Mountain Homecoming

by Sandra Robbins

  She squared her shoulders, clenched her fists at her side, and looked down at Scout. “I promise you, Scout, I will never settle for second best, even if it means I never get married.”

  From the moment he rode into Cades Cove a peace like he hadn’t experienced in years came over Matthew Jackson. He pulled his horse to a stop and breathed in the sweet scent of mountain laurel drifting on the air. It smelled like home. He was back where his heart had remained.

  Had it really been twenty years since he left the Cove? He closed his eyes and tried to recall every memory of the days following the death of his drunkard father. Even now the thought of the life he, his mother, and his little brother had endured made the old anger he’d tried to bury resurface. With his father drunk most of the time, survival had been hard. But his mother had seen to it that there was always food on the table. Then their lives had taken a turn for the worse when a tavern brawl had ended with his father lying dead of a gunshot wound.

  Matthew had been almost ten years old at the time, but overnight he became the man of the family. He’d turned to a newcomer in the Cove, Anna Prentiss. Of course she was Anna Martin now. But to him she’d always be the angel who’d found a place for his family to live and had seen they were taken care of.

  He even remembered the last words he’d spoken to her the day they left the Cove. She stood beside the wagon loaded with his family’s few belongings, and he’d said, “I’ll be back here someday.” And now, thanks to the money he’d saved working for the Little River Company, he had returned with the deed to his old homestead in his pocket.

  But would the people of the Cove welcome the return of Luke Jackson’s son? His father had been a troublemaker and a bully, not to mention an abuser of his wife and children. The sturdy mountain folks didn’t have time for a man who didn’t take care of his family. As his mother used to say, people have long memories, and he was sure they could recall every one of his father’s misdeeds. Now he was about to see if those memories had labeled him a ne’er-do-well like his father.

  He could count on one hand the folks who would welcome him back. Simon and Anna Martin. Granny Lawson. They were the ones who made his childhood bearable, and he could hardly wait to see them. But first things first. He had to go to the place where he was born and fulfill a promise he’d made to his dying mother fifteen years ago.

  He’d leaned close to her frail, fever-ridden body to catch her last words spoken in that familiar mountain twang: “When you git back to the Cove, see if’n my mountain laurel bush is still there, the one yore pa planted for me when we was first married.”

  After all the heartache his father had put her through, she still held to the memory of the early days of her marriage when she’d been so happy. Even now the thought of how her eyes had sparkled for a moment, reliving a happier time, made him feel as if a hammer had crushed his heart. His mother and little Eli, his brother. Gone too soon.

  He cleared his throat and swiped at his eyes. No need to think about those things now. This was homecoming day, but it was different from what he’d dreamed about when he was a boy. He’d come back alone.

  Straightening in the saddle, he spurred the horse forward and concentrated on the road twisting through the valley he loved. All around him were the sights and sounds he’d longed for, but he focused on getting home and seeing the place he’d left twenty years ago.

  When he pulled the horse to a halt at what had once been the cabin where he’d lived, his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. It was worse than he’d expected. The skeleton of a cabin sat near the tulip poplar tree he’d climbed as a boy—bigger now than he remembered. The house’s roof had long ago succumbed to the forces of nature and had caved in. A few timbers marked the spot where it had once been. Weeds grew across what had once been a yard.

  Even in its best days the cabin hadn’t been much, but it could have been if his father had concentrated on making a life for his family instead of spending his time in a drunken stupor. The old hatred welled up in his heart, and he whispered the plea he’d prayed every day since he could remember. “God, don’t let me be like him. Make me a better man.”

  The promise he’d made his mother flashed into his mind, and he climbed down from the horse and tied the reins to a sapling. Taking a deep breath to slow his racing heart, he headed around the side of the house. Had the mountain laurel plant survived the years?

  His gaze drifted to his feet, and a warning flickered in his head. The weeds along what used to be a path had been trampled. Someone else had passed this way not long ago.

