The River Widow(32)

She stood and said “Mr. Darby. How are you?” as she looked at him in a new light.

There was a change in his perusal of her in return, and it seemed to slow his movements, as if something about her presence today was unsettling.

He nodded and said, “I’m well.”

Adah asked if she could sit and talk to him for a while, and he made a sweeping gesture, indicating two old wicker rocking chairs sitting on the front porch. He eased into one chair and moved his hands between his knees, holding the hat down between his shins. She hadn’t expected him to be uncomfortable or that she would need to lead the conversation. But that was quickly made clear.

She said, “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all,” he answered.

She sat in the other chair, which creaked as though no one had put weight on it for some time, and groped for something to say. “I’ve been wondering: How long have you been in these parts, Mr. Darby?”

He paused before answering. “About six years. Makes me rather new here, like you, Mrs. Branch.”

“Please call me Adah.”

He sat still, waiting.

She continued: “Well . . . where did you come from, and why here?”

He set the hat in his lap, moved his hands to the top of his thighs, and said, “I was a tugboat pilot for twenty years. Went up and down that river over yonder so many times I lost count. I saved up some money so when I got tired of living on the water, I could find some solid ground. This place seemed as good as any.”

Adah gathered her words as his eyes fell heavily on her. There was something disquieting about him, and over the course of a long awkward silence, she feared she’d made a mistake coming here.

And then his stare changed to something almost kind. “How can I help you today?”

A bit anxious, Adah decided to spare the man her false and clumsy attempt at friendship and get right to the point. “I need someone to do a favor for me.”

He straightened as if his interest had been piqued. “What kind of favor?”

“Before I get into that, may I ask you a question?”

He looked almost amused. “Shoot.”

“When I first met you and told you my name, you flinched when I said Branch. I take it you’re not friends with my in-laws.”

He sat up even straighter. “You got that right.”

“What happened between you?”

“I once sold them a horse, and we agreed on the price. They paid me some when I brought the horse over to them, but they never got around to paying the rest of what they promised. I went to see the old man about it, and he denied ever agreeing to the price. All of them’s liars and cheats.”

Adah let the information sink in. This was better than she’d hoped for. Not only did Jack Darby dislike the Branches, he’d had some personal conflict with them. Maybe here was someone who would help her.

Jack was studying her reaction. “What about this favor?”

Adah said, “It’s a simple one, really. I need to talk with an attorney in town; however, I have no means to get there, and I’d like to keep the rest of the Branch family out of it. What I need is for someone to take messages to one of the lawyers. I have money to pay for it and for your time as well . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she had to stare at her hands. She should’ve rehearsed what to say in advance; she became inexplicably tongue tied. How to explain it better while also giving nothing too dangerous away? Even though she now knew that Jack Darby was no fan of the Branches, she was still taking a chance. Would he stay quiet, or would he run to the Branches with everything she said, hoping they’d reward him by finally paying him what they owed? Thoughts hung inside her head like the cobwebs that shrouded her secrets. How many lies would a person tell over a lifetime?

She looked up to watch how he absorbed this information. There was no change in his body’s posture or movements, but his breathing had slowed, and the folds about his eyes had creased down a little more. There was a slight squint as he stared at her. He spoke slowly and carefully. “You want to get help from an attorney in secret.”

He was watching her every breath, and she saw something in his eyes like horse sense. She felt quite transparent before him and found it unnerving. This meeting was not going as expected. She studied his hands, large compared to Lester’s, thick skinned and brown. He held them perfectly still on his thighs.

She let her eyes travel to his face. “Yes. I don’t aim to make any trouble for anyone. I just need to get some information.”

He seemed to survey her again, gathering information from her , but she didn’t feel viewed in a harsh light. “Then why don’t you want the Branch folks to know about it? Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

He ignored her answer. “If something’s wrong, it could be a matter for the police, not an attorney.”

Her face caught fire. “It’s not a police matter.”

His eyes never left her face as he just sat.

“I know it’s a strange request, but the situation is a bit unusual.”

“How so?”

“It’s family business, and I don’t aim to air out our dirty laundry for others to see. It’s nothing all that important, really, just something I’d like to know, to learn about.”