. . . Little Redheaded White Girl (1263 words)

Chapter 1
First Sight of Joe
Spring 1908
"You might as well be in hell with your back broke as to be married to an Ellis," Lena White and Sally Caldwell overheard old Maudie Ellis shout to Bertha Hatfield over the roar of the oncoming train. Bertha, dressed in her floral print gown, held tight to the porch rail of the little house, her expression harsh.
Lena and Sally stole a quick glance at each other and continued their walk away from the bitter words until a fragrant lilac bush sweetened the air again.
Lena squinted through the lock of wild auburn hair that fell loose of her hairpins. She pushed it back into place, hoping to avoid the town gossips. Despite the warmth of the April morning, she fought the cold chill that overtook her.
"Why in the world would she say that?" murmured seventeen-year-old Lena to her friend.
"She and her man fight all the time. Some say he's a drunk and won't work. I guess she thinks all of the Ellis men are like that?" Sally didn't slow down as they kept walking.
"Are they? Do you know any of them?" Lena asked as she reached down and picked up a couple of daffodil out of a bunch blooming brightly amid the lumps of coal near the road.
"I know some of them when I see them," Sally answered as she took one of the offered daffodils. "They have somewhat of a reputation of drinking and playing cards, but I never heard of any of them being in trouble."
Lena stopped in her tracks. "I don't hold with drinking and cards. It's the devil's work."
"Yeah, Grandma thinks that way, too, but I don't know. Daddy would drink a little liquor but he never got drunk and there never was a better man than my Daddy," Sally responded firmly. "He even played a hand or two of cards sometimes, but he kept his bills paid and knew when to quit playing."
"Well, I could never care for a drunk." Lena stated, sniffed her flower, and then added, "Not that I mean your daddy was a drunk."
"My daddy wasn't a drunk. There is a difference." Sally insisted. By the time they had arrived at the covered outdoor roller skating rink, the tension had faded.
Some of the skaters were very graceful and almost danced on the floor, but Lena and Sally were too shy to participate, especially in their long dresses. Mostly children and several young women and men were slowly moving around the edge, some holding the rail to keep from falling. They went inside and sat on one of the long benches against the outside railing.
There was one man at the other end playing an accordion and another singing. Soon a small fire was burning at the edge of the field and a few men stood around talking and occasionally the sound of a hearty laugh drifted into the rink side.
"That man can really skate good. Who is that?" inquired Lena about the men skating backwards weaving in and out through other skaters.
"That's George Ellis and the other one over there going in circles is his brother French. They're probably the best skaters here," answered Sally.
"Where are they from? Are they kin to Maudie Ellis?"
"Probably. Most every Ellis is related in Logan. They're from up Huff Creek but they were raised in Logan Town. Their mother's family were Christians and her father was a judge. They might not be rich, but they ain't hurting none either."
"These two sure like to show off, don't they? Are they all like that?" Lena could not contain her curiosity about the men who were obviously the center of attention.
"Who likes to show off?" questioned a deep voice behind them.
The women stood up quickly and spun around. Before them stood a tall man with a shock of thick black hair and a crooked smile that revealed strong square teeth. His arms were folded defensively and he stood ramrod straight.
"Those two out there skating backwards and everything," Sally answered, waving her arm in their general direction.
"Does seem they skate good. What's wrong with that?" he asked as he stepped forward and leaned both arms on the outside railing.
"Watch them. They are going too fast and weaving in and out around everybody. That little boy fell down and the tall one just jumped over him!" Sally turned to face the eavesdropper. "It scared the kid so much that he went over and sat down."
"Would you rather he ran over the boy?" the stranger asked as his intense blue eyes danced with amusement.
"No, but they're so . . . I don't know." Sally stammered, not accustomed to being too confused to defend her point.
In an attempt to aid her friend, Lena joined in at last, "They act like they own the place."
"Well, they don't," answered the grinning, roughly dressed man as he gave a short laugh.
"How do you know?" asked Sally sharply, shaking her head.
"Because those two are my brothers and Mr. Chambers owns the rink," said the man easily.
"You're just saying that," insisted Sally. "I know French and George but I never laid eyes on you."
"Joseph Peck Ellis, ladies. At your service," as he made an exaggerated deep bow. "I'm older than they are and I do a lot of work out of town and usually don't have much time for just loafing around like they do." He gave a wave of the hand and smiled at the girls, his eyes slowly moving up and then down Lena. "You young ladies enjoy your evening." Casually turning around, he ambled away.
"Gosh. I didn't know him," said Sally. "Come to think about it, he does look a little bit like them but his face is definitely harsher looking."
"He just looked mean to me," Lena said, with a toss of her head. "It was his fault if he heard something he didn't like. He shouldn't have snuck up behind us."
"Oh, he was just walking by and heard us talking about his family. Can't blame him for stopping? Besides he didn't get mad. It was more like he was teasing us. Did you see him looking you over?" Sally added glancing at Lena.
"Staring at me, you mean! He can just keep his eyes to himself." Lena lifted her chin in defiance. "Besides, I could smell whiskey."
"Not I, and he certainly aren't drunk. Good grief, Lena. Lighten up."
"Maybe Maudie was right." Lena stared after him, drawn in spite of herself.
"You can't know that. He was nice even if he did argue with me, but those old blue eyes were on you when he flashed that big smile," teased Sally taking both hands to smooth out her green and blue plaid dress and straightened the white bow at her neck. "We had better go if we are going to get home before supper."
"I hate to go home so early. Everybody is enjoying skating or talking around the fire. The fun is just getting started. Besides, I don't want that man to think he ran us away." Lena glanced at the rotating circle of skaters and then her eyes were drawn to the man across the rink talking to his brothers.
He looked her way and she felt the heat of a blush warm her cheeks. Maybe she should leave. No man had ever made her heart skip a beat like he did.

Go to Chapter 2

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