Mountain Homecoming

by Sandra Robbins

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “You know I’ve fallen in love with you. I’d like to give you much more than a necklace.”

  She let her hair drop back to her shoulders and swiveled to face him. Her fingers touched the locket that rested in the hollow of her neck. “I’m flattered that you think of me that way, David.”

  His eyebrows arched. “But?”

  She smiled and touched his cheek. “Give me some time.”

  His eyes darkened. “All right. I can be patient. I’m going to show you I really am a great guy.”

  She clasped his hand in hers. “I already know that. But you’re too good to me, David. I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t want to do that to you. Like I said, just give me some time.”

  He stood and pulled her to her feet. His arms encircled her waist, and he drew her closer. “I’ve been in love with you since the first day you walked into my shop. I’ve waited a long time for a woman like you, and I don’t intend to let you get away.”

  She smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Matthew shivered in the saddle and urged his horse to go faster. This had been a wonderful Christmas, but he was ready to get home and sit by his own fireplace.

  He’d never spent a Christmas like the one he had with Simon, Anna, and Granny. From the look on Noah’s face, he’d never had one like it either. The only thing that could have made it better was if Rani had been there with him.

  He wondered what she had done today. Had her Christmas been as peaceful as his? Anna said she might come home in the spring, but that was a long time off. At least four or five months. She’d already been gone for five months, and it seemed like an eternity.

  He touched the muffler Anna had made and tucked it tighter around his neck. Although he treasured the gift Anna had made for him, he wanted the one Granny and Noah had been given. He wanted to be a member of Simon and Anna’s family.

  A pang of regret shot through him. If he hadn’t held onto the guilt about his past for so long, that might very well have happened. When he’d sent Rani away, he had dashed that dream forever.

  He stared up into the sky and prayed as he had for months since Rani left. “Keep her safe, Lord, wherever she is, and please help her not to hate me too much. I love her so.”

  Chapter 18

  Rani looped her arm through her uncle’s and stepped into the showroom of the Knoxville gallery. She stopped inside the door and let her gaze drift over David’s displayed pieces around the room. Her breath caught in her throat at the rich colors and unusual shapes David had produced. After nine months of hard work, the day she and David had looked forward to had finally arrived.

  “Oh, Uncle Charles, aren’t David’s pieces beautiful?”

  David appeared at her side before Uncle Charles could answer and laughed. “Thank you, ma’am, but I suggest you look at the pieces my assistant made. They’re quite exquisite too.”

  She glanced up into David’s smiling face and arched her eyebrows. “Could you guide me to where this budding artist’s wares are being shown?”

  His eyes softened. “It would be my pleasure. If you and your uncle will follow me, I’ll lead the way.”

  They crossed the room and came to a stop at a table where her pieces sat. As she studied each one, she recalled the hours she’d spent working on them and how patient David had been with her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned to him. “When I visited your shop for the first time last August, I would never have believed that nine months later I would be showing my work in a public exhibit. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, David.”

  He cleared his throat and smiled. “You really didn’t need my help all that much once you decided you could do it. I’m very proud of you, Rani.”

  “And so am I,” Uncle Charles added. “Now I think I’ll leave you two artists alone to greet the guests who are entering, and I’ll browse around.” He winked at Rani. “I might even find a piece I wish to purchase.”

  Rani laughed and stared after him as he strolled across the floor. When she turned back to David, he smiled and inched closer. “Do you think your uncle would mind if I stole you away from him tonight for supper? Something has happened that I want to discuss with you.”

  “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. But now I’ll be in a stew all afternoon trying to figure out what the big mystery is all about. Can’t you give me a hint?”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “It’s no big mystery, just a business proposition I’ve been offered. I want to get your reaction to it. Will you have supper with me?”

  She smiled. “Of course I will. After all you’ve done to help me, I want to do whatever I can for you.”

  His eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Rani.” He glanced around and took a deep breath. “Now we need to do as your uncle suggested and meet our guests. I want everyone to get a chance to see your pieces.”

  He took her by the arm to lead her across the room, but she held back. “David, this is your show. I want you to be successful. You’ve worked hard, and you deserve it. Don’t worry about trying to promote me. I want you to be the star today.”

  He swallowed hard. “Thank you, Rani, but you’ve been the brightest star in my life since the day you walked into my studio.”

  “I’m glad, David,” she whispered.

  He smiled down at her and led her to where a group of men and women stood at a display table. She stared up at him and thought how handsome he looked today. His fair skin and blond hair were very different from Matthew’s dark eyes and hair, but maybe that was good. At least she wasn’t constantly reminded of the man she had once loved.

  Rani scraped the last bite of strawberry shortcake from her plate and popped it into her mouth. Across the table David lowered his coffee cup and smiled.

  “Did you enjoy your dinner?”

  She swallowed the last bite and wiped her mouth on her napkin. “Oh, David, this place is wonderful. How did you know about it?”

