Beyond These Hills

by Sandra Robbins

  A roar like the sound of a wounded animal tore from her throat. “He’s not dead,” she wailed. She reached out, clutched the front of Jimmy’s shirt, and shook him. Soot rose from his shirt and covered her face and hands.

  He clasped her hands in his, and she looked into his eyes. The sorrow she saw there pierced her heart, and she gave another long wail as she sank to her knees. Ted and Jimmy reached down and lifted her to her feet. Tears ran down her face as she allowed them to lead her back to the hotel.

  When they reached the hotel, Josie and her mother helped her into the bedroom where she’d slept since arriving. They pulled her shoes off and settled her on the bed, but she said nothing.

  Josie leaned over her and squeezed her hand. “Maybe Andrew made it out of the fire, Laurel. You rest for a while, and we’ll keep watch for him.”

  Still she said nothing. She rolled onto her side away from Josie and closed her eyes. All she wanted was to remember how Andrew had looked when he’d waved to her from the train’s steps. At that moment he’d been young, in love, and happy. How could things change so much in such a short amount of time?

  Tears leaked from her closed eyes and her body shook with great wracking sobs. All she wanted was to awaken from this horrible dream. But she wasn’t asleep, and there was no dismissing the horrible truth. Andrew was gone from her life, and she had no idea how she could face the future without him.

  Laurel awoke sometime later and sat up in bed. She realized she was still wearing the clothes she’d had on when Josie and Mrs. Davis had helped her to bed. She stared through the window at the darkness beyond and listened for sounds in the house, but she heard nothing. What time was it? At that moment, the grandfather clock in the entry hall struck two o’clock.

  She threw her legs over the side, pulled a quilt around her shoulders, and tiptoed through the hotel to the front porch. When she stepped outside, she found that she wasn’t alone. Ted Ferguson sat on the top porch step. He stared toward the orange glow that lit the sky in the distance.

  He looked over his shoulder and smiled when he heard the door open. “Laurel, what are you doing out of bed?”

  She walked over and sat down beside him on the step. “I woke up and wondered what was going on. I thought I’d come outside.”

  He pointed to the sky. “The fire’s still burning, but it’s traveling away from us. I don’t think we have anything to worry about now. I sent everybody else on to bed and told them I’d watch for a while just to make sure.”

  Fresh tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them back. Instead of giving in to her grief, she turned to Ted and smiled. “Josie was so worried about you and Jimmy. I’ve never seen her act like that before. She kept saying she didn’t know how she’d live if anything happened to you.”

  Ted shrugged and shook his head. “It was probably Jimmy she was so concerned about. She sure does love that boy.”

  “She loves you too, Ted. Don’t ever doubt that. You were the one she ran to first.”

  Ted cocked his head to one side and smiled. “Come to think of it, I was.” He appeared lost in thought for a moment before he chuckled. “I guess I’ve loved Josie ever since the day your grandma saved her life.”

  Laurel laughed. “I’ve heard that story all my life, but I never get tired of it.”

  Ted nodded. “I was about five or six years old, and Josie was just a toddler. All the folks in the Cove had come to build Cecil and Pearl a barn after theirs had burned. Pearl missed Josie, and Miss Anna asked me and my sister to look for her. I’ll never forget how scared I was when I found her floatin’ face-down in the pond. Simon waded right in and pulled her out, and Miss Anna worked on her and breathed in her mouth.”

  “That story’s been told a lot in the Cove all these years.”

  Ted smiled. “Yeah, Miss Anna saved Josie for me. Of course I didn’t know it at the time, but I guess the good Lord already had it planned for us to marry one day.”

  The tears she’d tried to suppress gushed from Laurel’s eyes. “I saw Andrew when the train stopped here.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, he asked me to marry him, and I said I would.” She moaned and buried her face in her hands.

  Ted reached over and patted her on the shoulder. “Laurel, you know our families have been so close through the years that I think of you as the daughter I never had. I’m sorry you’re hurtin’ right now. But I want you to know that boy is a hero in my book. He didn’t have to go back for Glenn, but he chose to do it. When things cool off on that mountain, I aim to go back up there and search for his remains. I promise you I’ll bring him back to have a decent funeral.”

  She leaned over and squeezed Ted’s arm. “Thank you. I appreciate that. Now why don’t you go on inside? I’ll bet Josie would like that. I’ll stay out here and keep watch for the rest of the night. You deserve some rest after what you’ve been through today.”

  “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” He pushed to his feet and smiled down at her. “And who knows? That boy may walk out of those mountains yet.”

  “That’s what I’m praying for, Ted.” She stared at the orange glow in the distance. “That’s what I’m praying for.”

  Andrew awoke with a start. He lay still in the darkness and listened for any sound, but he heard nothing. No hissing fire or blowing wind. Only silence. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on Glenn’s back. He breathed a sigh of relief at the steady rise of his body.

  Andrew pushed to his knees and crawled down the tunnel toward the entrance. With the absence of the crackling and hissing he’d heard before, he guessed the fire had passed them by. Now a new fear filled him. What if debris from the fire blocked the cave’s entrance? There could be charred trees or even a rockslide that had been triggered by the fire. Not to mention layers of ash and dust that might have sealed them in this tomb.

