Angel of the Cove

by Sandra Robbins

  Josie hesitated before she leaned forward and held out her arms. Anna pulled her close. “Poor baby. Granny’s going to take care of your mama, and I’ll fix you something to eat.” She held the child against her body and looked around the kitchen. Only an iron cookstove and the table and chairs occupied the space. There was no food in sight.

  No heat came from the stove. The first thing she had to do was light a fire and boil some water. Granny would need it any minute. She glanced around for something to occupy Josie. A wooden horse lay on the floor. She picked it up and handed it to Josie, who smiled and grabbed the toy.

  “Horsie!”

  Anna eased her back into the chair. “Play with your horse until I can fix you something to eat.”

  Granny opened the bedroom door at that moment. “The water boilin’ yet, Anna?”

  “Not yet. I’ve got to get the fire started.”

  Granny propped her hands on her hips. “You mean Cecil let that fire go out? I’m gonna hafta talk to him about that.”

  Anna pulled the stove eye up and stirred at the embers inside. “Shouldn’t take long. I see some kindling in the wood box.”

  “Good. I ’spect I’m gonna need that water real quick.”

  “How’s Pearl?”

  A shadow crossed Granny’s face. “Don’t look good. Her pains are a-coming close together, and they ain’t gonna slow down at this point. I ’spect she’ll be having that baby purty soon.”

  Anna stuck the kindling in the stove and blew on the embers. A flame flickered up and ignited the wood. “And she’s two months early?”

  “Yeah, and she needs that time real bad, but she ain’t gonna git it. If Cecil comes in, don’t say nothin’ to him, though.”

  Anna shivered. “Don’t worry. I won’t be saying anything to him. He scares me.”

  Granny gave a little snort. “Reckon he does look kinda fierce, but he’s a good man.”

  Anna picked up a piece of wood and stuck it in the flame inside the stove. “If you say so.”

  “Granny!” Anna and Granny whirled at the scream from the bedroom. Granny ran toward the bedroom, and Anna started to follow.

  “Mama.” Anna stopped at Josie’s whimper. She had her job to do, and Granny would take care of Pearl.

  She caressed the child’s tangled, silken curls. She’d have to find a comb somewhere and a clean dress for Josie. She grabbed a poker from the wood box and stoked the fire. Within minutes she had a pot of water sitting on top. With the fire heating up, it wouldn’t take long for the water to boil. Now for food for Josie.

  A sack of cornmeal sat on a shelf. Mush appeared to be the only choice right now since she could use some of the boiling water to make it. Josie whimpered, and Anna reached for her.

  Helping Granny differed at times from what she thought it would be. Today her task was to watch a two-year-old. All she could do at this point for Pearl was say a prayer for her and the baby that was about to be born.

  An hour later Anna wiped the last remains of Josie’s cornmeal mush from her mouth. Granny had come from the bedroom several times and looked more troubled each time she entered the kitchen.

  For the last few minutes, however, it had been extremely quiet behind the closed door. Josie reached up and patted Anna’s face. Anna glanced down and laughed at Josie sitting there, her mouth open as she tried to reach the spoonful of mush Annie held in midair.

  Anna slipped the spoon into Josie’s mouth. “Sorry, little one. I guess my mind wandered.”

  Josie swallowed the mouthful and pointed to the door. “Mama.”

  Anna hugged the child closer. “Yes, darling, Mama’s gonna be all right.”

  The back door opened and Cecil stepped into the room. He stopped just inside the door and stared at Anna holding his daughter. His cold gaze made her skin prickle, but she didn’t want him to know how much he frightened her.

  Anna stood up and hoisted Josie to her hip. “Mr. Davis, would you like something to eat?”

  He stared at her for a moment, then glanced down at the child.

  Josie smiled and held out her arms. “Poppa.”

  He didn’t move but turned toward the bedroom door as it opened. The look on Granny’s face told them she didn’t have good news.

  She closed the door behind her and stepped next to Cecil. Her hands fluttered to her side before she clasped them in front of her. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I done everythin’ I could, Cecil, but I couldn’t keep the baby from comin’. Pearl’s fine, but the baby was jest too little. He never took a breath.”

