Help Wanted: WIFE (Santa Rita Series) Read Free Page B

she licks like that, it means she likes you. Hear her purring? She’s happy.”
    Cole shook his head. “Biggest damn cat in the county, I guess. Big as a bobcat.” He picked up his hat. “Just came in to say I appreciate the dinner. It was real good. The others have gone along, and I’ve got to get back out there. Rain last night washed a half dozen fence posts loose, and the fence is hanging down. We’ll all be in for supper ’long about dark-thirty. That fish sounds like a good idea.”
    The afternoon was gone before Cherilyn knew it, and the men appeared for supper just after dark. Davis, generally silent and distant, offered to “put the kitchen to rights” after dinner and co-opted Nate into helping. At Cole’s invitation, Cherilyn took a tall glass of sweet tea and joined him on the porch to admire the full moon rising above the hills.
    “I can’t believe your brother took over kitchen duty tonight. He’s so quiet you forget he’s around. It was thoughtful of him.”
    Cole settled on the wide porch rail and leaned against the corner post. “Davis doesn’t talk much, never did, and he’s been even quieter since Sylvie died, but he’s good to have on your side. Always sees more than he appears to. I think he saw you were maybe a little wrung out from the day.”
    “No, it was a good day. I won’t have any trouble sleeping, but it’s a good kind of tired.”
    A little way down the hill Cherilyn could see Uncle Abe coming toward them. “Maybe your uncle would like to sit out here and have a glass of tea with us. Should I get one for him?”
    Sitting back in the shadows, Cole’s expression was hidden, but his quiet chuckle rippled across the porch. “Abe will be heading up to his room as soon as he can get there. The moon’s got a red face tonight, and he’ll be wanting to get inside away from it. That’s about the most superstitious man ever lived, Cherry. Anything different, out of the ordinary, gets him going about things being ‘unnatural.’ He’ll have a string of reasons why doom and gloom are at hand.”
    “And he really believes in dark omens and the portent of disaster?”
    “To the depths of his heart.”
    In a few moments Cherilyn witnessed for herself the old man’s conviction. He was complaining of the “blood moon” as he reached the porch. “No good comes of anything that unnatural. Don’t think I ever saw it so dadgummed red, not in my whole life. Not sure what it means, but it’s a real bad sign. And I saw an owl out today, right in the middle of the morning. Always bad to see a night creature out in the daylight. No, I’m telling you, it’s a storm warning or sign of terrible things ahead. No two ways about it.” And still voicing concern and predicting catastrophe, Abe Witherspoon made his way inside and up the stairs to his attic room.
    “Folk magic and handed-down superstition.” Cherilyn respected the old man enough not to contradict him, though she hid a smile at his dire predictions.
    A quiet spell fell between them as Cole kept his perch on the weathered railing, and Cherilyn rocked slowly in the creaking glider.
    “You thought anymore about taking that bus back home in a couple of days?” Cole’s question took her by surprise. She’d hoped to postpone any discussion of the pending decision. “I mean, you haven’t come to a definite answer yet, have you?”
    “No, not definite , exactly.”
    “Reason I ask is I thought maybe you’d put off deciding about making the trip back for a few more days. Maybe see a little more of the country around here, go into town, meet some folks, especially some of the ladies, before you make plans.” He shifted as if suddenly uncomfortable. “It’s, well, it’s just that there’s a dance in town this Saturday night. A dance to raise some money for the school. You being a schoolteacher, I reckon you know how important those things are. Ladies bring a pie or cake for the auction, menfolk buy a ticket to the dance,