“That’s good. I didn’t come home to fight another war. I’m right tired of fightin’ Joe. I managed to put some money away so I can get any back taxes taken care of fast.” Lee sighed heavily. “And I’m sure there are some.”
“That’s good, that’s real good. I guess.” Joe eyed him closely again. “Mr. Lee, where you been? We all gave you up for dead.”
“Sorry I didn’t write no more. I was wounded at Shiloh. Spent nearly a year in the infirmary. I saved my pay for the taxes. I knew if I came back here, I’d need it. But it was hard to write as we were losing the war and so many died. And when I lost my arm, I quit writing, almost quit living.”
Lee went on with his story. “I wanted to get home when the war ended. Thought maybe Dil might be here. Is he? I’m kind of anxious to see him.”
Joe hung his head, his expression changing as he fiddled with his coffee and looked away. Lee noted how his finger tapped the cup for such a long time. And how his voice changed when he spoke, “No sir, and I guess you ain’t heard about that either…”
Lee studied the old man and saw a sadness creeping into the old man’s eyes. For the first time since the war, Lee felt something close to fear.
“There jest ain’t no better way of tellin’ you. Dil died just before the war ended.”
Lee heard the words, but for a minute they didn’t really penetrate. Dil gone! He repeated it in his head, as though they just wouldn’t sink in. Not once had he suspected anything this bad. Not once and his gut hit a bottomless pit. Bile roiled, and a tear filled his eyes, but he didn’t let it spill. He sat there, his finger going over the rim of his cup several times, in a circle, no words coming. He frankly suspected he couldn’t talk. He’d loved his brother, even though he hadn’t seen him in a long while, he’d looked forward to coming home, only because of Dil. Now, blackness surrounded his heart, and a hole deeper than a well made it hard to breath.
Grief gripped Lee like a vise for a few minutes and he turned his head away and pushed his hat down over his face for a minute or two. His shoulders bunched and this time one tear did slip down. Disappointment swelled inside him. All the things he’d stored up to tell Dil about, seemed unimportant now. All the questions he wanted to ask him, had no answers now. Swallowing hard he looked up at Joe, who had watched him and cried with him. Tears ran down the side of his face now in evidence.
“Sorry, I had to just spit it out like that…” Joe gave him a few minutes before he hit him with more news.
“But things have changed around here. I mean, well, the judge said the land had been deeded over to a Ms. Gloria Newcomb.”
Lee remembered the day he signed that deed over and mailed it to Gloria. He’d been told he probably wouldn’t survive his wounds. Gangreen had set in and the doc wasn’t hopeful. That’s when he thought of Gloria, Sam and Hattie. Lee nodded, “That’s right. At least my part of it had been. So she’d be half owner. Is she here?”
“Nah, Miss Gloria died before she ever got here. Miss Hattie and Sam, they brought her out here with them and oh Lord, there they were, with three little kids and half a deeded property and it was just a big mess, ‘cause they had Miss Gloria in the back of the wagon too. I never seen nothin’ like it in my life. I didn’t know who they were. Or what to do. Dil weren’t here, and you weren’t here. So I took her to the judge.”
Lee nodded. “Go on.”
“Well,” Joe stared at him strangely, and scratched his chin. “Well sir, she showed up jest before the war was over and showed legal papers as to who she be, it seems this Goria had gotten the deed from you and she had deeded it to them. So she’s up there now, with those kids. Pretty little things, clean and sweet and a good woman, she is. The kids, well, they are just little darlin’s. You see, she took them in when their folks was hung. She said she learned to help others because of you. That’s what she said. And I believed her. Been a lot of that lately: orphaned kids. Anyways she’s got the papers, and the judge says they’s legal, so I don’t know how you takin’ this. I didn’t want to tell you. ‘Cause Lord knows this is your land.”
“I see…”
“Yes sir, and the judge, he took a look at the papers and he said they was legal as anything he’d ever laid eyes on. It wasn’t too popular how the judge sided with Miss Hattie, not with the Jeffries at least. He raised all kinds of cain, but it didn’t do no good.”
“You’re right, I did sign those papers. At the time I thought I was dyin’. Figured Hattie and the kids could get some use out of it. Didn’t know if Dil made it or not, so I signed my part over to Hattie. Made sense then.” Lee frowned into his face and stood up. “Well, I didn’t figure on this, but—it’s fair. The other half of the property would revert to me, as I’m the only living kin Dil had.”
“She had papers, and it were signed by some Sheriff over in Arkansas,” Joe confessed.
“I thought I’d have to talk to Gloria…”
“Well, I took Miss Hattie to the judge in town when she first showed up. ‘Cause I didn’t rightly know what else to do with her. He said those papers were as good as he needed,” he said and folded his arms across his chest and stared. “I did think you’d write and tell me, but with the war on, I didn’t know.”
“You aren’t making much sense, Joe.”
Joe rolled his eyes, tossed his hands in the air and sighed heavily. “Well sir, I didn’t know what to do. She was all teary-eyed, and had those kids with her and the body. And she seemed so upset when she found out you died. I mean real tears; she cried for days. Sam, he just about went out of his head about it too. I didn’t know these people but when I seen them tears I knew they must had known you and cared about you.”
“Died? But I’m not dead.”
“I wouldn’t have ever let her on this property otherwise. You know me.” Joe shook his head. “Besides, she got pretty little girls and she’s all alone. Cutest little girls you ever did see.”
“So--what do you think of her?”
“She’s a right friendly sort, and hard workin’ as you ever seen. And well, you done tasted her cookin’.”
“That I have, and it’s the best I’ve tasted in a long time. Well, I’ll have to get to the bottom of this. I guess I need to do some thinkin’ on this situation.”
Joe stood up. He paced up and down the shed floor. His lips curled but not into a smile, more worry than anything. Then he stopped in front of Lee and shook his head. “You cain’t turn her out. Not with them kids.”
“Turn who out?” Lee yelled. “Joe, look, the last thing I wanna do is turn her out. But I do need to talk to her. And yet, I hadn’t planned on lettin’ anyone know who I am ‘til those taxes are paid. Maybe not even then. The Jeffries get wind I’m here there could be more trouble.”