“I was a-feared of that too.”
Rani’s mouth gaped open. “But what scares you? I thought you loved Matthew.”
Granny frowned and leaned back in her chair. “I love him, but he’s got a lot of bad mem’ries that’ve been eatin’ at him for years. We don’t know what his life’s been like, and he may have scars that will make it hard for him to have a normal life. I love both of you too much to see you get hurt.”
Rani gave a nervous laugh. “Granny, you’re talking like Matthew and I are in love. I don’t know that it’s love. It’s just—we like each other. But it seems we argue a lot. My mouth says something before I think, and he lashes back at me.”
A sad look darkened Granny’s eyes. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about, darlin’. You need to pray real hard ’bout this before you get too attached to Matthew. Better to walk away ’fore one of you says or does somethin’ that hurts the other one.”
Rani started to protest that Granny was wrong about her feelings for Matthew, but she knew she would only be trying to convince herself. There was something about Matthew that excited her and attracted her to him. She’d never felt this way before.
It made no difference what Granny or anyone else said. She intended to find out what this feeling was. If she got hurt in the process, she’d have no one to blame but herself. It was worth risking a broken heart to find out what the future held for her and Matthew.
Matthew hadn’t been able to concentrate on his work all morning. Although Rani was familiar with the farm where he’d grown up, he wanted her to know more about the place that held so many memories for him. He wanted to tell her about his mother and what he was like as a boy. His father was a different matter—he didn’t know if he could ever share all the memories he had locked away about him.
He chided himself for letting his mind wander when he had work to do and threw himself into the repair of the animal cribs in the barn. He’d just pounded the last nail into the sagging partition between two stalls when Scout’s bark broke the silence. He stepped out of the stall into the middle aisle of the barn just as Scout and Rani appeared at the open door. When Scout saw him, he ran to him and jumped up on his leg.
Matthew laughed, dropped to his knees, and hugged the wriggling dog. Rani leaned against the side of the door and smiled. He stood up and walked toward her. “I can always expect a warm welcome from Scout. Maybe you should take a lesson from him.”
She held up a basket covered with a cloth. “I suspect you would much rather have what’s in this basket instead of my welcome.”
He closed his eyes and sniffed. “You may be right. I smell something good. What is it?”
“I brought the rest of last night’s squirrel stew. Granny made us some cornbread, and I made you some teacake cookies like I promised I would.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “You read my mind. I’m starving.”
She arched an eyebrow and studied him from head to toe. “Well, you need to get cleaned up before you eat. Go do that and meet me under the big oak tree over there. I’ll have everything ready for you.”
His heart pounded at the ease with which they teased today. Maybe they had passed the point of taking exception to everything the other one said. As she walked away, his eyes took in her every movement. Strange how a few days could change the way a person looked at the world. He hadn’t been this happy in years. He reached down, scratched behind Scout’s ears, and laughed. “Come on, boy. Let’s get ready to eat.”
Whistling a tune, he hurried to the bucket on a bench at the entrance to the barn and poured some water into the pan beside it. For several minutes he scrubbed his hands and arms and then scooped up water to wash the grime from his face. As he wet his hair and slicked it back from his face, he glanced down at Scout.
“Do I look good enough to eat with a pretty woman?”
Scout tilted his head to one side as if trying to decide, and Matthew laughed. What would the men he’d worked with at Little River think of Matthew Jackson talking to a dog and trying to impress a woman? It didn’t matter. At the moment nothing mattered except being with her.
She sat on the ground under the oak tree, and his heart beat a little faster as he walked toward her. His gaze traveled over the plates and forks she’d pulled out of the basket beside her, but he stumbled to a stop when he spied the small vase in the center of the cloth.
With the streaks of red and black that ran up the sides, he knew right away it was one of her pit-fired vases. But it was what the vase held that sucked the breath from him. She had picked blossoms from the mountain laurel bush and arranged them inside for a bouquet to decorate their simple meal.
Her hands fluttered to her lap, and a pink tinge lit her cheeks as she followed his gaze to the flowers. “I picked some. I like to enjoy them as long as they bloom.”
The memory of his mother walking out of the cabin the day they left the Cove flashed in his mind, and he almost groaned. He could still see her clutching the small can that contained a cutting from her mountain laurel bush. Now when he looked at her bush, he not only thought of her but of his first glimpse of Rani also.
He took a deep breath and smiled. “They make it look like we’re having a fancy meal.”
She ducked her head and motioned for him to sit down. “There’s nothing fancy about squirrel stew, but it does fill you up. One good thing about living in the Cove is all the wild game we have for our tables.”
He nodded and dropped down beside her. “There are a lot of good things about living here.”
She picked up a dish, spooned some stew onto it, and handed it to him. “There are. I’m glad you came back to enjoy them.”
His heart leapt, and he smiled. “I am too.”
