Texas rich (32 page)

"Now, Billie, love, don't look at me that way. Why would you want to stay here? I don't know when I'll be getting back and you do have our daughter to think about. I can't leave you all alone here in Hawaii. It just isn't possible. I'd never have a minute's rest!"

Billie sank into Moss's arms, too shocked for tears. "I've got to know where you're going. I've got to know when I'll see you again."

"Chin up, Billie. You knew this would happen. Pap knew it, too, when he sent you out here. It's out of my hands. Come here," he said softly. He tucked his chin on the top of her head so she wouldn't see the lies in his eyes. The Big E was still in dock.

Billie melted into his embrace. With her head against his chest, she could hear the wild thumping of his heart. She had to be brave; it was the least she could do for the man she loved, who was about to go off again to war.

Moss's hands trembled slightly as he caressed Billie's soft golden hair. She smelled so good, felt so good. He was a cad for what he was doing and he knew it. But hell, he was making a sacrifice, too! "Honey, I have to go. Take care of yourself and write to me. Every day, long letters. Tell me about Maggie and what's going on at Sunbridge. It makes me feel so close to you. Give my love to Pap and Mam. Tell them I'll write."

"Moss, I love you so much. I can't bear this.

He placed a fmger against her quivering lips. "Shhh. Smile, Billie. Smile for me—it's how I want to remember you."

Billie felt beaten and bruised Would she ever be whole

again? She helped him pack his ditty bag and saw him out to the Jeep. "I love you. Moss," she told him, leaning into his embrace.

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"I know you do, honey. I know you do." The following afternoon, Billie Coleman left Hawaii. She was pregnant with her second child.

Billie was welcomed back to Sunbridge by an aroused household in nightclothes. Too tired to respond in detail to questions, Billie issued a terse report on Moss and his well-being to her mother and Seth, then headed straight for her room. They were just going to have to wait until she felt up to the lengthy discussion they wanted. For now she wanted to see her daughter, to hold her and feel the soft downy head against her cheek. And then she wanted to sleep. For as long as possible.

"What the hell was that all about, Aggie?" Seth demanded. Agnes tried to hide her amusement at Seth's sleeping attire. She hadn't known they still made nightshirts these days. Red flannel, and with the seam split over his rump. She was going to have to speak to Tita about that. "Doesn't the girl know I've been waiting all day like a heifer in a mud slide for news of my son?"

"She gave you the highlights, Seth. She's tired. It's possible that our objective has been accomplished and Billie is feeling it even at this early stage. Patience. Tomorrow is another day. Moss is well and that's what is important. Go to bed now and we'll talk in the morning."

Dismissed. By God, Aggie was dismissing him like a kid. Seth bristled, but one look at Agnes's eyes told him he would get no further. Honey always worked better than vinegar, or so Agnes was fond of telling him.

Billie tiptoed down the long hallway to the nursery. The nurse was up from her narrow bed along the wall immediately. She brushed back her gray hair and sighed when she saw Billie. A weary smile crossed Billie's face when she peered down at the sleeping baby. She looked like Moss. At least she had his nose. Billie's chin, but Moss's nose.

A long arm shot out when Billie bent to pick up the sleeping baby. Billie straightened and locked eyes with the woman. "Go back to sleep, Nurse. I'm going to pick up my daughter and hold her. And then I'm going to sit in your rocking chair and rock her. If you don't like what I'm about to do, I suggest you pack your bags and leave now. The chauffeur is probably still awake because he just drove me here from the airport. Decide now. I'm very tired and I want to hold my baby."

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"This is not good for the baby. She's colicky and needs her sleep. I never allow my charges to be awakened in the middle of the night." Her words were firmly said,'but her eyes looked away first and her step was slow when she waddled back to the nursery bed. She had never been discharged from a position yet. This, she thought, was no time to start.

The downy head was soft against Billie's cheek. How sweet and clean Maggie smelled. How good she felt. It was almost as good as holding Moss next to her in a warm bed. Maggie squirmed and let out a large belch. "Just like your daddy." Billie smiled as she carried the sleeping baby to the rocking chair.

