Mountain Homecoming (5 page)

“Yes. That's Stephen. He's ten minutes older than Rani.”

The rocker creaked as Granny repositioned herself. “I do believe that was the longest ten minutes I ever lived through.”

Anna laughed. “But we got through it and came out with two beautiful babies.”

A frame with the picture of a man he remembered well caught his attention, and he picked it up. “And here's your uncle. Doc Prentiss we called him. I'll always be indebted to him for taking us to Pigeon Forge after my father's death.” He rubbed his thumb over the glass, and thought of the man Anna had asked to arrange work for his mother at Mrs. Johnson's inn. He had done that and then seen that they were settled in the little cabin behind her business. “Is Doc still practicing?”

“Not in the mountains,” Anna said. “He nearly wore himself out traveling the mountain roads and tending the people he loved. He retired about five years ago and moved to Maryville. He still sees a few patients and teaches some classes at Maryville College, but mostly he enjoys retirement. I miss having him in the mountains, though. He's coming for a visit while Stephen's here, so you'll get to see him then.”

“Good. I have a lot to thank him for.” Matthew set the picture back down and was about to turn away when he spied a frame sitting to the side of the others. The solemn face of a young boy of perhaps five years old stared at him.

“Who's this?” he asked.

The silence that followed his question sent a warning flashing into his mind. He turned and stared at Anna who stood next to Granny's chair. Her lips trembled. “That's Willie,” she whispered. “He died soon after that was taken.”

Matthew glanced at the child once more before he stepped away from the mantel. “I'm sorry. I didn't know.”

“Of course you didn't,” Granny said. She reached out and grasped Anna's hand. They both stared at the picture as if lost in thought. After a moment Granny broke the strained silence. “He was a sweet boy,” she murmured, “and we miss him a lot. He would have been 'bout fifteen now.”

Before Matthew could respond, footsteps thudded in the back of the house and Simon rushed into the room. He stopped, his eyes wide, and stared in unbelief. “I couldn't believe it when Rani told me you were here.”

Matthew stared at the man who had been more of a father to him when he was a child than anyone. Some gray sprinkled the dark hair he remembered so well, but the warmth in Simon's eyes hadn't changed.

He tried to speak, but all he could do was think about how good it was to be back with people who shared his past. Before he could say anything, Simon enveloped him in a bear hug.

Matthew closed his eyes for a moment and let the welcome flow through his soul. He'd debated for months whether or not he should come back, but now he knew he'd made the right choice.

He glanced over Simon's shoulder and spied Rani standing behind her father. As their eyes locked, she crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. The expression of distrust on her face sucked the breath from him.

For some reason, Rani didn't like him, and the thought saddened him. Maybe he had just encountered his first resistance to his homecoming. Her opinion might be the result of having heard stories about his father. If a girl who didn't even know him could judge him on what others said, then how could he ever be accepted by the people in the Cove who had actually known Luke Jackson?

Perhaps he'd been wrong. What if he'd made a mistake in coming home? His mother could have been right about people having long memories. If that was true, then there was no place for him in the Cove.

R
ani didn't remember when there had been such lively conversation during supper. Usually after a hard day of work, her parents were content to enjoy their time around the kitchen table as they talked about the events of the day and what they planned for the morning. Not tonight. Her parents and Granny had laughed and talked more than she'd seen them do in the past month. And it was all because of their unexpected guest.

“Have some more of this here pie.” Granny picked up the pan from the middle of the table and scooped another big piece onto Matthew's plate.

Rani cast a glance at the man sitting across from her. The smile on his lips extended to his dark eyes as he glanced at Granny. She had to admit Matthew Jackson seemed to be enjoying his time with her family. For their sake, she hoped he was sincere and wasn't just pretending so he could approach them later about his employer buying their timber.

She propped her elbows on the table and tented her fingers. “Well, Matthew, after living so long in the outside world, what made you want to come back to our valley?”

Matthew had just raised his fork with a bite of pie on it, but he lowered it back to his plate and stared at her with the same penetrating gaze he had directed at her earlier. It was as if he directed some kind of silent plea toward her. Her skin warmed under his intense scrutiny, and she leaned back in her chair to distance herself from him. She lowered her hands and clasped them in her lap.

After a moment he smiled, and she swallowed hard as his gaze drifted from her eyes to her lips and back again. “This is home, Rani. All I've thought about for years was getting back here, but I knew I had to have a place to come to. When my old farm went up for sale, I knew God had answered my prayers.”

“But didn't it bother you working for Little River Lumber when you knew what they were trying to do our mountains?”

“Rani,” her father interrupted. She glanced at him, and he frowned. “It's not our place to question Matthew's motives. We don't know what his life's been like.”

Matthew shook his head. “No, it's all right, Simon.” He leaned forward and smiled at Rani. “I told you earlier today I worked for their railroad company. Yes, I knew how they were stripping the mountains, and it made me sick. But at the time, I needed a job, and the only one I could find was with the railroad.”

Mama turned a questioning glance toward Rani. “I don't remember Matthew telling you he worked for the railroad. When did that happen?”

Rani fidgeted in her seat and dropped her gaze to her plate. She picked up her cup of water and shrugged. “Oh, I met Matthew on my way home from Josie's today.”

Her mother's mouth gaped open. “Where?”

Matthew chuckled. “I stopped at my farm. I wanted to see how the place had changed, and I'd promised my mother the first thing I'd do was check on her mountain laurel bush. Rani was there.”

“Land's sakes,” Granny said. “So you're the feller Rani came home all upset about 'cause she thought he was after timber in the Cove. Why didn't you tell her who you was?”

Matthew laughed, and he stared at Rani again. “I tried to, but she threatened to sic her dog on me if I came any closer. And the way he was barking, I figured it was best to keep my distance.” His eyes softened, and he tilted his head to one side. “There was something about you that looked so familiar, though. Now I understand—it was because you're so much like Simon.”

The mellow tone of his voice flowed over her, and her heart pounded. What was wrong with her? She'd never experienced such strange feelings before. It could be the fact that she'd heard stories about how hard Matthew's life had been before his father died. But now that she'd met the flesh and blood person who'd survived those events, she needed to be careful. