranger’s gun, and wasn’t going to make it easy for anyone to repeat the deed. The protectiveness he’d felt toward her then had multiplied a thousand times since their marriage. He didn’t have words to explain what she and her son meant to him.

  Three years ago, they’d built Alice a home of her own down in Denver. Katie had gone back East to a finishing school, and had come home last Christmas with a fiancé. Alice had wept copious tears, and then set about planning a grand wedding, which was to take place within the next six months.

  Mary had taken ill and died the spring after Letty and Robert Lee married. She was buried two spaces over from Eulis, and next to Alice’s baby girl.

  The spring after Little Bit turned three, Delilah was introduced to a new lawyer who’d come to town. Within months, they were married.

  Except for Letty, there was nothing but roosters in the hen house these days, and few left down in the growing city who even remembered what that meant.

  There was a steadfastness in Robert Lee that Letty treasured above all else. She loved him in a way far removed from the love she’d had for Eulis. They had been bound by tragedy and a comedy of errors, and separated as harshly as they’d lived.

  Robert Lee had offered a stronger, more peaceful kind of love that had proven to grow with time.

  Each night when the weather was good, Letty would walk out onto the back porch and sit down on the top steps.

  And wherever he was, that was Little Bit’s signal to come running. He would sit down beside her, and then, weary from the long day at play, would lay his head in his mother’s lap and wait for the weight of her hand on his head.

  Together, they would sit in silence, watching the sun going down behind the tall, stately pines, while waiting for the moon to appear.

  And as night came to the land, the first fireflies would come out, darting about in somewhat of a frenzy that never made much sense. Usually, the owl who lived in the barn would be the first to venture out, swooping past them on silent wings as they sat in growing darkness.

  “Mama… do you hear it?” Little Bit would ask.

  “Not yet,” Letty would say.

  The screen door to the back porch would squeak, signaling the arrival of Robert Lee.

  Without word, he took a seat on the step beside Letty, and put his arm around her as he patted the little boy’s head.
At this point, Little Bit would look up and whisper…

  “Daddy… we’re still a listenin’.”

  “Okay,” Robert Lee would say, his heart full to bursting with love for the pair.

  There, with her hand on her son, and her head on her husband’s shoulder, Letty would let go of the day’s frustrations.

  Dark settled around them like a comfortable blanket. From somewhere in the distance, the first call would come—a plaintive, but persistent trill piercing the silence of the night.

  Crickets always honored the call with a momentary hush. Tree frogs suspended their chorus, like Letty, awaiting the answer to the night bird’s plea.

  A second trill would sound, and Little Bit would tense.

  Letty often caught herself holding her breath—waiting—always waiting.

  And then the answering call would come, as it always did each night when the lone whippoorwill got an answer from its mate.

  “There!” Letty would always say, with quiet satisfaction. “He’s found her.”

  “Just like I found you,” Robert Lee would say, and then kiss the smile his words put on her lips.

  “And me!” Little Bit would cry. “Just like you found me, too.”

  At that point, they moved from the porch steps to the house, shutting them in and the night out—right where it belonged.

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