Angel of the Cove (10 page)

“You look fine to me.” The fact was he'd never seen anyone lovelier, but he didn't dare speak those words. He swallowed and glanced past her. “Is it all right if I visit with Laura while you and your helpers are finishing supper?”

She turned and hurried toward the bedroom. “Let me see if she's awake. We'll call you when we get supper on the table.” She peeked in the room and motioned for him to enter. “The preacher's here to see you, Laura.”

As he stepped past her into the room his arm brushed against her, and his pulse raced. He glanced at her, but she was looking over at the children in the other room. “Ted, watch out. You're going to knock that lamp over,” she called out before she dashed back toward them. Anna's footsteps tapped on the wooden floor, then her voice rang out again. “Lucy, put that hound dog back outside where he belongs, then come help me set another place at the table. Simon's going to eat with us.”

He tore his thoughts away from Anna and turned his attention to Laura and the baby. “What a fine-looking boy you got there. Congratulations, Laura. You must be really happy.”

Laura smiled up at him and cuddled the baby closer. “I am, Simon. The Lord's done blessed us agin.”

A pot rattled in the kitchen and laughter rang out. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the noise. “It sounds like your young'uns are quite taken with Miss Prentiss.”

Laura nodded. “They are. She's been powerful good to my family today.” The children laughed again, and she smiled. “She's an angel, that's what she is.”

Simon slipped his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around Anna's handkerchief. He'd carried it with him since the first day he met her. A warm feeling flowed through his veins. “Yes, she is.”

Supper with Anna and the Ferguson children provided the perfect ending for Simon's busy day. With the last bite eaten, he leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. “I declare, Anna, where did you learn to cook? That's one of the best meals I've had in a long time.”

Her cheeks flushed as she met his gaze. “My mama believes every woman needs to know how to cook. She taught me.” She looked down at the empty dishes on the table and then at the children. “I reckon we did a good job with the ham your pa brought in from the smokehouse before he left. There's not a bite left.”

Ted nodded. “And nary a one of my biscuits either.”

Lucy propped her hands on her hips and frowned at her brother. “You ain't the one made them biscuits. Miss Anna did. She just let you help her knead 'em.”

Ted, his fists raised for a fight, jumped from his chair and planted his feet in a wide stance. Anna sprang up in a flash beside him. Her arm circled his shoulders. “Now, Ted, remember what I said about not disturbing your mama. Lucy knows you helped make the biscuits. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a better helper.”

He lowered his hands and stared up at her. “I 'spect I'm just about the best helper in these here parts, right?”

She squeezed his shoulders and smiled. “Oh, I wouldn't trade you for the best chef in Knoxville.”

“Huh?” he said. Both children frowned, and Lucy cocked her head. “What's that?”

Anna laughed, and Simon remembered how she looked the first afternoon when she came to Cades Cove. Her laughter that day reminded him of bells. Tonight it touched his heart with a longing like he'd never known.

“That's a fancy cook,” Anna said. “So from now on you two can tell everybody I said that's what you both are. Someday you may grow up to be the head chef in the swankiest restaurant in Knoxville.”

“I asked Pa once if we could go to Knoxville,” said Lucy. “He said we had 'bout as much chance of that as goin' to the moon, 'cause Knoxville's a far piece from here. Guess we'll just have to stay in these here hills.”

“And it's a nice place to be.” Anna began to gather up the dishes. “Tell you what, Simon and I will clean up the dishes while you two get ready for bed. Then I'll tell you a story.”

With a whoop they ran from the room. Anna looked at Simon, a smile on her face. “Want to help?”

He pushed up from the table and stacked the remaining plates. “It didn't sound like I had a choice. I suppose it's the least I can do after such a good meal.”

Her face flushed again, and she glanced down. “Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. How was the cake?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Better than the best chef in Knoxville's.”

Anna laughed and turned toward the dry sink where the dishpan sat. Simon followed her and set the dishes in the sink. She reached across just as he was turning away, their hands touching for the briefest of instants. The momentary contact shot a thrill through him. He longed to grasp her fingers and lace them between his. But before he could, she caught her breath and drew back.

“On second thought, why don't we leave these for now? I'll do them after the children are in bed. Thank you for helping.”

At that moment, Lucy burst into the room with Ted close on her heels. His fists flailed the air and he squealed at Lucy as she ran around the table. “I'm Chief Kade!”

“I'm a-gonna wallop you good if you don't leave me alone!” Lucy yelled back over her shoulder.

Anna grabbed Ted's arm as he ran by and brought him to a skidding halt. “What are you doing?”

Ted grinned up at her. “We's playin' Chief Kade.”

“And who is that?”

Simon chuckled and tousled Ted's hair. “He's the Cherokee chief some say the Cove was named for. He was supposedly the leader of a hunting settlement here named Tsiya'hi.”

“Tsiya'hi? What does that mean?” Ted squirmed in Anna's grasp and she tightened her grip.

