Brett sobered. “Jessie, I’m not planning on hurting anyone. I had hoped you would realize that I’m here to help. Whether or not we find gas, you’re being paid for us to come on your land and test. We’re just leasing it, the same as if you were leasing land to another farmer. You’re making money.”
“You’re still stirring things up. We live pretty peaceably, and that’s the way we like it.” She raised her arm and pointed to the open fields. “You’re going to bring in a lot of people and equipment...”
Brett drew a deep breath and released it slowly. She had to be the most stubborn, infuriating woman he’d ever met. “It’s only going to be for a few months,” he countered. “After we bring in the well, there will be pipeline and maintenance, of course. If you would be a little considerate of what your family wants—”
“What?” Her eyes widened and she jammed her hands against her hips. “My family didn’t want for anything until you came along.”
He snorted. “You can’t expect them to continue living fifty years in the past. Hell, you don’t even have a telephone.” Or a television, or a microwave, he thought to himself.
“What we have or don’t have is our business, Mr. Murdock. So I’d appreciate it if you’d kindly butt out.”
Brett started to argue again, when he heard a car coming up the road. They both turned to find an old Chevy truck heading their way. Once it stopped, a woman of about fifty-five got out and walked toward the porch. She was small, not much over five feet tall. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a colorful blouse. Her straw hat covered most of her gray hair, the rest pulled back into a bun at the base of her neck. She gave a ready smile and her eyes sparkled.
“Mornin’, Jessie.” The older woman climbed the steps. “Who’s your friend?”
Not wanting to take a chance on what Jessie would say, Brett spoke up, “Name’s Brett Murdock, ma’am.” He took off his hat and offered her his hand. “I’m here from Dallas representing Murdock Oil.”
“Hatty Jacobs.” Her smiled broadened. “So you’re the fella who’s here to drill a well.”
“First we need to run some tests. Right now, we just have an agreement to do a survey on three northern sections of the Burkes’ land.” He turned to Jessie as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket, and handed it to her. “This was the reason I came out so early this morning. I wanted to make sure that you got this check as soon as possible.” He tipped his hat. “Ladies, you all have a good day.” He sauntered down the steps.
Both women watched the slow easy gait of Brett Murdock as he made his way to his car. It wasn’t until the automobile disappeared that Hatty finally spoke. “My, my, they sure do grow ‘em handsome in Texas.”
Jessie ignored her friend’s comment. “And troublesome.” She swung around and marched into the kitchen, Hatty following her. Jessie placed the check in the drawer of the sideboard, planning to give it to Mac when he came in for lunch. Let him handle the job of paying the taxes.
“Well, you wouldn’t want a man to be too boring.” Hatty grinned. “Takes all the fun out of life.”
“My life is just fine, as it is.”
Hatty took a cup from the cupboard and went to the coffeepot on the stove. “Your life, Jessica Marie Burke, is as dull as a butter knife.”
Oh, no, Jessie thought, not wanting another one of Hatty’s you-need-a-man lectures. “My life is filled with work and family. I don’t have time for anything else.”
“You do now that Mac has graduated,” Hatty offered. “In fact, you could go back to school yourself. You’re only twenty-three.” She busied herself with pouring some coffee. “Never was happy with your daddy for letting you quit.”
“There wasn’t much choice, Hatty. Katie was a baby. She needed a woman to raise her. Daddy did what he thought was best.”
“Old Walt only did what was best for himself, and he didn’t think schoolin’ was important, especially since it took you away from doing chores.” Hatty sat down at the table and looked at Jessie pleadingly. “Honey, you can’t get anywhere without an education. Your mother wanted you children to have more than she did. She wanted you all to finish school.”
“It’s too late for me, Hatty. I can’t go back now, you know all the problems....” Jessie looked away, trying to block out the disappointment. Even after years, she still had regrets about not having finished her education. But, because of the needs of Josh and Katie, Jessie had missed more school days than she’d attended, which didn’t make her a very good student. So her daddy figured she’d be much better off at home, taking care of her family. “What does a farmer need with an education?” she said.
“Everyone needs schoolin’,” Hatty argued.
“I know. Mac finished high school and Josh will be graduating in a few more years. He even talks about college.” Jessie hoped to get Hatty on the subject of the kids. “When school gets out in a few weeks, Katie’s promised me straight A’s.” Jessie smiled. “Mama would have been proud of her.”
Hatty got up and came around the table to stand in front of Jessie. “Don’t ever sell yourself short, young lady. Not many people could take care of a new baby and two young boys at the age of sixteen.” The older woman offered one of her loving smiles that had gotten Jessie through a lot of troubled times over the years. “Your mama was very proud of you, too.”
* * *
“Why can’t we get a television?” Josh asked. “We’re probably the only people in the whole world without one.”
“We don’t need a TV,” Katie piped in. “It has violence, and my teacher, Mrs. Johnson, says that’s not good for us.”
Jessie looked across the table at Mac who was trying to hold back a grin. After paying the tax bill it seemed they had quite a bit of extra money left over, and they’d decided to leave it to a vote as to what everyone wanted to spend it on.
“Well, we really need a telephone,” Josh said.
