was not the time or place. What she really needs is her cute little fanny tanned with a cypress switch, he thought. He smiled at the thought and wasn’t nearly as mad as he had been.
Dropping the wire latch over the gatepost, he said, “I told you I’d be back.” Looking past Mary Jane to be sure no one was within hearing range, he whispered, “You still got a mind to go back into that cave?”
Mary Jane took a step closer. They were almost touching. “I’ve been waiting on you, Ty Holt. Every night lying in bed, all I could think about was what you and I were going to do when you came back.” Mary Jane gave him a smile that would tempt any man. She spoke with a soft voice that was coated with a slow southern drawl that made Ty melt like butter in a hot skillet. He knew she was only talking about searching the cave, but he couldn’t help thinking how good it was to see her again. For a minute, he forgot about all his troubles.
“How come you’re out here waiting on me tonight? Did you know I was on my way here?”
“I hoped you’d be back,” she answered as she put both of her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. He took her face in his hands. Her skin was soft and smooth. Her eyes were a clear, penetrating green that took away his breath. “I was so scared when your dog drug himself up here last night, I was afraid you were dead. I couldn’t sleep all night, worrying about you. Then when I saw you today …”
Ah-ha, I’ve got you now, Ty thought. “When did you see me today?”
Mary Jane stepped back, looking Ty right in the eye. “Why—when you rode up just now,” she answered, as innocent as a shirt pocket.
“What did you say?” Ty asked.
“I said I saw you when you rode up to the house on that mule.”
“No, what did you say about Dog?”
“I said he came dragging himself up to our cabin yesterday. He was about dead. I hate to tell you this, but someone shot him.”
“He’s alive? Where is he?”
“On the porch,” Mary Jane answered. “By some miracle, I think he’s going to make it.”
Ty took Mary Jane’s hand in his and they quickly walked to the porch. When Mrs. Barrow saw him, she stepped back, pulling Sue Carol aside. Jeb stood and he, too, backed away.
There on an old green horse blanket lay Dog. As soon as he saw Ty, his tail began to pat the wood floor. With tears swelling in his eyes, Ty squatted beside the yellow Lab. His hand trembled with emotion as he began rubbing Dog’s head.
“Hey, old boy, how you doing?” Dog’s tail wagged faster. His brown eyes were filled with love and trust for his master. Ty sat down and gently moved the dog’s head into his lap.
“We’ve been putting some homemade salve and a little of Professor Low’s Liniment on his wound,” Mrs. Barrow said.
Mary Jane added, “Sue Carol fed him some lard mixed with eggs and sweet milk.”
“And some mush with molasses,” Sue Carol interrupted.
“I thank you,” Ty told the Barrows, and then he told them everything that had happened. “It’s been a plenty bad last few days.”
After a spell, Ty laid Dog’s head back on the blanket and scooted himself up, using the wall for support. He was tired to the bone and needed sleep. Jeb said he’d unsaddle the mule and bring Ty’s stuff in. Ty was grateful and glad to let him. He followed Mary Jane into the cabin.
Mrs. Barrow and Mary Jane scurried about, fixing a meal of fatback and beans. Sue Carol came to where Ty was sitting in Shine’s rocker and hugged his neck.
“I’m sure glad you didn’t get kilt, Mr. Holt. Mary Jane likes you.”
“Sue Carol,” Mary Jane yelled, “shut your mouth. Get over here and help me. Now!”
As tired as he was, Ty couldn’t help but smile as he watched the Barrows fixing supper. Mrs. Barrow fried the meat. Mary Jane stirred the beans to keep them from scorching while she boiled a concoction of water and vinegar. Every now and then, Sue Carol checked on the cornbread that was baking in the oven. Mary Jane looked over at Ty and blushed. He watched her closely.
“I’m glad you’re staying for supper, Mr. Holt,” Sue Carol said. “We only get sucamagrowl when we have company,” Sue Carol said, still leaning over the sweet dumpling in the oven.”
Mary Jane whacked Sue Carol on the rear and whispered something to her that Ty could not hear. Sue Carol looked at Ty and grinned, and then she ran to the other side of the room. She lifted a trapdoor and pulled up a bucket of milk from the cellar below the floor.
Mary Jane said, “There’s a cold spring well under there where we get our water and keep things fresh. That’s why Pa built the cabin here.”
Ty agreed. “Maybe someday they’ll figure out a way to have ice in the summer in Texas, the way they do up north.”
“When cows fly,” Mrs. Barrow remarked, more to herself than to anyone else.
About that time, Jeb came through the door and told Ty he’d rubbed the mule down. He asked, “Where you want your stuff?”
Ty was about to tell Jeb to pitch it on the porch when Mrs. Barrow said, “Just put it in the loft with you kids. Mr. Holt can sleep in the house tonight.”
Sue Carol grinned. Mary Jane blushed redder than a summer apple as Jeb carried Ty’s bedroll and war bag up the ladder to the loft where Shine Barrow’s three children slept.
As soon as they had finished eating, Ty took the scraps out to the porch and fed Dog. He felt the Lab’s nose and knew that his fever had broken. He patted the dog’s head and returned to the cabin.
Mary Jane and Sue Carol were washing dishes. Mrs. Barrow was putting up leftovers. Jeb was bringing in wood for the morning fire. Ty took a towel from a peg on the wall and started drying dishes. Sue Carol giggled, and Mary Jane whopped her again. “Go on,” Mary Jane said. “Get yourself to bed. Mother, make Sue Carol behave.”
Mrs. Barrow called for Sue Carol, telling her to get ready for bed. Sue Carol protested, but Ty could see that when Mrs. Barrow spoke she didn’t back down. In a few minutes, Sue Carol gave Ty a hug and then scurried up the ladder. As soon as Jeb finished stacking the kindling, he, too, disappeared up the ladder. Ty could make out whispered talk and giggles in the loft.
Mary Jane handed Ty the last of the dishwashing and excused herself, saying she was going out on the porch. Ty thought that that was a strange thing to do, it being bedtime. He saw Mrs. Barrow give Mary Jane a look that would stop a panther in his tracks, but it didn’t slow Mary Jane down a step.
Ty excused himself and crossed through the house, heading out the back door to the privy. When he returned, he could see that Mary Jane was still on the front porch. Mrs. Barrow was sitting in a rocker. Ty told them he was dead tired and said goodnight. He walked past the women and went into the house. He got himself a drink and then climbed up into the loft.
There were two beds. Sue Carol was asleep in one, Jeb in the other. Ty could tell by their breathing that they were both already asleep. Jeb was facing the wall. He had left room for Ty on the outside of the bed. Quickly, Ty took off his boots. Because he had washed his clothes in the river today and there were others sleeping in the same room, Ty laid down fully dressed. There were two small windows in the loft and a cool cross breeze made the warm night bearable.
Ty was almost asleep when he heard the porch door slam. He could hear Mary Jane and her mother arguing. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he guessed it was about him. In a few moments, he heard someone climbing the ladder. Even as tired and emotionally drained as he was, he had already thought about the plan for him to sleep in the same room with Mary Jane. When he thought about it now, his heart started to pound. It even pounded harder when he saw that it was Mary Jane climbing into the loft.
In the dark,