  With hesitant steps, he inched forward. The knee-high weeds swished against his legs. He caught sight of his mother’s plant that now towered higher than his head, and he stopped in amazement. It wasn’t the bloom-covered bush that made his breath catch in his throat. It was a young woman who appeared unaware of his presence. With her arms outstretched and her face turned up to the sun, she whirled in circles in front of the mountain laurel bush while saying something in a language he didn’t understand.

  Her bare feet hammered the hardened earth around the plant in a pounding rhythm. Pink blooms from the mountain laurel bush ringed the top of her head and several more protruded from the mass of black hair that reached below her shoulders.

  She moved with the grace and elegance of a queen, and he thought he had never seen anyone more beautiful. He tried to speak, to alert her she wasn’t alone, but he felt as if he had come under her spell and had been forbidden to move.

  Suddenly the air crackled with frantic barking, and a dog emerged from the other side of the bush. His hackles raised, he positioned himself between Matthew and the girl. She jerked to a stop and stared at him, wide-eyed. The dog snarled and inched forward.

  Her dark eyes narrowed, and with one snap of her fingers she quieted the dog. She didn’t move, and her arched eyebrow told him his company wasn’t welcomed. “Stay back, mister, or I’ll sic my dog on you.”

  He glanced down at the dog, whose body still bristled as if he was ready to attack. “I don’t mean you any harm, miss.”

  “Then why did you sneak up on me?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t. I stopped when I heard your voice. What were you saying?”

  “Just some words I learned from a Cherokee woman.” She frowned and glanced past him. “Are you alone?”

  “I am. I just rode into the Cove from Townsend.”

  Her body stiffened, and her lips curled into a sneer. “Townsend? Are you with the Little River Company?”

  “I have been.”

  “It figures.” She spit the words at him as if they were distasteful. “We get a lot of Little River workers checking out the Cove. You people are always searching for another stand of timber to cut down, aren’t you?” She bent down, grabbed her discarded shoes, and slipped them on her feet. Then with her arms rigid at her sides and her fists clenched, she took a step toward him. “Well, you can go back and tell your bosses we don’t sell our land and our trees to outsiders who want to clear cut their way through the Smokies.”

  The defiant look in her eyes shot daggers at him, and they felt as if they poked deep holes in his heart. This girl’s words echoed the fierce pride shared by all the Cove residents for this valley, his valley, the place he called home. He wanted to tell her he agreed with her, that all he wanted was to live again among the people he remembered. Instead, other words emerged from his lips. “I worked for their railroad, not the logging company.”

  She shook her head, and one of the blooms tumbled to the ground. Her eyes widened, and she glanced up as if she’d forgotten she wore a crown of flowers. A flush covered her cheeks, and she yanked the blossoms from her thick hair. “They’re the same to me. Maybe you didn’t cut our trees, but you carried them away.”

  Matthew swallowed hard. There was something so familiar about this girl. Her brown eyes, dark complexion, and the high cheekbones reminded him of someone. It wasn’t possible he could have met her before. She probably hadn’t e
ven been born when he had left the Cove. But still, there was something. He took a step closer, and the dog growled. With a smile he stopped and held up his hands. “I’m not coming closer.”

  “Good.” She sniffed and snapped her fingers again. “Let’s go, Scout. It’s time we got home.”

  He didn’t move as she strode past him, her head held high and her dog at her side. He turned and watched her disappear around the side of what had once been his home. Her straight back and determined stride reminded him of the spirited mountain women he’d known. They attacked the harsh life in the Cove and planted the seed of unyielding loyalty to the land in their children. Just like his mother had done with him.

  Someone had instilled that same devotion in this girl. He hoped he’d get to meet the person who had done that, for he had just encountered the fierce mountain pride that had ruled his life. And it thrived in the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  Chapter 2

  With each step she took toward home, Rani’s anger grew stronger. Why wouldn’t Little River Lumber stay out of the Cove? The stranger she’d encountered at the old Jackson farm wasn’t the first one who’d been sent to find tracts of timber to buy. Her father had even been approached about the forest on their land, but he’d told them no.