  “My father brought me here once when we visited Knoxville. I thought you might enjoy it.”

  She glanced around at the waiters in their black suits and the flute and cello players who provided soft music from a raised platform at one end of the room. “But this place must be so expensive. We could probably feed our family in the Cove for a year on what you’ll pay for this meal tonight.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what it cost, Rani. I wanted it to be special for you.”

  She arched her eyebrows and nodded. “Well, it’s certainly been special. I never thought a mountain girl like me would get to eat in a place like this.”

  He glanced around the room before he looked at her again. “I suppose I’ve taken things like this for granted because of my family’s money. But I learned a long time ago that wealth doesn’t bring happiness. I didn’t know what being happy was like until I met you.”

  “You’ve never talked about your family much.”

  He settled back in his chair and shrugged. “My grandfather made a lot of money in railroads, and my father expanded the business into other areas. My brother works with him now, but they’re content for me to pursue my art.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t want you in the family business too.”

  “I think it was my mother who convinced my father to let me follow my dream. She was an artist too, and painted. Before she died, she made my father promise not to interfere in my life, and he never has. He’s generous with his money and very supportive. I feel very fortunate.”

  “You are.” She pushed her dessert plate out of the way and clasped her hands in her lap. “But you must have some business leanings in you if you’re thinking about a new venture. Are you going to keep me in suspense, or are you going to tell me what it is?”

  He laughed and sat up straight in his chair. “I met a man at an art exhibit last year when I visited St. Louis. It was a chance meeting. He was in town visiting family, heard about a young artist who ha
d an exhibit, and decided to attend. I had gone because I knew the artist. We happened to meet and struck up a conversation. He was from a small town in upstate New York.”

  “Is he a potter too?”

  “Yes. As we talked, we discovered that we both had ambitions to develop new glazes and techniques that would set our work apart from anyone else’s.”

  Rani smiled. “It sounds like you have a lot in common.”

  He nodded. “I told him how I’d been working on a glaze that would give the piece a crackled look when fired, and he was very interested. We’ve kept in touch ever since, and now he’s offered me a great opportunity.”

  Rani’s eyes widened. “What is it?”

  “He says there’s a large kiln works for sale not far from where he lives. He wants us to go in as partners on it. We could continue our separate work on pottery, but we could collaborate and experiment with different glazes. He thinks in time we could establish a line of pottery that could be sold in the best shops in this country and abroad.”

  Rani reached across the table and grasped his hand. “Oh, David, this is what you’ve wanted for a long time. It sounds perfect for you. I think you should do it.”

  He glanced down at her hand holding his and covered it with his other one. “You realize, of course, I’d have to move to New York to work. I couldn’t stay here.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. For a moment regret that he’d be going away washed over her, but she shook it from her mind. The important thing was for David to follow his dream. “I know. But, David, you have to do what is best for your career, and this sounds like the perfect opportunity.”

  His hand tightened on hers. “Would you miss me if I went away?”

  “Of course I would.”

  “Would you come with me if I asked you?”

  She frowned and tried to pull her hand free, but he held her in a tight grip. “I…I don’t understand.”

  “Marry me, Rani, and come with me to New York. You know I’m in love with you. Think of the wonderful life we could have there. We could work together in our studio, and you could help me develop the glaze that we will use.”

  She frowned. “New York? That’s so far from Tennessee. I never thought about leaving the mountains.”

  “You’re not that mountain girl who walked into my studio nine months ago. You’re quite a sophisticated young lady now. I’ve seen the way the men in this restaurant have looked at you tonight. They’re all envious of me. Please marry me, Rani. I don’t think I can go without you.”

  “M-marry you?” His grip on her left hand tightened. She wrapped the fingers of her free hand around the napkin in her lap and crushed it into a ball. “This is such a shock. Are you sure you want to marry me?”

  He chuckled and nodded. “I’m positive. I’ve never wanted anything so much in my life.”

  She glanced down at her new flowered pink silk dress decorated with tied French knots. When she’d seen it in the shop in Maryville, she had thought it the most gorgeous dress she’d ever seen. No one in Cades Cove had ever owned anything like it. Uncle Charles had purchased it for her, and the woman who’d shown it to her had assured her it was perfect to wear to an art exhibit. She could have dozens of dresses like this if she married David, and she wouldn’t live in a cabin anymore.

  But this was all happening too fast. Her family hadn’t even met David yet, and she would want her father to perform the ceremony when she got married. She needed to think about what she was doing before she gave him an answer.

  “Do we have to decide right now?”

  Disappointment flickered in his eyes. “Maybe not right this minute, but soon if I’m going to be in New York in time to complete the deal.”

  “When do you have to be there?”

  “I have to be in New York by the first of June. We could be married the middle of May and have a short honeymoon maybe at Niagara Falls.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gold ring set with a swirl of diamonds. “This is my mother’s ring. I want my wife to have it. Will you please make me the happiest man on earth and agree to marry me?”

