“Do you like to read?” Royal sipped as she turned back to Lovey.
“Most of those belong to my father. He’s a minister and he uses lots of references for his sermons.” It dawned on Royal where she was. Maybe she’d taken a harder lick to the head than she’d realized, or maybe she’d just been too distracted by Lovey’s attentions to think clearly.
“Your father is Reverend Edwards?”
“You know him?” Lovey regarded Royal as she sipped lemonade.
“I know of him.” But the last names didn’t match. That’s why Royal hadn’t put the facts together. “Didn’t you say your last name was Porter?”
“Porter is my married name.”
“Oh.” Hope sank in Royal’s chest like a rock dropped into a shallow pond. Even though she’d known it was foolish to consider it, she’d hoped to get a chance to know Lovey better. That wouldn’t happen exactly as she’d envisioned if Lovey had a husband in tow.
“My husband died a year ago. I just moved here.”
Royal was immediately sorry for thinking ill of a man she didn’t even know and now she’d just heard was deceased. “My condolences for your loss.”
An awkward silence hung between them in the warmly lit kitchen. The choruses of tree frogs drifted in through the open kitchen window, and a sheer, lace trimmed curtain drifted in the breeze. After another moment, Royal stood up abruptly, the chair skidding back noisily on the wood floor.
“I should go.” She’d stood up too quickly though and regretted it as her head began to spin. Lovey was on her feet swiftly, placing a hand on each of Royal’s arms to steady her.
❖
Lovey eased Royal back down into the chair. She wasn’t quite ready for this encounter to be over, and even if she had been, Royal didn’t seem stable enough to strike out without some assistance.
“Why don’t we call someone to come get you? My father has a telephone.”
“That’d be a great idea, but there’d be no phone to ring on the other end.”
“Oh.” Lovey considered other options for a moment. “I’d offer to drive you, but Father has the car and I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“I can walk. It’s only a couple of miles to town.” Royal attempted to stand again, but quickly sat back down. “Sorry. My head is swimming a little.”
“Won’t someone notice if you’re not home and come looking for you?” Lovey knew that if she’d failed to return home when expected her father would have the entire congregation scouring the tri-county region until they found her.
“No, they’ll just assume I stayed in town. I have a rented room there, and if I’m out late, um, working, then sometimes I stay there.”
Lovey wondered briefly what work would keep Royal out this late, but she filed that question away for later.
“You were just in a bad accident. I don’t think you’re in any shape to walk.” Lovey didn’t really want to let Royal out of her sight. Not while she seemed this shaken up from the wreck. She placed her hand over Royal’s resting on the table and caressed it unconsciously. Only when she saw Royal looking down to where her hand covered Royal’s did she pull hers away. But in that instant of contact she’d made her decision. “I think you should stay here tonight and I’ll drive you home tomorrow.”
“What?” Royal regarded Lovey with surprise. “I don’t think—”
“I won’t let you leave in this condition by yourself, and there’s no other way to get you home at the moment. We have a spare room and it’s yours for the night.” Lovey watched a series of emotions play out across Royal’s striking features and wished at that moment she had the ability to read minds. “It’s already quite late. I really do think this is the most prudent solution.”
“Are you sure the reverend, I mean, your father, won’t mind?”
“Well, he’s not here to ask, is he? And there’s nothing of higher value than Christian charity for those in need, is there?” Although, even while trying to convince herself charity was at the root of the invitation, Lovey knew that wasn’t the entire truth. She felt something for Royal that she couldn’t yet name. The air seemed to vibrate between them, and she hadn’t felt this alive in months. She’d been sequestering herself in the house for weeks after making the trip from Chicago. Tonight was the first night in forever that gave her any feeling that there might be a life out there in the world she’d want to experience. Lovey had no idea how or why meeting Royal had flipped some switch on inside her mournful existence, but she wanted to find out.
Lovey extended her hand to Royal. “I think you should lie down. It’s a short walk to the spare room.” Once they arrived, Royal sat on the side of the bed and Lovey offered to help remove her shoes. She worried that if Royal attempted to bend over to loosen what remained of the laces in her boots she might topple headfirst to the floor.
After Royal’s shoes were off and stowed near the door, Lovey sat beside Royal on the bed. They were turned so that they partially faced each other, and Lovey began to unbutton Royal’s soiled shirt as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do. Royal didn’t seem to mind the attention, and after all, they were both women, so what did it matter if she saw Royal in a state of undress down to her undershirt and trousers? After unbuttoning the shirt, she slid her hands under the suspenders and slipped them from Royal’s thin, broad shoulders. The gesture felt intimate in a way she hadn’t intended. Lovey’s heart began to pound in her chest, and she looked up to see Royal regard her curiously.
“Why were you
