Small Town Girl

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The week waned. Casey came over every day after school but Tess avoided Kenny and the backyard when she knew he was around. She helped Mary with her physical therapy and they seemed to argue about everything. Burt called on Friday from Omaha. Southern Smoke had played Stillwater, Oklahoma, Wichita, Kansas, and would end up back in Nashville the same week Tess returned. The two of them set a date at the Stockyard Cafe on Tuesday of the week they got back home.

On Sunday Mary announced she wanted to go to church and hear Tess sing. She'd been stuck in the house for a whole week and it was time she got out.

Tess was loading up her wheelchair when Kenny came out of his house and called, "Wait! I'll help you with that!" He was all dressed for church and looking hunky enough to set her heart beating at a faster clip.

"I thought you were gone already," she said as he lifted the wheelchair effortlessly into the trunk.

"No. I always leave at twenty to." He slammed the trunk and brushed his palms together, avoiding her eyes. Instead he looked at the house. "Do you need any help getting her in the car?"

"No, she'll do it herself."

"All right, then. See you there." Heading for his garage, he whistled shrilly through his teeth and Casey came flying out the back door. "Hurry up!" he yelled. "We're going to be late!"

Casey shouted a greeting as she ran "Hey, Mac!" and a minute later they were gone.

So, she thought. Mister Iceman. He couldn't resist running out when he saw me, but he didn't like himself for doing it, so he took it out on me.

Twenty minutes later she was singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" while he directed. It sent shivers up her spine and broke down the icy barrier he'd placed between them. Their eyes met too often, and locked too intently for them to remain aloof to one another. They learned, both of them, that sharing a worship service with someone on this level draws you closer, whether you want that to happen or not.

By the time she sang "Beautiful Savior" he had removed his suit jacket, loosened his tie and rolled up his white sleeves. Something phenomenal happened between them when she sang her solo. Something irreversible.

In the vestibule after the service she was mobbed. Word had spread that she was singing there today and the congregation had swelled beyond anything the church had ever seen, augmented by many who were regulars at other churches around town. Everyone praised Tess, asked if she was singing at her niece's wedding (she was not), and wanted to know if it was true that Casey Kronek was going to sing on one of her records. Answering that question was fun. Casey stuck by her, even after Tess had joined the rest of her family, who had rolled Mary down the ramp to the broad flat front step where the entire troop had gathered. Though some preferred the earlier service, they had all come for the later one today, and she was touched by their show of support. Nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters all had hugs and pride in their eyes. Except Judy, who seemed willing to bask in the reflected glow of having a famous sibling, but still could not bring herself to offer a compliment. Instead, she hung on the fringe of the family while Reverend Giddings approached and engaged Tess in a prolonged handclasp. He was grinning so broadly his eyes nearly disappeared.

"I cannot thank you enough, young lady. Splendid job. Splendid! You certainly brought them in." He leaned closer and spoke in an undertone. "And unless I miss my guess there are some pretty empty churches around town this morning." After a final hard squeeze he released her hand and said to someone behind her, "Very nice job, Kenny, and a particularly fine choice of music." She had not known he was there, and turned to watch Reverend Giddings shake his hand and clasp his arm. Again the minister lowered his voice, including them both in his confidence. "The ushers tell me the collection plate was overflowing, which bodes well for the annual pledges. Thank you both again."

Though surrounded by a sea of familiar faces, Kenny and Tess became attuned only to each other. They stood in the sunlight close enough to pick out the shadings in each other's eyes, the black flecks in her amber ones, the green ring within his brown. He had reclaimed his suit jacket but his tie remained loosened and his collar button freed. She wore a thin skirt and blouse of brick-colored silk that fluttered in the breeze. They stood so close it sometimes touched the legs of his trousers. At her throat hung a tiny gold rose on a chain, and on her ears tinier rosebuds, jewelry she thought he'd prefer. She was carrying a white clutch purse too small to hold sunglasses. She lifted it to shield her eyes and he stepped over to create a shadow. It was his day away from Faith, a day he did as he wished.

"This was probably the best Sunday I've had since I started directing," he told Tess.

"Why?"

"You."

She hadn't expected his directness. It loosened her resolve as well.

"Something got me… here." She laid a wrist across her heart.

"I could tell."

"Something got you, too, didn't it?"

"Yes. Something got me, too," he confided.

"It's how it used to be when I was little… the music, my family, the familiar church… I don't know."