Billie rocked the old chair gently as she murmured an account of her trip to the islands to the sleeping baby. An hour later, when she could barely hold her eyes open, Bilhe nuzzled her face in the baby's neck, reveUng in the scent and feel. Her own flesh and blood. Hers and Moss's.

Billie stood over the crib a good five minutes watching the sleeping child. Then she walked over to the nurse's bed. "Maggie is fine. She burped once, very loud, as a matter of fact. I didn't smother her. I didn't fall asleep while I rocked her. She's in a sound sleep and will no doubt sleep through the night. Good night."

"I'm going to have to speak to Mr. Coleman about this, Mrs. Coleman. He placed me in sole charge of Maggie."

Billie spun around and walked back to the bed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Miss Jenkins. Not if you want to continue to work here. The choice, however, is entirely up to you."

The nurse stared at Billie. Secretly she wanted to applaud the young mother. Hawaii must have been good for her. Maybe she'd give that old man a run for his money yet. She nodded.

Billie dragged herself back to her room and stripped off her clothes. Too tired to look for a nightgown, she slipped beneath the sheets naked. She was used to sleeping "in the buff," as Moss called it. In fact, she rather liked the satiny feel of the sheets against her skin. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The inquisition began over the dinner table the following evening.

"How did the boy look? Is he all right? Where is he now? You should have stayed longer. Don't tell me you came back because of Maggie."

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Billie stared across the width of the table at her father-in-law. "Moss is fine. He looks wonderful. I don't know where he is. The navy didn't confide in me. Thad is with him. So are the others."

"What did you do while he was off duty? My God, girl, don't you understand I want to know everything about my son?"

Billie scooped out the soft mush of her baked potato, added a glob of sour cream, and then stirred it into a thick paste. Not because she wanted to eat it, but just to have something to do with her hands. "We talked about Maggie a lot. We took long walks on the beach. We went swimming early in the morning and late at night. When Moss was restricted, Thad Kingsley took me sight-seeing. I didn't have all that much time with Moss. In fact, if you want, 1 could total up the hours. I doubt that they would come to a full week."

Agnes broke a piece of bread and then crumbled it in her fingers. She had never heard such a resentful tone in "her daughter's voice. She glanced at Seth.

Seth pierced his daughter-in-law with his bright gaze. "Why did Kingsley have to take you sight-seeing? Why didn't Moss take you? I know he doesn't like that piss-assed business, but it was your first visit. Just how thick are those two?"

"I told you, Seth, Moss was restricted. Thad was good enough to take me around to see the sights. Moss asked him to do it. He's very nice. He's Moss's best friend. They depend on each other."

"How was the barbecue?"

"The barbecue was a huge success. Practically everyone was there. Officers and their wives, some enlisted men, and a few Hawaiian civilians who worked on the base. Thad took pictures and Moss said he was going to send the film on to you to have developed. It lasted till three in the morning. A crew from the mess took the leftover beef back to the base. I think they made hash out of it. At least that's what Thad said."

"Did he send a letter? Did he give you a message for me?" Seth demanded. Billie stared into Seth's bright, hopeful gaze.

"He said to tell you he loved you and Mam very much and his next meatball was for you."

Agnes laid down her fork and reached for her water glass. Her eyes met Billie's. She recognized the lie and nodded approvingly. Billie's shoulders squared imperceptibly at the satisfied look on her father-in-law's face.

Billie excused herself and left the table. She wanted to spend

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some time with Jessica. The brief hour after luncheon hardly counted. She'd been appalled at the change in her mother-in-law on her return. Feeble was the only word she could come up with. Billie knew little or nothing about it, but she could sense that Jessica was dying. There was a lost look in the sunken, hollow eyes and a vagueness to her words that made Billie ache.

Jessica was napping, her rosary clutched in her hand. Prayer seemed to give her comfort even if she got the words mixed up. He knew what she was saying and thinking. He understood.

Billie stood at the window looking out at an arthritic-looking oak on the lawn. It was older than Jessica and would live many more years, dutifully giving shade in the summer and firewood when the limbs were trimmed. What more could a person ask of a tree? And what was expected from this frail creature in her high-necked dimity nightdress? Nothing. Her life was over. Dutiful fifteen-minute visits by Agnes and Seth. And the nurse, at Billie's firm-eyed insistence, would bring the baby every day.

