With a quick glance of thanks, Rosemary escaped her post, and followed in Tanner’s footsteps. She looked around quickly for Anna and Scat, and found them lining up behind the last of the menfolk at the tables.
“They’re fine,” Tanner said, following the direction of her gaze. “They’re havin’ the time of their lives.”
“I know.” Rosemary settled on the quilt and reached for the plate of food. Tanner gave it over and stretched out beside her.
“I’m a tired man in need of nourishment,” he complained, leaning on one elbow and slinging his hat to the corner of the quilt.
“This is delicious,” Rosemary said, savoring a tender bite of pot roast.
“Looks good,” Tanner observed, leaning closer.
She speared a bite and offered it. He accepted, allowing his mouth to hold the tines of the fork, then licked the center of his upper lip. “Fork tastes like my wife was there first,” he murmured softly.
She smiled and offered another bite, green beans heaped high, with bits of ham throughout. The next was for herself, and then she chose a chicken leg and handed it to him. “Chew on that for a while. It’s all yours—I didn’t even nibble.”
His strong white teeth bit down and he chewed with vigor, then looked up to where Scat was making his way toward the shelter of the trees.
“Scat! Come on over here, will you?”
The boy nodded, carefully balancing his plate in one hand, a tall glass of lemonade in the other. “Yessir,” he said cheerfully. “What you need?”
“I’ll settle for that glass of lemonade you’re totin’, son.” Tanner held out his hand, a grin well in place.
“Sure, I’ll get another for myself,” Scat said easily. “Sure is a good time, ain’t it, sir?” He leaned forward to offer the glass and his smile was brilliant. The worry lines were long gone from his youthful face, and Rosemary said a silent prayer of thanksgiving for their disappearance.
“Keep an eye on Anna, son,” Tanner said. “And enjoy yourself.”
With a quick wave, Scat was gone, heading for the table where huge buckets of lemonade were being served. Tanner drank deeply of the cool drink and offered the glass to Rosemary. “Want a swallow?”
She peered within. “That’s about all you left me.”
His grin revealed no shame. “I figure you can fill our plate the second time around when we get that cleaned up and bring back a jugful on your way.”
“Who waited on you last year at this time?” she asked smartly. “Seems like you’re getting kinda bossy.”
He gave the chicken bone a final look and tossed it onto the plate. “I need to keep up my strength, ma’am. And just in case you didn’t know, nobody ever waited on me before. Not like you do, honey.” His gaze roamed her slender form, hesitating momentarily on the line of her bosom, then up to where her mouth twitched in amusement.
“I fear you’re taking advantage of me, Mr. Tanner.” Her fork scooped up the last bit of potato salad and she held it aloft. “Bet you thought you’d get the last bite, didn’t you?” With an easy motion, she slid it into her mouth and licked the tines clean.
“You have got that down pat, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I do like the way you slide that…”
“Stop!” She tossed the fork down on the quilt and was on her feet before the words could leave his mouth. “I’ll get you some more food.”
His gaze warmed her back as she walked away, and then as she reached the table and looked back, he lay flat on the quilt and covered his face with his hat. Warmth spread throughout her being as she watched him relax, hands beneath his head, one knee bent.
Beyond the trees a thicker grove formed hiding places and several of the children began a game of hide-and-seek, their voices raising over the general commotion as they played their game. Anna ran into a thicket and Rosemary watched as the child designated as ‘it’ began to search.
With a squeal of delight, Anna raced to the tree earmarked as ‘home’ and shrieked her triumph. That the girl had even known how to play the game was a surprise to Rosemary, and she watched in delight as, one by one, the children ran from their hiding places.
Another game ensued, and again the child ran toward the same thicket, this time going farther into the grove, until she was out of sight. In moments, the group had gathered around the home tree again, and Rosemary watched for Anna to appear.
Around the picnic tables, men and women milled about, filling their plates and eating, seeking out friends and looking for a place to sit. Rosemary felt like an island, desolate for a moment as she watched the children start up another round of hiding, as she realized that Anna was missing from the group.
