The Sound of Rain

by Sarah Loudin Thomas

  “As long as I have anything to do with it, you will not be forgotten,” she said. “You have quite a legacy in Myrtle Beach and in this family.” She reached over and took his hand. “And I think maybe part of that legacy is having children who care about people and who also want to change the world. Just maybe in a different way.”

  Daddy took a hitching breath. “I can see there might be truth in that,” he said. “Just don’t expect me to come around all at once.”

  Larkin grinned. “There now. I feel like I’ve changed the world already.”

  Judd tried not to feel uneasy as the jail door clanged shut behind him. He was here to see Pete and could leave anytime he wanted. The deputy showed him to a sort of communal room where benches were attached to metal tables. It was gray and plain and smelled of disinfectant. Judd considered sitting but opted to stand for the time being. A few moments later, Pete shuffled in behind another guard. He gave Judd a dark look and slouched at one of the tables.

  “Come to see the monkey in the zoo?”

  “I was worried about you, Pete. Thought I’d come see if there’s anything I can do.” Judd slid onto the bench opposite his friend.

  “You got a metal file in your hip pocket?” Pete’s laugh sounded rusty. “Aw, just kidding. I’d be out of here already if I could’ve paid the fine.” He straightened a notch. “Say, there is something you could do. Go on by and check on Sally. This is harder on her than me.”

  “I’ll do it as soon as I leave here,” Judd said. He tapped his fingers on the cool tabletop. “What exactly were you up to out there in the woods?”

  Pete got a cagey look. “Nothing. Just trying to figure out how to get back what’s mine.”

  Judd nodded. “Hank said there was some story about treasure out that way. You weren’t hunting it, were you?”

  Pete stuck his chin out and crossed his arms over his chest. “Seems like if there were anything worth finding, it’d been found by now.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Judd said.

  “You’d best get on over and check on Sally.” Pete’s expression softened. “Tell her I’m real sorry I embarrassed her like this.”

  Judd nodded and shook his friend’s hand. “Hope you get out of here real soon.”

  Pete stood and walked slowly back to the door he’d entered through. He banged on it until a guard opened the door and let him back into the depths of the jail. Judd remembered feeling trapped in the mine and supposed Pete had an inkling of what that felt like, too.

  Chapter

  37

  I thank you for coming,” Sally said as she ushered Judd into the front room where he’d played cards with Pete so many times before. “I can’t hardly understand what Pete was thinking.” She perched on the edge of a sofa cushion and waved Judd to a nearby chair. “What did he hope to gain?”

  Judd shrugged. “He wouldn’t say when I spoke to him. Just asked me to check on you and to tell you he’s real sorry.”

  Sally gave a dismissive wave. “I’d rather he just tell me what he’s up to, but Pete always has been stubborn as a mule.”

  “Do you have any idea how his father came to own that property?”

  “It was a gift from his mother—Pete’s grandmother. I think that’s part of why losing it was so hard on Pete. He doted on his grandmother.”

  “So she’s gone?”

  Sally nodded. “The story is, she didn’t much like anyone but Pete. Her name was Eugenia, and Pete said her family was well-to-do back in the day. She married a man who was killed young.” Sally lowered her voice. “Shot for cheating at cards, they say. Anyway, she must’ve used up most of what she had just to get by. We’ve got her wedding picture—she was real elegant.” Sally opened a drawer in an end table and pulled out a small photo album made of paper. Flipping it open, she handed it to Judd. “There you go. Folks always looked so grim in those old photos, but you can still tell she was something.”

  Judd took the album and admired the photo of a regal woman sitting poker-straight and looking into the camera with a steely gaze. He started to hand the book back, but the photo fluttered free and fell to the floor. Judd stooped to pick it up and noticed writing on the back. There, in a flowing hand, it read, Eugenia Bennington Dixon.

  “She was a Bennington. Hank said there was a family named Bennington that hid their valuables from soldiers during the Civil War.”

  Sally looked surprised. “Pete said his grandmother came from a wealthy family, but I don’t know anything about valuables. Seems like they’d have gone back and got whatever it was as soon as the war was over.”

  “That does seem likely,” Judd agreed. He visited a little while longer, promised to take Sally to see Pete later that week, and then headed back to the boardinghouse. He needed to get cleaned up and go see how Larkin had fared talking with her father.

  “I don’t think any of this has turned out quite the way he’d hoped,” Larkin said as she and Judd strolled along the beach. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “I hate to have been part of spoiling his plans.”

  Judd took her hand. “I guess maybe God has a plan bigger than any of us. Maybe your father needs to figure out how to be more in line with what God wants from him instead of the other way around.”

  “What do you think God wants from us? You and me, I mean?”

  Judd stopped and wrapped an arm around Larkin’s shoulders, turning her so that they were looking out over the ocean. The May sun was already hot. Soon the summer crowds would return in force.

  “You know, ever since that day we crawled out of the mine, I’ve been thinking about the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestled an angel. He was running away from his father-in-law while his brother—who was likely still angry about his stolen birthright—was waiting up ahead. Jacob had tricked his father-in-law into letting him leave with his family and herds of animals. But then he was scared of his brother, so he sent gifts up ahead to try to smooth that out.” Judd breathed in the salt air and watched a gull swoop down after something in the surf. “He’d gotten out of one pickle—barely—and he was about to face another. He sent everyone else on ahead and was left all alone. That’s when an angel showed up and wrestled with him.”

  Larkin laid her head against his chest, and he could feel the warmth of it even more than the sun. She waited for him to go on.

  “Me and Joe and Abram used to have wrestling matches. I was pretty good, too. Could beat ’em most of the time. But Jacob, he wrestled an angel—or maybe it was God himself—until the angel cheated in my book. He touched Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint. But even then ole Jacob wouldn’t quit until he got a blessing. So the angel changed Jacob’s name to Israel and blessed him.”

  “I remember that story,” Larkin said. “I never really understood what it was about.”

  “I wondered myself. But the thing is, Jacob—Israel—had a limp from then on.” He thumped his leg. “Kind of like me. I’ve been wrestling with God for a while now, and maybe your father is, as well. I had Joe’s death dogging me from behind and the fact that everyone else I love is gonna die, too—including me—waiting up ahead.” Judd put both arms around Larkin and pulled her snug against him. “But you marrying me—well, I think that’s the blessing. That’s the thing I’ve been struggling for without even knowing it. Not because it fixes Joe dying, but because it proves we’re still alive and love goes on . . . well, forever.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  Judd kissed the top of her head. “Maybe your father’s hip is just about out of joint by now. Maybe he’s not too far off from figuring out what blessing he’s after.”

  “I hope so,” Larkin said. She tilted up her head so that Judd saw he had no choice but to kiss her soft lips.

  The next day, Judd started back to work for the timber company. He wasn’t sure how everything was going to shake out, but he figured he had an obligation for the time being. Chuck took him out to work with the crew on the Bennington tract. Judd tried not to feel like he w
as somehow betraying Pete, but it nagged at him just the same.

  “Skidder’s down,” Chuck said. “I don’t suppose you could just flip a lever like you did that first time and have her back up and running?”

  “A feller doesn’t usually get that lucky twice, but I’ll give her a look.”

  Judd had been looking all morning and still hadn’t figured out exactly what was wrong. He’d never been so glad to see lunchtime approaching when there was a shout from some of the cutters out in the woods. Everyone ran in that direction, the first thought being that someone had been hurt. But instead of seeing a man down, Judd saw three men standing near the jagged stump of a freshly cut tree. They were all staring, hands in pockets or hanging slack.

  Chuck got there first and whistled. Judd stepped up behind him and saw that the tree was about half hollow, which meant that as soon as they’d cut through the solid part, the weight broke the tree off, exposing the cavity.