Jessica woke just as Billie turned around. She smiled. "How are you, Billie? Did I fall asleep again? Lately I can't seem to stay awake. Forgive me, child. Please, sit down and tell me more about your trip. Would you mind terribly starting from the beginning? I fear I forgot most of what you told me earlier. But Billie, before you start, did you send off my letter to Amelia?"

"Yes, I did. I posted it right after lunch. Get comfortable and I'll tell you everything, right down to the beautiful monkeypod tree in the yard." Billie settled herself comfortably in a high wingback chair. An hour into her monologue Jessica's eyelids closed. Billie continued to speak for a few more minutes. Then, satisfied that Maggie's grandmother was soundly sleeping, Billie tiptoed about the room, turning off the lamps. She tilted the lamp shade on the night table so the light wouldn't bother Jessica and bent over to kiss the dry, wrinkled cheek.

Billie closed the door and went across the hall to her own room, thinking about the letter to Amelia she had included with Jessica's. After three pages of doings in Sunbridge and news of her father and Moss, Billie had thrown caution to the winds and written that, in her opinion, Jessica was dying. "If there's any way," Billie had written, "please try to come home. We all understand the war is making things impossible, but if need

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be I'm sure that your father will intervene and help you." She had signed it "Billie."

Billie woke slowly and knew there was something wrong. It was early in the morning, a month to the day after her return from Hawaii. It took barely two minutes for her sleep-filled brain to register that she was going to be sick. She bolted from the bed and raced for the bathroom. Her knuckles were as white as the rim of the basin she was gripping.

Agnes and Seth, on their way down the hall to a sunrise breakfast, heard the sounds from Billie's half-opened door. Their eyes locked, but neither missed a step.

Billie looked at her wretched reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her face was the color of a week-old mushroom. When she fell back against the pillows, she knew she didn't need a calendar to tell her what was wrong. She was pregnant. Somehow she had known. It must have happened the day Moss had been late back to the base.

Billie buried her face in the pillow and wept. Eight more months of misery. "Oh, Moss," she cried.

It was midmoming when Billie made her first attempt to get up. Her head reeled sickeningly. She swallowed hard and managed to get to her feet. By the time she had showered and dressed, she felt slightly better. Some tea and toast would help and then she would place a call to the doctor. He was going to be shocked that she'd ignored his advice. And right now she wished she had paid more attention.

When Billie's feet touched the bottom of the steps she looked up to see her mother walking across the wide central hallway. She was alone, which was odd because lately she and Seth were like each other's shadow. "Where's Seth?" she blurted.

"Out riding—why do you ask?" Agnes said sharply.

"No reason. Mother, join me for some tea. I want to talk to you. If you aren't too busy, that is."

"My, aren't we feisty this morning. Are you all right, Billie? Is there something bothering you? Can I help?"

Her mother's solicitousness prompted Billie to link arms with her. It had been a long time since there had been any closeness between the two of them. Since before she met Moss.

The tea was warm and spicy. Agnes stirred sugar into her cup and waited expectantly. "It's about Jessica, Mother. I'm sure you roust know she doesn't have long. Will you ask Seth

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to see if he can get Amelia back home? I wrote to her but haven't heard anything. It could be months before she ever gets my letter and Jessica doesn't have months, Mother. Seth has powerful friends. It will be awful if Amelia doesn't get here in time."

Agnes felt confused. This wasn't what she'd expected to hear. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. Surely Jessica wasn't as bad off as Billie thought. Seth didn't seem overly concerned. "Darling," she said, "Jessica is ailing but she's nowhere near the end. The doctor's been most encouraging lately. I admit Jessica had a setback after you left for Hawaii, but she's on the mend now. If I do as you ask, Seth will think we're busybodies—he won't thank us; I can tell you that."

Billie's back stiffened. "Does that mean you won't speak to him?" Agnes nodded. "Then I'll speak to him myself."

"Billie, do you have any idea of what you're asking? We're at war. England is an exploding powderkeg. I doubt very much anyone can come home to the States now."