Blue Bonnet (10 page)

Mrs. Wagaman turned to look in the
pigeon hole with his name over it. “Yes, there is.” She fished out
two letters and handed them to Bat.

“Much obliged, Ma'am,” he
said.

With his eyes on the saloon across
the street, Bat stalked out of the store without looking either
way. Then he had a sudden thought about Tessie's cranky
disposition. His girls were punctual about eating at six o'clock.
They had a rule about being clean. They didn't like him coming to
the table, smelling like cows. Tessie didn't want him sitting on
her good chairs with half the ranch dust still on him. He reckoned
it wasn't fair to the girls to let their supper get cold. As late
as it was, he better get home in a hurry and take a bath before
supper.

Bat turned sharply and collided
with Leta Mays coming past the mercantile. He hit her hard enough
he had to grab her by the shoulders to keep her from falling over
backward. The impact knocked a brown wrapped package out of her
hands. It sailed into the air and ended up in the street near one
of his horses. The horse whinnied in surprise and danced sideways.
One hoof penned the package to the street.

“I am so sorry, Miss Leta. I
shouldn't be in such a hurry. I've got to start lookin' where I'm
headed when I come out of a store like that,” Bat
apologized.

“That's quite all right. I'm
afraid I was in a big rush, too. I needed to make a dress delivery
before I go home for the night. Where did that package go?” She
looked around the boardwalk and spotted the package on the edge of
the street under the horse's hoof. “Oh dear, there it
is.”

“I'll get it for ya.” Bat raised
the horse's leg and picked up the package. “I hope there's no
damage to the dress. If there is, I'll pay for a new one to replace
this dress since this was all my fault,” Bat insisted. He brushed
the package off and placed it in Leta's hands.

“I'm sure the dress is fine. Thank
goodness, I had it wrapped in paper. That kept it from getting
dirty. Well, I should let you get to whatever it was you were in a
hurry to do,” Leta said, starting around him.

“Nothing real important. I was
just headed home to clean up before I sit down to eat with my
girls. Been out on the ranch for the last three weeks and got as
grubby as my old cows. Reckon I should warn ya to stand down wind
of me,” Bat said, chuckling.

Leta laughed. “So that's why I
haven't seen you around. I thought maybe you still might be at your
daughters recuperating. I heard you had an accident.”

“Yes, ma'am. I mean, Miss Leta. I
mean, Leta,” Bat stammered, removing his hat. “Just saw Doc. He
says I'm just about as good as new now. Ya want to go to church
with me and Billie this Sunday?”

“All right. How about I fix a
picnic for after the service,” Leta said with pleasant excitement
in her voice. “It's been a long time since I've been away from
town, and I do love rides in the country.” She looked up at the
blue, cloudless sky.” This certainly is a nice time of year to have
a picnic before summer days get too hot. Don't you
agree?”

“I agree. That should suit Billie
fine, too. She won't have to cook for once. We can use Billie's
buggy. How about goin' to Rector’s Grove and picnic by Rector's
Creek north of town? Always cool in the shade of the cottonwood
trees near the runnin” water,” Bat planned.

“I think that would be a fine
idea. See you Sunday.” Leta walked briskly across the
street.

By the time Bat climbed into the
buckboard and started down the street to the livery stable, he saw
Leta going into Billie's house. That dress must have been his
sister's order.

Sunday morning when Bat picked up
Leta, she came out of her house carrying a wicker picnic basket. He
took the basket from her and put it behind the seat, before he
helped Leta into the buggy.

Bat pulled over and stopped in
front of Billie's house. The buggy rocked as he jumped out in a
hurry. He walked briskly up the front steps and knocked on the
door.

The breeze caused a piece of paper
to flap in front of his nose. It was tacked to the door. Bat put a
finger out to pen the note to the door so he could read it. “I've
walked to church this morning with your girls. We had something to
discuss. See you there.”

He hated knowing his sister and
daughters were conferring about something and keeping him in the
dark. More than likely, they were conspiring to find him a woman to
marry before word got out that he'd ordered a bonnet without a
woman to give it to. They feared if the eligible women in town knew
he had done something so far fetched they wouldn't come near
him.

When Bat came back to the buggy,
Leta asked, “Is something wrong? Why didn't Billie answer her
door?”

Bat tried to look as though he
wasn't too bothered. “Billie left a note on the door. Guess she
walked to church with my two girls so they could talk about
something. I have no idea what the three of them are cooking up.
Now that worries me.”

Leta laughed as he clicked to the
horse and flipped the lines. “Is your birthday coming
up?”

“Nope,” Bat said. “ Why did ya
ask?”

“You really shouldn't worry. I
just thought maybe they might be planning you a surprise birthday
party,” Leta said.

“Nope, can't be that,” Bat said,
puzzling over the sudden togetherness between Billie and the
girls.

When Bat and Leta walked down the
aisle between the pews at church, all the old gossips in town
gawked at them and a few whispered to each other.

Bat was glad to see Billie had at
least thought to leave a space for Leta and him to sit by her. He'd
hate to think they would get stuck sitting by Mrs. Petermier or one
of the other old women.

Billie glanced up and smiled a
greeting at both of them. Bat slid in next to his sister with Leta
beside him. Billie winked at him. Puzzled, he returned the wink. He
didn’t have any idea what she found amusing enough to wink about
it.

He noticed his daughters took
turns, leaning past Billie so they could stare at Leta. Why should
they be so curious about the seamstress all of a sudden? She wasn't
a stranger in town. They knew Leta well. She did a lot of sewing
for Tessie and Ethel.

The girls took turns smiling at
him. That made him wonder what on earth did those two figured he
had in mind besides a picnic?