“That’s just so you can call Mary Ellen Parker,” Katie teased.
“It is not, short stuff.” The fifteen-year-old tugged on his little sister’s braid. “What about an emergency? If someone gets sick, or we need to call the fire department?”
“Well, I think we should get bikes,” Katie suggested. “Then I can ride to Hatty’s for an emergency.” Katie gave a concerned look as she studied her older brother and sister. “We really need to exercise.”
“Well, I get plenty of exercise,” Josh said. “I’d rather have a car.”
“Whoa,” Mac finally broke into the discussion as the two younger Burkes continued to argue. Jessie sat back and smiled, realizing that it was times like this when she was glad that Mac was there to handle things. She ignored her brother’s pleading look for help.
“This is getting out of control,” Mac said. “We’re not millionaires.” He looked at his younger sister and brother in turn before continuing. “First of all, we’re going to replace the fencing around the corral and build new stalls in the barn.” He looked at Josh again. “Sorry, brother, your first week of summer vacation is going to be a busy one. But, at least I’ll be able to pay you—not much, but enough so you won’t complain.”
“What about me?” Katie asked. “I want to get paid, too.”
“Maybe you can help Jess here in the house. She’s going to be painting the kitchen.”
“And I’m going to make some new curtains,” Jessie added. She, too, was caught up in the enthusiasm. “Maybe you and I can go shopping for material. What colors you think we should use?”
The eight-year-old looked thoughtful for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Red, white and blue.”
“Oh, brother,” Josh groaned. “Katie, this isn’t the American flag, this is the kitchen.”
The young girl sat up on her knees. “They’re my favorite colors.”
“Well, I like them, too.” Jessie hugged her sister. “We’ll just have to make the walls white, the curtains blue and we’ll gets some red pots for my plants.”
Mac walked to the
wall that led into the dining room and pointed to the space above the light switch. “How ‘bout here for our new telephone?”
* * *
The next week things were busy around the Burke farm. Mac and Josh and a neighbor replaced the corral fence. Then they worked inside the barn as they rebuilt three stalls and reinforced the frame of the old structure.
In the house Jessie painted the kitchen a glossy, snow white, leaving the ceiling for her tall brothers to paint. Hatty came over to help sew up two pairs of blue gingham curtains and a matching skirt for around the sink.
Jessie stood back and admired her handiwork. It was surprising what a little paint could do. With the bright red pots for her plants along the counters, and a new plastic cloth she had bought for the scarred kitchen table, the room was shaping up nicely. Feeling a little guilty, she glanced at the large blue braided rug she had found to hide the old worn linoleum. Everything had cost more than she really intended to spend, but it had been so long since they’d had any extra money....
Now that the taxes were paid up through next year, they didn’t have to worry for a while. But Jessie would, anyway. It was her nature. And although Mac had handled a lot since Daddy died, Jessie knew that he was still only nineteen. Hardly a grown man, but, at least she didn’t feel as if everything was being put on her shoulders. And that was kind of nice. She smiled slowly.
“Jessie! Jessie!” Katie raced into the kitchen, the screen door slamming loudly behind her. “The telephone man is here.” Her blue eyes were wide with excitement. “Can I go out and tell him where we want to put the phone?”
Jessie glanced out the window to see the truck. She felt a little insecure about having another visitor. Most of the time, days went by without anyone coming to the farm. Her home suddenly felt like the middle of downtown Durant. And this made her uncomfortable. “Why don’t you bring him up to the house?” she said, realizing she had little choice at the moment.
It was only a few minutes later when the excited child escorted the young man, wearing a large tool belt, through the back door.
“This is my sister, Jessie,” Katie announced. “Jessie, this is Mike Hillman, he works for the phone company. You should see his truck, he’s got a hundred telephones, all different colors. Do we have to get white?”
Jessie ignored her and managed a nod in greeting to Mike, then turned back to her sister. “Katie, why don’t you let Mr. Hillman do his job.”
“Please, call me Mike.” The man smiled. “Don’t you remember me, Jessie? We went to school together.”
Jessie’s head snapped up, her attention focused on the nice-looking man, with dark hair and eyes, and a familiar smile. Yes, she remembered him. Mike had been in nearly all her classes, so had his best friend, Tommy Anderson. She felt a little shy as the bad memories came back to her.
“Sure...Mike,” she finally said. “It’s been a long time.”
“A few years.” Mike was studying her closely, his stare making Jessie feel even more uncomfortable. “Ever hear from Tommy?”
Thank goodness Katie decided to change the subject. “My sister had to quit school to look after me,” Katie explained. “But she’s really smart, anyway.”
Jessie felt her cheeks redden but that didn’t stop her from wanting to throttle her sister. “Katie, why don’t you go get Mac?” she asked. “Maybe he wants the phone somewhere else besides in the kitchen.”
“But he already told you that you can decide,” Katie answered assuredly. The child wasn’t about to budge from the kitchen and miss any of the goings-on.
Well, Jessie wasn’t going to stand around and talk about old times from their school days.
