It was so god-danged nice and peaceful that I dozed off again. Yes, sir, I went to sleep, even though I hadn't had a real hard work day and I'd managed to catch up on my rest a little.
I guess I must have been asleep about an hour when I waked up to the sound of Myra yelling and Lennie bawling, and someone talking to 'em-Amy Mason speaking her mind in a way that almost put your teeth on edge. Soft, but firm and cutting, like only Amy could speak when she had her dander up. You knew you'd better listen to what she was saying, when Amy spoke that way; you'd better listen and take it to heart or it would be too god-danged bad for you.
I knew it was having its effect on Myra, in spite of her yelling and trying to set defiant. She began to kind of whimper and whine, saying that Lennie didn't mean anything by peeking in Amy's window-he was just curious about people. Amy said she knew exactly what he meant, and he'd better not try any of his nasty tricks again if he knew what was good for him.
"I've already warned your husband," she said, "and now I'm warning you, Mrs. Corey. If I catch your brother at my window again, I'll take a horsewhip to him!"
"Y-You wouldn't dare!" Myra whined. "And you just stop hurting him! Let go of the poor boy's ear."
"Gladly," Amy said. "It makes my flesh crawl to touch him."
I cracked the door open an inch or so, and looked out.
Myra had her arm around Lennie, who looked redfaced and mad and scared as she patted him on the head. Rose was standing next to her, trying to appear concerned and protective. But I knew, knowing her so well, that she was laughing inside, tickled pink to see Myra catching it for a change. As for Amy…
I swallowed hard, looking at her, wondering what I'd ever seen in Rose after I'd had someone like Amy.
Not that she was any prettier than Rose, or built any better. You just couldn't fault Rose on prettiness or build no matter who you stood her up against. The difference, I guess, was something that came from the inside, something that kind of grabbed hold of you right around the heart, that left its mark on you like a brand, so that the feel of her and the memory of her was always with you no matter where you strayed.
I came bursting out of the bedroom and looked around, putting a real surprised look on my face. "What's going on here, anyways?" I said, not givin' anyone a chance to answer. "Why, good evening, Miss Mason. Is they some kind of trouble?"
Amy said no, they was not no kind of trouble; kind of mimicking me, you know. "Not now there isn't, Sheriff. The trouble's all settled. Your wife will tell you how to avoid any in the future."
"My wife?" I gave Myra and Lennie a studyin' look, and turned back to Amy. "Did my wife's brother do somethin', Miss Mason? You just tell me about it."
"Of course, Lennie didn't do anything!" Myra snapped. "He was just-"
"Is your name Miss Mason?" I said. "Is it?"
"W-What? What?"
"I asked Miss Mason a question," I said. "In case you ain't heard, Miss Mason is one of the most prominent and respected young women in Potts County, and when I ask her somethin' it's because I know she'll tell the truth. So maybe you'd better not go contradictin' what she says."
Myra's mouth dropped open. She turned from red to white, and then back to red again. I knew she'd probably give me all-heck when she got me alone, but for the present she wasn't talkin' back. She knew she just hadn't better, what with an election coming up and Amy being so generally well-thought-of. She knew that someone like Amy could cause an awful lot of trouble, if they took a notion, and an election year was no time for trouble.
So Myra didn't give me any trouble, much as she felt like it, and Amy was kind of pleased by the way I'd acted, and said she was sorry if she'd said anything hurtful. "I'm afraid I lost my temper for a moment," she smiled, a little stiffly. "If you'll excuse me, I'll run along home."
"I'll walk you home myself," I said. "It's too late at night for a young lady to be out by herself."
"Now, that's not at all necessary, Sheriff. I-"
I said it certainly was necessary; me and my wife, we wouldn't have it no other way. "That's right, ain't it, Myra? You insist on me seem' Miss Mason home, don't you?"
Myra said yes, her teeth practically clenched together.
I nodded and winked to Rose and she winked back at me; and Amy and me left.
She lived right there in town, so I didn't get out the horse and buggy like I might have if her home had been a far piece off. Anyway, I wanted to talk to her and I didn't want her pulling away from me. And it's just about impossible for a woman to be standoffish when you're walking her home through the mud on a dark night.
She had to listen when I started telling her how Myra had hooked me. She said she just wasn't interested and it wasn't any of her business, and that sort of thing. But she listened anyway, because she couldn't get out of it. And after a couple of minutes she stopped interruptin' and began to cling closer to me, and I knew she believed what I was saying.
On the porch of the house, she flung her arms around me and I put mine around her, and we stood there in the darkness for a little while, just holding onto each other. Then, she sort of pushed me away, and I couldn't see her expression, but somehow I knew she was frowning.
"Nick," she said. "Nick, this is terrible!"
I said, "Yeah, I guess I have kind of messed things up, all right. I guess I've been nine kinds of fool, lettin' Myra scare me into marryin' her and-"
"That's not what I'm talking about. That could be solved with money, and I have money. But-but-"
"Then, what's botherin' you?" I said. "What's so terrible, honey?"
"I-I'm not sure." She shook her head. "I know what, but I don't know why. And I'm not positive it would make any difference if I did know. I-can't talk about it now! I don't even want to think about it! I-Oh, Nick! Nick! "
She buried her face against my chest. I held her tighter, stroking her head and whispering that everything was all right, that nothing could be so very terrible as long as we were together again.
"Now, it just couldn't, honey," I said. "You just tell me what it is, and I'll show you it don't really amount to nothin' at all."
She clung to me a little tighter, still not saying anything. I said, well, to heck with it; maybe we could save it for another time, when I didn't have to be in kind of a rush like I was tonight.
"You remember how I used to go night-fishin'?" I said. "Well, I was thinkin' maybe! might go tomorrow night, and it'd be kind of a natural mistake if I should wind up here instead of the river, because you ain't so awful far from it."
Amy sniffled, then laughed.
"Oh, Nick! There's just no one like you!"