Beyond These Hills (24 page)

“I came to see you.”

“I thought you said…”

“Forget what I said. I've missed you.”

Her eyelashes blinked once. “I've missed you too.”

He took off his hat and held it in his hands. The rain that had accumulated in the brim dripped to the ground. “I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to see you and tell you what I feel. There's a connection between us that I can't deny, Laurel. I knew it the first day I met you.”

She lifted her chin, and he wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a tear in her eye. “Maybe there was, but it doesn't matter. Your father wants you to marry Lucy.”

“I know. Your mother wants you to marry Jimmy. And from what I saw when he was visiting, I thought you might want that too.”

“I've known Jimmy all my life. He's like an older brother. I don't want to marry him.”

“And I don't want to marry Lucy.”

Her lips trembled. “Have you told her that?”

“I've written to her and my father. I apologized to her if I had ever done anything to make her think I had marriage in mind. But I told you I have never so much as held her hand. The marriage was our families' idea.”

“What did you tell your father?”

“I told him I wasn't going to marry Lucy, and I would appreciate him not bringing up the subject again.”

Laurel tilted her head to one side. “Lucy is only part of what your father wanted. What about politics? Are you going back to Virginia to run for office?”

Andrew took another step closer. “I don't know, Laurel. I'm still trying to figure that out. Your family has other expectations for you too. They're going to move out of the Cove. Will you go with them no matter where, or do you want your own life somewhere else?”

A tear trickled down her cheek. “I don't know,” she whispered.

His heart pricked at the broken sound of her voice. “There are a lot of things standing in our way, Laurel. Our families' expectations for each of us and the loyalties we owe them. But in spite of all that I've fallen in love with you.”

She gasped. “Andrew, we can't…”

He raked his hand through his hair. “Yes, we can, Laurel,” he said. “If we love each other, we can work anything out.” He took a step closer. “I'm standing here holding my heart out to you. Don't think about what our parents want or the fact that I was sent here to talk your family into selling their land. Just think about me. I want you, Laurel. Now you have to decide what you want.”

The sight of tears streaming down her face frightened him more than anything he'd ever experienced. He'd laid his heart out to her, and he didn't think he could bear for her to trample it under her feet. She took a deep breath.

“I want you too, Andrew,” she whispered.

His body went limp with relief as he exhaled a large breath. She felt as he did. He could hardly believe it.

He didn't know who moved first, but suddenly they were running toward each other. She threw her arms around his neck just as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His lips covered hers, and she returned his kiss with an eagerness that matched his own. After a moment she pulled away and laid her cheek against his.

“I love you, Andrew,” she whispered. “But I'm scared.”

“I am too, but as long as we love each other, we can work anything out.” He wrapped his fingers around her braid and caressed the silky tresses. “The first time I saw you I couldn't take my eyes off
you. I wanted to touch your hair just to see if such a beautiful creature was real. Now we're standing here saying that we love each other. I still can't believe it.”

“Neither can I.”

He pulled her closer and lowered his lips to hers. She pressed her mouth to his, and waves of pleasure washed over him. When she pulled back from him, he gazed down at her. “Laurel, you are…” His words were drowned out by a clap of thunder that shook the barn. The rumbling had barely died down when it was replaced by a frantic scream.

“Laurel!” The high-pitched cry pierced the air, and they froze. “Laurel, come quick!”

Her face paled, and she pulled out of his arms. “That's Willie. Something's wrong.”

From the sound of Willie's voice, he knew something terrible must have happened. He grabbed Laurel's hand and they bolted from the barn. The rain beat down on them as they ran into the barnyard. A drenched Willie, fear on his face, appeared at the gate. “Laurel, Nana needs you. Come quick!” he yelled before he turned and ran back toward the house.

She glanced at Andrew, and the frightened look on her face made his heart skip a beat. Then her fingers tightened on his, and they raced to see what had happened.

Chapter 12

W
illie bounded onto the front porch just as Laurel and Andrew rounded the corner of the cabin. Panting for breath, Laurel dashed up the steps with Andrew right behind and came to a stop next to her grandmother, who was bending over Granny.

Anna held Granny's limp hand and patted it. “Granny,” she said, “can you hear me?”

When there was no answer, Anna, her face pale, looked up at Laurel. “I came out to check on her and found her unconscious. I don't know how long she's been this way.”

Andrew eased up beside Laurel. “It can't have been too long. I talked to her right before I went down to the barn.”

“How long ago was that?”

“It couldn't have been more than five minutes. The rain started just as I got to the barn door.”

Her grandmother nodded. “So she hasn't been unconscious long.”

Laurel grabbed her grandmother's arm. “What's the matter with her? She was fine when I left to bring you the beans.”

Anna bent over Granny and raised one of her eyelids. After staring into her eye for a moment, she released it. “I'm not sure. It could be a stroke or a heart attack or something else. We need to get her
inside and onto her bed.” She faced Andrew. “I didn't know you were here, but I'm glad you are. Can you help me lift her?”

He shook his head and motioned for them to stand aside. “I'll pick her up and take her inside. Laurel, you hold the door. Anna, show me where you want to put her.”

Laurel dashed to the door and held it open. She watched as Andrew slid his arms under Granny and lifted her from the chair as if she was weightless. Her grandmother dashed into the house ahead of Andrew.

Before he stepped through the door, he tightened his arms around Granny's still form and stared at Laurel. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his jaw trembled. “I can't believe how light she is. She's hardly more than skin and bones.”

