Luke. Where is he? She reined Daisy in, turned as far as she could in the saddle, and searched the woods. “Luke,” she whispered as loudly as she dared. “Luke. Are you out there? Are you safe?”
The woods were silent. It was dusk, and the animals, sometimes smarter than humans, were burrowing in for the night. She thought she heard galloping horses continuing south of the railroad. Good. They missed us. She looked around her again. Maybe they found Luke and are taking him somewhere.
“Oh, Luke,” she whimpered, one tear finding a trail down her cheek. “Don’t let anything happen to you.” She released a long, quivering sigh. “How can I go on when you could be in trouble?” She hung her head, closing her eyes to blink the tears away. Her exhaustion took over, and she just sat there, on Daisy, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
“Luvella,” Luke said, coming from behind. “Are you hurt? Did something happen?”
She gulped her cries and wiped her face quickly with one hand, grateful for the cover of the evening shadows. “There you are!” She was angry, and it showed in her voice. “I thought those men had caught up with you. You could have let me know you were safe.”
Luke frowned. “You are such a child sometimes. I never know what to expect from you.”
“I am not a child. You’re hardly any older than I am.”
He walked in front of Daisy and pulled on the lead. “Come on, Girl, let’s get going,” he said to the horse. “I’ll tell you how much older I am another time. I saw one man ride up that road, so he’ll be coming up pretty soon. How far are we from your home?”
“Almost there.” She turned to the task of getting up the mountain. “Daddy is probably out on the porch smoking his pipe right now.” She thought of Mama in the kitchen and Daddy and her brothers. “It will be good to be home again.”
Luke ran up the slope, and Daisy followed him. Luvella leaned onto Daisy’s withers and reached down to help support her ankle. The pain was excruciating now. “Almost there,” she whispered to herself. “Almost there almost there almost…”
They had reached the road. The sound of Daisy’s hooves on the smooth dirt of the road was like a melody to Luvella. She sat up. “There!” She pointed to the left of the road. “See the lantern light through the windows? Our barn is just ahead.”
“Ride! Go Luvella!” He slapped Daisy again. “And get inside your house as fast as possible. I’ll cut through the woods and meet you there.”
Luvella saw him run like wind into the forest toward her house. “Tsch, Daisy.” She bent low to help Daisy gallop her final yards for this long day.
She was right. Daddy was on the porch. So was Jake. Reeder and Bill were in the yard, throwing their pig gut football back and forth. They all rushed to the drive as she reined in Daisy near the porch. Luke emerged from the woods and ran across the yard to her side, quickly lifting the thong from Luvella’s ankle. He reached up for Luvella.
“Come on. I’ll get you,” he said.
Daddy and Bill stared first at Luke and then at Luvella’s ankle. Reeder reached for Daisy’s bit.
“Daisy’s been rid hard. She’s frothing,” he said, his voice sharp with rebuke.
“That’s the truth,” Luvella commented. “This is Luke, Daddy. He’s Uncle Isaac’s nephew. Sort of saved my life.”
Luke frowned at her again but barely nodding at Daddy and her brothers. “There’s a man following us and should be coming up the road in a second or two.”
“He was with a bunch of men who attacked Luke,” Luvella added. “…unnhh. Easy with that ankle, Luke…”
Daddy took over. “Reeder, get Daisy in the barn and give her a good rubdown. Some extra oats, too. Luke, take Luvella into the house, and the two of you stay in there. Bill and Jake, come with me.” He carried his pipe and sauntered toward the end of their drive, where it meets the road. As Luke carried her through the door to the kitchen, Luvella could just barely see Daddy’s shadow lean against a tree next to the road and Bill’s and Jake’s on the other side of their drive, doing the same. Waiting. In the dark.
Inside, Mama rushed over as Luke brought Luvella in.
Luke nodded to Mama. “Mrs. Andersson, I’m Luke Raven, Isaac’s sister’s grandson. Luvella here has a broken ankle, and her other leg was bitten by a rattler.” Luke stood just inside the door, still carrying Luvella.
Luvella’s head lolled, as if it was too heavy for her to support.
Mama, whose face just blanched, put her hand on Luvella’s forehead. “She’s just a little feverish. Could you take her upstairs? Her room is just at the top of the stairs. I’ll be right up with a cold cloth.”
