Satisfied she had done the best she could, she dabbed a little toilet water on her neck. Then, as an afterthought, she looped the blue beads Joe had brought her from St. Joseph around her neck.

It was hard for her to believe that she was dressing to go out alone with a man. This was her first date. What would Evan think if he knew that no boy or man had ever asked her out before?

Oh, Lord. Don’t let me make a fool of myself.

Chapter 14

A
FTER HE HAD FINISHED WORK FOR THE DAY
, Evan bathed in the tub of water he had drawn that morning and left sitting in the sun beside the new shed he was building. Walter, of course, had something derisive to say when he came by to see Evan immersed in the tub.

“What ya doin’ that fer? Goin’ to the Joneses or to see that stuck-up bitch at the Humphreys’?” When Evan ignored him, he continued, “Women ain’t carin’ if a man stinks as long as he’s got a good thick stick ’tween his legs.” He waited for Evan to say something. When he remained silent, Walter went on as if determined to get a rise out of him. “Bet yo’re goin’ to the Joneses. That’s where I’d go if I was cravin’ puss. Which one ya got yore eye on? Ya can have the old one. Leave that young one be.”

At that, Evan’s temper flared.

“You rotten old son-of-a-bitch! Touch one of those kids … any kid, and I’ll blow your damn brains out.”

“Haw, haw, haw! I’m thinkin’ ya ain’t got the guts to even try. Yore ma had more guts than ya got. She come at me more’n once with a stick a stove wood.” He grinned proudly.

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear her name coming from your filthy mouth.”

Walter walked on to the house, leaving Evan cursing under his breath. How much longer was he going to be able to stand the man? He had put up for sale the St. Joseph house his grandparents left him. He planned to offer Walter money for his interest in the farm and get rid of him. He hesitated about speaking about it, wanting to be sure that the old man was completely sober before he laid out the proposition.

Evan ate his supper, washed his dinner plate and put it back on the shelf behind the curtain. He had cooked a pot of green beans earlier in the day and, judging by the amount left in the pot, Walter had helped himself before he took off through the woods in the direction of the joints on the river at Well’s Point.

Evan made a real effort to put Walter out of his mind. Right now he wasn’t going to let anything interfere with his enjoyment of the evening with Julie.

* * *

Julie had hoped her father would be gone by the time she came downstairs. He stood at the kitchen sink, dampened his hair, carefully parted it in the middle and combed it back on each side. He had on his good trousers, the freshly ironed shirt and a bow tie.

“Thanks, Sis, for ironing my shirt … and don’t you look pretty,” he exclaimed when he turned to look at her.

“Thank you. I really shouldn’t leave the kids here by themselves.”

“Why not? They’ll be all right until Joe gets here. He said he would leave in time to get home before dark even if Jack stayed longer.”

“I know, but it makes me uneasy for them to be here alone.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. Go on and have a good time. You deserve it.” With his hand on the door, he turned. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be home.”

Julie nodded. She wanted him to be happy, but all she could see ahead for him was heartbreak if he had fallen in love with Birdie Stuart.

Jill was sitting in the porch swing with Joy and Jason when Evan’s car came up the lane. Julie was in the house trying to keep her nerves under control.

“Mr. Johnson’s here,” Jason shouted.

Evan stopped beside the front porch rather than at the back as he usually did. Joy ran to meet him as soon as he stepped from the car.

“Swing me, swing me,” she yelled.

“Hello, sugar bunch.” He reached for her hands and swung her around a few times.

“Jill said you’re takin’ Julie on a … on a—”

“I’m taking Julie out for a while. Is that all right with you?”

“Why can’t I go?”

“You can go another time. This is my time with Julie.” He held on to her hand as they stepped up onto the porch. “Hello, Jason, Jill.”

“Jill said she’d let you kiss her if you wanted to,” Joy blurted.

“Joy! Hush up!” Jill put her hands over her face to hide her embarrassment.

About to step out onto the porch, Julie stayed inside the screen door. Mortified, she closed her eyes.

“If I wanted to? A man would have to be out of his mind not to want to kiss a pretty girl like Jill.”

“Would he want to kiss me and Jason?” Joy asked.

“You, I’m sure.” Evan lifted the child up and kissed her on the cheek. “Men shake hands.” He gave Jason’s hand a manly shake.

“Are you going to kiss Julie?” Joy shouted.

Julie came out onto the porch. “That’s enough out of you, Joy,” she said sternly. Her face was red and her heart was pounding a mile a minute.

“Hello, Julie.” She was so pretty. It made Evan smile just to look at her.

“Evan, may I speak to you for a moment?”

“Sure,” he said slowly and followed her to the other side of the car, where she stopped and faced him. He had a moment of dread thinking that she was going to tell him she had changed her mind about going.

“I’m worried about leaving the kids here by themselves. Joe said that he’d be home before dark, but that’s a couple of hours away. Would you mind …ah …if we stayed here for a while?” She realized in her nervousness that she was talking too fast.

“Course not,” he said looking into her worried eyes.

Was it Walter she was afraid of? Had he told her that day on the road that he would come after Jill and Jason? Dear God! The man wasn’t worth the shot it would take to kill him.

“Thank you.” Julie felt a warm flood of relief.

