Authors: Annie Jones
Wendy giggled.
“
Very funny. Ha. Ha.
”
Her sarcasm could not conceal the twinkle in her eye or the way her lovely lips lifted in a faint smile. Her heels clipped briskly as she headed down the sidewalk.
“
Instead of trying to steal my company away from me, why don
’
t you go and open yourself up one of those comedy clubs?
”
With Wendy swinging her hand in his, they kept a few steps behind her even if he knew he was already a step ahead of whatever she had in mind.
“
Maybe I
’
ll ask the realtor we
’
re meeting with later today to see if there
’
s anything like that available. As a possible sideline to my other interests here.
”
She slowed but did not stop or look back.
“
You have a meeting with a realtor?
”
He kept moving until only a few inches separated them.
“
She had some houses lined up for me to see today and more when I come back over in the morning.
”
She straightened her shoulders, her head turned just enough that the a stray curl fell against his chest.
“
Well, do yourself a favor, won
’
t you?
”
“
What
’
s that?
”
he practically whispered.
“
Don
’
t put down a deposit.
”
She looked back at him at last, smiling like a cat full of cream. She touched Wendy on the nose, mouthed a good-bye, turned on her heel and headed off across the middle of the street without so much as a glance to see if any cars were coming.
“
She
’
s mighty pretty, isn
’
t she, Daddy?
”
Wendy gave his hand a squeeze, her entire face alight with innocence and excitement.
“
She
’
s mighty something, Wendy-girl.
”
Mighty annoying, mighty confusing, mighty sure of herself, all sprang to mind. And mighty likely to get past his defenses and under his skin if he didn
’
t watch out.
“
Yes, ma
’
am, she
’
s mighty something. I just haven
’
t quite figured out what, yet.
”
* * *
“
What am I going to do?
”
Every last bit of Dixie
’
s cultivated poise crumbled as she collapsed into the overstuffed chair next to Miss Lettie
’
s rocker.
“
Do? I thought we were going to write some more on this story book you
’
re making for my birthday.
”
Lettie rocked slowly She patted her spindly leg with one hand, in a beat at odds with her rhythmic swaying back and forth with her chair.
The sight of that action, combined with the constant, heavy throbbing in Dixie
’
s temples, created a deep, whirling tide in her stomach that did not help her regain her focus. She shut her
eyes to blot out anything but her thoughts. Those alone provided enough turmoil for her at present.
Her attempts to locate Greenhow had only added to the frustration set off in her by Riley Walker. And put her even further behind in her regular work schedule. She
’
d still be at the office now if she hadn
’
t felt the pull of her responsibilities at home. Dinner had to be fixed, Grandpa and Aunt Sis checked up on, and Dixie had promised Miss Lettie they
’
d get back to writing her life
’
s story starting tonight.
“
Miss Lettie, do you mind if we put off working on the book for one more night?
”
“
Heaven
’
s no!
”
She waved her hand as if to shoo the very notion of the thing away.
“
It
’
s your creation, Dixie Belle, not mine.
”
“
But it
’
s supposed to be yours. Your story.
“
The antique mantel clock ticked off a few seconds before Dixie pressed on.
“
So far most of what you
’
ve told me has been about my family and their lives and very little about your own.
”
“
Lands, I did tell you, now didn
’
t I, how I come to live here in Fulton
’
s Dominion, in the household of Mr. Samuel Prescott Fulton, all the way from my home in New Orleans when I was barely twenty-one years old?
”
“
You told me about how my great- grandparents came to bring you here, yes. About how they had lost their two boys before the age of five, so that when their daughter was born, they decided to bring someone in to care for her because Eugenia Fulton no longer had the strength or heart to do it.
”
“
And that someone was me.
”
Lettie touched her fingers to the top button of her favorite blue and white housecoat.
“
Hand chosen by Founder Fulton himself.
”
Very few people alive still referred to her great-grandfather as
Founder Fulton
, and the old nickname made Dixie smile just a bit.
“
His putting his faith in me, trusting me with the raising of his child, bringing me into the house to live among the family and not off in a servant
’
s quarters...well, a young person like you can
’
t know what a meaningful gesture that was for the time. You come from good people, Dixie Belle, and you should know that.
”
“
I do know. What I had hoped is that in helping me put together this account, I
’
d discover more about you.
