Reeder waved Luke a yes as Luvella felt Mama’s gaze and the heat rising up to her face. Her stomach was making ominous sounds and beginning to churn. She ignored all this. She had things to do. But shaking her head, she said, “He must love football like you, Reeder. Those men last night were really beating him, and one kicked him when Luke was on the ground.”
“Those are rough men there, Luvella,” Reeder said. “We’ve played football against them, and they fight mean and dirty.” Bill and Jake agreed.
Daddy nodded. “And our Mr. Bocke does seem to have a knack at riling people. But Luvella, Luke is an Indian, that’s a fact.” He stared right at her, hard.
“He’s only half Indian. His mother is white.” Her stomach flipped around dangerously. Nausea was directly under one of those flips, pushing bitter bile up into her mouth.
“Oh my! I have to get to the privy,” she said, grabbing her crutches.
Reeder held the door open. “Hurry up, Luvella. Not in here.”
She got halfway to the privy and had to vomit on the grass, right in front of Luke, who was tossing Reeder’s football up in the air and catching it. She bent over as far as she could while still hanging onto the crutches, and retched…and retched. Luke threw the ball to Reeder and disappeared, but came back to her with a wet cloth. She used it to wipe her face and mouth.
He shook his head. “Your mother told you to go easy on the food. Don’t you ever listen to what other people say?”
Luvella turned around clumsily. “I’m fine, Mr. Know-it-all. I’m just fine, thank you very much.”
She stormed back to the house as sedately as the crutches and broken ankle would allow. Reeder was already throwing buckets of creek water on the mess she had left on the grass. She could hear him groan with every bucket.
Inside, Daddy was still at the table, sipping his coffee. Mama was boiling water and asked, “Do you have any more of those snakeroot leaves, Luvella? That tea settled your stomach pronto last night.”
“Why yes, Mama. Here, right in my saddle bag.”
Daddy was pulling at his mustache, which meant he was thinking. “Luvella, we’ll go around today and tell each person ourselves about the meeting tomorrow morning. You tell Steckie and Ben Smythe—I’ll have Bill and Reeder send them to you—and they and I will do the rest. That way, Mr. Bocke won’t know about it. If someone—like Ben Smythe—happens to mention it to him, then so be it. If he comes, so be it.”
He pinched his brows together. “But besides checking on the progress, we also have to let these people know where the baskets are coming from. Isaac and others will be bringing those baskets here. We don’t want any ruckus like last night’s.” He looked at her, like he had a few moments ago, peering through her eyes into her soul. “I’ll handle that part of the meeting. You do the rest.”
He stood, slapping his hands on the table. “Better get started on our day. Margaret, are you feeling up to cleaning this mess?” He looked at Mama, who beamed under his concern.
“Ah yes.” She waved him away. “I feel real good now, real good.” She smiled. Luvella smiled too. She had noticed how Mama’s color and breathing were regular. Her health had definitely improved in the last week.
“Thanks for the tea, Mama. It was just right,” Luvella whispered. She didn’t want Luke to hear, wherever he was.
Outside, Daddy took Luvella and Luke, wearing Reeder’s shirt and trousers, in the wagon while Bill and Reeder rode the other two horses, falling in behind the wagon. Jake had already gone to the sawmill.
Reeder said, “Luke, you handle that football like a real quarterback. Have you played much?”
Luke grinned. “I just finished my fourth year on Carlisle Industrial’s team.”
When the silence was so “loud” and long, Luvella turned to look at her brothers. They both were staring at Luke, mouths open. Finally, Bill said, “You mean…with Jim Thorpe?”
Luke nodded. “Ayup. I lived, ate, and played with Jim. Of course, right now he’s on his way to Stockholm for the Olympics.”
Reeder brought his horse alongside the wagon. “You’re the linebacker Luke Raven we always hear about?”
“That’s me.” Luke blushed at Reeder’s stare.