  As he crawled closer to the entrance, a few beams of light danced on the cave walls. And then there it was, just as it had appeared when he first saw it. Nothing blocked it.

  He crawled out of the cave, pushed to his feet, and stared in wonder at the landscape around him. Burned-out tree trunks from the summit above littered the side of the ridge in crisscross patterns. Huge boulders lay scattered about and ashes covered the ground.

  Andrew turned in a complete circle and surveyed the damage the fire had inflicted on the mountain. Desolation lay everywhere except at the mouth of the cave. The words from the last verses of the Psalm flashed in his mind as he stared at the cave. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

  He sank to his knees in the ashes of what had once been a great forest, raising his hands and face toward heaven. “Thank You, Lord, for providing a safe place for us in the fire and for saving our lives. I promise You from this day forward my goal in life will be to serve You and show Your love to every man I meet. Now I ask You to give me strength to get Glenn down this mountain. I’m weak this morning, but I know You’ll be helping me with each step I take. Amen.”

  He kept his face turned up to the sun for a few minutes. Its rays penetrated every pore and sent a warm rush through his veins. It was good to be alive. He smiled, pushed to his feet, and crawled back in the cave to get Glenn. He had a long walk ahead of him, and carrying Glenn wasn’t going to be easy. But he could do it. He had a promise that he would never walk by himself again. God would be there guiding each step.

  Laurel had kept her vigil since the wee hours of the morning. Josie hadn’t insisted she join the family for breakfast and the noon meal and had even brought them to her. Now with mid-afternoon approaching, she’d grown restless. She stood up from her chair and paced back and forth for a few minutes.

  The front door opened, and Jimmy stepped onto the porch. “How’re you making it?”

  She stopped pacing and went to stand by the porch railing. “I’m fine. I keep hoping that I’ll catch s
ight of Andrew coming into town, but so far it hasn’t happened.”

  Jimmy stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Laurel, I wish I could give you some encouragement, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. You didn’t see that fire. It would have taken a miracle for anybody to survive it.”

  “But that’s exactly what I’m hoping for, Jimmy. A miracle.”

  Jimmy shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “I know, but it ain’t likely that happened.”

  Tears pricked her eyes again, and she blinked. “I can’t give up, Jimmy. I love him. He asked me to marry him when he got off the train yesterday, and I said yes.”

  A big breath gushed from Jimmy’s mouth. “I guess that don’t come as no surprise to me. I saw how you two looked at each other when I was visiting your folks. I didn’t want to believe it. Maybe I still had some notion that someday you and me would get together. Our folks have always wanted it that way.”

  “Yes they have, but we both know we have never been more than friends. You’re going to find somebody you love, and I’m going to be happy for you.” She smiled. “I’ll try to like her better than you did Andrew.”

  Jimmy grinned. “Well, I have to say I saw a different side to him up on that mountain. I never would have figured him to put himself in danger for a fellow he didn’t even know. I’m sorry I didn’t try to see his good side earlier.”

  Laurel smiled. “That’s okay. I knew it was there. He just had to find it for himself.” As she said the last word, she realized that’s what Andrew had found when he visited her grandfather. When he’d turned his life over to God, he’d discovered the man just waiting to be awakened by God’s love. And now she had to accept the fact that he was gone. She burst into tears. “Oh, Jimmy, why did he find it so late?”

  Jimmy put his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest as she sobbed out her grief. She didn’t know how long they stood that way, but she suddenly felt his arms tighten. He gave a low whistle and said, “Well, would you look at that? I wouldn’t have believed it in a million years.”

  She pulled back from him and stared up into his face, but he gazed over her head into the distance. A smile curled his lips. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face in the other direction. At first she didn’t know what she was looking for. Then she saw him.

  Andrew stumbled along the road that led into Tremont, and he had a man’s body draped over his back. “Andrew!” she screamed as she raced down the front steps and across the footbridge to the road.

  Behind her, she could hear Jimmy’s voice. “Pa! Come quick! Andrew’s back.”

  She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Andrew staggered and dropped to his knees in the road right before she got to him, but he didn’t let go of the man on his back. Ted and Jimmy got to him just as she did and took hold of Glenn, but Andrew frowned and tightened his grip.

  “No,” he rasped. “Have to get him to a doctor.”

  Ted pried Andrew’s hands loose. “It’s okay, son. We’ve got him now.”

  Together they lifted Glenn, who moaned aloud. Laurel dropped to her knees in front of Andrew and cupped his face in her hands. She could hardly make out his features from the tears streaming down her face. “Andrew, can you hear me? It’s Laurel.”

  He frowned and swayed. “Laurel? I’ve got to get back to Laurel.”

  “I’m here, Andrew. Don’t you see me?”

  A violent fit of coughing attacked him, and his body shook uncontrollably with spasms. When they passed, he leaned over and spit phlegm onto the ground. Laurel’s eyes grew large at the flecks of soot it contained. She cast a terrified glance at Ted. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “I don’t know. We need to get him and Glenn both over to the doctor’s place.”

  Several men ran up about then. “Need any help?” one of them asked.

