Beyond These Hills

by Sandra Robbins

  Simon smiled. “Then the Bible says all you have to do is believe in Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. He’ll come into your heart and make you a new man.”

  “I want that.”

  “Then just ask Him. He’s waiting for you.”

  Andrew had never prayed before in his life, but somehow it seemed so easy to bow his head and say the few words that would change his life. “God, I know I’ve done things in the past that weren’t right. I’ve hurt people, and I’m sorry for that. Please forgive me and make me into a new man. I believe in You, and I will live by faith from this day forward. Amen.”

  For a moment he didn’t open his eyes but sat still and marveled at the peace that rolled through his body. It felt like he had suddenly become light as a feather and could take flight at any moment. Finally, a big smile curled his lips, and he opened his eyes to see Simon beaming.

  “How do you feel?” Simon asked.

  “I…I don’t know how to describe it. I feel like a new man. It’s like I want to tell everybody I know about what’s happened to me.” A sudden thought hit him, and his eyes grew wide. “I want my father to know. I said some horrible things to him when we last met. I need to ask his forgiveness and try to make things right between us. But what will I do if he tries to convince me this is all just some emotional experience I’ve had?”

  “The Bible says for us to honor our father and mother. You should always respect and love him as your father, but you’re a new man now. Ask God to be with you and guide you as you talk with him.”

  Andrew nodded. “I will. He needs to hear what God can do in his life too. I need to go to Virginia right away and talk with him.” Andrew rose from his chair and began to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. “I’ll go back to Gatlinburg in the morning and tell Mr. Eakin I need a week off to go home. I won’t drive. I’ll go by train. Yes, that’s what I’ll do tomorrow, right after I stop by to see Laurel.”

  Simon rose from his chair and put out a hand to stop Andrew. “Laurel’s not at home, Andrew. She left for Tremont earlier this week. She’s gone to spend a few weeks with Josie at her hotel.”

  Andrew reached out and grasped the edge of the mantel to steady his shaking legs. “So she’s visiting Jimmy’s family?”

  “She is.”

  Andrew sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Well, I don’t have anybody to blame but myself for that. Maybe she’ll be home by the time I get back from Virginia.” He swallowed and met Simon’s stare. “I love her, you know.”

  Simon nodded. “I know. Just put the situation in God’s hands, Andrew. You can’t change Laurel, and you can’t change your father.” He tapped his index finger against Andrew’s chest. “The only person in this world you can change is yourself. Think about that as you face your father and Laurel.”

  “I will, Simon, and thank you for everything. I’ll always be grateful to you. And if it means anything to you, I’d hoped in time to be a part of your family. I may have messed that up, but there will always be a special place in my heart for all of you.”

  Simon grasped his shoulder and squeezed. “As we do for you, Andrew.”

  Later, as he drove back through the Cove to the CCC camp, Andrew thought back over the events of the day. When he’d left Gatlinburg, he felt as if he’d lost everything he held dear. Now he had a renewed spirit, and he believed he could face whatever lay ahead. His father might not like the message Andrew intended to take home, but Andrew would feel better once it was delivered. He loved his father, and that wasn’t going to change. They needed to find a way to have a good relationship in the future even though Andrew had no intention of letting his father dominate his life any longer.

  Laurel was another matter entirely. A future with her might have ended with the words he spoke to her a week ago. He would always regret that, but he’d survive if she rejected him. Simon had been right about having faith. No matter how things worked out with Laurel, he knew God would take care of him. That was what having faith was all about.

  Chapter 17

  The mountain air chilled Laurel, and she pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She’d been in Tremont for over a week, and every night she’d sat out on the front porch of the Tremont Hotel and watched the moonlight reflect on the waters of the Middle Prong of Little River that ran through the town. The hotel, situated across the river from the main part of town, was connected to it by a footbridge.

  Her mother had explained to her before she came that the small town had been established to serve as the base of operations for Little River Lumber Company’s logging camps that stretched up the mountainside. At the height of the logging in this area it had boasted a post office, a general store, a community center that served as a church, a movie theater, a school, and of course the hotel Jimmy’s mother, Josie, managed. Soon all of it would be gone. By the end of the year Little River would abandon all their logging operations in this area. Josie hadn’t mentioned what her family would do when the hotel closed, and Laurel hadn’t asked.

  The front door of the hotel opened, and Jimmy’s mother and grandmother stepped onto the front porch. They walked over to where Laurel sat and eased down into two chairs on either side of her.

  Josie Ferguson smoothed the hair on the sides of her head back into the bun at the nape of her neck and sighed. “We got all the dishes washed and the bread for tomorrow rising. I thought we’d spend some time out here with you before we go to bed.”

  “I’m glad you came out. I still think I should have helped with the dishes.”

  Pearl, Jimmy’s grandmother, waved her hand in dismissal and shook her head. “There ain’t no reason for you to do that. You’re our comp’ny, and we just want you to have a good time.”

  “Oh, I’m having a wonderful time. I just wish that Jimmy could be here, though.”