Bill said, “I knew your name was the same, but I just never…”
Luke nodded. “I love playing football, love winning at football, but I really want to be a doctor. When we weren’t practicing or playing, I worked at Carlisle’s infirmary. Got pretty good at it, Dr. Rogers said. He’s the school’s doctor.”
The conversation stopped there, and everyone rode quietly down the mountain road. In town, Daddy said, “Wanna look in on your caboose first, Luvella?”
It was strange how Daddy and her brothers were grinning, as if they were enjoying some private joke.
She was still annoyed at Luke for acting like he was so much more grown up than she was, but she couldn’t hide her excitement about her future little store. “Luke, it’s a mess right now. You just have to use your imagination when you see the inside.”
Daddy lifted her down from the wagon and led her up the five steps to the caboose. He fumbled with the door and pushed it open finally, stepping inside. There, he stood back and let Luvella in.
Her head was down, watching her crutches so as not to fall over the threshold. When she looked up, she stopped moving, stood absolutely still. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice wouldn’t come out. She couldn’t absorb everything in front of her, process it into her head, it was so completely different from how she’d left it.
Everything was new and shiny. Her gifts were there, displayed on tables and in one shelved cabinet with a glass top and front. The walls were freshly painted in pale lavender. The stove was scrubbed back to its original silver color, and when she opened its door, she saw a small pile of firewood ready for her first fire. And there were gifts she’d never seen before, obviously new consignments. I’ll have to record those items and talk to the owners about prices.
“So, what d’ya think, Sis?” Reeder had pushed his way in and around her. “We moved the desk to the back, at Bessie’s suggestion, polished the top of it, and got it looking just like new. Bessie put your record books there, and there are drawers underneath for your cash box and other things. Bessie also brought your stuff over from Steckie’s and arranged it here.”
Luvella squealed and lunged at Reeder with her arms open. Hugging him, she said into his shirt, “Oh, thank you. Thank you.” She leaned back on her crutches and thanked Daddy and Bill, both still grinning. “Oh, I never dreamed cleaning this up would be so easy,” she said, and the men all laughed. Even Luke.
She looked around the caboose, savoring every sparkling window, the deep burgundy hue of the polished desk, every lilac curtain—a shade darker than the lavender paint and obviously Mama’s handiwork—at the windows. “This is truly beautiful,” she whispered, her eyes wet. “Thank you.”
Daddy winked at her. “Reeder, you run over to the hotel now and ask Mr. Smythe to come see Luvella. Bill, you go ask Steckie. Then we’ll stop at the others’ on our way to the mill.”
Daddy was trying to keep her from being on her feet too much, but he was also trying to keep Luke from being seen. How can I get these people to open their minds and hearts when I say stupid things myself like ‘wild Indian’?
Daddy said, “One last thing. There are new keys for the doors. I just put them on the desk over there. For some reason, Lars wanted me to make sure you know there are new locks on both doors.”
Luvella remembered the moonshine jugs in the stove, but she didn’t mention it now.
“We’ll leave the wagon for you and Luke to take back home. Don’t let her stay here too long, Luke.”
Luke grinned down at her. “I won’t,” he answered her father. And then, quietly, to her, “That makes me boss, doesn’t it?”
“Oohhh!” She shook her head, clenching her fists, and turned away from him. But she could feel his uneasiness, his uncertainty. And h
er own.
What will our friends think about our Indians? What will they do?
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, feeling much like her former self, she prepared for her day. Checking discreetly at her bedroom window, she saw Luke fully in the water and splashing his face and hair, rubbing them.
He’s washed in the creek two days in a row. Is this part of his vision quest? Or does he jump in the creek every day?
She moved to one side of the window, so Luke was out of her sight, but she could still see her mountain. She thought about her time with Luke yesterday and didn’t resist letting her lips turn up in a smile. He makes me so mad sometimes, but I feel…like I’m on top of my mountain when I’m with him. Like the whole world is there, just for us.