Mama bustled over to the sink as Luke carried Luvella to her room. He pushed open the door with his foot and placed her on her bed. When Luvella felt her bed under her, she forced her eyes open to prove to herself she wasn’t dreaming again. She still wasn’t sure, though, because there was Luke, staring down at her in her bedroom.
“Luke?” she murmured. “Are you really here?”
He smiled, just as Mama clumped into the room. Mama looked at Luke and then at Luvella and hesitated for just a second. “Here, Luvella. Let’s put this on your head for a wee bit.” Sitting on the bed, she put a damp cloth across Luvella’s forehead. “Now. Tell me what you two have been up to.”
Taking turns talking, the two of them related the story of Luvella’s being thrown from Daisy and being bitten by the rattler and the struggle to keep her nausea and pain at bay.
Luvella finished, “I sort of dozed off on the last part of our ride home, so we went right past Daddy’s road and all the way to the tavern. Some men yelled at us, pulled Luke off Daisy, and beat him. It was awful, Mama. If I didn’t have Daddy’s gun with me, Luke would surely be dead now.”
“Gun?” Mama repeated. “How did you get your father’s gun?”
Luke walked toward the door. “Mrs. Andersson, do you have some really cold water so we can put cold pads on Luvella’s ankle? I think it has swollen a lot with our ride today.”
Mama turned to examine the ankle, and Luke raised his eyebrows and flashed an ‘I saved your life again’ grin at Luvella. “Let me wet that cloth on her head again downstairs while you put something under her ankle to hold it up.”
He grabbed the cloth and ran down the stairs. Luvella heard Daddy and Bill come into the kitchen, and Daddy’s voice, all worried, ask, “How’s Luvella?”
She couldn’t hear Luke’s answer.
He followed Daddy and Bill up the stairs to Luvella’s room and handed the damp cloth to Mama. Mama had already removed the blanket and flags and had other blankets folded underneath Luvella’s foot and leg. Her ankle looked like a young eggplant—ugly, purple, and very swollen.
Mama was clearly in charge. “Bill, will you get that bandage we used when you hurt your leg? And don’t we have those braces from when Reeder broke his ankle? They’re smooth and curved to fit the ankle. We have to get this ankle in place, or Luvella will never dance again.” That was Mama’s best attempt at a joke, and everyone chuckled. Even Luvella managed a smile.
“And Will.” Mama looked hard at her husband. “I think Luvella will need a little of your whiskey to help her sleep tonight and kill that pain.”
Daddy pretended to be shocked, but Mama was on a mission. “Just get some, Will. And then we’ll talk about your gun.”
Luvella noticed Luke’s face as he saw Daddy, who had been fully in control down on the porch, change into a blushing-with-guilt mild-mannered servant. All at the hands, or the words, of this gentle, little woman. And her heart smiled.
Only minutes passed before Luvella had had some snakeroot tea, made by Luke with some of Daddy’s “medicine” in it, a new brace applied over protective bandages, and a slice of Mama’s bread, toasted on the stovetop, and slathered with Mama’s apple butter.
“Oh, I am so glad to be home,” Luvella said. She told her family how the snake had spooked Daisy and how she had passed that awful night in the woods alone. “If Uncle Isaac hadn
’t told me on our trip to his house how to treat snakebite, I could have died out there. That was a big snake.” She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy the soft bed and Mama’s food inside her.
Luke told the rest of the story, but he stopped at the point when they reached the tavern. Luvella opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked downward, and Luvella saw him blushing. He’s embarrassed. I never thought about how he must feel to be hated so much.
She continued, “There were men outside the tavern. You could smell the liquor all over. They saw my ankle braced and my head wrapped in a bandage, and they assumed Luke had done that to me. At least that’s what they yelled.” She finished the story and then remembered what else she had seen.
“Funny. Mr. Bocke was there, standing behind the men yelling at Luke, and I really think he started them going.”
Bill exchanged looks with Daddy. “What?” Luvella looked from one to the other.
Daddy pulled at his mustache. “That man who had followed you rode right up to our drive and stopped. He was staring at the house when Bill and me stepped onto the road and surprised him. It was Sigfried Bocke. He said he was thinking of knocking on our door for directions. Claimed he’d taken the wrong road.”