“Are you afraid Walter will come here? He left home a couple of hours ago. He’ll be in one of the joints on the river by now.”

“I’d just rather not … leave them.”

“It’s all right. We’ll stay for a while. It’ll be too late to go to the picture show, but we can go out to Spring Lake for a while. We’ll go to the picture show another time.”

Julie’s heart leaped. The smile he gave her filled her with tenderness for this gentle man who was so understanding yet who had the misfortune to be the son of the man she most hated and feared. He reached down and took her hand when he saw the serious look on her face.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I know that Joy is … sometimes …a little pesky. We’ve all spoiled her a little.”

“Don’t apologize for Joy or any of the others. I’ve never been around a little girl, but aren’t they supposed to be spoiled a little? She’s a little scamp, all right, but bright as a new penny.” A smile spread across his lips. “She makes me feel”— he rubbed his chin while he thought of the right word—“special, as if she likes me.”

“Of course she likes you. That’s the problem. She likes you a lot. Not many men, other than the family, pay attention to her like you do.”

“I do it because I’m selfish. I like her attention, too. Julie, I understand your not wanting to leave them here alone. Why don’t we take them for a ride?”

“Oh … you don’t have to do that.” Julie’s hand went to her throat. He gently removed it and held both her hands in his.

“I want to. Don’t deprive me of the pleasure.” He pulled one of her hands into the crook of his arm and they stepped up onto the porch. “Is there anyone here who would like to go into town for an ice-cream cone?”

“Me,” Joy screeched and ran to grab Evan’s other hand.

“You mean it?” Jason slid out of the swing.

“That’s two of you. How about the pretty girl with the yellow hair ribbon?”

“Well …” Jill rolled her eyes as she stood. “I guess I’ll have to go along and look after the kids. It’s plain you’ve only got eyes for Julie.”

“Oh, Lord.” Julie thought she had muttered the words under her breath, but Evan heard them, looked down at her and smiled, then hugged her hand to his side with his arm.

Evan was acutely aware that when he was with the Jones family he was happy. Happier than he had been in a long, long time. He could toss caution to the wind when he was with them, say and do things he wouldn’t have thought of doing six months ago. The Joneses, from Julie to Joy, accepted him. He wasn’t sure yet about Jethro. It gave him a queer, quivery feeling around his heart when little Joy ran to him with her arms outstretched.

This is how it would be to belong to a family.

“You can’t go, Sidney,” Jason was saying sternly to the shaggy dog. “Stay here on the porch and don’t let anyone in the house while we’re gone.”

Sidney made a few whining sounds, then went to lie down on the porch beside the door.

Jill got into the back seat. Evan swung Joy in beside her, then stepped back, not wanting to embarrass Jason by offering help. He waited as the boy climbed into the car, then closed the door and opened the front one for Julie. With his hand beneath her elbow, he assisted her up into the car, making sure that her dress was tucked in before he closed the door.

“He is sooooo … nice,” Jill hissed as Evan made his way around the car.

“I like ’im,” Joy shouted.

Evan was smiling when he opened the door. “I hope it’s me you like.” He settled behind the wheel.

“I love ya.” Joy jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

“Joy, sit down.” Jill pulled the child away from Evan and down on the seat.

Julie darted a glance at Evan. He was smiling, beaming, as if someone had given him the world. His laughing eyes met Julie’s.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he muttered as he started the car.

Julie felt as if she were in a dream.
What could be better than this? Is this what it feels like when a woman meets a man she likes very much?
Evan Johnson was the last person she ever thought she would fall in love with.
Oh, Lord, why am I thinking these thoughts? He’s just being kind to the kids.

Julie and the kids waited in the car while Evan went into the drugstore. He came out with five ice-cream cones fitted into the round holes of a cardboard.

“Evan, they’ll mess up the car,” Julie exclaimed.

“Hold the cones. We’ll go to the ball park and see how Jack is doing. The kids can get out there.”

Julie laughed. “Hurry, or I’ll have a lap full of melted ice cream.”

The kids poured out of the car the instant Evan stopped a short distance behind home plate. The cones were passed around and all were licking happily when Joe approached.

“What have we here? Is this one for me?” He attempted to take the cone from Joy. She shrieked and ran. “I’m sure Jack has made the team,” he said excitedly. “He’s hit two home runs Scott Graham’s nose is out of joint. He objected to Jack playing because he isn’t a town boy.”

“Wesley Philpot is playing. He lives down south of town along the river.” Julie leaned over so that the melting ice cream didn’t fall on her dress. She looked up to see Evan watching her lick the cream from her lips and dab them with her handkerchief.

“They’ll not pay any attention to Graham.” Joe’s eyes were busy going from Evan to his sister. “He’s a lousy player, and they’re wanting to make a halfway decent showing at the game. He can’t throw a ball past third base and will lose his catching position to Jack. Hey, I thought you two were going to the picture show.”

“Another time,” Evan said, glancing at Julie. “We’ll drive out to Spring Lake after we take you and the kids home.”

“Hey, I’ll like that. I wasn’t looking forward to that uphill walk.”

“Look! Jack’s goin’ to bat.” Jason was so excited he forgot to lick his cone and melting ice cream was running down over his fist. “Hit it, Jack. Hit a homer.”