Laurel reached out and caressed the arm of the woman she'd loved all her life. “I love you, Granny,” she whispered, but there was no answer.

Andrew stepped into the house, and Laurel glanced at Willie before she followed. He had backed up against the railing of the porch and looked as if he was frozen in place. Tears filled his wide eyes and he wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. “Is Granny gonna die, Laurel?”

She stretched out her hand and motioned for him to follow. “I don't know, Willie. Come on inside.”

He shook his head and sank against the railing further. A tear rolled down his cheek. “I don't want Granny to die.”

Laurel walked over to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Neither do I. We all love her so much. But she would want us to be brave right now and pray for her. I need to see if I can help Nana. Are you coming inside, or would you rather stay out here?”

Willie's chin trembled, and he stared past her to the door. “I'll stay out here. Will you come back and tell me how she is?”

Laurel squeezed his shoulder and smiled. “I will. Stay right here, and I'll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

Andrew had laid Granny on her bed by the time Laurel arrived at the bedroom door. Her grandmother waited for Andrew to back away before she bent over the supine figure and grasped Granny's wrist with her fingers. A look of deep concentration settled on Anna's face, and Laurel knew she was silently counting the beats of Granny's pulse.

After what seemed forever, she eased Granny's arm back down to the bed and caressed the wrinkled hand before she glanced up. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “Her pulse is weak. Did she say anything to either of you about not feeling well?”

“She said she had a headache, but she dismissed it,” Laurel said.

“And I noticed her arm and hands were shaking more than usual.” Andrew stared at Anna. “What do you think it is?”

A worried look shadowed her eyes. “It sounds like it might be a stroke. If it is, I'm not equipped to deal with this. She needs a doctor.”

Laurel glanced from her mother to Andrew. “Is there anything we can do for her?”

“There's a doctor at the CCC camp,” Andrew spoke up. “I can go for him.”

Nana's eyes grew large. “That's right. Do you think he would come here?”

“I'll see that he does. It shouldn't take long for me to go over there and get back.”

“Then please go.” Anna glanced back down at Granny, and her chest heaved with a stifled sob. “And hurry.”

“I will.”

With that Andrew rushed from the room. Laurel followed and watched from the front door as he dashed through the blowing rain, jumped in his car, and roared out of the yard. She stared at the taillights of the car until they disappeared from sight and then looked around for her brother. Willie, his clothes drenched, sat in one of the rockers as if he was oblivious to the rain that blew onto the porch and soaked him.

Laurel opened the door a few inches and called to him. “Willie, you don't need to stay out here. Come inside.”

His head jerked around, and she almost gasped at the frightened gaze in his eyes. He sat up straight and blinked as if he had just noticed her. “How's Granny?”

“Andrew's gone for the doctor. Come on in before you catch a chill out here in this rain.” His hands tightened on the arms of the chair before he reluctantly pushed to his feet and followed Laurel into the house. “Now you get some more clothes on and stay inside while I see if I can help Nana. Okay?”

He nodded and followed her through the kitchen and down the hallway to the bedroom he stayed in when at their grandmother's house. Laurel waited until he had entered the room and closed the door before she hurried back to Granny's bedroom.

Anna was in the process of cutting Granny's clothes from her body when Laurel entered the room. Laurel's heart pricked as her gaze took in the sight in front of her. Andrew had been right. Granny was no more than skin and bones. When had the vital woman she remembered from her childhood succumbed to the ravages of old age? And how could she have been so blind as to not see the changes in a woman she loved so dearly?

She blinked back tears. “Do you need any help?”

Her grandmother shook her head. “Not with this. I thought it would be easier to cut her clothes off than try to pull everything over her head.” She dropped a handful of cloth onto the floor. “I do need you to go to the kitchen and bring me a pan of cold water and some cloths. Her skin is hot, and I want to try and cool her down some.”

“I'll be right back.” Laurel hurried from the room and returned minutes later with a pan of water.

“Thank you.” Her grandmother took it from her, wrung the cloth out in the cold water, and began to gently sponge Granny's body. As her hands worked, she began to croon a hymn. Laurel recognized it as one of Granny's favorites.

She inched closer to her grandmother. “Do you think she can hear you?”

Her grandmother hand's paused in their work, and she turned to smile at Laurel. “I don't know, but I hope so.” She reached down and grasped Granny's hand in hers. “Granny, give my hand a little squeeze if you can hear me.”

Laurel fastened her gaze on her grandmother's hand and gasped when Granny's fingers twitched ever so slightly. “Oh, Nana, she can hear you.”

Her grandmother leaned over and kissed Granny's hand before she returned it to a resting position on the bed. She then began sponging Granny's body again. “Granny, do you remember that day in June forty-one years ago when I came to your house? I was so scared that day, but Uncle Charles told me you would take care of me for the summer. I didn't know it then, but the summer was only the beginning for us.” She glanced at Laurel. “I jumped out of Uncle Charles's buggy, and Granny came rushing toward me with her arms stretched out like she'd known me all my life.”

“That's the first day you saw Grandpa too, wasn't it?'

Anna smiled. “It was. He was right behind Granny. I didn't know then how much the two of them would come to mean to me. They changed my life from a strong-willed girl into a woman who let God have control of her life.” She leaned forward and whispered to Granny. “Thank you for all you did for me. You helped me see what God had in store for me.”