  His mother nodded. “I do too. When he came back home from the CCC camp, he took the first job that opened up with the lumber company. He and his pa are helping close down the operation up at Thunderhead and move it over to Spruce Flats. They’re staying at one of the shanty houses further up the mountain, but they’ll be home this weekend.”

  Laurel swiveled in her chair and faced Josie. “There’s something I don’t understand. Little River’s land was bought up by the government for the park years ago. Why has it taken so long for them to get out?”

  Josie sighed and shook her head. “You sound just like your mama. She let me have an earful the last time I visited in the Cove, but I explained it to her. When Mr. Townsend, the man who owns Little River, sold his mountain tracts to the government back in 1926, he asked them to allow him to gradually stop his logging operation. They gave him fifteen years to completely shut down. That was a blessing to folks like us who worked for the company. It gave us some time to make plans about what we’d do next.”

  “Will Ted and Jimmy work over at Spruce Flats until Little River turns the land over to the government?”

  Josie sighed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. With Tremont closing down there won’t be any need for a hotel, so we’ll leave too.”

  “Do you know where you’ll go after the hotel closes?”

  Josie nodded. “Ted and me have been saving for a long time. We have a little money, and we’re gonna buy us a little place over at Oak Ridge close to Ted’s folks. Ma and Pa are coming with us. We heard there’s gonna be some factories opening up there soon. Ted thinks it’ll be a good place for him and Jimmy to get jobs. That’s what we’re planning.”

  Laurel frowned. “The plans for where we’ll go are all made. By next spring we’ll be living in Gatlinburg at the new house.”

  Josie reached over and grasped Laurel’s hand. “But just think how wonderful it will be for your mother to have a new studio. It will be better for your pa too. He won’t have that farm to keep up anymore.”

  “I know, but we’ll miss the Cove.”

  Pearl nodded and pushed to her feet. “There ain’t a day goes by I do
n’t miss the Cove and the way it used to be. But it ain’t the same anymore. Neighbors are gone. Cabins are torn down. When your family leaves, that’ll be the end of our ties there.” She grunted in disgust. “But I don’t need to start a-thinkin’ about that tonight. I better get to bed.”

  Laurel grabbed her hand as Pearl walked past her toward the front door. “No matter where any of us live, we’ll always be friends.”

  Pearl smiled and glanced over at Josie. “Maybe better than that. I was kinda hoping you might be family someday.”

  Laurel’s face grew warm. She released Pearl’s hand and wrapped her fingers around the arms of the chair. Neither she nor Josie said anything until Pearl had entered the hotel. “Don’t mind Mama,” Josie said. “She set her mind a long time ago that her grandson and Anna’s granddaughter would marry someday. But I have to admit that I did too.”

  “I know. You and Mama have never made a secret that you’d like to see Jimmy and me get married. What none of you seem to understand is that Jimmy and I are good friends. We don’t love each other like married folks should.”

  Josie stared at her for a moment before she nodded. “You’re right. Married folks should love each other like your ma and pa do.”

  Laurel nodded. “And like you and Ted do. I don’t feel that way about Jimmy. I would only end up hurting him if I married him when I don’t love him.”

  Josie’s chin trembled. She took a deep breath and straightened in her chair. “You’re right. When a wife doesn’t love her husband, it only ends up hurting both of them. I don’t want that for Jimmy. I want him to have a wife who loves him with all her heart.”

  “He’ll find the right person. He’s such a good man. You’ve raised him well, Josie.”

  “And what about you? Have you found the right person in that young man from Virginia? Jimmy’s told me about him.”

  Laurel clasped her hands together in her lap. “I don’t know how to answer that. There are a lot of things standing in our way right now. I thought I might be able to see things more clearly if I got away from home and had some time away from my family to think.”

  Josie reached over and squeezed Laurel’s arm. “All I want is for you and Jimmy to both be happy. I hope you can decide what that’s going to be for you. I’m sure your folks have told you to pray about it, and I’ll pray too.” She stretched and yawned. “Now I think I’ll get ready for bed, too. Are you ready to come inside?”

  “Not just yet. I think I’ll sit out here for a while.”

  “All right. See you in the morning.”

  Laurel watched Josie enter the hotel, and then she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She wondered what Andrew was doing tonight. Had he helped Willie with the chores since she’d been gone, or had he stayed away as she told him to?

  A tear rolled down her cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away. She stood up, walked to the porch railing, and stared up at the stars. She’d been honest when she told Josie there were too many things standing in the way of happiness for her and Andrew. In her heart, though, she knew the real problem. The love they shared would never bring them happiness until they had a foundation to build their relationship on. She wanted what her parents had, and that was a marriage built on their shared belief in God.

  Until Andrew accepted the need for God in his life, he would never understand how important that was to her. And until then there was no hope they would ever be able to overcome the other differences between them.

  The taxi pulled up in front of the stately white mansion that Andrew’s great-grandfather had built almost a hundred years ago. Thankfully it had survived the Civil War and in time had been passed to his father. Another one of his father’s plans for Andrew’s life was for him and his family to inhabit the house one day, but Andrew had very little interest in living there again.