  “Man alive, it’s a miracle no one got hurt when that came down,” Judd said, but no one responded.

  He pushed closer to see what they were looking at, and there, inside the hollow of the tree, sat what looked like a small barrel.

  “Nail keg, I betcha,” Chuck said. “Old too. You don’t suppose . . . ?”

  “I saw it first.” One of the men spoke up.

  The other two immediately began offering arguments for why they should get a share of whatever was inside.

  Chuck whistled, loud and sharp. “Hold on there, boys. That keg belongs to the owner of the property.”

  The men looked disgusted, though none of them seemed willing to risk their job for what might, or might not, be inside the keg. Finally, the one on the far right kicked the stump. “Well, can we at least open it and see?”

  Chuck darted a look at Judd and licked his lips. “Probably ought to let Mr. Heyward do the honors. Judd, reach in there and see can you lift it out?”

  The keg was about eighteen inches high and maybe ten wide, and Judd found it to be plenty heavy. He grunted and staggered back toward the landing with his hands under the bottom of the keg. He could feel the wood shifting, ready to give way, but thought he could make it. He thumped his cargo on the tailgate of his truck, since it was the first one he came to.

  They all stood there staring at it. Judd could almost hear them wondering if this was the Bennington treasure.

  “Judd, why don’t you take it on to Mr. Heyward? These boys aren’t going to get a lick of work done so long as it’s around here.”

  Judd pushed the keg up against the side of the truck and braced it there with some wood blocks. He hoped it would hold together until he got back to the office. He drove slowly, wondering what Mr. Heyward would think. He also wondered what Pete would think if this did turn out to be Bennington family treasure. Would he have a rightful claim? Judd hoped, with all his might, that the keg held nothing but rocks and dirt.

  “I don’t think it’ll hold together to get it inside,” Judd explained to Mr. Heyward. “Best come on out to my truck and see what you think.”

  His soon-to-be father-in-law grumbled as he followed Judd out to the truck where the keg did look like it might fall to pieces. Dirt had sifted out around the edges, and Judd guessed whatever was inside was doing more to hold it together than the wire twisted around the outside.

  “Probably some old moonshiner’s stash. You could have opened it yourself.”

  Judd scratched his head. “Well, with all the rumors about the Benningtons’ Civil War treasure, Chuck and I thought we’d best bring it on over here.”

  Mr. Heyward rolled his eyes. “Pry it open.”

  Judd found a small pry bar behind the truck seat and gently tapped at the wooden top of the keg. Mr. Heyward grabbed the bar, jamming it inside along the edge and pushing up. Punky wood and dirt sprayed Judd, and he swiped his face with his hand.

  Mr. Heyward continued wrecking the keg, which was indeed full of dirt and something else. He reached out and sifted through the mess to pull out what looked like a well-worn pocketknife.

  “Doesn’t look like much.” He handed the knife to Judd, who applied his bandanna to it.

  “Something else in here. Looks like a box.” Mr. Heyward clawed at the debris, extracting something rectangular wrapped in several layers of oilskin. He folded back the leathery material. “No. It’s a book.” He eased it open. “Diary maybe.” He glanced at the mess in the back of the truck, then at Judd. He held his hand out for the knife, which Judd thought looked like it had a staghorn handle. “It’s surely no treasure, but I’ll hang on to these and get someone to look at them. Never know when you’re going to find a museum piece.”

  Judd watched the older man walk back inside without a backward glance. He was awful glad to be marrying Larkin, but he thought his in-laws might prove to be a challenge. He sighed and backed the truck up into some bushes so he could sweep out the mess Mr. Heyward left behind. He debated saving the wood—might be able to do something with it—but decided it was too far gone. He tumbled it all out into the shrubs, and as he did, he saw something glinting back at him.

  Bending over, Judd poked around and found a jaw harp. He held it up, swiped it against his shirt, and started to put it to his mouth, then thought better of it. He’d clean it proper before trying it out. He looked toward the door Mr. Heyward had passed through and debated taking the item inside, but decided against it. Surely an old-time musical instrument wasn’t important, and he didn’t feel like dealing with his employer any more today. He shrugged. He could always give it to him later.

