Read Miss Julia Stands Her Ground for Free Online

folded the paper and held out his hand to me. I gladly took it and sat beside him. “You know,” he said in a warm, comforting tone, “I was afraid of stirring up all this turmoil for you, and for Hazel Marie, when I knew Puckett would have the devil of a time proving anything. I almost didn’t tell you.”
    â€œSam!” I jerked my hand away and almost hit the ceiling. “Don’t you ever not tell me anything that affects me and mine. I declare, I can’t believe you’d even contemplate such a thing.”
    â€œBut I did tell you, didn’t I? And together, we’re going to handle it. Right?”
    I sat on the edge of the sofa, my back as stiff as a board. “Don’t slide off the subject, Sam. I don’t like the thought of it, I don’t like it a little bit. The idea of you even thinking of shielding me, why, that’s exactly what Brother Vern was doing by going to you.” I switched around to glare at him. “And, I’ll tell you this, his idea of marriage is different from mine, and you’d better make note of it.”
    Sam laughed, which he always did when I got on my high horse. “Come here, woman,” he said, pulling me close. “I promise that I’ll never keep anything from you. I haven’t yet, and I won’t in the future. But you have to let me do a little protecting every now and then. What else is a husband for?”
    I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled. “Oh, I can think of a few things. But,” I said, jabbing his chest with my finger, “the minute I think you’re holding something back that I need to know, you are going to hear from me.”
    Â 
    I don’t know what time Hazel Marie came in during the night, but she was certainly slow and sleepy looking as she readied herself for church the next morning. Sam and Little Lloyd were up with the birds, as usual, and fixed their own breakfast. Then they walked across the street to the church on the corner to attend Sunday school. It was Sam’s turn to teach the old men’s class, and Little Lloyd was assigned the opening prayer for his middlers’ class.
    I rarely missed Sunday school, having been a member of the Lila Mae Harding class since before the woman died and had the class named for her. But on this morning, it was my plan to use the hour to sit down and talk with Hazel Marie. With the house quiet and empty, I figured it would be a good time to tell her how Brother Vern was about to disrupt our lives. Then we would go over to the church in time to attend the worship service. We could pray for strength and grace to weather the storm, as well as ask the Lord to bring down vengeance on the head of that meddling troublemaker.
    Fully dressed and ready to go, I tapped on Hazel Marie’s door. “Hazel Marie? You have a minute?”
    She stuck her head around the door, looking bleary-eyed and only partially dressed. “I can’t get a thing done this morning,” she complained, pushing back her damp hair. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me. We’ve missed Sunday school, haven’t we?”
    â€œYes, but it’s no great loss. Mildred Allen is teaching, and she won’t do a thing but read from the lesson book. We can do that ourselves.” I took a seat in my usual chair in her room and went on. “Can I help you get ready?”
    â€œOh, no’m, I’m just trying to get myself together.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “I better brush my teeth.” Then she went into the bathroom and turned on the water.
    Plainly, this was not working. I waited for her to return, but she went into her newly constructed dressing room and began to slide clothes hangers around. “I can’t ever decide what to wear this time of year,” she called. “It’s too warm for anything heavy, and too late for summer things.”
    â€œYou need some transitional