As they ate, Matthew related story after story about his childhood days when he roamed the forests and streams in the Cove. He took care to only mention happy times, never anything about his father. Rani’s eyes lit up with laughter when he told of the time he’d tried to catch a bear cub to keep as a pet. He’d had to run for his life when the mother showed up.
“What did your mother say when you told her?”
He grinned. “Nothing. I never told her. I thought it was better keeping it to myself instead of worrying her.”
“That sounds a lot like me when I was little. Stephen always did what Mama and Poppa wanted, but it seems I was in trouble all the time.” She laughed and held out the plate with her cookies on it. “Have another?”
He shook his head and rubbed his stomach. “I’ve already had four. I’m so full I need to take a nap, and that’s not going to help me finish the work I’d planned for this afternoon.”
“We were having so much fun, I forgot you have work to do.” She began to gather up the dishes. “I’d better get a count of how many bricks I think you need and go home. I don’t want to detain you.”
He didn’t want their time together to end, and he grabbed her hand to stop her from loading the basket with their dirty dishes. “Don’t go yet. I’m enjoying having you here.”
She paused and stared at him. “Are you?”
“Yes,” he whispered. He pulled one of the mountain laurel blooms from the vase, scooted closer to her, and stuck it in her thick hair. Then he arranged another one on the other side of her face. Unable to stop himself, he continued until the can sat empty, and all the blooms resembled a crown of flowers on her head.
She didn’t move as he leaned back and stared at her. “There,” he said. “You’re just as beautiful as you were the first day I saw you.”
Her lips trembled. “Am I really?”
He swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, you are.”
A nervous laugh escaped her mouth. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
“Then I’m glad I’m the first.” He glanced at the blooms again and frowned. “Did I ever tell you the history of that mountain laurel bush?”
She shook her head. “No, but I assumed it has something to do with your mother.”
“I’ve come to that bush to pick blooms for years. Now it’s special to me because we met here.”
She leaned forward, and his heart caught in his throat. She wanted him to kiss her. He wanted to more than anything, but he couldn’t move. After a moment he sighed, grasped her hand, and pulled her to her feet. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
He clasped her hand in his and led her past the barn and across the field behind it. He stopped before they reached the trees that grew across the back of the field. The mountains rose in the distance, and the sight thrilled him as it had since he was a child.
He tightened his fingers around Rani’s and stared down at her. “When I was a child, I explored the woods at the back of our farm and thought it was some kind of magical forest. Then when I worked for Little River, I saw all the tourists who are beginning to flock to the Smokies. But none of them were coming to Cades Cove. I had an idea, and for years I’ve been working on a plan for bringing visitors here.”
A frown puckered Rani’s brow, and she stared from the woods to him. “I don’t understand.”
He took a deep breath. “I haven’t told anybody this, but I want to build a small lodge here at the edge of the woods for visitors.”
“But why would they want to come here?”
“For the same reason we love living here. The mountains, the wildflowers in the spring and summer, the leaves in the fall, the fish in the stream, the wildlife.”
Understanding dawned, and her eyes grew wide. “You want to share your love of the Cove with other people, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me more about this plan. What will you do once people come?”
He smiled and shrugged. “It depends on what they want. For fishing, I can take them to Abrams Creek and any of the other streams that are filled with rainbow trout. For hiking, there are trails all over the Cove that offer some of the most beautiful sights in the Smokies. I could take groups on short or longer hiking trips—whichever they chose. For longer trips we could go up the Anthony Creek trail to Spence Field, set up a campsite there, and spend days hiking all the trails in the area. Then there’re places to explore like Gregory’s Cave. I think it could really open the Cove up to visitors who are willing to pay for such trips.”
Her eyes danced with excitement. “Oh, this sounds wonderful—but how will you get them to come in the first place?”
His heart raced at the realization that she shared his excitement of the idea. “I’ll advertise in Knoxville or Asheville or newspapers all over. The beauty of the Cove and the seclusion will be a draw for people wanting that kind of vacation. Once they come, they’ll tell their friends, and word will spread.”
He still held her hand, and she covered his with her free one. “Oh, Matthew, this sounds wonderful, and maybe I can help you with it. If we could attract enough visitors, then they might see what the lumber companies are doing to the forests and help us put a stop to it.”
“Maybe so.”
“But you have a lot of work to do before that can happen. Have you thought about how many people you’ll have to hire to make this work? You’ll need a cook and someone to clean the lodge, and you’ll need someone to help you lead fishing or hiking trips. How long will it be before you’ll be ready for this?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Whoa. You make it sound like it’s going to happen overnight. I need money, and right now I have very little left. I’ll have to put in a few crops first so I can get some money to build the lodge. I’m giving myself five years before I start building the lodge.”
She stared at the woods as she was envisioning the lodge he’d described. “I see the perfect spot for the lodge. And maybe you should build a separate cabin for the kitchen and dining room.” Her voice grew more animated. “And maybe you could have a spot in the dining hall where I could sell my bowls and vases.” She stopped, clamped her lips together, and turned to him. “I’m sorry. This is your dream. I didn’t mean to take over.”
