Saving Laurel Springs

by Lin Stepp

  Taylor scowled at him. “But you said Laurel Springs was our home. We came back to Laurel Springs to live here forever. You said so. We’re even building our own house here.”

  Carter scratched his neck with discomfort. “You know I kept our California house, too. I always expected we’d go back and forth. Live a little in both places.”

  Taylor looked down at his feet. “I guess it doesn’t matter if I want to go or not, does it?” He searched Carter’s face with eyes wet with tears. “It never matters what kids want when adults make up their minds about things.”

  He jumped off the bench and ran toward the house, leaving Carter feeling like a complete heel.

  “That went well,” he said to Jinx.

  The dog licked his hand and then headed off to follow Taylor, offering no opinion.

  Carter heaved a sigh. He’d have his mother and father to face next. The evening promised to be a long and emotional one.

  CHAPTER 21

  Rhea had felt more and more uncomfortable around Carter as the summer weeks slipped by. They’d bared their hearts to each other in the tunnel below the old Sutton cabin, and yet, Rhea still found herself unable to let go of the past. Carter’s searching eyes whenever they got together now made Rhea feel guilty. She knew he kept hoping she would change her mind about his proposal, and she could see from his actions that he felt hurt over her refusal.

  Over the last two weeks, Rhea even found herself avoiding Taylor. There seemed to be a winsome yearning in the child’s eyes lately—wanting more from her than she felt ready to give.

  Around the assembly grounds, the ongoing renovations daily transformed Laurel Springs. Every building sparkled with fresh paint, and newly paved roads and neat landscaping met the eye at every corner. Reporters and journalists visited to take pictures and do write-ups on the continual changes occurring. Tourism increased rapidly with the media coverage, and more groups called daily to schedule fall retreats and weekend workshops at Laurel Springs.

  Rhea sat in her office in the ad-min building thinking about it. She knew she should be grateful and should be able to deal with her feelings for Carter Layman in a more mature way. Hiding out from him and his son was hardly the way for a grown woman to act.

  Rhea laid down her pen, realizing she was getting nowhere with her writing today. She looked wistfully at her notes about the history of covered bridges for her newspaper column next week.

  “Each covered bridge is unique,” she read, trying to focus her thoughts. “More than ten thousand covered bridges once dotted the American landscape but now only seven hundred fifty remain. They remind us of a time when the world moved at a slower and less hectic pace and each covered bridge evokes memories of past times. In some rural communities, it was traditional for a man to be granted a kiss from his sweetheart when they passed through a covered bridge.”

  Rhea’s mind drifted. Carter kissed her for the first time in the covered bridge here at Laurel Springs in October when the maples and oaks around the old bridge were a glory of red and orange. She could never walk or ride through the bridge without remembering.

  She pushed her notes aside with irritation. “I should never have started an article on this subject right now.”

  Annoyed at her inability to concentrate, Rhea headed through the back door of the ad-min building and across the back paths to the Laurel Springs store. She needed some lunch and hoped a visit with Jeannie and Estelle would lift her spirits.

  Entering the store, she saw Jeannie’s towheaded son Beau waiting to get an ice cream cone.

  “Hi, Beau.” Rhea leaned over to ruffle his hair.

  The child jerked away and pumped out his bottom lip at her. “I don’t like you anymore, Rhea Dean.”

  His mother shook a scolding finger at him from behind the counter. “Beau Ledford, you watch your manners, and you tell Rhea you’re sorry for saying that right now.”

  He stuck his chin up defiantly. “I’m not sorry. It’s because of Rhea Dean that Taylor’s having to move back to California, and he’s my bestest friend.”

  The room fell deadly quiet, and Jeannie’s eyes widened.

  Beau crossed his arms and gave her a sulky look. “You know it’s true, Mama. Daddy said so at breakfast this morning. I heard him.”

  Estelle snickered behind her hand while Jeannie dashed out from behind the counter to take Beau’s arm and head for the door. “Your behavior is not allowing you to have ice cream today, Beau Ledford. You walk right on back to the house and tell your daddy how you’ve acted. He’s mowing the grass and I’ll bet he decides you need to help him with some of his yard chores.”