  Chapter

  38

  June eighteenth,” Larkin said. “Mother has agreed to a wedding on June eighteenth. And the best part is that we don’t have to invite everyone I’ve ever met. It can be just family and close friends. I called the store in Logan and they’re getting word to Ben, so he and Pastor Brearley can do the ceremony together.” She squeezed her hands together. “What if he can’t come?”

  “I have a feeling he’ll manage,” Judd said. “And I’ll get word to Abram, although they might not come. It’s a long ways with two little ones.”

  They were walking to church on the last Sunday in May and Judd was trying to will himself not to sweat. Although he wasn’t sure which was making him hotter under the collar, the sun or the thought that he’d be wed in less than three weeks. He still didn’t know where they were going to live. Would it be here or in Kentucky? Or maybe even back home in West Virginia, for that matter.

  “Are you sure we’re ready for this? Seems like quite a few things still need figuring out.”

  Larkin stopped and faced him. “You mean like what we’re going to do with the rest of our lives?”

  “There’s a start.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, short and sweet. “I think we should start by loving each other more every day.”

  Judd wanted to be put out with her, but how could he? Gently unwinding her arms, he started them back toward the church. “My room at the boardinghouse isn’t much of a honeymoon suite, and until we decide once and for all where to live—”

  Larkin cut in. “We can live in the apartment over the garage until we find something of our own.”

  Judd frowned. “Over your parents’ garage?”

  “Yes. Granny Ben used to live there when I was little. It’s been empty for a while, but I went up there yesterday and I think it’ll do fine. Just needs some sprucing up. There’s even a tiny kitchen where I can make you dinner every evening now that Granny’s taught me how to cook.” She glanced at him and squeezed his arm where she’d tucked her hand through his elbow. “I know it’s not ideal, but I think it could work for now.”

  “But . . . your family. I don’t want to be beholden.”

  Larkin smiled. “Oh, I think when we tell Daddy we’re staying right here in South Carolina, he’ll be more than happy for us to live in the apartment until we find our own house.”

  Judd blinked. “We’re staying?”<
br />
  “Unless you don’t want to. I still think Daddy’s been manipulating everyone, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of a chance to be a partner in his company.” She looked up at him through long lashes. “I think you can handle him just fine now that everything’s out in the open. He won’t be trying to trick us into staying or getting married or anything else.” She shrugged one shoulder. “It just so happens that what we want and what he wants coincide.” She shook her head. “Isn’t it funny how all that worked out?”

  Judd didn’t comment. He was still trying to get a handle on whether getting what he wanted by staying in South Carolina and becoming a businessman was really and truly what he wanted. Everything was moving fast, and suddenly he felt a deep homesickness for mountains and valleys, for tumbling streams and rhododendron thickets.

  “Are you sure you want to stay?” he asked.

  Larkin stopped, the church just a block away. “I’m sure I want to be where you are. If that’s here, then yes, this is what I want. If you’d rather be in Kentucky or West Virginia or Timbuktu, all I know is I’m going with you. I can be of use wherever we go. All I have to do is look around and see who needs an extra measure of love, then pitch in.”

  She smiled up at him, and Judd thought his heart might stop. But no, it was only pausing before taking on a new rhythm—one he thought most likely matched hers. As they entered the church together, Judd realized that three weeks was an awful long time to wait.

  Sunday afternoon, Judd picked Sally up and drove her to see Pete. It looked like he’d get off with time served, but he had a few more days to go. Judd personally thought it would be better if Sally just waited until Pete got home. Yet if she was determined to see her husband, Judd would take her.

  Inside, she stayed so close, she kept bumping up against him. Her eyes were wide and her face pale as the last door clanged shut behind them. Pete shuffled into the day room, head down, and slid onto the bench opposite them. No one spoke for several beats.