”
Dixie almost added
and your family
, but Lettie seldom discussed her own kin unless she brought it up herself.
“
I thought you
’
d tell me how it felt to leave New Orleans, and what kinds of things you enjoyed doing as a young woman in Fulton
’
s Dominion. Or even what it was that Founder Fulton saw in you that made him
hand choose
you?
”
An enigmatic smile crept across those old, thin lips, a distant sense of wistfulness shone in those still-expressive eyes. Lettie stopped her rocking and sat up just a little straighter.
“
Perhaps in time, Dixie Belle, in time. When we
’
re both of us ready.
”
“
I
’
d ask you what you meant by that but I think I
’
d have better luck asking Peachie Too to perform an opera for me.
”
Lettie cackled.
“
Lah, can
’
t you just see that disagreeable fur-ball running hither and yon all over some stage a yappin
’
and a snappin
’
at the plump ol
’
behinds of them bellowing opera folks?
”
“
Laugh and change the subject all you want tonight, but I
’
m warning you, Miss Lettie, it
’
s less than four months
‘
til your birthday. Sometime between now and then, I
’
d like to capture in this journal at least some of your thoughts and memories, the lessons you
’
ve learned in a hundred years of living.
”
“
Then let
’
s just leave the book as it is, lamb. Blank. That pretty much sums up what old
Lettie has learned in her time on earth.
”
Another raspy laugh crackled up from her narrow chest.
“
That
’
s not true, Lettie.
”
“
The older I gets the more I know it
is
true. The longer I live, the more I learn how little I do know.
”
“
You know about people, Miss Lettie.
”
Dixie rose and bent to give Lettie a hug, ever mindful of how fragile the tiny powerhouse had grown.
“
You know about love and joy, and how to laugh and make other people laugh too, and you know how to sing and praise the Lord. That
’
s not nothing.
”
“
But it
’
s not the kind of thing you can set down in a book, either. Seems most the lessons I
’
ve learned have to get passed along from one heart to another. And far as that goes, I think I
’
ve already done my job with you, pretty much.
”
“
Don
’
t you believe it; I still have plenty to learn from you.
”
She gave the old dear a kiss on the cheek then strolled over to the window. She stared out at the small world of South Dominion Street through the intricate lace of imported sheers beneath the half-century-old portieres.
“
But days like this it does seem the only way life wants to teach me anything at all is for me to learn it the hard way.
”
Lettie snorted out her opinion of that assessment then set to rocking again at a snail
’
s pace.
“
Things can
’
t hardly be that bad for a smart young thing like you.
”
“
Bad? Maybe not.
”
Dixie folded her hands together.
“
I mean, I have so much, it is a bit ridiculous for me to moan and groan about how
bad
things are.
”
“
See, you
are
learning.
”
That picked Dixie
’
s spirits up, a little.
”
The thing is, everything is so crazy and now there
’
s this... this...this...
man
!
”
“
Ahhhh.
”
“
No! No ahhhh. This man...it
’
s not like that, it will never be like that. This is a business problem kind of man. A man who has seized the opportunity of Daddy
’
s death to move in on our companies like some vulture.
”
Dixie gulped down some air, trying to rid herself of that shallow, breathless quality her hurried denial had taken on.
“
Oh, sure, he has a smile that makes your knees go weak as water and a way about him that makes you want to believe every dream you see shining in his eyes.
”
Lettie
’
s soft humming jerked her back from her reverie.
“
But I won
’
t be taken in by that.
”
She pounded her fist into her open palm to illustrate her resolve.
“
Riley Walker may be wonderful to look at, he may have shoulders like a bear, but I suspect he
’
d be just as dangerous to tangle with.
”
“
He still sounds like a fine, handsome man.
”
The quiet rocking went on like a steady, constant heartbeat.
“
He is a handsome man, I
’
ll admit that. But fine? Not in the ways that count.
”
An image of Riley lifting Wendy up in his arms flashed in Dixie
’
s mind. For a moment, she felt a pang of remorse over her harsh and hasty judgment.
“
You know he had the nerve to try to tell me that Daddy had wanted him to go into business with him for
my
sake?
”
“
Oh, he did?
”
“
Don
’
t say it like that.
”
“
Like what?
”
Lettie blinked in big-eyed innocence.