"I understand now more than ever why you've succeeded the way you have. You have charisma."

"You didn't seem to think so this morning when we met in the alley."

"Oh, that."

"I thought you were mad at me."

"I'm sorry about that. I get moody sometimes."

"Don't do that again, okay? Don't get icy like that."

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be best, considering… well…" He stopped himself short of saying "Faith."

"We can meet in the alley and say hello without hurting each other, can't we?"

"You're right. It won't happen again." Without warning he did what he could not do when they were alone. He took her in a quick embrace and kissed her temple. "I'm sorry," he told her quietly. She had the swift sensation of bumping against his body, of sandalwood scent on his skin, of the touch of his lips at her ear. "Thank you for singing today. I'll never forget it, Tess."

As quickly as he'd taken her, he set her free. Casey appeared and put an arm around each of them. "Hey, Tess, you want to go horseback riding this afternoon? Perfect day for it."

Linked by the girl, they stood in a trio while Tess tried to hide the fact that she was rattled.

"Gosh, I don't know if I should leave Momma alone."

"Can't somebody else stay with her for a few hours? You need a break now and then, too." Before Tess could answer, Casey spun away and nabbed the first family member she encountered. It was Renee.

"Hey, Renee, can somebody stay with your momma this afternoon so Tess can go horseback riding with me?"

"Sure. I can," Renee replied. "What time are you leaving?"

Apart from the others Tess asked Kenny, "Are you going, too?"

His eyes came to her and lingered, but he cleared his throat and answered, "No. Better not."

She hid her disappointment as Casey returned, insisting, "What time do you want to leave?"

"Whenever you want to."

"One o'clock? I need to be back in town by four or so."

The plan was set.

They took Casey's pickup, which was so old it had rear wheel wells that stuck out like a bulldog's shoulders. Every time they went over a bump, dust rose from the junk littering the dash. But the radio worked, and they either sang country songs or talked about them all the way out to Dexter Hickey's.

The place looked different by daylight. The white fence needed painting and the yard needed mowing, but the surrounding countryside was breathtaking. The ranch was framed by a great stretch of undulating grassland dotted by apple trees that had been cropped low by the horses. Wild buttercups bloomed in patches of yellow across the verdant pasture. To the west, north, and east trees rimmed the valley and rusty red trails, worn by the horses, snaked into the woods from one hub, like mountain highways on a map.

Inside, the stable was clean and the tack room orderly. Dexter had left a mare named Sunflower in a box stall for Tess with instructions to turn her out after they were done riding.

Casey asked, "You know how to saddle a horse?"

"It's been a while."

"No problem. I'll do it."

When Sunflower and Rowdy were saddled, the women mounted up and walked the horses down the length of the barn, the syncopated hoofbeats clacking on the concrete until they reached an earthen ramp leading outdoors.

In the sun the horses' hides gleamed and the heat from their bodies lifted their scent. Casey led the way along the fence to one of the worn trails that headed toward the rippling woods.

She turned in the saddle and asked, "How does it feel?"

"Like I'm going to hurt tomorrow. I'm not used to it."

"We'll take it slow at first."

"Fine."

Casey was a natural on horseback; she dressed and rode like a saddle tramp, in old jeans, worn cowboy boots, a faded plaid shirt and a stained cowboy hat. She sat her horse straight as a picket with one hand on her thigh.

Tess, on the other hand, dressed and rode like a tenderfoot. She wore jeans and a lopped off T-shirt, shiny cowboy boots, a baseball cap and her oversized sunglasses. She rode as if unsure this was a good idea.

When they reached the spread of buttercups Casey yelled back, "Hey, Tess, guess what. I got a date tonight."

"Good for you. Anybody special?"

"Nope. Just a boy I had a crush on last year, called and asked if I wanted to ride into Poplar Bluff and go to a movie. Seems like all of a sudden I'm hot stuff since I'm going to be recording with you. I thought about saying no, just to get even with him for ignoring me last year, but then I thought, what the heck. A date's a date."

"I didn't have much time for boys when I was in high-school either."

"I know you didn't have much time for my dad."

When Tess made no reply, Casey dropped her chin and looked back over her shoulder, giving Tess a shot of the underside of her hat brim and her teasing eyes. Finally she asked, "Want to try trotting awhile?"

"Why not."

She kicked Rowdy into a trot and Sunflower followed suit. After fifty yards they picked up to an easy canter that took them up the rim of the valley into the woods, where Casey reined in and was waiting at a standstill, head-on, when Tess reached her and reined in, too.

