These Sheltering Walls: A Cane River Romance by Hathaway Mary Jane

Author:Hathaway, Mary Jane [Hathaway, Mary Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gumbo Books
Published: 2015-06-04T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“The reason you will not say it is, when you say it, even to yourself,

you will know it is true.”

― William Faulkner

“I suppose your car is nice enough but nothing rides like a Caddy,” Bix said as they walked toward St. Augustine’s back yard. “Makes all those potholes just even out. Smooth as a new highway. Too bad I didn’t know you, then. I could have given it to you.”

Gideon smiled, imagining himself driving Bix’s enormous green Cadillac. That would have made keeping a low profile very difficult indeed.

“It’s hard to attract a nice lady with a little foreign car like that. You wouldn’t be havin’ any trouble gettin’ a wife if you had the Caddy,” Bix said.

He didn’t know what to say. Somehow he’d given the impression he was on the hunt for a wife.

Henry’s car was parked in the driveway and he wondered if Tom was peppering her with questions. He hadn’t told Tom that Henry liked her privacy. Now that they were feet away, he realized he hadn’t really told Tom anything at all. He ran a hand over his face and wished he could stop at the gate, sending Bix and Ruby on by themselves.

“Now, you just relax and let us handle everything, sha.” Ruby reached over and patted Gideon’s arm.

That’s what he was afraid of, but he didn’t say so. “I’m just not much of a talker, Miss Ruby,” he said. He could see a thin plume of steam and smelled spices in the air. Smoothing down the front of his shirt, Gideon rethought his plan to slip away. Maybe he’d stay for just a little while.

“Who needs talking when you’ve got that handsome face? You simply look over at her every so often and smile real big with those dimples you got. Don’t say a thing. She’ll be done for in no time,” Ruby said.

Gideon reached to open the little gate to the backyard. He could imagine Henry’s reaction if he grinned maniacally across the table without speaking a word.

“Girls don’t need smiles,” Bix said. “They like gifts. You can smile all ya like but if you don’t offer a little token now and then, you’re just a friend. I brought Ruby a rose every day for a week before she let me give her a kiss and it was two months before I even got to―”

“Yes, sir. I’ll keep that in mind,” Gideon interrupted. He could be wrong and maybe Bix had a perfectly normal ending to that sentence but he didn’t want to find out.

“I remember those roses,” Ruby said, linking her arm with Bix’s and giving him a kiss. “It was the sweetest thing anybody had ever done for me. My first husband wasn’t real romantic that way, bless his soul and may he rest in peace.”

They turned the corner and saw Henry and Tom by the pot. Tom was peering into a sack that probably held the crawfish and Henry was standing a little to the side, as if unsure whether to come toward them or stay put.

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