Chapter 14
I’ll Buy It
“You’d better pin that star-badge onto your shirt right now,” Chance Dockery said. Chance was the sheriff of Winze, and he was talking to Joseph, his brand-new helper.
Joseph looked down at his own clothes. “Sheriff, it’s only Wednesday. You went and hired me for Friday and Saturday.” Joseph wasn’t trying to be polite. He just wanted to get down to the water.
“You got a fishing pole right there in your hand!” Chance laughed, pointing a finger. “It ain’t like you’re covered up in work.”
Joseph had started taking off to fish every Wednesday halfway through the day. Even though the trout bite better in the cool mornings, he liked the afternoon. Most days, Miss Shelia would show up out of the woods to help him pass the time. He had grown mighty fond of listening to her stories.
“Don’t mean I ain’t busy,” Joseph shot back, though his mind was already wandering down the trail.
“Well, folks are showing up early,” the sheriff said, looking down the road. “This whole festival thing is getting way bigger than I ever reckoned. Folks are camping out on the other side of the gold mines to the south. And that trail toward the north looks wider and more worn down than it did two weeks back.”
Joseph nodded. “It was because we had to wait three whole weeks for that camera-man to come up from Atlanta. It gave the news time to spread across the ridges.”
“Well, I don’t want all these traveling strangers getting used to seeing you without a badge,” Sheriff Chance said. “They need to start off knowing you’re the law around here.”
“Makes sense,” Joseph said. “It’ll be easier for me two days from now, anyhow. But right now, I don’t have that badge on me, and I’m still heading down to the creek.”
Sheriff Dockery reached into his pocket and pulled a shiny silver star out of thin air, smiling big. Joseph took it and pinned it over his heart.
“I hope I impress the fish,” Joseph joked.
“You aren’t even going to ask me about your pay?” Chance asked.
“It’ll be worth it, whatever you say,” Joseph said with a grin. “Because if it ain’t, I won’t be showing up come Friday and Saturday.”
“Five dollars for both days,” the sheriff offered. “Since it’s probably just for show anyway.”
“Seven if it turns out to be a whole mess of hard work,” Joseph countered.
“Done,” the sheriff said.
They both turned and went their separate ways. They knew they had nothing else to chatter about, and both of them had places they’d rather be. The sheriff walked toward the new jailhouse. It wasn’t completely finished yet, but the deputy’s room in the back was all squared off with a good roof on top. He was heading that way with a heavy brass lock in his hand. The Goatman had been told his boys could store their trade-goods in that empty room for the week, free of charge. The sheriff was just making sure an honest man stayed honest.
Joseph took off walking fast toward his favorite fishing hole. Sure enough, Shelia was waiting right in the tree line, sitting in the cool mountain shade where Joseph hoped she’d be. She was hoping none of the townfolks would see her and go telling her pa.
“Hey there, Joseph!” she called out, her face lighting up with a big smile. “Can I walk along with you? Dad’s starting to call Wednesday ‘fish day.’ Ma’s expecting me to bring home another mess of fish for the frying pan.”
“Well, you’d better come on then,” Joseph said, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “I have yet to actually see you catch a single fish. I reckon I’ll just have to pull enough out of the creek for youns.”
“I was hoping you’d say that!” Shelia clapped her hands. “Don’t forget to float them over to me in my bucket while they’re still swimming. That way I can tell Pa I caught ’em myself!”
Joseph laughed out loud, remembering the first time he helped her trick her family. “How do you explain to your Ma about them fish being already gutted and cleaned?”
“She ain’t never asked,” Shelia said, tossing her hair. “I suppose when a woman gets handed less work to do, she don’t ask many questions.”
“I suppose I wouldn’t ask either,” Joseph chuckled.
They walked down the dirt path, where the wild mountain laurel smelled sweet. But halfway to the fishing hole, Shelia went quiet. She stayed quiet for longer than any time Joseph had ever known her.
“You’re awful quiet,” Joseph noticed. “That tain’t normal for you.”
Shelia sighed. “Ma’s got it in her head that I need to bake up a pie for Sunday.”
“You know how to cook?” Joseph teased.
“Excuse me!” She smacked his shoulder playfully. “I am an excellent cook! I’ve got everything in the family Mercantile store to practice with.”
“This got something to do with the big festival?”
“Sure does,” Shelia said, her brow furrowing. “I don’t mind the cooking part; I just don’t want to do it for the festival auction.”
“Why not?”
“Abigale has it in her head to sell the pies for charity on Saturday,” Shelia explained, the words tumbling out fast. “They are going to auction them off one at a time. Then, whoever buys the pie gets to sit right next to the girl who made it, and eat with her family at the big dinner on the ground!”
“Abigale makes a great preacher’s wife,” Joseph said, nodding. “That’s a fantastic idea.”
“To you, maybe!” Shelia cried, her worries bubbling over. “But what if I don’t know who buys mine? There are a whole bunch of strangers coming up into the mountains for this festival. Or worse—what if nobody buys it at all! Or maybe someone who owes my daddy money from the store buys it. There’s always folks owing money at the Mercantile. Or maybe they smell like horses, or…”
“What kind of pie are you making?” Joseph interrupted softly.
“I don’t know!” she said, throwing her hands up. “I’m figuring on not making one at all, so why would I pick a flavor?”
Joseph stopped walking and looked at her. “You make it a peach pie. And you put the top crust on with a little cut in it that looks like the letter S. That way, I’ll know exactly which one is yours. And I’ll buy it.”
Shelia stopped dead in her tracks right on the mountain trail. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Why would you go and do that, Joseph?”
“Because…” Joseph got hung up between his words. He was completely stuck on that question. He noticed she wasn’t walking anymore, so he turned all the way around to face her. He gave his shiny new deputy star a proud little tap. “Well, why not? I got extra pay for doing this deputy work. I gotta spend it on something special this weekend.”
Shelia’s eyes softened, but she worried for his wallet. “Joseph, there’s a big church we go to down in Atlanta when we visit. Those fancy auction pies go for over two dollars sometimes! That’s a lot of money.”
Joseph didn’t even bat an eye. Shelia knew he wouldn’t, because she was watching his face closely. A warm, happy feeling settled over both of them.
Joseph gently nudged her shoulder to get her moving back down the trail toward the bubbling creek. She started walking again, a giant smile on her face.
“Don’t matter,” Joseph said softly, his voice sure and steady. “I’ll buy it.”
Chapter 15