  “He will ’cause you’ll call and tattle on me,” Beau challenged, allowing himself to be shuffled out the door after a few more verbal exchanges.

  “I’m real sorry about that, Rhea.” Jeannie came back into the store and slipped behind the counter again.

  Estelle held out the ice cream cone she still held. “What do you want me to do with Beau’s chocolate ice cream cone?”

  “Just put it back.” Jeannie snatched the cone in irritation, dumped the chocolate scoops back into the ice cream bin, and flipped the cone into the trash.

  Rhea watched Jeannie and Estelle exchange pointed looks.

  “What’s going on?” Rhea leaned against a table near the counter, watching her two friends.

  Estelle looked at her in surprise. “You haven’t heard that Carter and Taylor are going back to California?”

  “For another business trip?” Rhea straightened the napkin holder and salt and pepper shakers on the table.

  Jeannie shook her head. “No, for good. Hasn’t Carter told you?”

  Rhea’s open mouth of shock told the answer.

  “There. You see? It’s that kind of communication between the two of you that’s caused this.” Jeannie shook a finger at her. “You’re going to regret not being willing to forgive and forget with Carter Layman one day. You mark my words. And Carter and Taylor leaving Laurel Springs is about to break all our hearts.”

  She pressed a hand to her mouth, tears starting in her eyes.

  Estelle looked at Rhea apologetically. “She’s right upset today.”

  “No kidding,” Rhea said, beginning to feel annoyed.

  Rhea walked closer to Jeannie. “I did not ask Carter to move away, Jeannie Ledford. How can you blame me because he’s decided he wants to return to California?”

  “You are so dense.” Jeannie slammed her hands down on the counter. “The man is in love with you, always has been. He came back to win your love and now you’ve rejected him. He told Billy Wade he can’t stand to keep seeing you every day when you won’t forgive him, won’t love him back, and won’t marry him. So he’s going back to California.”

  Jeannie blew a strand of short hair out of her face. “Poor Taylor is so upset, Mary Jane says he cries himself to sleep every night. I hope you’re proud of yourself for making a little boy and a grown man so miserable.”

  Rhea felt her face flaming. “You can’t make yourself love someone when you don’t, Jeannie.”

  “That’s a lie and you know it.” Jeannie snatched up a dishtowel and shook it at Rhea. “You have never stopped loving Carter Layman. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.”

  Rhea saw Estelle’s eyes sharpen with interest.

  Crossing her arms in irritation, Rhea tried to make Jeannie understand how she felt. “Carter hurt me. You know how I suffered for a long, long time. I can’t put that behind me simply because Carter is back now and wants things to be the way they were.”

  Jeannie leaned over the counter toward Rhea. Her voice grew soft. “I love you, Rhea Dean. But I believe you are making a big mistake not to put the past behind you and be willing to move on.”

  Estelle chimed in. “My granny always said, ‘Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.’ ”

  Rhea gave her a withering look. “Thank you very much, Estelle.”

  Jeannie hid a laugh behind her hand.


  Remembering she’d come for lunch, Rhea slipped behind the counter to make herself a quick roast beef and Swiss sandwich. She wrapped it in paper and stuffed it in a paper sack with a canned cola.

  “I need to get back to the office to finish my column for the newspaper,” she said, ringing up her own sale. She doubted she could enjoy lunch in the store with the looks Jeannie and Estelle continued passing between them.

  Sunday service at church the next day proved even worse. Mary Jane broke down and cried during the service and several people directed pointed looks in Rhea’s direction. Carter wisely avoided attending. Nana Dean said her friend Maureen whispered that the boy broke down weeping over breakfast and had to be kept home.

  Needless to say, lunch at the Dean house after church was strained. Her mother and grandmother hardly offered two words as they ate.

  Annoyed at the unending silent treatment from her mother and grandmother, Rhea finally banged her glass on the table, startling them both. “Enough of this. If you have something to say, say it.”

