Mountain Homecoming (12 page)

S
ince her visit to the Davis cabin yesterday, Rani had tried to keep busy so she wouldn't dwell on Matthew's absence. But when she'd gotten out of bed this morning her first thought had been that it was Saturday. Matthew was expected back today. Now with supper over and the setting sun barely visible on the horizon, she had begun to doubt he'd arrive after all.

She finished putting the last of the supper dishes away and walked out to the front porch. Scout, who'd lain beside the chair most of the day, jumped up the minute she stepped out the door and ran to her. She knelt down and patted his head. He whined and looked down the road, then back at her.

It was as if he was telling her he wanted Matthew to return too. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his furry body. “Sometimes I think you're almost human,” she said. “I've never seen you take a liking to anybody like you have to Matthew.”

She rose and sank down in the chair where Matthew had sat the night they had talked about George. Scout settled beside her, and she dangled her hand down to rub his head. He looked up at her, and she smiled. “I'm sorry. I don't know what's keeping him.”

Even though she'd tried to tell herself he could have been detained for any number of reasons, it was no use. He'd only been in their home a short time, but everyone, including Scout, had felt his absence. And the fact that she missed him surprised her more than anything.

The front door opened, and her father stuck his head out. “Rani, I'm back from the barn. We're going to cut the cake.”

She glanced down the road once more and sighed before she stood up. “Coming.”

As she started in the front door, Scout jumped to his feet and began to yelp. She whirled, and her heart leaped at the sight of a horse galloping toward their house, Matthew crouched over the saddle. She walked to the edge of the porch and watched him rein to a stop in the yard.

“Mama, Poppa, Matthew's back!” she called out.

Scout dashed down the steps and stopped beside the horse. His bark grew louder, and his tail wagged back and forth in a frantic rhythm. Matthew swung out of the saddle, dropped down beside Scout, and grabbed his wriggling body. He threw back his head and laughed in an attempt to shield his face from the dog's licking tongue.

“It looks like somebody's glad to see me,” he said. He stood up, and Scout ran back up the steps and barked at Rani as if he wanted her to welcome Matthew.

“Hush, Scout,” she said. The dog quieted and lay down at her feet.

She started to speak just as the front door burst open and her parents rushed out. Matthew's gaze swept all of them, but it lingered for a moment on her before he turned his attention back to Anna and Simon. He smiled as he stared up at them. “Did you think I wasn't going to come?”

Simon hopped down the steps and slapped him on the back. “We'd just about given up on you.”

“I got back to my place this afternoon, but I had a lot of supplies to unload. It's a good thing my barn isn't as dilapidated as the cabin. I put everything in there and took care of the mules and cow I brought back with me. It took longer than I thought.”

“It's about time you was a-gittin' here,” Granny called from the front door. “You're just in time for a piece of the cake Anna baked for my birthday.”

Matthew chuckled and nodded. “Then I'm glad I got here when I did. I'll take care of my horse and be right back.”

“We'll be waiting for you,” Simon called over his shoulder as he and Anna reentered the house.

Matthew didn't say anything, just stood there looking at Rani. She wanted to tell him how glad she was he had returned, but she couldn't speak those words. She searched her mind for something to break the silence between them. After a moment she cleared her throat. “How was everything in Townsend?”

“Busy. There were lots of people everywhere.”

This wasn't the kind of conversation she wanted to have with him. She wanted him to tell her he'd missed her and couldn't wait to get back. Instead, their conversation had all the excitement of two farmers discussing the weather.

Unable to come up with a witty reply, she swallowed and followed up on his response. “There were people everywhere when Poppa took me to Townsend. Especially around the mill.”

“I think they have more people working now than ever before. The Little River trains seemed to be coming in from all directions.”

That information struck a warning in Rani's mind. More trains meant more trees were being cut. The day she and her father had been there, they'd watched the mill workers unloading a train from one of the lumber camps. “I saw a train come in with logs from Elkmont while we were there. It made me sick when I thought of all those trees that had been cut.”

“From Elkmont? I know that place. I helped lay the eighteen miles of track from there to the mill. I saw one of the bigger trains they've got now for the long haul back to Townsend. They're coming in every day.”

She sucked in her breath and gripped the porch post. “Every day? And the smaller trains are coming in all the time from the logging camps nearer to Townsend.” The thought of all those trees being cut and the fact that Matthew worked on the railroad that transported them there made her stomach roil. “How did it make you feel seeing those logs arrive and knowing you laid the tracks that got them there?”

His eyes grew wide with surprise, and his body stiffened. He glared at her. “Not good, Rani. But then…I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of.”

She knew she should be careful what she said, but she couldn't stop. She stomped down the porch steps and came to a stop in front of him. She stared up into his angry eyes. “I know you've had a hard time since your mother died, but you're a product of these hills. How could you stand by while your friends destroyed the place where you were born?”

“Friends?” He almost spat the word at her. “There's not one person there I'd call a friend. Maybe there aren't here either. You're mighty quick to condemn me for something you know nothing about. Maybe you need to get away from the protection of your parents and see what goes on in the rest of the world. Then you might understand what some people have to do to survive.”

His words hit her like a slap in the face, and she flinched. Before she could respond, he whirled and led his horse around the corner of the house toward the barn. Rani wanted to call him back, but she hesitated.