Bill said, “You should’ve seen his face when Daddy struck his match and started to light his pipe. I guess he hadn’t seen us. Then we walked right up to him. For a minute, I thought he was gonna cry.” Everyone laughed.
“I politely told him to turn around and go right back to where he came from,” Daddy finished. Then he shook his head. “There sure is something strange about that man.”
“By the by, Luvella,” Reeder said. “When we went to the tavern the other night, just before you went to Forksville?”
Luvella nodded, already beginning to drowse.
“Well, we learned that Bocke and some other men are gambling and selling moonshine and planned to do that in the caboose and even Smythe’s hotel.”
“Not any more, though,” Luvella managed. “The caboose is mine.” She smiled, sleepily.
Mama sighed and slid off the bed to stand near Luvella.
“Shoo, all of you! Luvella has to sleep now, and I have to change her clothes. Luke, you can share Reeder’s room, but first, Bill, fix him some dinner, will you?”
When they were gone, Luvella said, “Mama. I almost forgot, with everything that’s happened. I have something for you—from Aunt Hilda.”
Luvella closed her eyes as Mama washed the trail dust from her face and hands and helped her change into a nightgown. “And Mama, Aunt Hilda practically came back from the dead to give it to you. Remember that clothespin doll you made her?”
Mama stopped her ministrations and sat up straight. Her eyes, suddenly rimmed in red, watered. She whispered, “Aunt Hilda still has that doll?”
Luvella’s breathing was soft. She barely murmured, “Mm-hmm. It’s in my saddlebag. Hannah, that’s Luke’s sister, and Uncle Isaac said Aunt Hilda had held something real tight in her one hand for days.” Luvella held one hand in a tight fist to show Mama.
“Aunt Hilda was so still, Mama, when I walked into her room. She looked dead already.” Mama let a small gasp escape, and Luvella patted her hand. “But when I told her who I was…” Luvella had to swallow to steady her voice. “…Mama, she woke right up and started talking. We couldn’t understand her words, but she held my hands and gave me that doll. She thought I was you, Mama. Then she went right back to her deep, deep sleep.”
Luvella could say no more. That wondrous moment with Aunt Hilda, the nightmarish accident, and drama-filled ride home, and the whiskey-augmented tea helped release her thus far repressed emotions. A deluge of tears ran down her face, and one loud sob escaped.
Mama’s face flushed as her eyes filled. She patted Luvella’s hand and brushed her daughter’s tears from her face.
“Thank you for going to Aunt Hilda for me,” she said softly. “It…it meant a lot to both of us.” Then Mama turned to reach for something.
The cold sliver of scissors slid up Luvella’s leg as Mama cut, then pulled, the drawers off her, and Luvella knew Mama was being careful to cut on the seams so they’d be easy to re-stitch. She felt Mama’s light kiss on her forehead, heard her pick up the lantern, and close the door behind her.
She heard her own breathing, deep and rhythmic. She slept…and slept.
Chapter Thirteen
When she awoke, her leg muscles were tight, but no pain shot up from the snake-bitten area. I won’t wiggle my toes just yet, she joked to herself.
Luvella lifted herself to her elbows. Ohhhh, my poor muscles. They’ll remind me all day of my long ride yesterday, on top of my adventure in the woods. Carefully—very carefully—she inched to the edge of her bed, using both hands to pull her left leg with her and lift it down to the floor. Her foot felt as if it were steeped in mud, but she sat up and looked around her room. Propped against the wall, right next to her bed, were crutches! She recognized Reeder’s handiwork immediately.
Reeder, you are either a devil or an angel. This is definitely your angel work. She used them to pull herself to a standing position and practiced using them to walk around her room, stopping at her window. “There you are, my beautiful mountain. I’m back. Have you missed me? We have much work to do, you know. My store, the basket bonanza…”
A reflection from the creek caught her attention, and she looked down. A man was there—in the water. His back, broad and muscular and naked, was turned toward her. “One of those men from last night!” she said aloud. Just as she was about to call Daddy, the man plunged under the water, twisted around, and jumped up, facing her. He shook the water off his hair and began his climb from the creek.