The plate Rosemary was holding found a resting spot on the table as she set out toward the swiftly scattering children.
“…eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Here I come, ready or not!” shouted a reed-thin young boy. He opened his eyes, grinned widely at Rosemary as she approached, and then ran helter-skelter into the wooded area.
“One, two, three on Joseph!” he called, racing back toward the tree, the hapless boy who’d been found hot on his trail.
Rosemary walked on into the wooded area, past the thicket where Anna had hidden only moments before. “Anna?” she called softly, not willing to disturb the child’s play, yet sensing that all was not well.
She stepped into the edge of a darker copse, pushing aside bushes as she went, calling for the girl, her voice louder as she went deeper into the underbrush. Then, from ahead, beyond a small knoll, she heard Anna’s voice answering.
“Miss Rosemary!” There was a shrill quality about the calling of her name that set Rosemary’s heart pounding at a faster pace. And then the cry was repeated, this time with a trace of panic and a sob accenting the syllables. “Miss Rosemarr…ry!”
Her dress was hampered by a branch snagging it, and Rosemary glanced down to find herself tangled in a briar patch, the thorns snatching at her skirt, tearing it in several places. But even the sharp stinging of nettles against her flesh did not dissuade her, and she plunged ahead.
“Anna?” Her voice was breathless, but it obviously carried to where the girl was, for in the next moment, Rosemary heard the small voice reply.
“I’m here, ma’am.” In a small hollow just over the crest of the knoll, Anna stood beside her father, who held her arm in a tight grip.
“Thought that’d get you here, missy,” Nate Pender sneered. He turned to Rosemary, releasing Anna for a moment, and she fell to the ground, crying.
“Run, Anna,” Rosemary said quickly, ready to do battle for the child. With hardly a backward glance, Anna scurried from her father’s side and ran past Rosemary.
“You’re the one I wanted to talk to, anyway,” Nate said slyly. “You got a choice, smart lady.” He filled his chest with air and lifted his chin in an arrogant gesture. “You can either see to it I get my supply of likker from the saloon, or I’m gonna find a way to hurt those kids of mine, real bad. I might even get them back, by hook or by crook, and you’ll never lay eyes on them.”
She looked at him, a spectacle of fallen man if she’d ever seen one, and shook her head sadly. “You don’t want those children. We both know that. You’re a miserable man, Mr. Pender, and you don’t deserve Scat and Anna.”
“Mebbe, mebbe not, but I’ll take ’em, iffen you don’t do as I say,” he threatened, puffing out his chest, sneering the words.
Rosemary trembled, her hands clenching tightly, and then her vision focused on the man who pranced before her, looking like nothing more than a banty rooster. He strutted around the clearing, and Rosemary laughed aloud, her words taunting. “You’re about as worthless a creature as God ever created, Nate Pender.”
He stopped dead in front of her, breathing hard. “Don’t you laugh at me, young woman. The last gal that got smart with me lost three teeth for her efforts.” His nostrils flaring, his teeth bared, he considered her through narrowed eyes, scanning her from the crown of her head to the hem of her d
ress.
“Might be you need a lesson in manners, girlie,” he snarled. His hands reached for her and she stepped back, losing her balance as he grasped her arm. She fell hard, then lost her breath as Nate landed atop her.
Coughing, gasping for air, she fought him off, kicking and scratching, punching wherever her fists could land a blow. Her vision dimmed as she struggled, aware only that the weight of this man was crushing her against the hard ground, that his hands were harsh against her arms, his body too heavy to be pushed aside.
Her chin tilted back and her lungs filled with air. She shrieked aloud, some small part of her mind aware that Tanner called her name.
As if he, too, heard and recognized the sound, Nate’s head lifted high and he jumped up, looking down at Rosemary as if he’d been scalded by her touch. “Damn woman. You got yourself into this, with your smart mouth and busybody ways.”
The vibration of pounding feet and a great thrashing about in the undergrowth announced the arrival of Tanner. Nate’s eyes widened and he turned to run, in his haste stumbling over an exposed root. Beneath the overhanging branches of the willow tree, Gabe appeared, and with one lunge was at Nate’s throat.