In that moment, he knew why he’d told her what he’d kept hidden from everyone else. He wanted more than anything he’d ever desired to share it with her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. She stared up at him, and the mountain laurel blooms in her hair filled him with a longing like he’d never known.
“You’re not interfering,” he whispered.
With a groan he lowered his mouth and pressed it against her trembling lips. His heart pumped, and he tightened his hold on her when her arms encircled his shoulders and her fingers caressed the back of his neck.
He released her mouth and pressed his cheek next to hers. “Oh, Rani,” he murmured, “I never dreamed I’d meet anyone like you when I came back here.”
“And I never thought someone like you would enter my life.” She pulled back and stared up at him. “But I’m glad you did.”
He swallowed hard. “I’m glad I did too. There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, though. And I’m so much older than you. I want to take this slow and see where it leads us. I don’t want you to be hurt.”
She smiled, reached up, and stroked his cheek. “The difference in our ages makes no difference to me, and I know you could never hurt me.”
He didn’t respond but clasped her hand and led her back toward the barn. He hoped she was right, but in his heart he feared she was wrong. Rani was still young, and the years he’d been gone were filled with too many mistakes—ones that might make it impossible for him to ever have a normal life. If that proved to be true, he would never allow Rani to be hurt because of it.
Chapter 9
In the days following the kiss Matthew and Rani had spent every spare minute together. So far she didn’t think her parents had noticed, but Granny had. One morning a week after Matthew told her of his plan for his farm she was busy packing their noon meal in a basket when Granny hobbled into the kitchen.
Her eyebrows arched when she saw what Rani was doing. She dropped into a chair at the table. “Are you goin’ over to Matthew’s again today?”
Rani didn’t glance up, but nodded. “Yes. He works so hard, and I can’t stand to think of him being hungry. It’s really no problem for me to take him some food.”
Granny snorted. “I reckon it ain’t no problem except that you been mighty hush-mouthed about it, and you’ve gone over there for the last three days. Do your ma and pa know what you been a-doin’?”
Rani gave a nervous laugh and tucked the cloth around the food she placed in a basket. “No, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. Both of them have been gone every morning this week either visiting or waiting for a baby to be born.”
“Well, they been here at night, and I ain’t noticed you and Matthew a-tellin’ them about all your private time together.” Granny crossed her arms and snorted. “’Course I don’t know why they so blind. Anybody with good sense can see the way you and that boy look at each other. I ain’t never seen nobody as lovesick you two.”
Rani’s face burned, and she glanced up at Granny. “We aren’t lovesick, and there’s nothing wrong with us having some private time, as you call it. We’ve just become good friends.”
Granny shook her head. “Good friends, huh? That’s not what it looks like to me. And if you’re sure that’s all it is, then you need to let your folks know.” Granny was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Tell me one thing, though. Have you and Matthew talked about marriage?”
Rani shot a surprised look in her direction. “No. I tol
d you we’re just getting to know each other.”
“Well, I don’t feel good keepin’ this from your ma and pa. If Matthew has any intentions toward you, he needs to tell Simon.”
“Intentions?” Rani dropped to her knees beside Granny’s chair and grasped her hand. “Please don’t say anything to Mama and Poppa yet. I don’t know what’s going to happen between us. I just know I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Granny reached down with her other hand and caressed Rani’s cheek. “Darling, I want you and Matthew both to be happy, but this all happened so sudden. You ain’t lived out in the world like Matthew has, and you don’t understand how different it is from life here. I worry because I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know you do.” She took a deep breath. “But, Granny, I think I’m falling in love with Matthew. All I want is to be with him.”
Granny tilted her head to one side and smiled. “Back when your ma come to this valley, she was full of life just like you are now. The only dif’rence is she had her heart set on going to New York. Didn’t want to fall in love, but she did. With you it’s not the same. I know you been lookin’ for somebody to love ever since Josie got married, but you ain’t found him. Now this handsome man who’s lots older than you and has seen lots more than you’ll ever see comes along, and you fall head over heels. Maybe you need to get out of the Cove and see what’s out there in the rest of the world before you make any big decisions.”
“I don’t want to leave home. Besides, where would I go?”
“You can always go visit your Uncle Charles over to Maryville. He’d love to have some comp’ny.”
Rani shook her head. “I love him and enjoy seeing him, but I don’t want to go right now. Maybe this winter I will.”
Granny snorted. “By this winter you’ll change your mind. You need to go before you git more involved with Matthew.”
“Please understand, Granny. I’m making the bricks for Matthew’s chimney, and I want to help him any way I can. I know you worry about me. And I also understand there’s a lot about him I don’t know, but he’s a good man. And he has big dreams for his farm. I want to be a part of it with him.”
Mountain Homecoming Page 12