Read Online Miss Julia Delivers the Goods by Ann B. Ross - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ann B. Ross
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show.”
“I hate to ask this, Julia, but are we sure Pickens is the father?”
“Why, Sam, how could you ask such a thing! Of course, he’s the father. Hazel Marie is not a loose woman, and she’s been as true to him as any wife. No, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that he’s the guilty one. Besides, she told me he is, and what is that sorry thing doing? Moving to Charlotte, that’s what.”
Chapter 9
“He’s moving?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Well, that’s hard to believe,” Sam said, frowning. “It’s not like him to shirk a responsibility like this.”
“He’s shirking because he doesn’t know it. Which I intend to remedy just as soon as you help me locate him.”
“Now, Julia,” Sam said, turning his frown on me. “We ought not get in the middle of this. Didn’t you promise her you wouldn’t call him?”
“Things have changed since then, but, yes, I did. I was hoping Lloyd would do it, but of course he doesn’t know about the baby. So even if he did call Mr. Pickens, he wouldn’t have the best of all arguments to get him here. So, Lillian’s going to do it. And don’t frown at me, Sam Murdoch, I don’t have any control over what Lillian does. She’s her own woman, and if she thinks he ought to know what he’s done, why, I say more power to her.”
“My goodness,” Sam said, trying not to smile, “you are a devious woman.”
“Not devious at all, just determined. See, Sam, I am less concerned about Mr. Pickens and Hazel Marie and what they want than I am about what Lloyd and that new little baby need. I mean, Hazel Marie and Mr. Pickens are adults and they’ve had what they wanted, so now they can just think about the innocent ones in this mess. And when you think of it that way, you can ignore promises, and you can forget about Hazel Marie saying she never wants to see him again, and you can make Mr. Pickens get himself here so he can do the right thing. And furthermore, we don’t have a lot of time for fiddling around. Hazel Marie’s so skinny now that she’s going to be in maternity clothes before we turn around good.”
“Well, when you put it that way . . .”
“It’s the only way to put it. Now, the thing for you to do is track down Mr. Pickens. His answering service doesn’t know where he is and Hazel Marie says she doesn’t either. So I’m thinking that you should see if he has his house up for sale. If he does, a real estate agent will know how to reach him. And if that doesn’t work, you can call that insurance company that has him on retainer. They’ll know, unless he’s thrown all common sense to the winds. Which I doubt. But in that case, we’ll ask Coleman to track him through the Charlotte police department.”
Sam looked at me in an indulgent, but admiring, way. “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have. I am not going to have Hazel Marie going through another pregnancy alone and unwed, and I’m not going to have Lloyd suffering any shame or ridicule because of their precipitant and careless actions. And,” I went on after a moment’s thought, “I am not going to be put in the position of having to defend the indefensible to everybody in town. To Pastor Ledbetter, in particular.”
Every friend I had, along with their probable responses to another child unblessed by legitimacy, passed through my mind. LuAnne Conover would be shocked to the core, and she’d lambast me for what she’d see as my complicity in the situation. Appearances were so important to her that she had little sympathy for any deviations. On the other hand, if everybody else accepted Hazel Marie, she would follow along, not ever wanting to be the only holdout on anything.
Helen Stroud would never let anyone know what she thought. She’d treat Hazel Marie as politely as she always did, but you’d always wonder what was going on in her mind. Emma Sue Ledbetter would agonize over forgiving the sinner while condemning
“I hate to ask this, Julia, but are we sure Pickens is the father?”
“Why, Sam, how could you ask such a thing! Of course, he’s the father. Hazel Marie is not a loose woman, and she’s been as true to him as any wife. No, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that he’s the guilty one. Besides, she told me he is, and what is that sorry thing doing? Moving to Charlotte, that’s what.”
Chapter 9
“He’s moving?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Well, that’s hard to believe,” Sam said, frowning. “It’s not like him to shirk a responsibility like this.”
“He’s shirking because he doesn’t know it. Which I intend to remedy just as soon as you help me locate him.”
“Now, Julia,” Sam said, turning his frown on me. “We ought not get in the middle of this. Didn’t you promise her you wouldn’t call him?”
“Things have changed since then, but, yes, I did. I was hoping Lloyd would do it, but of course he doesn’t know about the baby. So even if he did call Mr. Pickens, he wouldn’t have the best of all arguments to get him here. So, Lillian’s going to do it. And don’t frown at me, Sam Murdoch, I don’t have any control over what Lillian does. She’s her own woman, and if she thinks he ought to know what he’s done, why, I say more power to her.”
“My goodness,” Sam said, trying not to smile, “you are a devious woman.”
“Not devious at all, just determined. See, Sam, I am less concerned about Mr. Pickens and Hazel Marie and what they want than I am about what Lloyd and that new little baby need. I mean, Hazel Marie and Mr. Pickens are adults and they’ve had what they wanted, so now they can just think about the innocent ones in this mess. And when you think of it that way, you can ignore promises, and you can forget about Hazel Marie saying she never wants to see him again, and you can make Mr. Pickens get himself here so he can do the right thing. And furthermore, we don’t have a lot of time for fiddling around. Hazel Marie’s so skinny now that she’s going to be in maternity clothes before we turn around good.”
“Well, when you put it that way . . .”
“It’s the only way to put it. Now, the thing for you to do is track down Mr. Pickens. His answering service doesn’t know where he is and Hazel Marie says she doesn’t either. So I’m thinking that you should see if he has his house up for sale. If he does, a real estate agent will know how to reach him. And if that doesn’t work, you can call that insurance company that has him on retainer. They’ll know, unless he’s thrown all common sense to the winds. Which I doubt. But in that case, we’ll ask Coleman to track him through the Charlotte police department.”
Sam looked at me in an indulgent, but admiring, way. “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have. I am not going to have Hazel Marie going through another pregnancy alone and unwed, and I’m not going to have Lloyd suffering any shame or ridicule because of their precipitant and careless actions. And,” I went on after a moment’s thought, “I am not going to be put in the position of having to defend the indefensible to everybody in town. To Pastor Ledbetter, in particular.”
Every friend I had, along with their probable responses to another child unblessed by legitimacy, passed through my mind. LuAnne Conover would be shocked to the core, and she’d lambast me for what she’d see as my complicity in the situation. Appearances were so important to her that she had little sympathy for any deviations. On the other hand, if everybody else accepted Hazel Marie, she would follow along, not ever wanting to be the only holdout on anything.
Helen Stroud would never let anyone know what she thought. She’d treat Hazel Marie as politely as she always did, but you’d always wonder what was going on in her mind. Emma Sue Ledbetter would agonize over forgiving the sinner while condemning
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