"You doing okay?" Casey asked. She gauged Tess's inexperience well and wasn't pushing it.

"So far, so good."

The horses both shook their heads, sending their manes flopping and their harnesses jingling.

"We'll let them rest for a while." Casey patted Rowdy's shoulder, then sat silently, looking up at the trees. After a while she slung a leg around the pommel and braced her hands on the horse's rump, still studying the green canopy above them. Some cottonwoods rustled and a nearby pine gave off a scent of dry needles. The horses dipped their heads to crop grass.

Out of the blue Casey asked, "So what's going on between you and my dad?"

Tess did a poor job of hiding her surprise. "Nothing."

"I thought I caught some undercurrents at our table the other night, and on the church steps this morning I interrupted something. I could tell."

"No. Nothing."

"He was whispering and you were blushing."

"In front of all those people? You think we'd carry on some kind of flirtation with half of the town gawking at us? That wouldn't be too bright."

"Well, what was going on then? He was hugging you."

"He was thanking me for singing today."

"Oh, is that all," Casey said dryly. Again she looked up into the trees as if the subject were forgotten, then abruptly she added, "Well, he's a good man. You could do worse." She swung her leg off the horse's neck and picked up the reins as if to move on.

Tess said, "He's committed to Faith and I'm going back to Nashville in two weeks."

"That doesn't mean something can't be going on. And just in case it is, I want you to know it's perfectly okay with me. I think it'd be wild to have you and Dad carry on a real steamy love affair. I'll bet you could show him a thing or two."

"Casey!"

"Well, Faith is okay, but I'll bet kissing her would be like kissing somebody in a coma."

"Does your dad know you talk about her like this?"

"Heck, no. Got to keep the old charlotte russe going."

Against her better judgment, Tess laughed. Casey was turning her horse deeper into the woods when she glanced out toward the meadow and said, "Well, well… look who's coming."

Tess craned around in her saddle and saw Kenny riding toward them. His mount was a bay stallion, and he rode him at a trot, the reins in one gloved hand and his curled straw hat brim pulled low over his eyes. He caught sight of them in the shade and kicked the bay into an easy canter. Though his face was unreadable at this distance, his posture radiated absolute purpose as he headed toward them. He rode like a man to whom doing so is second nature, dressed in blue jeans and a spotless white T-shirt, which the wind pressed against his chest and rippled across his ribs.

Reaching them, he reined to a stop, and said, "I changed my mind. It got lonesome at home." He barely had a glance for his daughter but studied Tess from beneath his hat brim with eyes that gave away more than he wanted.

Casey was grinning. "I was just saying to Tess-"

"Casey!" Tess shot her a warning glare.

"Nothing," she finished, turning her horse up the trail. "Glad you came, Dad. We're taking it easy 'cause Tess isn't used to it."

They rode for another hour and a half, talking little, enjoying nature and the beautiful spring day. Casey and Kenny kept Tess between them, and the horses behaved beautifully. Near four o'clock when they were heading back toward the paddock, thunderheads had built up in the southwest and the breeze had cooled.

"Gonna get some rain," Kenny said.

"The garden could use it," Tess replied, a reply that would not have occurred to her two weeks ago.

Casey only grinned back at them over her shoulder. Discussing the weather like a couple of old farmers. You don't fool me.

They each undressed their own horse, but Kenny came over and helped Tess remove her saddle. She watched him carry it through the door of the tack room and throw it over a sawhorse, his sturdy arms taking on definition as he moved and twisted. His back was as tapered as a turnip, his T-shirt still tucked in neatly at the waist. She fixed her eyes on the spot where it disappeared into the denim waistband of his jeans.

He turned and caught her staring, and she returned to the business of taking care of Sunflower, who was crosstied in the aisle between the box stalls.

Kenny came back and asked casually, "Want to ride back to town with me, Tess?"

She looked first at Casey, then at him. "Oh, I don't think I'd bet-"

"It's okay," Casey put in. "Go with him. I gotta stop and put gas in my truck anyway, and besides, I'm in a hurry. I'm not even going to take time to curry Rowdy. Gotta get home and get ready for my date." She led Rowdy to the door and turned him out into the paddock, then came back, lifting a hand as she passed. "Hey, you two have fun. See you in the morning. Dad. I probably won't get in till after eleven 'cause we're driving clear over to Poplar Bluff to a movie."