Tears flooded her eyes, and she groaned aloud. What had she done? For three days all she'd thought about was how she wished Matthew would hurry back. Then when he arrived, the first thing she did was attack him. She'd be lucky if he ever spoke to her again.

Poppa had said they couldn't know what Matthew's life had been like, and he was right. The look on his face when he'd said he had no friends sent chill bumps down her back. And her angry words had proved she wasn't a friend. She only hoped there was some way she could repair the damage her wagging tongue had done.

What Poppa had said in his sermon had proven to be true.
Judge not, that ye be not judged
. She supposed it was her time to be on the receiving end of judgment, and she didn't like it at all.

She wanted to run after Matthew and beg him to forgive her thoughtless words, but her feet were rooted to the porch. Scout barked at her and ran to the corner of the house as if he wanted her to follow. She took a deep breath and ran after the dog.

Matthew had just reached the gate of the barnyard fence when she rounded the house. Fighting back tears, she called out to him. “Matthew, wait.”

He turned and watched as she ran toward him. She came to a stop facing him and stared up into his smoldering eyes. “What do you want, Rani?”

“I—I want to talk to you.” She took a deep breath to control her racing heart. “I'm so sorry for the way I talked to you. I can see by the look in your eyes that I've hurt you, and for that I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that.”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “It doesn't matter. I've had worse said to me.”

“But I don't want you to hate me because I have trouble controlling my tongue sometimes. I want you to like me.”

“I do like you, Rani. And I understand how you feel about the forests. I share that with you. I hope in time you'll come to see that.” He reached for the gate and opened it. “Now I need to take care of my horse, and you need to go inside before your folks wonder where you are. We'll talk later.”

He turned and led his horse into the barnyard. When he entered the barn, Rani looked down at Scout, who hadn't moved since they caught up with Matthew. She took a deep breath. “Well, boy, I think I've made a terrible mistake today. I just hope Matthew won't hold it against me.”

In her heart, though, she feared that was exactly what would happen.

It wasn't long after that Matthew was sitting at the kitchen table and swallowing the last bite of Granny's cake. He pushed the plate away, picked up his coffee cup, and stared over the rim at Anna.

“That was mighty fine jam cake, Anna. I don't know when I've had as good.”

She smiled and leaned back in her chair. “I may have baked it, but it was Granny's recipe.”

Granny reached over and squeezed his arm. “And I'm right glad you got back to share some of it with us. Anna's baked a pie to take to the church tomorrow, and I reckon she'll be up early gittin' everything else ready to go. I hear it's going to be a mighty big shindig.”

Simon laughed, pushed back from the table, and stood. “That's what I hear too. With Lavinia Davis in charge, it ought to be.”

Anna nodded. “I don't know if you remember her or not, Matthew. She's married to Cecil Davis's brother. They've been coming to our church for several years now, and she's organized the whole celebration tomorrow.”

Granny cocked an eyebrow. “And with Lavinia, I'm sure ev'rybody's a-doin' just what she says.”

Simon turned to walk away from the table, but he whirled and came back. “I forgot to tell you something, Matthew. Rani and I went over to Cecil's cabin yesterday. He's going to get some men together to help rebuild your cabin. With John and me helping you, I figure if Cecil can get about two or three to join him, we'll have your cabin ready in no time.”

He stared at Simon in disbelief. “Do you really think there are men who'd leave their own work to help me?”

“Of course. Just leave it to Cecil. He'll get a crew together.”

“I—I don't know how to thank you. All of you have been so kind.”

Anna laughed and began to stack the cake plates. “It's easy to be kind to a nice person.”

Simon reached out to stop her. “Leave that until later, Anna. I think this would be a good time to give Granny her presents. Why don't we all go sit in the front room?”

Granny frowned. “Presents? Now you shouldn't have gone and done that.” Then her eyes twinkled, and she grinned. “But I shore am glad you did.”

Matthew rose and grabbed Granny's arm to help her up. Rani stood on her other side. She hadn't said anything since they'd sat down at the table, and now she didn't look at him as she had the last time they helped Granny to her feet. When Granny had steadied herself, Rani took her arm and led her into the other room. She didn't look back.

Matthew watched her go, and sadness flooded through him. What did he expect? All day he'd looked forward to getting back and seeing her. Then she'd turned on him without warning. But he had to admit, he had snapped back at her too. He bit down on his bottom lip.

He'd never known a woman so passionate about a cause as she was about protecting this valley, and he admired that in her. She might speak before she thought sometimes, but he'd never known anyone to ask forgiveness as quickly. That was something he hadn't encountered in others. No doubt about it, she was some woman, and she hadn't been out of his mind since he first saw her at the mountain laurel bush.

But besides the fact that she was much younger than him and the daughter of two old friends, there was another problem—he was the son of Luke Jackson. It made his skin crawl to think how much he'd sounded like his father when he spoke in anger earlier. He doubted if he could ever overcome the hatred he felt for the man he sometimes feared he was just like. For twenty years he'd been struggling to rid himself of his father's influence but instead had found himself becoming more like him all the time. That thought scared him more than anything. But if it was true, then he didn't need to pursue a friendship with Rani. She didn't deserve somebody like him in her life. Someone like George—someone easygoing and dependable—would be better for her in the long run.