The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,120

high, expecting to see Letty in the throes of death. Instead, all he saw was a pile of lumber and Letty nowhere in sight.

“Letty! Letty! Where are you?”

She screamed again and he jumped and looked down, certain she must be laying at his feet, only there was no one there.

“Oh hell,” Forney muttered, and shoved his way past the others and began fumbling about in the wood.

“Leave the goddamned woodpile alone and help me find Letty!” Eulis shouted.

“That ain’t a woodpile. It’s the privy, and I reckon your sister is somewhere in there.”

“Holy Moses,” Eulis muttered, and started frantically pulling at the shamble of boards. “Letty! Letty! Can you hear me? Are you all right?”

Letty moaned. She could hear him just fine. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to face the humiliation.

“Yes, I can hear you, and no, I’m not all right! Get me out of here!”

“I’m tryin’,” Eulis said. “Grab some boards… all of you!” Then he pointed at Forney. “If you value your hide, you’d better start heatin’ up some water. Sister Leticia is right fond of baths and I’m thinkin’ she’s gonna be in need of one real soon.”

Forney looked wild-eyed toward the shifting pile of boards and the stifled sound of something that sounded suspiciously like curses, and made a run for the well, leaving Shorty and the preacher to dig her out.

His hopes of making any romantic headway with her had been dashed, and all he could hope for now was a glimpse of bare flesh when she peeled down to wash off the shit.

“I’ve got a foot!” Boston yelled, and tugged at Letty’s foot.

“I see an arm!” Morris shouted, thrust his hand between some boards and started to pull.

“Damn it to hell! I am not a wishbone! Quit pulling at me and get me out of this woodpile!”

Eulis pulled away a large portion of one wall while Big Bill hefted away what was left of the roof.

“Here you go, little lady,” Big Bill said, then reached down, grabbed Letty beneath her arms, and pulled her out.

She staggered backward, then yanked at the hem of her dress and swiped it across her face.

“Nasty… filthy… stupid… ramshackle… pitiful excuse for… idiot who built… head up his ass.”

Big Bill whistled between his teeth and then grinned.

Boston took a second step back out of the range of her anger while Morris took a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Letty.

“Um… ma’am…”

She slapped it out of his hands and then pointed at Eulis.

“Water… hot… out of my sight… never again.”

Eulis wasn’t sure what she was leaving out, but what she’d managed to utter was enough to jar him out of his shock. He pointed toward the station.

“Take a breath, Sister Leticia. It’ll be all right. Forney is fixin’ you a bath as we speak. All you need is…”

“Don’t talk to me!” she muttered, then turned and pointed a finger at every man staring. “Don’t any of you say another word.”

They nodded in unison.

She stomped toward the way station, dragging her wet skirt tail in the dust and tearing at her clothes with each step. By the time she hit the porch she was half-naked and in full stride.

Forney heard the door hit the wall as it flew open. He got a momentary glimpse of her bare neck and arms before she screamed.

“Get out!”

Shocked, he dropped the water bucket onto the floor, soaking his pant legs and his shoes. He felt water soaking into his socks through the hole in his shoe just before he bolted for the door.

Letty slammed the door shut behind him then tore off the rest of her clothes and stepped naked into the hip bath Forney had been filling. The water was tepid and there was no soap in sight, but it didn’t slow her down from going headfirst into the water. She came out spitting, then sat down in the bath and cried.

An hour later, the men were lined up on the porch, staring blindly into the dark and pretending they didn’t know that there was a naked woman in the house behind them.

Boston’s belly growled. He sighed deeply, absently shuffled the cards he was holding and spit for lack of anything else to do.

“I shore am gettin’ hungry,” he said.

Morris, Shorty, and Big Bill were talking quietly among themselves.

“Food’s in the house,” Forney said, woefully eying Eulis for inspiration as to how to get it outside.

Eulis shrugged. He’d been hungry before and was perfectly willing to sleep hungry tonight rather