eyes, he watched her as she pulled a white nightshirt over her head before she slipped off her gingham dress. His heart was now beating so loud now that he was sure she could hear the drumming in his chest. He broke into a sweat. When she moved toward her bed, her nightgown brushed his face, and he could smell the sweetness of the garment.
Slowly, she pulled the bedcover around Sue Carol, and then suddenly turning, Mary Jane bent over and kissed Ty on his forehead. His reaction was immediate. He felt an urge to reach up and pull her to him, but he was afraid to move and pretended to be asleep.
What a time to be pinned between her brother and little sister—and her mother, downstairs, was listening to every sound, he was sure.
Mary Jane stood and started down the ladder to sleep in her mother’s bed. Taking a chance, Ty reached his hand out to Mary Jane and she took it in hers. They remained with hands locked until Mrs. Barrow called, “Mary Jane, what are you doing? Come down. Now!”
When Ty awoke in the morning, the sun was up and he was the only one still in the loft. Turning over, he smiled, thinking about the night before. Below, he could hear people stirring about. He smelled fresh-boiled coffee and ham or bacon frying in a pan and he knew that a good, home-cooked breakfast, in addition to his adventure with Mary Jane and the cave, were waiting for him.
Chapter 11
Sue Carol ran to hug Ty almost as soon as his feet hit the downstairs floor. Ty figured she missed her dad and the girl was glad to have a man around.
“Did you sleep good last night, Mr. Holt?” she asked. “Jeb said you snored.”
“Sue Carol!” Mary Jane was taking biscuits from the oven but stopped midstride to scowl at her sister. Ty couldn’t get over how pretty Mary Jane was. Her blonde hair hung loose. It covered her shoulders, even though she had it tied up in the back with a blue and white ribbon. The look she gave her little sister said a lot more than “Sue Carol.”
“Pay her no never-mind, Ty,” Mary Jane said. She smiled and Ty felt his face flush. “Go on, now,” she curtly told Sue Carol as she set the iron pan on the stove. She told Ty to sit in the same chair he’d sat in last night. He could see who was in charge of the house this morning and did what he was told. The chair Mary Jane nodded toward was at one end of the table. Another chair was at the other end. There were benches along both sides of a hand-hewed oak table. Ty admired the way the table, benches, and chairs had been made. He knew whoever made them was a skilled woodworker.
“These are mighty fine chairs,” he remarked as he ran his hand along the back of one. “Your pa make them?”
“Mostly I did,” Mary Jane said, “and the table and benches. Pa cut the wood, but I dried it, and whittled and axed the shape. Pa and I killed a deer and tanned the hide. I cut it into strips and laced the bottoms.” Mary Jane appeared very proud of herself.
And she should be, Ty thought. This is first-class work.
“There’s not much to do around here in the winter,” she said as she placed a small crock of butter on the table next to two glass jars of red jelly. “Sue Carol.”
The girl jumped at the sound of her name, giving Mary Jane her meanest look. It wasn’t hard to recognize her anger. Sue Carol was still plenty mad at her sister for shouting at her earlier. “Go tell Mama and Jeb breakfast is ready and that Mr. Holt is ready to eat. Hurry.”
Sue Carol tried to stare down Mary Jane but there was no doubt in Ty’s mind as to who was going to win the contest. In a few seconds, Sue Carol followed her jutted lip out the door and shouted, “Mary Jane’s sweetheart finally woke up, and he’s ready to eat.”
Both Ty and Mary Jane turned crimson. Sue Carol glared at Mary Jane and then smiled. She knew she had won that round after all. “Can I sit by you, Mr. Holt?” she asked as she ran to the other side of the table and away from Mary Jane.
“Sure. I’d be honored to have you sit by me,” Ty said, still embarrassed, knowing he was the color of a cardinal. Mary Jane was two steps toward strangling Sue Carol when Mrs. Barrow and Jeb came through the door.
“What are you two spatting about?” Mrs. Barrow asked Mary Jane, not expecting an answer. Ty decided Mrs. Barrow already knew what the tiff was about and stared at the table. He figured the best thing he could do was keep his mouth shut. “Sue Carol, leave Mr. Holt alone and sit down.” Sue Carol quickly did as she was told. She gave Ty a sly smile then slid between the table and the bench.
“Mr. Holt said I could sit next to him,” she announced triumphantly. She turned to Jeb, who was pouring milk through a rag strainer. “I slept in the same room with Mr. Holt, too, and he didn’t snore, Jeb.”
Ty nearly laughed out loud at the look on Mary Jane’s face.
“Mother!”
“All right, Mary Jane,” Mrs. Barrow said. “Sue Carol, you behave yourself or I’m going to take you out to the barn and wear a little smart off your behind.”
Sue Carol didn’t say another word, but the look of victory on her face said it for her.
The biscuits and fried ham were placed on the table and everyone took their place. Ty sat at the head of the table, with Mary Jane and Sue Carol on either side of him. Mrs. Barrow sat at the other end of the table, in what Ty assumed was her regular place. Jeb was sitting next to Sue Carol, ready to eat.
When Mrs. Barrow asked Ty if he would like to give thanks for the food, he was a little startled. However, Aunt Izzy required grace at every meal, so he was used to praying, and he decided he’d give it his best shot. Everybody bowed their heads and joined hands around the table.
“Dear God in Heaven,” he started. “Thank you for this food we are about to eat. Thank you for this family. I’m sorry I had to meet them under such bad circumstances. There’s been so much happening these last few days I don’t know what to think anymore. We, who are still here, ask for your protection against the evil one. He sure is a good shot, and we need your armor to help us get him caught. I’m sure sorry about Shine getting shot, and Dade and Matthew getting ambushed, and all the rest of ‘em, too. Smite the dirty bushwhacker that done it. Amen.”
“Amen,” Mrs. Barrow said, and they ate in silence. Ty was sorry breakfast hadn’t gone as Mary Jane had planned, but there wasn’t much to say.
After they ate, Mrs. Barrow and Mary Jane washed the dishes. Jeb went outside to finish feeding the stock. Ty took scraps to Dog. The yellow Lab thumped his tail on the floor when he saw Ty. He was now half-sitting up, leaning against the wall, and looked a lot better than he had yesterday. Ty fed him scraps and rubbed his head for a long time. His wounds were healing and his fever hadn’t returned. As Ty stroked Dog, he spoke to him with a soft, reassuring voice. Dog looked up at him as though he understood every word his master was saying. Ty now felt sure Dog would survive the gunshot. When the table scraps were gone, he gently eased Dog’s paw out of his lap and fetched a pan of fresh water from the river.
After he’d taken care of Dog, Ty sat on the porch, trying to come up with a plan to get Sarah back. Sue Carol came out and played with some rocks and a small ball. She’d bounce the ball and pick up some of the rocks and then catch the ball before it hit the floor again. Sometimes she’d pick up one rock, sometimes she’d get more. Ty watched in silence. Every now and then, Sue Carol looked up at Ty and smiled. Ty saw the smile, but he also saw a lot of sadness in Sue Carol’s eyes, and he felt very sorry for her. He knew that without a pa, the whole Barrow family would have a hard time making it.
Ty heard the door shut behind him. He knew it was Mary Jane from the look Sue Carol cast toward the sound. He’d never had two women competing for his attention before, and he liked it, even though one of the women was only a girl. Ty decided he was cut out to be a family man. He knew he would be happy with a wife and children, and a steady job that didn’t require him to traipse over half the state of Texas, getting shot at.
“Hello, Mary Jane,” he said without looking up. “Come sit a spell.” He