  She stared at the sparkling diamonds and thought of how her parents had struggled in Cades Cove to provide for their family. If she married David, there would always be money. She would also be free to pursue her love of pottery. As she had told Uncle Charles, David was a good man, and she respected him. And best of all, he loved her. When she added all his good attributes together, she couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

  Still she hesitated. “Will your family approve of me, David? I’m sure they would want you to marry someone with more social standing than I have.”

  “My family will love you. We can visit them on our way to New York.”

  She took a deep breath. “Then I have one request. I’ve always wanted my father to perform my marriage ceremony at our church in the Cove. Would you be willing to go home with me and get married with my family and friends there?”

  He nodded. “That would be perfect. Then we could go back to Townsend and take the train to New York.”

  David seemed to have an answer for everything. Maybe that’s what she needed, someone who loved her and wanted to take care of everything for her. And they didn’t clash as she and Matthew had seemed to do all the time. Being married to David would be good for her.

  “Spring is my favorite time of the year in the Cove. The first of May would be a beautiful time to have a wedding.” She smiled and glanced down as he slipped the ring on her finger. “It would be my honor to be your wife, David.”

  Matthew stepped onto the porch of Simon and Anna’s cabin and stomped the mud from his feet. The ground was saturated from the spring rains, but that meant good news for the farmers who would be planting their crops soon. This year he would plant more than one field of corn, and he could hardly wait.

  He raised his fist to knock on the door, but it opened before he connected with it. Noah grinned at him from inside. “I seen you ride up, Mr. Matthew. Granny says for you to come on in. It’s still cold outside.”

  Matthew stepped into the cozy room where Granny sat in front of a roaring fire. He walked over, leaned down, and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning, Granny. How are you feeling today?”

  She reached up and patted him on the cheek. “Right tolerable, Matthew. It’s good to see you. You need to stop by more often.”

  He pulled another chair over beside her, slipped his coat off, and hung it on the back of the chair before he sat down. He held his hands out to the fire and smiled. “It seems like there’s always something to do on the farm. I spent the winter building furniture for my cabin, and now it’s time to think about spring planting.”

  “How’s that bed you built working out?”

  “Fine, Granny. That feather bed you and Anna made for me makes sleeping on corn shucks a lot easier.”

  She laughed and nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  He glanced around the room. “Where are Simon and Anna?”

  “Lucy Whitworth is having her baby today. She and Simon went over there. It’s just me and Noah here.”

  “I really came to see you. I missed you at church last Sunday, so I thought I’d check on you.”

  Noah sat down on the floor between the two chairs and stared up at Matthew. “I been sick, and Granny stayed home with me.”

  Matthew reached down and tousled the boy’s hair. “I’m sorry to hear that. What was the matter?”

  “Just a sore throat, but Granny fixed me up right good. I feel better now.”

  Granny shifted in her chair and glanced at Matthew. “I thought Anna or Simon prob’ly told you why I wasn’t there.”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t talk to them. I started to speak to them after church, but they were in a deep conversation with Pete and Laura, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  Granny sighed. “Yeah, they ’bout to go crazy ’cause they ain’t heared from George in months. The sheriff comes by ev’ry once in a while.
” She glanced down at Noah. “He thinks George and you-know-who are prob’ly still in North Carolina. Land’s sakes, I never would have thought that boy would give his ma and pa so much grief. He was always so nice when he was a-callin’ on Rani, but Pete says even then he was a-slippin’ out and drinkin’ a lot.”

  Matthew nodded. “I’ve been over to see Pete and Laura several times. I wish there was something I could do for them.”

  Granny started to respond, but before she could Noah glanced up at him. “Did you know Miss Rani’s comin’ home?”

  Matthew’s eyes grew wide, and he glanced up at Granny. “She is? When?”

  Noah grinned and nodded. “The first of May, and she’s a-gonna get married.”

  Granny reached down and grasped Noah’s shoulder. “Noah…”

  Matthew frowned and shook his head. Surely he hadn’t heard Noah right. “What did you say?”

  Noah glanced up at Granny as if he didn’t understand the glare she was directing at him. He twisted from her grip. “I said Miss Rani is a-gonna get married in May. At the church.”

  Matthew slumped back into the chair, his eyes wide. “Noah,” he heard Granny say, “go on in the kitchen. I need to talk with Matthew.”

  Noah pushed to his feet and glanced from Granny to Matthew before he trudged toward the kitchen. At the door he turned and looked back at Granny. “Did I do somethin’ wrong, Granny?”

  She smiled at him. “No, child. I just need to talk to Matthew. Now you run on and play.”

  When he’d disappeared through the door, Matthew lowered his hand from his forehead and stared at Granny. “Why hasn’t Simon told me about this?”

  “I’m sorry you heard about it this way, Matthew. We just found out about a week ago. She wrote Anna and told her she’d accepted David Brann’s proposal, and they were coming home to be married. Simon was going to come tell you today before they came back from the Whitworths.”