  Her mother leveled her with a narrow-eyed glance. “It’s your life, Rhea. Your father and I interfered in your decisions relating to Carter Layman nine years ago and I’ve often regretted it. I don’t want to interfere this time. I’m keeping quiet.”

  “Well, I’m not.” Nana Dean studied her with soft eyes. “Why won’t you marry the boy, Rhea? I know you love him. Can’t you forgive him?”

  Rhea toyed with her silverware. “Forgiving and forgetting are two entirely different things, Nana.”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Nana reached across the table to lay a hand on Rhea’s. “To say you can forgive but can’t forget is only another way of saying you won’t forgive. God brings the forgetfulness you need to move on once you set your heart to truly forgive. It’s like standing in faith. Your feelings change when you make the right stand in faith.”

  Rhea’s mother interrupted. “She’s too stubborn to let those feelings go, Nana. You’re wasting your time trying to reason with her.”

  Nettled, Rhea got up and started taking the dirty dishes to the kitchen. She moved through her chores quickly, changed out of her Sunday skirt, into her shorts, and headed to the barn to find Jewel.

  “I need a ride to clear my head, girl,” she said to the horse as she slipped a bridle over her head.

  Shortly after, she rode through the back field, up Rocky Prong Road past Gold Mine Springs and onto a well-worn path leading through the woods and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After a final climb through a stand of hemlock, she emerged onto a high mountain trail.

  The ride along the mountain ridge cleared her head but didn’t resolve the mix of feelings in her soul. Returning to the barn, Rhea found Taylor Layman waiting for her, sitting on a bale of hay.

  He stood up politely, his face brightening. “Your Nana said I could wait for you here.”

  “How long have you been here?” Rhea asked as she dismounted and started to unsaddle Jewel.

  “Just a little while.” Taylor handed her a cloth to wipe Jewel down with after the long ride. Then he strolled along while Rhea walked the horse briefly around the corral.

  “I’m leaving tomorrow,” he told her finally.

  “I heard.”

  “I don’t really want to go back to California.” He hung his head. “But my dad says he has to go back to work.”

  “Perhaps he does.”

  Taylor shook his head. “No. He’s just saying that to me.”

  Rhea wisely kept silent.

  “I’m sorry you don’t like me because of my mother.”

  Shocked, Rhea turned to look down at the child. “That’s not true, Taylor. I like you very much.”

  He sighed deeply. “But not enough to want to be my mother.”

  Rhea led Jewel into her stall and shut the door.

  “Let’s sit and talk.” She patted the place beside her on a wooden bench in the barn.

  Taylor sat down, fidgeting as Rhea considered what to say.

  “It’s a very big decision to get married,” she offered at last.

  His eyes searched her face. “But you were going to marry my dad before.” He shuffled his feet. “So I figured it was because of me you said no this time.”

  Rhea felt her annoyance rise. “Your father shouldn’t have told you I said no to his proposal.”

  “Dad didn’t tell me.” Taylor’s brown eyes grew huge. “I heard Mamaw and Papaw talking. Dad would be real mad if he knew I eavesdropped—and super madder if he knew I told you what I heard.”

  “I see.” A smile twitched at the corner of Rhea’s mouth. “Does your dad even know you’re here, Taylor?”

  He shook his head solemnly. “No, but I wanted to say good-bye and I needed to talk to you.”

  “What did you need to talk about?” Rhea waited.

  Taylor shuffled his feet in the dirt on the barn floor again. “I know some things I’m not supposed to know,” he said at last.

  Rhea lifted an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

  He picked at a scab on his arm. “I know my dad was supposed to marry you but he married my mom instead because she was going to have me.”

  Rhea suppressed a gasp.

  “I didn’t just learn that from Mamaw and Papaw,” he added quickly. “I heard my Grandfather Benton and my mother talk about it, too.”

  “Eavesdropping isn’t a very nice habit, Taylor.”