“Oh Glory! It’s Luke.” Luvella turned her face away just in time to avoid seeing his emerging body. “Oh my.” She pressed her hands on her suddenly hot cheeks. A little breathless, she clumped over to her washstand, rested lightly on her right leg while leaning heavily on the crutches and began to wash up. She splashed water on her face, then held the soaked washcloth to her face and neck. She felt so warm. She stood and studied her reflection in the looking glass, wrinkled her nose, and stuck her tongue out at the sight of her hair. “Who is this wild Indian staring at me?”
Realization struck her fast as a rattler’s bite. Oh, Luvella. What poison you spew. She thought of beautiful Hannah, of wise Uncle Isaac, and quiet, thoughtful Luke.
A knock on her door startled her. “Luvella, I have your clean drawers here—the ones cut to fit over your ankle. Do you need help getting dressed?”
“Come in, Mama, I’m managing. Thank you for washing them.” She grinned at Mama’s look of relief when she saw her daughter bright and bristly again. “I’m starving. Is that your sausage I smell cooking?”
Mama was already going back down. “Yes, but that’s for the men. I think you should have a little porridge until your stomach is all settled.”
As Luvella closed her door, she heard Reeder outside yell, “Now that you’re all pretty, Luke, wanna throw some passes till breakfast?” Luke and her brothers all laughed, and there were grunts and heavy shuffles in the yard. “Football,” Luvella grumbled, shaking her head.
Finally, she was dressed, had her hair pulled back with a large bow, and struggled down the stairs to the table.
Luke, in the kitchen now, followed her with his eyes. “Do you need help on the stairs, Luvella?”
Reeder said, “We could toss you down. It would be a lot faster.” Then he guffawed. Bill and Jake smirked a little, and Luke looked from one to the other.
Luvella retorted, “I hope when you’re playing football that you remember Luke was almost killed last night, and I’m sure is plenty sore.”
“That’s enough,” Mama said, and everyone was quiet. She placed a small bowl of porridge in front of Luvella.
“Mama,” Luvella whined. “I lo-ove your sausages. And I am soooo hungry.”
Mama got a plate and put it in front of Luvella. “Just a t
aste, or you’ll pay the price later.”
“You should listen to your mother,” Luke said. “She’s right.”
With that, Luvella stabbed two large sausages from the platter and a flapjack. She poured gobs of Mama’s maple syrup over the flapjack and started eating like a starving logger, cutting off large portions and chewing voraciously.
When she was finished, she smacked her lips and looked at Luke with a cocky smile of satisfaction. Then to Daddy, she said, “How are the preparations going for our festival? Is everyone working on it?”
“Well, I don’t know how the ladies are doing. Ben Smythe is still worried about Bocke taking over his hotel. That guy keeps hanging around everywhere.” Daddy frowned. “Last night, I let him know he wasn’t welcome up here, and that was before I knew what he’d been up to.”
Luvella drummed her fingers on the table, rapidly at first, then more and more slowly as her face brightened with inspiration. “Mama, would you mind if we held a meeting here tomorrow morning? I think we have enough room for everybody. Today, I want to check on my store sales and then look over the caboose, but I think after that my ankle will want to stay right here to home.” She looked at Daddy. “I think it’s good to not let Mr. Bocke know about our meeting.”
Luke got up from the table. “I’ll let you people talk. I have to get ready for my hike back.”
“Oh, Luke. Stay for a few days.” Luvella could feel everyone’s eyes focused on her. “You can get to know my family—we’re Aunt Hilda’s family, too—and I’d really like to show you my store.” She sensed, rather than saw, Mama’s discomfort.
But after only a moment’s hesitation, Mama added, “Reeder can lend you one of his outfits to wear around here while I mend that sleeve for you. We’d be proud to have one of Isaac’s family stay with us for a spell.”
Oh my goodness. Luvella thought. I forgot. He’s an Ind… He’s a Muncee. He could never walk into town with those vision quest clothes he’s wearing.
Luke hesitated, looking at the faces turned toward him. “I could stay another night. Thank you. Then I must go.” He opened the door and called back. “Reeder, can I toss a few with your football?”
The Heartbeat of the Mountain Page 10