Still smiling, she looked out at her mountain. “Thank you for bringing me back safely…finally…from Aunt Hilda’s. Now we have much to do, you know. Are you ready to help me? To inspire me? Especially about bringing the Indians here?” She searched the towering mountain, the sea-green, the apple-green and moss-green of its leafy trees and the deep blue sky above them. She felt the beauty of it all, the deep sense of peace it always brought to her. She pressed her hand to her heart, as if to hold it inside her, to bring the heartbeat of the mountain in with her own.
A ray of sun glittered through the forest, like a tiny angel on a mission. She remembered Uncle Isaac speaking to her as they rested on their trip up the mountain. She had been feeling very efficient, telling him more about the Basket Bonanza and her business goals.
“Luvella,” he had said, his voice resonating, like the organ in church. “It sounds like you know what you want, but to really achieve it, you must become the goal.”
She had asked him, “How can I become my goal? Especially when there are so many pitfalls in my path?”
He smiled. “You are already a leader. That is good. But you must lead with heart. Find your people’s strengths and nurture them; develop a vision instead of plans; and keep your principles and honesty in everything.”
She blinked at her mountain. “Have I been completely honest with the other merchants?”
She thought of Luke now and how uncomfortable both Steckie and Mr. Smythe had been with him yesterday. They were both polite, though, which left a little hope in the corner of her heart. Anna, on the other hand, was busting at the seams, her eyes, sparkling with questions and insinuations, darting from Luke to Luvella to Luke. Anna would bombard her with questions when they were alone together today.
“Oh Glory!” Luvella’s hand came up to cover her mouth. “Oh my! Luke is going back today.” She clenched her hands together and implored her mountain, “Please don’t tell me I’ll never see him again.”
She turned and thumped down the stairs as quickly as the crutches would allow.
Luke, wearing his Indian suit Mama had repaired, was at the table with Bill and Reeder. Mama had just gone to the stove to get warm porridge for Luvella, who smiled at her mother and said, “Why thank you, Mama. And I can get my own food now, so you just sit down.”
She poured a generous amount of maple syrup over the porridge and some milk from the pitchers on the table, feeling Luke’s eyes watching her. She felt like saying to him, “See? I do listen to people sometimes.” But she continued her breakfast preparations meticulously.
When Daddy came in from outside, she said, “Good morning. Are we ready for our meeting?” She looked at her father, still ignoring Luke.
“I’m ready, but still thinking. This will be a tough one.” Then Daddy saved her from an awkward question to Luke. “Luke, are you sure you want to leave us today? You are welcome in our home, you know.”
Luvella finally looked at Luke. He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Mr. Andersson. But I have to be on my way. The only reason my family hasn’t been out looking for me is because they know a vision quest can take up to two weeks sometimes.”
At Luvella’s prodding, Luke had explained the ceremony to her family last night. However, he had begun his explanation by saying, “I should have told you, Luvella, the United States forbids my people to perform any of our ceremonies. So, it would be very dangerous for me, probably a prison sentence, if any of you mentioned this to anyone else.” Then, showing his trust, he told her family about the tradition of vision quest.
He stood now and carried his dishes to the sink. “I have a long walk today.” He grinned. “I should leave right now.”
“Reeder could take you on horseback to the other side of my sawmill. Give you a head start,” Daddy said. He didn’t say, “and protect you from those thugs who might still be loitering around the tenant houses.”
Luke blushed, showing he understood the unspoken words. “I am better on foot. No one will see me this way.” He picked up his blanket roll by the door and looped the thong over his shoulder.
Luvella’s heart dropped abruptly to her stomach and lodged there. How can I say goodbye to him?
“Next time you’re here, Luke, we’ll have a football game,” Reeder called. Luke grinned and waved.
“Luvella, why don’t you go out and point him in the right direction?” Daddy said.
She looked quickly at Daddy, grateful that he didn’t give her his usual wink. Everyone stood and wished Luke a safe journey and good vision quest and then Luke and Luvella were outside.
They walked to the road, slowly because of Luvella’s crutches. Both were silent. Luvella wondered if all sorts of words were piling up in Luke’s head like they were in hers. And still she said nothing.