"Okay. Be careful."

A minute later Tess and Kenny heard the sound of her truck starting and rumbling away. They nibbed down their horses in silence, conscious of each other as they moved around the animals. He set down his brush and came to her. "That's good. I'll take her out." He led Sunflower to the door where he turned her out before doing the same with his horse, then took their brushes and halters to the tack room and returned to the doorway, pulling off his gloves.

"If you want to wash your hands there's a sink in here."

"Oh… thanks."

They stood side by side lathering at a black rubber sink with an oversized cube of bumpy yellow soap that smelled like petroleum. She watched his square capable hands and his hairy arms as he ran soap to the elbow and rinsed like a doctor before surgery. He watched her fair, freckled arms and perfect persimmon nails as she rubbed her delicate hands together, rinsed once avoiding her expensive watch, checked her nails for chips, then rinsed again.

He snagged a rough blue towel from an iron hook on the wall and they each used one end. They accidentally looked up once while drying their hands, then quickly down again. When they finished he slung the towel over the hook and picked up his gloves.

"Let's go."

His car was as clean as Casey's truck was filthy. He drove with no particular hurry, the windows down and the wind blowing in while the sky grew darker and the pines beside the road started bending. Tess removed her sunglasses and hung them from the neck of her T-shirt.

He glanced over, then back at the gravel road.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Famished."

"How 'bout if a country boy from Wintergreen takes you out to dinner?"

"Dressed like this?"

He turned his head and gave her a lazy grin. "I know just the place."

He took her to the Sonic Drive-in, and they parked under the long metal awning, between an old couple who were having root beer floats, on their left, and fifteen empty spaces on the right. The menu and speaker were on his side. He rested his elbow on the window ledge and pinched his lower lip as he looked it over. "What do you want?"

"I can't see the menu." She unsnapped her seat belt and slid over, one hand on the wheel, the other on his headrest. While she ducked her head and searched the menu, he kept studying it as well. Their hat brims were six inches apart.

She said, "Is that you who smells like gasoline, or is that me?"

He laughed and turned his head, reducing the six inches to four. "Gasoline and horses, a mighty tempting combination, isn't it?"

She drew her mouth into a smirk, and said quietly, "Mighty tempting."

"•So?"

"Burger in a basket."

"All right. Then get over there on your side if you know what's good for you."

She slid back to her side, turned her shoulder blades against the door and pulled a knee up on the seat while he pushed the call button and gave their order.

When he finished, he angled himself in the corner and looked back at her, the brim of his straw hat tipped so low it hid his eyebrows. Thunder rumbled off toward the southwest, but they scarcely paid attention. They had immersed themselves in the illusion that they were teenagers again-the car, the drive-in, their flirtatious poses. They let themselves become willing victims of the mood they had created-unwisely perhaps-but for these few unfettered hours on a Sunday afternoon they threw wisdom to the wind.

Finally Tess said, "Casey asked me today what's going on between you and me."

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. Nothing." She picked a piece of horsehair off her jeans and flicked it on the floor. "Then she said it's okay if we start something."

"She said that, did she?"

Tess gave the faintest shrug. "You know Casey."

"Yeah, I know Casey."

They thought about it for a while before Tess said, "Of course, we both know that's not a good idea."

"Of course."

"After all, there's Faith."

"Yes, of course, Faith."

"And I'm going back to Nashville in two weeks."

"Where you belong," he added.

"Where I belong."

"And I'm just a small town accountant with"-he gestured at their surroundings-"nothing to offer but an oc-casional burger in a basket at the Sonic Drive-in and a mediocre choir to back you up on Sundays."

They either had to give in and kiss each other or die wanting to. The carhop saved them from either catastrophe by delivering their tray.

"Could you roll up the window some?" she said, and, when he had, she hung the tray. "Ten dollars and seventy cents, please." He dug the money out of his pocket. Tess enjoyed watching him lever himself off the seat and dig for change in the front and his billfold in the back, his stomach going flatter inside his T-shirt.

"You know what?" Tess said when he was reaching for their food. "This is the first date I've had in two years. More than two years."

He passed her a red plastic basket.

"What about the singer back in Nashville?"

"No, I mean a date, where I go out with a man and he buys me dinner and takes me home. I find I can't do that anymore."

"Too rich? Too famous?"

"Both. You don't know what people are after you for."