  Cecil’s expression didn’t change. “A boy, you say?”

  Granny nodded. “Tiny little feller. You want to see ’im?”

  Cecil shook his head.

  “What ’bout Pearl? She’d like you to come in.”

  Cecil backed toward the door. “In a bit. I got work at the barn.”

  He opened the door and stepped outside, but before he could close the door Josie reached out to him. “Poppa.”

  Without acknowledging Josie, he pulled the door shut. His reaction presented a contrast to what Anna had seen from Andrew Long and Pete Ferguson. Both had been so concerned for their wives. Anna couldn’t understand a man who would refuse to see his dead son and would ignore his wife when she needed his comfort. And what about Josie? He barely noticed her.

  Josie wriggled in her arms and began to cry. Anna stroked the dark curls that tumbled to Josie’s shoulders. “She’s getting tired.”

  Granny reached out and patted Josie on the back. “She’s a sweet little thang. I got Pearl all fixed up right now, but I’ll go back in and set with ’er. Why don’t you see if you can get Josie to sleep?”

  Anna nodded. “I’ll put a pallet in the front room and lay down with her. But if you need me, call me.”

  “I will.” Granny turned and reentered the bedroom.

  Anna remembered seeing a quilt hanging on the back of a straight chair when they’d entered the house. After she’d spread it on the floor, she gathered Josie in her arms and lay down with her.

  Josie grew still right away, but Anna found it hard to get settled. Since coming to the Cove, she’d discovered that sleeping on a pallet didn’t seem as much fun as it had when she was a child. If she and Granny stayed at the Davis cabin tonight, she would probably sleep where she and Josie now lay.

  As far as she could tell, the house only had three rooms—the one where she and Josie lay, the kitchen, and the bedroom where Granny tended Pearl. Since there wasn’t a bed in either of the rooms she’d seen, she decided Josie must sleep in her parents’ room.

  The absence of food in the house bothered Anna too. With Pearl not feeling well, she must not have worked in her garden. She wondered why Cecil hadn’t brought food into the house.

  This home seemed very different from the others she’d visited in the Cove. Even though most of the people in Cades Cove could be considered poor by the standards of the farm families in Strawberry Plains, she thought Cecil and Pearl Davis must be among the poorest.

  Josie’s quiet nature also disturbed Anna. She wasn’t at all like other active two-year-olds she’d been around. Perhaps the uncaring attitude displayed by her father had caused Josie to be so withdrawn. Of course she hadn’t seen Pearl with her yet. She hugged the child tighter and hoped Josie’s mother showed her more love than what her father had demonstrated.

  Anna awoke sometime later to the sound of soft voices coming from the kitchen. She sat up and listened but wasn’t sure who was speaking. Beside her Josie, her thumb in her mouth, slept soundly. Anna pushed up from the pallet, tiptoed to the door, and listened.

  Her eyes grew wide, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to silence the gasp from her throat. Reaching up, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and stepped into the kitchen.

  “Hello, Simon.”

  He stood with his back to her. At the sound of her voice, he stiffened. After what seemed an eternity, he turned and stared at he
r. “Hello, Anna. How are you?”

  A smile spread across her face. She’d only seen him at church in the last few weeks, and he’d barely spoken to her then. He still hadn’t returned to Granny’s.

  “Did you come to visit Pearl?”

  His gaze wandered over her face, but his eyes narrowed. There was no smile on his face. “I was passing by and saw Granny’s buggy. I was afraid something might be wrong.”

  Anna glanced at Granny. “How is Pearl?”

  “She’s ’bout the same. Poor thang cries ev’ry few minutes. She shore did want this baby.”

  Anna swallowed. “Do you need me to do anything for you?”

  Granny shook her head. “I gotta git back in there. You jest keep a watch over Josie and see what you kin find for supper. Don’t forgit we brought them peas from home.” She smiled at Simon. “It’s good to see you, preacher boy. Don’t stay away so long agin.”

