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“But Mama,” Daisy nearly cried.
“It’s as Lee says: you can learn to make friends. No one said it would be easy. But it’s something you must learn for yourself.”
Daisy whimpered for a few minutes. “Would you really buy her shoes and not me?”
“Yes, if she went to school, I would.”
“Oh alright, I’ll go. And I’ll try to make friends. But I want to go to the colored school from now on.”
“Good. Now put your other clothes on and get your chores done,” her mother instructed.
The girls marched off bickering about who’s fault it all was. Lee smiled.
“You handled that rather well.” He smiled.
“I hope so.” She smiled back. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”
He leaned the distance and kissed her softly on the lips. He felt her strain toward him and he pulled her fully into his arm. She didn’t resist. She couldn’t. She wanted to be near him, smell the sweet aroma of sweat on him.
He’d never kissed Hattie with what she didn’t kiss him back. This time her arms went up and around his neck, pulling him down for the next kiss which she invited eagerly. When his hand went to cup her breast, she sighed so loud against his mouth that he began to circle her pronounced nipple against her shirt with his thumb. She threw back her head and lifted herself toward him, welcoming his caress. She looked down to see how hard her nipples puckered against that busy thumb.
“Tell me this isn’t sinful; this isn’t wrong,” she whispered between hot kisses.
“It’s not wrong, honey, not between us,” he managed to say as he captured her lips in a burning kiss.
She moved against him so her hips would be flush against his, as his thumb stayed magically busy at her breast, and his lips assuaged the ache to be with him.
“I wish I could take you to my bed, and kiss you all over…” he murmured in her ear.
“Oh…” she cried, closing her eyes, imaging just that. “Then tell me how you feel about me…” she cried aloud. “Tell me this isn’t just some crazy lust between us. I have to know.”
He stopped touching her, stopped kissing her, and pulled away so he could look into her eyes. “It’s real simple Hattie…I've loved you since that first kiss, and nothing's going to change that, sweetheart."”
He let his hand drop and he walked out the door.
***
That night there was a revisit of the Klan. They rode up briskly into the yard with their lit torches and let their horses rearing up and causing commotion. They would not be ignored and Hattie prepared herself.
“Come out of there…” they demanded.
As usual, Hattie sent the kids to the barn with Joe. She wasn’t sure where Lee went but she had her rifle with her. Just in case.
“You tried to send your kids to school. And that ain’t gonna work, lady. You don’t seem to understand, you are nothin’ but a Negro, don’t matter that you got this land legal. We done told you before. You ain’t listenin’. Now we’re gonna burn your barn, then maybe you’ll listen. We won’t be back here but one more time and you better listen up if you want to live.”
Hattie’s mouth opened to say something, but just then Lee jumped on top of the one that was talking and knocked him off the horse. They fought for several long minutes. Rolling and turning and punching. The sound of bone cracking, the sound of blood spewing, the smell.
Blood gushed, fistes pounded and general chaos broke out as the horses tried to get out of their way.
Hattie wanted to help, but didn’t know how, but she trained her rifle on the others. “Stay out of it. Or I’ll shoot the first man that moves.”
“And I’ll shoot the next.” Joe came running out of the barn with a shotgun.
Lee beat the man to a pulp. He raised him up and threw him across his saddle.
“If you don’t want me pullin’ that mask off, you better high tail it. I’ll have the law after you,” Lee threatened as he tried to catch his breath.
One man from the rear yelled, “Who the hell are you?”
