Turner's Rainbow 2 - The Rainbow Promise Read Online Free Page B

stem. She looked the epitome of a schoolmarm, which was what she was at the small schoolhouse for the town's black children.
    The two women set a platter and bowls of food on the table in front of James. "Mmmm." He began to fill his plate. "Why don't you join me?"
    Lurleen snorted. "We done ate already, Dr. Jim."
    "Then have a cup of coffee and keep me company."
    Dovie was quick to accept. She clasped her hands in her lap and leaned forward, eager to talk. "I heard you treated a man down by the tracks this morning."
    "Yes." James smiled slowly. He knew Dovie; she wanted to hear every last detail. Ever since he could remember, Dovie had been at his heels, wanting to know something— pestering him to teach her to read and write and figure numbers, asking to read his books, interrogating him about his college courses. She was the most intellectually curious human being he had ever met. One day James's father had found her struggling through one of his thick medical tomes when she was about sixteen, and he had given Lurleen the money to send Dovie to the college at Tuskegee.
    Dovie shot James a fulminating glance. "Now, don't you tease me, James Banks. I remember you when you were still in short pants."
    "Dovie! That ain't no way to talk to the doctor!" James chuckled. "Don't get on her, Lurleen. She's right; I was teasing. Okay. One of the railroad crew got his leg crushed this morning."
    "What did you do? Were you able to set it?"
    He shook his head. "No. It was too severe. I had to amputate." He began to describe the operation.
    Lurleen threw up her hands and rose quickly. "Lord, Dr. Jim, you drive me right outta this house." She glared at her daughter. "Girl, you crazy, sittin' there listenin' to that without turnin' a hair."
    Dovie's lips quirked into a smile. "Sorry, Mama."
    "I promise we'll talk about something else," James put in, and Lurleen sat back down.
    Dovie hesitated, then said, "There's a boy at my school who worries me."
    "What's the matter?"
    "He has a long cut on his arm, says he got it from barbed wire, and it's not healing. His arm's starting to puff up and look a funny color."
    "Bring him in to see me tomorrow."
    "His parents don't have any money."
    James shrugged. "That doesn't make his arm any better, does it?"
    "No." Dovie smiled. "Thank you."
    "Don't mention it."
    James finished eating and went upstairs to his mother's sitting room. She was reading when he came into the room, but she set aside the leather-bound book with a smile. At fifty-two, Anthea Banks was still a lovely woman, and she carried herself regally. She came from one of the best families in Willow Springs; her ancestors had been among the first to settle in Farr County. Her sister was married to a judge, and her cousin was the bank president.
    "James, dear." She held out both her hands to him.
    "Hello, Mother." He clasped her hands and sat down on a hassock near her chair.
    "Working late tonight, dear?"
    "You know how it is."
    Anthea gave a wry grin. "I'm afraid I do."
    She squeezed his hands. Anthea wasn't an expressive woman; but she loved her son deeply, and she was very proud of him. He was all one could hope for in a son: handsome, intelligent, and kind. But he was a lonely man. His whole life was his work, and though now and then he called on an eligible girl, he hadn't been serious about anyone since he'd moved back to Willow Springs, It bothered Anthea to think of James living without the love of a wife and children. She suspected, from a look he got in his eyes sometimes, that there had been heartbreak somewhere in his past; but she was not the sort of mother to pry, so she didn't bring up the subject.
    For a few minutes, they chatted about their days. Anthea told him about the Baptist Women's meeting that afternoon in Rachel Corbell's house, and James related a few amusing anecdotes from his work, carefully expurgating anything that might be ugly or harsh. When Anthea began to look tired, James kissed her on the cheek and went