They stopped, side by side, at the edge of her drive, at the edge of the road. Luke turned to face her. Luvella could see him struggling for the right way to say…what he wanted to say.
“Luvella,” he began, studying the texture of the dirt road. “Your people and my people, they aren’t really that different. But they do not blend well.” He looked at her, his eyes dark and sad. “At least, I do not see the white man happy to make our acquaintance.”
Luvella quelled the knot in her stomach, the tears pushing to fill her eyes. What is he saying? Is this goodbye—forever? Is he saying we can never see each other again?
She took a deep breath. “Luke, except for those wildcats at the tavern the other night, I thought the white man, as you put it, was quite nice to you. Mr. Smythe is stuffy with everyone new to town, and my family certainly likes you. I hope you can see that.”
She turned intense eyes up to him, wanting him to like her friends, wanting him to like being here.
For just a second, he was uncertain. Then he smirked and said, “Your family was just grateful to me that I saved your life and dragged you home safely.” He laughed his deep, Uncle-Isaac-baritone laugh.
“Oohhh, you…” she growled, clenching her fists. He was always making her mad like that. She raised her right fist as if to hit his shoulder, but he caught her wrist. He held it in the air a moment, still chuckling. Then his eyes grew sad again. No, more like wistful. He let her wrist down and slid his hand around her hand, squeezing it ever so slightly.
“I think you will interfere with my vision quest,” he said softly. “I will miss you, Luvella.”
He let go of her hand and turned toward the old sluice shortcut.
“Luke!” she called, unable to keep the warble from her voice or the tears from her eyes. He kept going, waving one hand in farewell without turning.
“Goodbye, Luke Raven!” she cried. “Goodbye.” She was sobbing, and she didn’t care if he heard her. She stood there, watching him go down the road and disappear into the woods. She stood there, waiting for him to come back.
Chapter Fifteen
Luke didn’t come back. She wiped her face with her hands, trying to remove the trace of tears before she rejoined her family. She hobbled back up the drive, stopped at the well, and splashed her face with some of its cold water. Then she continued to the privy, where she could sit privately and get ready for her life—her white man’s life.
When Luvella re
-entered the house, she frowned, forcing her control. Remembering the meeting, for which the folks should start arriving soon, helped her focus. She also reminded herself of her caboose, and how she had to re-organize her merchandise and her records, and decide what her new store sign should say. Her brothers had done a great job when they moved everything, but she knew exactly how she wanted her things to be displayed.
She was thinking again. Her head was working; her heart was subdued; her stomach was normal. Well, almost.
Bill and Jake were saddling up to go to the sawmill. It had been agreed that, after the meeting, Daddy would take Luvella in the wagon and leave her at her store. They would continue this routine until her ankle healed. Reeder would ride with them, too, except today he walked to the sawmill because of the meeting. Luvella helped Mama clean up the breakfast dishes.
“We had so much more room in our other house,” Mama worried.
Luvella hardly ever thought of the home she grew up in, the home they had lost when Daddy and her brothers were struggling to survive the typhoid and couldn’t work. She hadn’t realized how much Mama must miss it, must miss the soundness of its construction and the grandeur of the two parlors and large kitchen. Mama never complained, so Luvella was surprised to learn her mother was concerned about what people would think about their home now.
“Mama, don’t you fret,” Luvella soothed. “These are hard-working folk, coming to get some work done. This is much better than sitting in our drafty church.”
Daddy, sitting at the table, looked over toward the sink. “Margaret, you’ve turned this house into a palace. But I’ll get you a nicer one some day.” When Mama started to say something apologetic, he put up his hand. “It’s a good plan to have these folks here today. They’ll be in my home, and because of that, I think they’ll pay more attention to what I have to say.”
Luvella stopped drying the dish in her hand and looked at Daddy. “You are a fox!” She chuckled, and he tried to control the grin spreading across his face.
The Heartbeat of the Mountain Page 11