  Simon smiled at Granny. “Take care of yourself, Granny.”

  She walked to the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

  The silence in the room hung heavy between them, and Anna wished for the easy banter they’d once shared. She stepped closer to Simon. “Want to stay for supper?”

  He suddenly seemed engrossed in the hat he held and stared at it as he turned it around in his hands. “I can’t. I promised a family from the congregation I’d eat with them.”

  Anna swallowed back her disappointment and smiled. “Well, maybe another night.”

  “Maybe.”

  She glanced over her shoulder toward the room where Josie still slept. “I haven’t gotten to help Granny today with Pearl. I’ve taken care of Josie.”

  Simon nodded and looked up at the ceiling. “She’s a pretty little girl.”

  Anna eased a step farther into the room. “She is pretty. I just wish her father cared for her more.”

  A startled look entered Simon’s eyes. “What’re you talking about?”

  “He hardly pays her any attention. Doesn’t even speak to her. And he wouldn’t even go in to see Pearl after the baby died. He must be a hard-hearted man.”

  Simon regarded her through narrowed eyes. “So now you’re judging the folks in the Cove? Think you know what makes them tick?”

  His words and the tone of his voice sliced through her. The first time she’d met Simon, she’d felt a bond with him—like they were already close friends. Suddenly, though, he seemed like a stranger. There had to be some way they could return to the friendship they’d had in the beginning.

  “Simon, what’s the matter? I’ve never heard you speak with anger before.”

  He grimaced, but he couldn’t meet her eyes. “I guess I should’ve known it wouldn’t take you long to decide we were all too different from you. But I didn’t think you were so unkind that you would judge a man without knowing a single thing about him.”

  The wound inflicted by his words a few moments earlier deepened as she stared at him. His veiled eyes gave no indication they’d ever been friends. She had to make him understand what she’d seen since arriving at the Davis home. “I’m not judging Cecil. But I’ve seen how he’s treated Josie ever since I got here. He ignores her even when she calls out to him. He doesn’t act like she’s even alive.”

  Simon chuckled, not with the happiness of earlier days but with contempt. Anna flinched as he shook his head. “You still don’t understand about life here, Anna. You don’t know how it can beat down a proud man like Cecil who works from sunup ’til sundown on some of the rockiest soil in the Cove trying to make a living. Only a man who loves his family does that. You don’t know how he’s tried to do everything by himself so Pearl can stay in bed because they wanted this baby so much. Only a man who cherishes his wife does that. You don’t know how he sits up at night after Josie’s gone to sleep and carves toys for her. Only a man who loves his daughter does that.”

  Anna remembered the wooden horse Josie had played with while she was cooking the mush. “I…I didn’t know.”

  “And you don’t know that this is the third son Pearl’s lost and the last she’ll be able to have, according to Granny.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Simon. I didn’t know any of that.”

  His eyes bored into her. “Life here is hard, Anna. Nothing like the fairy tale you’ve lived. It can chew you up and spit you out and leave you dying surrounded by some of God’s most beautiful creation. Don’t judge us, Anna. Not until you know what it’s like for us and what makes us try to survive here.”

  He turned and walked out the door, but Anna ran after him. “Simon, please don’t go. I didn’t mean…”

  He didn’t look back but strode toward the barn. Anna watched him go, the tears she’d held back finally spilling from her eyes.

  Granny’s strong arms encircled Anna and pulled her close. “I heard loud voices in here. What’s goin’ on? What’s the matter, child?”

  Anna stared after Simon. “Oh, Granny, I’ve lost the best friend I ever had.”

  Simon heard Anna calling after him, but his willpower prevented him from answering. How he wanted to run to her and dry the tears he’d seen in her eyes, but he couldn’t. Not anymore. Maybe a few weeks ago, but he couldn’t stand to be around her knowing his love couldn’t compete with her dream. It would be better for her to think him indifferent to her.

  He rubbed his hands across his tired eyes. He hadn’t slept in days. Every time he lay down her face drifted into his mind. Even when he did manage to drift off to sleep, she haunted his dreams. He didn’t know how much longer the war within could go on—his heart telling him to go to her and his mind telling him to stay away.

  The frustrations of the last few weeks had built up until he unleashed them on her today. He shouldn’t have been so hard on her. Anna wasn’t alone in thinking that Cecil Davis was a cold, hard man, but nothing could be farther from the truth. He wanted Anna to see beyond the reserved nature of many of the Cove residents. But most of all he wanted her to understand them and come to love them. If he couldn’t make her stay, maybe they could.

  Chapter 13

  Anna picked the last ripe tomato and dropped it in the basket. A soft breeze stirred the leaves on the trees, but the morning sun promised a hot day for the Fourth of July celebration. The tomatoes she’d just picked would taste good at the church picnic.

  She put her hands in the small of her back and stretched. The memory of Simon hurrying away from her at the Davis farm two days earlier flashed into her mind. Her heart still ached every time she thought of his words.

  She hoped he wouldn’t be at the picnic today, but she knew he would. After all, the preacher was expected to be at all the church functions. But she didn’t know if she could face him after their last meeting. Their relationship would never be the same again, but one thing she knew—she missed his presence at Granny’s. Mealtimes hadn’t been the same since he quit coming.

  With a sigh she picked up the basket of tomatoes and juggled the load on her hip with one hand. At the back door she slipped her shoes off and padded across the wooden floor. “Granny, here are the tomatoes you wanted.”

  “Thanks. Jest drop ’em in with everythin’ else. I’ll slice ’em at the picnic.” Granny picked up a bowl of green beans and placed it in the basket. “I think that’s everythin’.”

  Anna headed to her room to change clothes but stopped at the door. Without turning she spoke. “Granny, how can I face Simon today?”

  A serious expression covered Granny’s face. “You gonna act like you don’t care whether he talks to you or not. After all, he ain’t the only young man in the Cove. No telling who you’ll meet today. You jest make up your mind you gonna have a good time and enjoy the folks there.” She pulled off her apron and hung it on a wall peg. “But if Simon acts as ornery as he’s been lately, I ’spect I’m gonna need to have a talk with that boy. Now I’m goin’ out to hitch up the horse. You finish dressin’ and bring the basket out. We need to git goin’, or we gonna miss all the fu
n.”

  Anna nodded and entered her bedroom. She closed the door and leaned against it, her head pounding at the thought of seeing Simon today.

  Her heart raced at the memory of their last conversation. He’d said some hateful things to her—hardly what she’d expect from a preacher. His words made her seem like a snobbish brat who looked down on people who didn’t meet her standards. He’d said she judged people and accused her of living a fairy-tale life compared to what the people of the Cove had.

  How could he have been so cruel? She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She had to quit thinking about him. He’d made it very clear he had no interest in continuing their friendship.

  Anna pulled her dress off and grabbed the one she was wearing to the picnic. “Well, if that’s the way he wants it, that’s the way it’ll be. I can get along fine without Simon Martin.”

  She dressed quickly and hurried back to the kitchen where the basket of food sat. For a minute she stared at it and thought about staying home. Then she straightened her shoulders and grabbed the basket from the table. Simon Martin wasn’t going to ruin a day of fun for her. She didn’t need him to have a good time. Granny was right. There were plenty of other people in the Cove to visit with. She’d just seek them out and ignore him.

  “Anna, let’s go.” Granny called from outside.

  “Coming.” She grabbed the basket, rushed out the door, and climbed into the buggy for the short ride to the church.

  They rode in silence through the summer day, the buggy stirring up clouds of dust behind them. The mountains, lit by the backdrop of the blue sky, gleamed in the sunshine. Even on this warm day a misty haze hung over them.

  The horse slowed. Anna drew her attention away from the hills and spied a wagon ahead of them turning off the main road. Granny followed close behind to the picnic grove beside the creek which ran gently behind the church.

  As the horse came to a stop, a young man hopped out of the buggy in front of them. “Morning, Granny. Beautiful day, ain’t it?”