  He sighed. “I know, but sometimes you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time and you hear stuff. If you come out, you know you’ll get in more trouble because you heard something you shouldn’t have.” Big chocolate eyes looked up at her for understanding.

  “I see,” she acknowledged, remembering being trapped in that situation all too well herself a few times.

  Taylor picked up a piece of straw from the floor to fiddle with it. “When my mother and I were having some of our special times before she died, she talked about you.”

  Rhea barely disguised her shock.

  “She showed me your picture and she told me how my dad loved you before he married her.” He chewed his lip, thinking. “I asked her if she tricked him to marry her. She didn’t get mad. She laughed and said she did. She told me she had to try to grab hold of life fast before she lost it. That she wanted to have me and be a mother, and a wife, before she died.”

  Taylor smiled. “She said my dad was the nicest man she’d ever known. She picked him to be my dad because he was so good.”

  Rhea felt appalled to learn Judith discussed a matter of this magnitude with a small child. She wondered if Carter knew.

  “Mother told me that when she died, Dad would take me back to Laurel Springs where he’d come from. She said she thought I’d like it and she told me she thought I’d like you. She asked me not to be mad if Dad wanted to marry you.”

  Rhea looked at the child curiously. “And are you mad?”

  “No.” His face lit up. “I like you. I really do.”

  “Thank you.” Rhea couldn’t think what else to say.

  “I have something for you.” Taylor searched in his shorts pocket and pulled out a crumpled, folded envelope. He made an effort to straighten it and then offered it to Rhea.

  “What is this?” Rhea asked.

  “It’s a letter from my mom. She wrote it to you the day we were talking.”

  Rhea sucked in a breath. “I don’t know if you should give me this, Taylor.”

  He offered her an innocent look. “Why not? She wrote it to you and she told me to give it to you someday. I just forgot it for a long time. When we flew back home a few weeks ago, I remembered it. I found it with all the other things she gave me in my treasure box.”

  Rhea looked at the envelope in her hand, not sure if she should open it. “Did you read this, Taylor?”

  He grinned. “I tried a little, but I can’t read much. I’m only six and starting first grade. Maybe you could read it to me.” He frowned. “Unless you don’t want to.”

&n
bsp; Rhea unfolded the letter, hands trembling as she saw the neat script flowing across the sheet of paper, and started to read.

  Dear Rhea Dean,

  I have heard about you since the first week Carter came to California. I saw the pictures you sent him, I shared in the news from Tennessee you detailed. I laughed at your stories and wept over your sorrows. I began to feel as though you were a sister. I looked forward to you coming to California—even though I envied you Carter’s love. When you didn’t come, I grew angry at you. When I learned I had ALS and would die, I decided Carter and I would make a nice team. I wanted a husband and a child. You didn’t seem very interested in Carter.

  I know I acted selfishly. Dying is not a happy time. Carter shared joy with me, despite all, and he gave me Taylor, a beautiful child. I can’t regret anything here as time slips away. However, I can hope you’ll forgive me for borrowing your kind man. He never stopped loving you—although I believe he came to love me toward the end. I know I grew to love him.

  I envy you the years and lifetime ahead with him. And with my son. I know Carter will go back to you and try to win you. Please love them both well and try not to think too harshly of me. I came to know Carter’s God near the end, so I hope I will see you all on the other side someday.

  Be kind to Taylor. He is a very wise and kind little boy and I know he will be a good man like his father.

  Embrace life, love, and joy while you can.

  They slip by all too quickly.

  Sincerely,

  Judith Morgan Benton Layman

  Hands still shaking, Rhea folded the letter back up.

  “That was a nice letter,” said Taylor.

  She touched a hand to Taylor’s hair, brushing it back from his forehead. “I think your dad should see this.”

  He frowned. “Dad might get mad at me about it.”

  “No. I don’t think he will.” She leaned over to kiss Taylor on the forehead. “Do you think it would be all right if I give this to your dad?”

  Taylor considered this. “Okay, but he went to see Billy Wade and then he said he was going to his special mountain place. That’s why I could come see you. He won’t be back until later.”