Before he left the house, Bat had
told his daughters Leta was going to church with him and on a
picnic later with him and Billie. He whispered in Billie's ear
about going on the picnic. Leta had fixed enough food for all three
of them. For once she wouldn't have to fix Sunday
dinner.

After they filed passed the
preacher, Bat asked Billie if she was ready to go on the picnic or
did she need to stop by home first?

Billie laughed like he'd said
something really funny. When Bat looked confused, she said, “I'm
afraid you two will have to enjoy the picnic without me. I already
told your girls I'd eat dinner with them today.” Billie rushed
after his two daughters as she called, “Wait up, Ethel and Tessie.
Let me walk with you.”

“How do ya like that now? Those
three are completely leaving us out of their Sunday.” Bat didn't
like the three women in his life not including him.

Leta slipped her arm in the crook
of Bat's arm and patted his hand to get his attention. “Oh well, we
might as well take off and enjoy our picnic. We'll have fun by
ourselves.”

“But that wasn't nice of Billie to
take off with the girls when ya had enough food fixed for her,
too,” Bat complained.

“I don't know about you, but I'm
hungry. Between the two of us, I'll bet we can eat Billie's share.
I hope you like the food I packed in the basket.”

“I will. I've never been
particular when it comes to eatin',” Bat assured her as he helped
her into the buggy.

As they left the city limits, Leta
stifled a giggle.

“What's so funny?” Bat
asked.

“Nothing funny really. Truthfully,
I'm afraid that was a nervous giggle. It feels strange for me to go
on a picnic alone with a man. I haven't dated in years until we
went out to eat at the hotel.” She studied his face for a reaction.
“That is if you called us eating at the hotel a date.”

“I reckon that was exactly what it
was,” Bat agreed. He'd always defended the meal in public with Leta
as a business lunch, but now didn't seem to be the time to split
hairs with her when Leta looked so happy.

It appeared that Leta did enjoy
his company even though there wasn't any chance of more than just a
friendship between them. Bat wondered if the seamstress had any
idea how old he was. If she asked Billie, his sister would have
told her right out that he was about ten years her senior. He
imagine Billie defended the age difference with the fact Bat was in
good health with a lot of energy. Of course, he figured Leta could
see that much for herself.

When Bat noticed Leta watched him
closer than she did the scenery, he asked, “Do I have the eggs from
breakfast running down my chin yet?”

Leta's laughter was a joy for him
to hear. “No, I was just studying you.”

“So what do you see?”

“A handsome man with a strong jaw
line and chiseled chin with a dimple. Your face and hands are brown
from exposure to the sun. Your eyes are soft hazel and always alert
when we are together.

Sometimes, I think it might be
you're nervous about being with me. You're not used to courting a
woman anymore than I am going on a picnic with a man. I feel like
you watch me to make sure you said the right things, because you
aren't quite sure, and you do want to please me.”

Leta stopped talking and waited
for him to speak. “You sure hit that nail on the head. I have two
left feet and both of them are in my mouth most of the time. Ya
might see I'm right if you're around me long enough,” Bat joked.
“Fact is, I do want to please ya.”

“Well, believe it or not, I feel
the same nervous way you do when I'm with you. How about we give up
being uneasy around each other, and just be ourselves to see how
that goes over,” Leta suggested.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,”
Bat agreed, smiling from ear to ear.

Chapter Ten

The sun drenched day and the
peaceful grove were perfect for a picnic. Leta’s large, white straw
hat brim curled in the gentle breeze, hiding the row of miniature
pink roses nestled against the crown, as she spread a quilt on the
grass. Bat set the basket down on the quilt which helped hold a
corner down. He tossed his cowboy hat in the grass near the quilt
and knelt down to sit beside her.

Leta chattered away as she laid
out fried chicken, baked beans, boiled eggs and two slices of apple
pie. Bat watched her, not really paying attention to what she said.
Instead, his thoughts were on how pretty she looked in her pink
dress with white lace trim, and how comfortable she had made him
feel with that speech of hers in the buggy.

They enjoyed the lunch and got to
know each other better. When Bat helped Leta out of the buggy at
home later that afternoon, she said as an after thought, “Oh, have
you changed your mind about buying that bonnet you
ordered?”

“Nope, what made ya ask a thing
like that?” The question caught Bat off guard.

“For awhile you were regular about
checking to see how much I'd done to the bonnet. Lately, you
haven't mentioned it. It's all right if you've changed your mind.
I'd find someone to buy it,” Leta said evenly.

“I reckon I've been busy lately.
The bonnet did slip my mind. Now that ya brought it up, how are ya
comin' with it?” Bat asked.

“I should have it done Wednesday
if you’d like to stop by the shop to check,” Leta said in a
business like tone.

“I’ll do that,” Bat said. “I'll
see ya Wednesday afternoon after I get back from the
ranch.”

An unexplainable sadness washed
through Bat as he watched Leta walk through her picket fence gate
and enter her house.

As Wednesday crept closer, he
stayed down in the dumps. He couldn't figure out what was wrong
with him. On Tuesday afternoon, he decided maybe he should go back
to Dead Horse and talk to Billie. She could straighten him
out.

“Come in,” his
sister called when he knocked on her door.

“Ya always tell people to come in
when ya don't know who it is?” Bat complained.

Billie raised an eyebrow,
cautioning him to take it easy. “Of course not, but for some
reason, I've been expecting you.”

Bat snorted. “Oh, now you're
turning into one of them fortune tellers.”

“No, I happened to see you coming
across the street in this direction. The way my gate creaks I
always know when someone is headed to my door,” Billie explained.
“So are you going to tell me why you're so out of sorts, or are you
going to grump around here making me guess?”

“I just don't know what to do.
Leta has the bonnet done,” he said, tapping his fingers on the
table as Billie poured his coffee.