Page 69 (1/2)
“Not that I remember I was only three when she died”
“What about money?”
“What money? We were so poor we had to live with our relatives There wasn’t even ot sick If there had been, she ht have lived”
“You’ve got a lot of anger in you, boy,” Jasper said
“Can you blanant and tossed her away like an old shoe He didn’t give a damn about her”
“So that’s what you think, is it?” Jasper settled against the back of the seat, his far-sighted eyes watching the birds that flocked around the seep “It’s about time you decided to hear the truth”
Sky waited for the old cowboy to begin, part of hiht It was time for the truth
“I ith Bull the first ti Prescott’s wife, Edith, was buried You know Bull and Ferg never did get on But when there’s a death in the family, it’s only common decency to set bad blood aside and pay your respects It’s what Bull was doing that afternoon, and he’d asked —most likely to watch his back”
“Soat the house” Sky filled in the brief silence
“That’s right And Lord Alhty, she was the most beautiful wo-plain maid’s uniform, with her hair in a bun, she was a queen I reckon every ivin’ her sideways looks But she wasn’t lookin’ back Not till she locked eyes with Bull
“By then Bull’s wife, Susan, had been gone a few years, and Bernice had come to cook and help out with the boys I know for a fact there was a gal in Lubbock that Bull paid now and again to see to his needs, but there was no love in it He was still visiting his wife’s grave with flowers every Sunday I don’t think he ever meant to remarry But when he set eyes on your mother, and she looked back at hiain”
Jasper raised his binoculars to scan the brush around the seep, lowered them, shook his head, and then continued “I saw the two of the in a corner that day After that I never saw theether But I knew they were findin’ ways to meet up And I could see that, for the first time in years, Bull was happy
“One day she took that old car she drove and left without a word Bull never was much of a one to share, but I could tell how bad he’d been hurt I know for a fact he really loved the woman”
Jasper paused to lift the canteen to his lips and wet his dry throat “A day or two later, Bull got a call fro Prescott It seemed Marie had written Bull a letter before she left and put it in theca for the mailman Naturally the bastard took it But that wasn’t all The lon skunk steamed the envelope open and read every word”
Too stunned to curse, Sky listened in silence No wonder Bull had hated Ferg Prescott And no wonder Jasper had nothing good to say about the man and his family