  He paid the driver, climbed from the cab, and stared at the wide steps that led to a porch with six white columns across the front of the house. He’d lived here all his life until he left for college, and yet he felt like an arriving guest. He would much rather be in Cades Cove tonight with the Jacksons and the Martins. But he had come home on a mission, and the sooner he got on with it the better off he’d be.

  Taking a deep breath, he climbed the steps. He hesitated before opening the door. Should he knock? No, that would be ridiculous. He turned the knob and stepped through the door into the large hallway entry of the house.

  As usual, everything looked neat and in its place. He couldn’t conceive of its being otherwise. Household staff members knew their jobs depended on keeping his father happy, and they worked hard every day to do so.

  The stairway with the winding bannister he’d slid down as a boy stood halfway down the entry, and he stared up to the landing at the top of the stairs. From the entry he could see the closed door of his father’s second floor office to the right of the top step. He shook his head and sighed.

  He took a step toward the stairs, but before he reached them Mrs. Oliver, the housekeeper, appeared from the direction of the kitchen. She gasped in surprise when she saw him and then smiled. “Mr. Andrew, welcome home. Your father didn’t tell us you were coming.”

  He smiled at the woman who’d been a fixture in their house ever since his mother’s death. “I didn’t tell him, Mrs. Oliver. I thought I would surprise him.” He glanced up the stairs. “I see his office door is closed. Is he in there?”

  “Yes, sir. He went in right after dinner.”

  “Then I’ll go up and see him.”

  She nodded. “Would you like something to eat? I’ll tell the cook to fix you a tray, and I’ll be glad to bring it to your room.”

  He shook his head. “No, thanks. I had something to eat on the train.”

  She reached out to take his suitcase. “Then I’ll put your bag in your old room.”

  “Not yet,” he said. “I have some things to say to my father first. After I get through, he may not want me to stay here tonight.” He set the bag down. “I’ll come back downstairs and get it whatever way our conversation turns out.”

  Her eyebrows pulled down across her nose, and she shook her head. “I know there have been some problems between you and your father, but he’s really a good man. He’s done a lot for the people in this district, and he loves you.”

  “He has a strange way of showing it.”

  Mrs. Oliver clasped her hands in front of her and took a step closer to him. “No matter how you feel about him, you need to remember he’s your father and you need to honor him.”

  Andrew’s eyes grew wide. “Someone else told me that not long ago.” He tilted his head to one side and let his gaze drift over Mrs. Oliver’s face. “Are you a Christian?”

  She squared her shoulders and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “About the time you went away to college. I can’t believe I lived all those years without having God in my life. He’s given me strength and the great peace to face every day no matter what happens.”

  Andrew shook his head in amazement. “This is great news. I’ve come home to tell my father that I’ve become a Christian and that I’ve decided to stay in Tennessee instead of returning to Virginia to run for office.”

  Her eyes lit up, and she reached out and squeezed his hand. “Oh, Mr. Andrew, that’s wonderful. I’ll pray for you while you’re talking with your father.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Oliver. That’s very comforting.” He glanced up the stairs and sighed. “Well, I guess there’s no time like the present to get this over with.”

  He mounted the first step and trudged up to the landing. He paused outside the door and knocked. From inside he heard his father’s muffled voice. “Come in.” Andrew pushed the door open and walked into the room. His father didn’t look up from the papers spread across his desk. “Yes, what is it, Mrs. Oliver?”

  Andrew closed the door and took a deep breath. “It’s not Mrs. Oliver, Father.”

  The pen dropped from hi
s father’s hand and his body stiffened. He looked up with a startled expression on his face. “Andrew? What are you doing here?”

  “I came to talk with you.”

  A slow smile curled his lips and the congressman stood up from his chair. “So you finally decided to see things my way. It’s good to have you home.”

  He started to walk around the desk, but Andrew held up his hand to stop him. “Please don’t get the wrong idea about why I’m here. I felt like we needed to do something to repair the damage done by our meeting in Gatlinburg, and I asked Mr. Eakin for a week’s leave. I don’t know if I’ll need that long or not, but I wanted to see you.”

  A small frown furrowed his father’s forehead, and he motioned for Andrew to sit down. “This sounds serious.”

  “No, I feel like I need to stand when I tell you this.”

  A hint of anger clouded his father’s eyes. “Tell me what? Don’t waste my time; just get on with it.”

  “All right. I came to tell you that there’s been a big change in my life since I last saw you. I’ve accepted Christ into my life, and I’m trying to right some of the wrongs I did in the past. I want to ask you to forgive me for the angry words I spoke to you in Gatlinburg.”

  “You’ve become a Christian?” The words were nearly a whisper.

  “I have, and I’ve never been happier. But as I said, I want to make amends for some of the things I’ve said and done. I felt like I needed to start with you.”

  A big smile flashed across his father’s face. “Well, you know I never have put much stock in that religion stuff, but if it makes you happy, I’m all for it.”

  Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Father. I was afraid you might have some objections.”

  “Why should I object? You just apologized and said you want to make amends. I’m pleased that you have. So when will you return home to begin your campaign?”

  Andrew’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at his father. “What campaign?”