  Now another Little River worker had arrived. She hoped what she’d said had convinced him he was on a futile mission. If truth be told, though, she wasn’t sure what some of the other families in the Cove would say. Life was hard here and money was scarce. An offer from a big logging company could lighten the day-to-day problems of living in this remote valley.

  Rani sighed and shook her head. No use thinking about what other folks would do. She only knew what her parents would do, and she was proud of them for their stand against the stripping of the mountainsides.

  She smiled when the cabin she’d lived in all her life came into view, and her stride increased. The sun had begun to sink toward the west. That meant it wouldn’t be long until supper. Mama probably needed her help.

  She dashed into the house and hurried into the kitchen. Mouthwatering smells drifted from the iron cook stove in the corner. Spring greens from the mountainsides simmered in a pot on the back burner, and sliced ham ready to be placed in the frying pan lay on a plate on the table. But it was the sweet odor coming from the oven that tickled her nose. She couldn’t resist a peek and opened the oven door to catch a glimpse of the apple pie bubbling on the rack.

  Closing the door, she turned and glanced around. Where was everybody? “Hello? Anybody home?”

  “Out here, darlin’.”

  The familiar voice came from the yard, and she peered out the back door. Granny Lawson, her Bible in her lap and her cane resting against her chair, sat under the big oak tree behind the house. Rani stood still a moment and studied the woman she’d known all her life.

  Granny, as everyone called her, had dedicated her life years ago to serving the people she loved as a midwife. There was hardly a person Rani’s age or younger in the Cove who hadn’t been delivered by the legendary granny woman. Although not related by blood to her family, Granny had been a second mother to both her parents, and she was the only grandmother Rani had ever known.

  Rani’s gaze drifted to Granny’s hands. Healing hands, they’d always been called. Now they were gnarled with arthritis. Rani ran down the back porch steps and plopped down on the ground next to Granny.

  “Supper smells good. Who picked the greens?”

  Granny closed her Bible and smiled. “Your pa picked ’em this mornin’. Your ma was just ’bout to put ’em on to cook when she remembered she wanted to go check on Lizzie Morton and her new young ’un. I told her to go on. I’d take care of supper. Your pa drove her over there in the buggy, so they ought to be a-gittin’ back soon.”

  “Good. I can hardly wait to have a piece of that pie you made. But I wish I’d been here to help you. I know how painful it is for you to use your fingers.”

  Granny frowned and shook her head. “No, child. I made out just fine. You needed to be over to Josie’s a-tellin’ her goodbye.” Granny tilted her head to one side. “How’s my girl a-doin’? I know she hates to leave her folks.”

  Rani sighed. “She does, but she’s being brave.” Her voice broke, and she laid her cheek against Granny’s leg. She placed her fingers on the Bible in Granny’s lap and caressed the leather cover of the book Granny had read to her all her life. The tears she’d tried to hold in since leaving Josie’s ran down her face. “Oh Granny. What am I going to do? All my friends are leaving the Cove. I’ll be so lonely.”

  Granny stroked Rani’s head. “No you won’t. You gonna have your folks and me, and you got a lot of friends at church.”

  Rani raised up and stared at Granny. “I know that, but sometimes I feel so…so empty inside. Like something’s missing from my life. What’s the matter with me?”

  “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with you. You’ve just grown into a woman with feelin’s you don’t understand, but you’ll figure ’em out. You’re ’bout the smartest girl I ever seen.” She leaned closer. “Maybe even smarter than your ma, and that’s sayin’ a mouthful.”

  Rani shook her head. “You’re wrong. Mama knew from the time she was a little girl she wanted to deliver babies and take care of sick folks. I’ll never be able to do anything that comes up to her.” Her lips trembled, and she paused before continuing. “And I’ll never be able to make up for what I’ve taken from her.”