His hands were powerful, his face twisted in rage, and Nate hung in his grasp. Rosemary cried out, fearful of the results of Gabe’s anger. Should death be the result of this fiasco, she would consider the blame to be her own. Horror lent strength to her words and she called out to him.
“Stop, stop, Tanner!”
“In just a damn minute, Rosemary,” he grunted. His fist buried itself in Nate’s belly, and the man went down like a felled tree. It was not enough for Tanner. Picking up the howling man by his belt, he slammed another fist into his jaw, then tossed him aside, his lips drawn back in a snarl that gave utterance to words Rosemary had never heard him speak.
“Gabriel!” She called his name, frightened for the emotion that held him in its grip, not for herself, but for Nate Pender, who even now looked petrified.
“You touch my wife again, Pender, lay one finger on her, even look like you’re gonna speak to her, and you’re a dead man. You hear me?” He dragged the hapless Nate up by his shirt and held him at arm’s length. “As God is my witness, I’ll see you—”
“Gabe!” Rosemary shouted. “Enough!”
Gabe dropped the man, and turned to her, seemingly unaware of Nate’s retreat on hands and knees, his mouth bleeding, curses flowing like water from his mouth.
Tanner knelt beside Rosemary. “Are you hurt?” His hands swept her body, his fingers catching in the torn places on her clothes, where thorns had done their work, and he glared at her.
“Did Pender try to tear your clothes off? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I got caught in the brambles. He only fell on top of me, and I couldn’t push him off.” Her grip was strong, her eyes pleading for comfort, and Tanner answered her need. He lifted her into his arms, sitting with her on the grass, kissing her, soothing her, his touch gentle but thorough as he examined the scratches on her arms and legs.
“I got all tangled up in the brier patch,” she whispered, wincing as he touched a deep scrape on her calf.
“What were you doin’ out here by yourself?” he asked, his voice rough, his anger bleeding over to her. “You’re just damn lucky I heard Anna carrying on, or I wouldn’t have come after you.”
“I couldn’t see Anna, and I set out to find her. I didn’t want her lost in the woods, and then I found that Nate must have carried her off. He must have known I was watching and took a chance on getting me alone.”
“What did he say? Did he try to…” As if he could not put voice to the words that filled his mind, he hesitated, and Rosemary shook her head quickly.
“No, nothing like that. He threatened me, but not that way.”
“I wonder why he didn’t just take Anna and run?” Tanner’s hands softened as he pulled her dress down into place, covering her legs.
“He doesn’t really want Anna. He wants me to furnish him with booze. I think he’s desperate. Geraldine told me the other day that no one in town will talk to him and he can’t find work.” Rosemary’s hands twisted in her lap. “I aggravated him, Tanner. A lot of this was my fault. I laughed at him.”
At Tanner’s sharp look and exclamation of denial, she nodded firmly. “He looked like a banty and I was so upset and nervous that I started to laugh and it made him mad.”
Tanner rocked her in his arms. “If you don’t take the cake, sweetheart.” He looked down at her, silently considering her. “Well, I think he’ll stay away for a while. In fact, I’d be willing to bet he’s gonna hide out somewhere, once the sheriff hears about this. He won’t want to be seen.”
The walk back to the picnic was long. Tanner avoided the brier patch, and took Rosemary to a spot on the creek bank where he washed her scratches with his bandanna and a piece of her petticoat. Her face clean, and her hair once more braided and brushed free of leaves, she felt presentable enough to rejoin the townsfolk.
The picnic was about wound up, the baskets being packed and put beneath the trees to stay cool. The men had returned to the school building and were swarming over the walls, securing them firmly, several of them forming the rafters to place atop the structure.
Tanner salvaged a glass of lemonade for Rosemary from the final bucket and brought it to her where she waited on the quilt. “I want you to stay here, honey. I’m gonna talk to the sheriff and then work on the building. I need to keep an eye on Scat.”
“Is Anna all right?” she asked, looking around for the girl.