“Well, then I’ll go get Mac.” She started backing out the door, when she was stopped by a solid wall. With a gasp, she spun around almost losing her balance, only to find Brett Murdock was there to steady her. Great, this was all she needed.
“What are you doing here?”
He grinned. “Hello to you, too.”
The warmth of his large hands seeped through her long-sleeved shirt, making Jessie aware that he was still holding her. She pulled away.
“Hi, Brett.” Katie rushed across the room and greeted him with a hug. “Guess what?” The girl glanced toward the phone man. “Mike’s getting us a telephone. Will you call me?”
“Sure will, if you’ll give me your telephone number.” Brett looked at Jessie. “Of course, your big sister might not like your giving your phone number to just anyone, especially boys.”
Katie started to giggle, but Jessie was about to scream. She knew this would happen. Everything was changing, even she had gotten caught up in it. She glanced at the strangers invading her kitchen—her privacy. Without a word, she marched out the door and down the steps. She needed a place where she could be by herself. Her steps quickened as she made it to the path leading to the barn.
Once inside, the familiar scent of animals and hay teased her nose along with the smell of new-cut wood. She went to the old study ladder and climbed the dozen rungs to the loft. She walked past the neatly stacked hay bales to the window along the wall. Sitting down on the blanket padding the wide ledge, she pulled her knees to her chest and gazed over the acres of wheat fields. The long golden stocks waved in the soft breeze. She looked off toward the west, finding her mama’s garden and the brightly colored roses drinking in the rich spring sunlight.
After a few minutes, a calm washed over her and Jessie drew a deep breath and released it. The scene in the kitchen had bothered her. Mike was only one of a few of the people she’d seen from her school days, bringing painful memories of how she’d never fit in. In fact, she had been the brunt of a lot of jokes, because of the backward ways of her father. And since her mother’s death, Walter Burke had become even more reclusive, more distrusting of people. He hadn’t even attended church services any longer. He hadn’t trusted anybody but his kids. It had been so different when her mother was alive, Jessie thought with a sigh.
Standing, she raised the lid on the bench seat, hearing the squeaky hinges. Inside were her special treasures. A few precious things that had belonged to her mother, but mostly there were books. They were her mother’s, too. Jessie ran her hand over the old leather bindings. Classics, Emily Burke had called them. Little Women, Jane Eyre, Gone With The Wind... Her mother loved reading, and from the time Jessie was little, she remembered her mother reading her stories, from simple nursery rhymes to Shakespeare. Jessie could listen for hours. She had even memorized lines from one of her favorites, Romeo and Juliet.
Jessie smiled. It had all come to life a couple years back when Hatty had taken her to the Shakespearean Festival in Durant for Jessie’s twenty-first birthday. Hatty had said turning twenty-one was a milestone in one’s life and needed to be celebrated. At first, Jessie had felt out of place going to the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, but had quickly changed her mind when the curtain went up. It hadn’t taken long before she’d found herself captivated by the tragic love story, maybe because she identified with Juliet.
Jessie looked out the open window, pretending it was her balcony. She glanced down at the ground below, remembering the times she had conjured up a handsome Romeo. She was the beautiful Juliet waiting for her love.
“O Romeo, Romeo!” she called out, waiting for her make-believe lover to materialize. In her head, he was tall, muscular and very handsome. He would say all the tender, loving words... It was only pretend, but she needed to believe her dreams would come true. That her Romeo would come to her.
“What man art thou, that, thus bescreened in night, she began to recite.
“By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am.” At the sound of the familiar voice, Jessie swung around and found Brett Murdock leaning against the railing of the loft. When she started to protest, he raised his hand, then continued, “My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word.”
Jessie blinked in amazemen
t, but managed to say the next line. “Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?”
Brett took a hesitant step toward her, his dark blue eyes gentle and searching. “Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike. How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?”
“The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,” Jessie said, her voice growing stronger as her character took over.
“With love’s light wings did I o’er perch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out. And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore, thy kinsmen are no stop to me.”
Brett’s voice was mesmerizing, so much so that Jessie had forgotten it was her line.
He moved closer and arched an eyebrow. “I believe my Juliet has the next line.”
“Uh...I,” Jessie stumbled. “I forgot it.”
He smiled and she almost melted there on the spot. “Then just say good night, my Juliet.” He took her hand in his and raising it to his lips, placed a soft kiss on her palm.
Jessie bit back a gasp at the intimacy lingering between them. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t move.
It was Brett who prompted her. “Good night, Good—”
“Good night!” She stepped back into her part. “Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I shall say good night till it be morrow!”
“Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet the rest!” His deep, rich voice died out, leaving only the quiet to surround them. A few birds chirping and the muted sounds of the animals down in the stalls carried into the loft, but enough to bring Jessie back to her senses.
She stiffened, and finally pulled her hand out of his grasp. “What are you doing up here?”
Brett was surprised by her abrupt mood change. Maybe she was just embarrassed that he had caught her quoting Shakespeare. “Looking for you. I tried to talk to you earlier but you seemed to be in a hurry.”
“Maybe you should have taken the hint.” She sighed tiredly. “Can’t my brother handle this business?”
Wildcat Wedding (Wranglers & Lace #2) Page 3