  Ted pointed to Andrew. “These fellows just made it down the mountain from fighting the fire. We need to get them over to the doctor’s office.”

  They nodded, reached down, and lifted Andrew to his feet. Then they positioned themselves on either side and supported his weight as they followed Jimmy and Ted, who carried Glenn. Laurel ran ahead of them to alert the doctor that two injured men were being brought in.

  When she reached the building that served as the camp infirmary, she pushed the door open and ran into the waiting room. “Doctor, we need help!”

  The doctor appeared in the doorway of an adjacent room. “What’s wrong?”

  “They’re bringing in two of the injured firefighters.”

  “Tell them to bring them on in here when they arrive.” He whirled and disappeared back into what she assumed was the examination room.

  Before she could answer, Jimmy and Ted staggered through the door. She pointed toward the exam room. “In here.”

  As they disappeared inside, the men who supported Andrew entered the building. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out at his appearance. Red welts ran up his arm where his shirt had burned away, and his red lips stood out in contrast to his pale face. He mumbled something, but she couldn’t make out what he said.

  She watched through the open door as they laid Andrew on one bed and Glenn on another. When they had them settled, Ted pointed first to Andrew and then to Glenn. “Doc, this is Andrew Brady. He works with the Park Service. And this is Glenn Carter. He’s one of the Little River workers. They were trapped by the fire up on the mountain. We thought they were dead, but Brady just now stumbled into town carrying Carter on his back.” He shook his head in amazement. “The last time we saw them they were trapped behind a wall of fire. I don’t know how they survived, and I sure don’t know how Brady carried Carter all the way back to town on his back.”

  The doctor nodded. “Sounds like they’ve had a mighty rough time. Now if you men will wait outside, I’ll let you know how they are after I complete my examination.”

  The men turned and rejoined her in the waiting room just as the front door flew open. A woman in a nurse’s uniform rushed inside and headed toward the examination room. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said, “I was at the general store when I heard we have patients. What’s the problem?”

  The door closed before the doctor could answer, and Laurel was left to pace the floor. Jimmy stepped in front of her and blocked her path. “Do you want Mama to come stay with you until the doctor can tell you something?”

  She shook her head. “No, you stay with me.”

  He nodded. “I’ll stay for as long as you need me.”

  Laurel glanced around and realized the men who’d helped them had already left. She directed her gaze at Ted. “Why don’t you go on too?”

  “I need to stay and find out about Glenn.”

  “I’ll stay for you, Pa,” Jimmy said. “I’ll find out what the doctor says.”

  Ted nodded. “I’ll go tell Mr. Mercer that Glenn’s here and then go back to the hotel.”

  Laurel watched Ted leave before she walked to one of the chairs along the wall and dropped down. She clasped her hands in her lap and squeezed them together. The memory of how happy she’d been when Andrew appeared on the road returned. That joy had soon turned to fear when she realized he didn’t even recognize her. She cast a nervous glance at the closed door.

  Andrew was going to be all right, she told herself. He had to be. After all, he’d survived a fire when no one said it was possible. God wouldn’t let him come through that experience only to let him die now that he was safe. Surely God wouldn’t do that.

  She bowed her head. “Please, God. Let him live,” she prayed.

  The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a clock on the opposite wall. She stared at it as it ticked off the minutes. With each movement of the clock’s minute hand, she added a new plea for the life of the man she loved.

  Chapter 20

  For the past hour Laurel had divided her time between pacing across the waiting room floor and sitting in her chair with her ga
ze riveted on the wall clock. The minutes ticked by slower than she could believe. Why hadn’t the doctor come out and told her something about Andrew’s condition?

  Almost as if she’d conjured him up, the door popped open and the doctor stepped into the room. She and Jimmy were on their feet instantly. She balled her hands into fists and clenched them at her sides as he walked toward them.

  He smiled as he stopped in front of her. His gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses combined with the kind expression in his eyes reminded Laurel of Uncle Charles, who’d been a mountain doctor and traveled these hills for years. She held her breath and waited for him to speak.

  “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself when you came in. I’m Dr. Caldwell. Which one of the patients are you with?”

  She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I’m Laurel Jackson. I’m with Andrew Brady. I’m his fiancée.” The word felt strange on her tongue, but it also felt so right because it bound her to Andrew in a special way.

  Beside her Jimmy spoke up. “I’m here for Andrew too, but Glenn works with me. I need to let the Little River people know how he is.”

  The doctor nodded. “Does he have any family in this camp?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “No, sir. His family lives at Townsend.”

  “I see. Well, I’m sure you realized in addition to exhaustion and some smoke inhalation he has a broken leg. I’ve got a temporary splint on it, but he needs a hospital. As bad as the break is, I’d recommend sending him on to Knoxville. Tell Mr. Mercer we need either a car or truck to transport him.”

  Jimmy nodded. “I will. And what about Andrew?”

  The doctor turned to Laurel. “That’s a mighty brave young man you’ve got there, Miss Jackson. He’s got a bad burn on his arm, and we’ve got that taken care of for the present time. But it’s the other thing I’m worried about.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she sucked in her breath. “What other thing?”