A shiny new pickup with three teenagers pulled in on their right. It had a chrome roll bar, a royal blue cab, and a radio booming like the South Pacific in World War II. When it silenced, Kenny asked, "That what you think about me? That I'm after something?"

"No. I think you're just an accident."

"Oh, that's flattering."

"You know what I mean."

"Well, it's nice not to be lumped with the groupies."

"In Nashville we call them germs." She pronounced it with a hard G.

"Germs?"

"Comes from groupies and germs. But, believe me, you're not one of them."

The burgers were juicy and delicious and they gave up flirting to sink their teeth in, dipping their french fries in ketchup and munching pickles. She couldn't finish hers, and when she laid it down he asked, "You all done?"

"Yes. You want it?"

He laid claim to her burger and while he was polishing it off she wiped her mouth on a paper napkin and glanced at the blue pickup. "Oh-oh," she said, "I think I've been spotted." Three faces with bad skin were smiling her way and gaping. "You all done?" Kenny jammed the rest of her burger in his mouth and she said, "Let's go."

He tapped on the horn and the carhop came out to collect their tray.

The rain began as they backed out of their parking spot. They rolled up their windows and he switched on the wipers and turned left onto Main Street. They cruised its deserted length at fifteen miles an hour, neither of them anxious to get home. The town had one traffic light. Luckily, it was red, which gave them more time. They stared at the rain streaming down the windshield, looking like fruit juice in the reflected glow of the traffic light. On the car roof it began pattering louder as they waited for the light to change and resisted every bodily instinct that had been badgering them all afternoon. She looked at Kenny. He looked at her. The light turned green and they moved on.

Tess said, "Faith is probably going to find out you were with me."

"You know, I get a little tired of you bringing up Faith all the time."

"Sorry," she said meekly, and looked out her side window. After that he got silent as a sphinx, the way he'd been in the alley this morning before church.

They drove around the town square, then headed north on Sycamore. The rain began pounding down even harder and he increased the tempo of the wipers. The air felt clammy and tense as home got closer and closer. When they were approaching the south end of their alley she said, "Thought you said you weren't going to do that anymore."

"Do what?"

"Ice up on me."

It was his turn to be meek. "Sorry."

He turned into the alley and the trees formed churning blurs in the wind-whipped storm. The headlights rocked against wet garage walls that pressed close on both sides.

He reached his own garage and pulled up before it, activated the door and would have driven inside, but she said, "Leave it out here. I like the storm."

With only a glance at her he complied, killing the lights, wipers and engine. They sat with the rain battering the roof, sealed inside the humid, dark car. Thunder and lightning created havoc around them.

"Well, here we are," he said.

Tess peered at the lights in her mother's kitchen window. "Renee is probably ready to kill me for being gone so long."'

"You gonna run through this?" he said.

"No, I'll wait a minute."

He glanced at the dark windows of his house. "The kids probably got caught in this on their way to Poplar Bluff."

"They'll be okay."

More rain, more lightning, more thunder, and the two of them unable to think of more to say. The windows began fogging over from their breath and their clothes seemed to cling to their skin. Though it was only six P.M. the world was murky and obscure beneath the roiling clouds. Nobody in the house could see a thing that was going on out here, and both people in the car knew it. Suddenly Tess's frustration boiled over.

"Look, Kenny, this is ridiculous! I'm a full-grown adult and I'm playing games with you like a kid. Just don't tell Faith I did this, all right?"

She reared up on one knee, dropped sideways, braced a hand on the driver's door, and kissed him. Angled beneath his straw hat, she found his mouth with her own and stayed a while, forcing the issue they'd both been sidestepping since… since when? Hard to remember when the compulsion first arrived. Sometime between the night of her arrival when he'd snubbed her and the night of choir practice when he'd ridden in her car. She'd caught him so off guard that he'd actually pulled back. She used it to her advantage and took a fair bit of time having her way with him while he was still wondering what his sense of honor would allow him to do. It was a good kiss, and honest, a two-way exchange, and when it ended he had both hands around her ribs under the lopped-off T-shirt to keep her from falling completely against him.

She drew back a mere inch. His breath came fast and his lips were open in surprise. She smiled in the dark, and told him, "That's for the time I teased you on the school bus." Her pose was awkward, his hands on her rib cage warm and spanning two-thirds of her girth. "Consider this completely my doing," she added. "I absolve you from all guilt, my dear Saint Kenny. Thanks for a wonderful day."

She kissed him again, quickly, got out and ran through the cold, driving rain to the house.