  “Oh, child.” Deep wrinkles furrowed across Granny’s face. She reached out and caressed Rani’s cheek. “You can’t grieve the rest of your life over what happened in the past. You gotta look to the future and what God has planned for you.”

  “I try to do that, but I can’t forget. It was my fault.”

  A sad look flickered in Granny’s eyes, and they stared at each other lost in their own thoughts of the past. “I’ve told you over and over it warn’t your fault. What’s it gonna take to convince you?”

  Rani blinked back tears. “I don’t know,” she murmured.

  Granny exhaled a long breath. “I know life can be hard sometimes. I got my own regrets ’bout things I wish I’d done different. But I cain’t stand to see you a-punishin’ yourself for somethin’ you couldn’t help.” She pointed toward the mountains in the distance. “You need to think about all that God’s already done for you. Look around and see His work, Rani. He blessed you by puttin’ you in the purtiest place on earth.”

  The sight of the smoky mists hanging over the mountains sent a thrill through her. “I know that, and I love the Cove. I don’t think I could ever live anywhere else.”

  Granny smiled and grasped Rani’s hand. “I never seen anybody in all my years that loves this here valley like you do. I know sometimes your ma and pa get outdone with you ’cause you a-rantin’ about the logging companies, but I just see that as a sign that you got a deep love for this here place. Maybe God’s got some plan for you right here.”

  Rani stared at the hills in the distance for a moment and let Granny’s words soak into her mind. With a sigh, she turned back to Granny. “But what could it be?”

  Granny shrugged. “I don’t know, child. That’s just a notion I got in my head. You the one gonna have to figure that out.”

  Rani pushed to her feet and brushed off her dress. “Well, until I do, I wish I could come up with a way to keep Little River out of the Cove.” She frowned at the sudden thought of the stranger she’d encountered earlier today. “That reminds me. I stopped by the old Jackson place to pick some mountain laurel on my way home and ran into another Little River employee. I told him our timber wasn’t for sale.”

  Granny’s forehead wrinkled, and her eyebrows drew down across her nose. “Child, you gotta be careful ’bout who you go a-talkin’ to. You’ve grown into a right purty woman, and you never can tell how strangers are gonna react. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

  The man’s image flashed in her mind, and her skin
warmed at the way he had looked at her. At the time she had told herself that he was a Little River employee who only wanted to curry favor with a mountain girl who might help him in his search for timber. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t so sure. He’d been courteous even when she hadn’t been.

  It didn’t matter. She would probably never see the handsome man again, and a part of her was sorry about that. She glanced up at Granny who appeared to be waiting for a reply about her concern for Rani’s safety. She patted Granny’s hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. Besides, I had Scout with me today, and the man appeared harmless. He tried to tell me he worked for the railroad, but it’s all the same to me. I watched to see if he followed me, but he didn’t.”

  Granny shook her head. “Just the same, I don’t like you talkin’ to strangers. It ain’t safe.” She glanced around the yard. “By the way, where is that dog of yours?”

  Rani laughed. “He took off after a rabbit a ways back. Don’t worry. He’ll turn up for his supper.”

  The rattle of a buggy pulling off the road in front of the house caught Rani’s attention. Ever since she was a child she’d thrilled to the familiar sound of her parents returning home from one of their medical or spiritual missions to those in Cove. “Mama and Poppa are home.”

  Her parents’ laughter could be heard as her father pulled the buggy to a stop on the path that ran beside the cabin to the barn. Poppa reached over and straightened Mama’s bonnet and whispered something in her ear. Her mother laughed and swatted at his hand, but there was no anger on her face, only love.

  Rani’s gaze drifted over the two, and her heart swelled. Poppa’s dark features offered a sharp contrast to Mama’s blonde hair sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. Together they made a tireless team that served the needs of their friends and neighbors. As she watched them, she knew if God never gave her anything else in her life, He had blessed her beyond measure by allowing her to have such wonderful parents.