“Mama Pearl has her. She’s all washed up and ready to take a nap.” Tanner squatted beside Rosemary, one hand brushing her cheek. “Will you talk to the sheriff after a while? I don’t want to make a big fuss and ruin the day for everyone. But, don’t think for a minute that Pender will get away with what he’s done.”
“I’m fine,” Rosemary said, forcing a smile. “I’ll talk to the sheriff, and I’ll sit here and watch. You go on ahead.”
She leaned back against the tree and examined the part of her dress that was visible. Half a dozen tears were apparent, and she rued their presence. Without a doubt, she would forgo the dance later on. And she’d looked forward to it all week. The thought of dancing in a dress that had suffered such damage was beyond imagination, and she traced the mutilated fabric with her fingers, wishing for a magic needle with which to sew each strand into place.
She twisted her mouth in a rueful grimace. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a swaying skirt and a pair of black calf slippers heading her way, and she prepared herself to be cheerful.
“Hi, Rosemary.” It was Pip, and Rosemary’s facade of gaiety went by the wayside.
“Come sit with me,” she said, patting the quilt invitingly.
Pip needed no further invitation, stretching out her feet before her and leaning back with a sigh. “I’ve been running all day, what with folks forgetting things and sending me back to the store.”
Pip’s eyes widened as she leaned closer. “What on earth happened to your dress? It looks like you took a pair of scissors to it.”
“No,” Rosemary said glumly. “I got into a patch of brambles and tore it up.”
“You need to watch where you’re going…or was someone chasing you?” Her words were teasing as she whispered them close to Rosemary’s ear.
“No, actually I was looking for Anna, and…”
Pip sat upright, a stunned expression replacing her grin. “I didn’t know she’d come up missing. Did you find her all right?” Her hands fluttered, then fell to her lap. “How silly. Of course you did, or everyone would be out looking.”
She nudged Rosemary’s hands aside and investigated the torn dress, then tilted her head up and offered a suggestion. “Why don’t we go down to the store and—don’t shake your head at me. I’ve already made so many trips today that one more won’t make a bit of difference.”
“Actually…” Rosemary look
ed around. “I’ve been waiting for someone I need to talk to.”
Pip rose quickly, then bent to tug at her friend’s hand. “Come on, we’ll be gone and back in no time.”
If the sheriff was in sight, Rosemary surely couldn’t see him, and she followed Pip’s urging with a spontaneous smile and shrug of agreement.
“All right. I really looked forward to dancing, and I told Tanner I wouldn’t dare be seen like this.” She glanced to where Mama Pearl sat amid a circle of quilts, each holding one or more sleeping child, then nodded again.
“If we hurry, we won’t even be missed.”
“You must have worked magic, Rosie. I’d swear that dress was blue this morning.” Tanner swung her at the edge of the dance floor, careful not to run into another couple. The newly laid floor of the schoolhouse held more dancers than it could comfortably accommodate, but no one seemed to mind the squeeze.
“You’ll get the bill the next time Pip sees you.”
“I don’t mind,” he said, holding her against himself as he dodged an exuberant pair, who were intent on circling the floor at full tilt. His voice dropped as he spoke against her ear. “Did you talk to the sheriff?”
She nodded. “I saw him on the way back from town. The sheriff said he doubted we’d hear much more from Nate Pender, and I hope he’s right.”
“Did he ask you to file charges against Nate?”
Rosemary nodded. “He said to come into the office and he’d make it official. I don’t want the children to be any more upset than they are, Tanner. I talked to Anna and told her that her pa was probably not coming back. I only hope I’m right. At any rate, she’s about forgotten the whole thing. I wonder if she doesn’t think she dreamed it all, spending half the afternoon asleep.”
“Well, if that little girl can put it out of her mind, I’ll eat my hat,” Tanner said, his deep voice a growl. He touched Rosemary’s forehead with his lips and she looked up to meet his penetrating gaze.
“Nate Pender is a lowlife, if ever there was one, and you can’t depend on him to act like the folks you knew back in your parsonage days.”
The Bachelor Tax Page 17