Simon struggled to keep from laughing as Ted strained to escape Anna. “Otter Place. There aren't any otters left in the Cove now, though.”

Lucy stuck out her tongue at her brother. “And there ain't no Cherokee here neither.”

Ted wriggled from Anna's grasp and lunged for his sister. But before he'd taken a step Anna had put herself between the two of them. She propped her hands on her hips and stared from Ted to Lucy.

“Well, I'm sure the Cherokee saved all their energy for running outdoors. You can play Chief Kade tomorrow, but tonight we're going to settle down for a bedtime story.”

Her words had an instant calming effect, and they allowed Anna to herd them toward the table. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Ted climbed up in her lap, and Lucy pulled her chair close to Anna. She reached up and patted Anna's face. “What story you gonna tell us, Miss Anna?”

Simon settled across from them and studied Anna's face as she positioned Ted until she had him where she wanted. “I think maybe a story about a boy and a slingshot.”

Ted straightened. “I got me a slingshot. Pa made it for me. I'm gonna go a-huntin' with it.”

Anna looked down at him. “Well, you must always be careful, because a slingshot can be dangerous. Let me tell you how a boy named David killed a giant with one.”

Lucy wrinkled her forehead. “I think I heard this story at church. I like it. Tell it again.”

“Yeah!” Ted said.

“A long time ago, in a place called Israel, there was a young boy
named David.” Anna began to tell the story of David and Goliath, and her soft voice had a soothing effect on the children. After a few minutes, Simon realized it wasn't only the children who couldn't take their eyes off her. Neither could he.

His breath caught in his throat at how beautiful she looked sitting there with the children's attention focused on her. Flickering patterns of light from the glow of the oil lamp on the table danced in her eyes. The gathering darkness, visible beyond the windows, cast shadows into the house, but her presence warmed the room as her voice transported them to a faraway land and a great battle.

Lucy's eyes grew wider as the story progressed. The quiet of the night settled in the room, and Ted's eyes drooped. He stilled in Anna's lap, and his yawns grew quieter. With the story completed, Anna shook him gently and smiled down into his sleepy eyes.

“Now it's bedtime. I need to check on your mama, and you can tell her goodnight.”

Anna scooted Ted off her lap, grasped his hand, and reached for Lucy with the other. With both children in tow, she led them into the room where their mother and the new baby lay.

Simon's chest tightened. He couldn't get the sight of Anna and the children out of his mind. She'd looked so beautiful sitting there, teaching them about God's Word. It reminded him of other nights when he and his brother sat beside their mother, listening to the great stories from the Bible.

Simon stood and rubbed the back of his neck. For the first time he realized how lonely his life had been since he'd come back to the Cove. Now a beautiful woman had entered his life, but she would only be there for the summer. The way it looked for him, he would be in the Cove forever. His dream might have died, but Anna's hadn't.

Anna and the children slipped back into the room, and she shooed them into their bedroom. Her tiny hands fluttered about, tucking them into bed and smoothing the covers over them. After they were settled, she bent and kissed each of them on the forehead. Then she straightened and picked up the lamp that burned on a bedside table. She held it in one hand, the other cupping the top of the chimney. As
she bent forward to blow out the flickering flame, she glanced up at Simon, and their eyes locked.

They stared at each other for a moment before she blew out the flame and walked toward him. He moved away to let her pass, closing his eyes at the pleasure of her presence.

Slowly she preceded him into the kitchen and stopped at the dry sink, her fingers grasping its edge. A smile struggled on her lips when she turned to face him. “There's no need for you to help me with the dishes. I can do them alone.”

A knife-like pain stabbed at his heart. “In that case I'd better be getting on home. Tomorrow's Sunday, and I have to finish my sermon.”

A look of surprise flashed across her face. “I've been so busy today I forgot tomorrow is church.” She glanced toward Laura's bedroom. “I won't be able to make it, but I hope I get to hear you preach next Sunday.”

He swallowed. “I do too. Anyway, thanks for supper.”

“Anytime.”

He walked to the front door and grabbed his hat from a wall peg. He looked back at her. “Goodnight, Anna.”

“Goodnight, Simon.”

A blast of cool night air calmed the heat rising in his cheeks when he opened the door and stepped onto the porch. His horse raised its head and nickered as he drew close. Simon stopped, his hand on the saddle, and looked up into the sky.

Movement at the front window caught his eye, and he turned to look back at the house. A lamp on a table glowed, and he saw Anna bend over and blow it out. His heart constricted at the sight of her. “God,” he groaned, “why did You bring her here? Just to let me know what I'm missing?”

No answer came. Wearily, he climbed onto the mare and began his long journey to the honeymoon cabin where he lived alone.

Anna listened to the hoofbeats of Simon's horse die away in the distance before she walked back to the sink and the dishes that waited
there. For some reason Simon's presence tonight had been disturbing. There was something about the way he looked at her that flustered her. Maybe, if she was honest, it wasn't the way he looked at her that concerned her, but the way it made her feel.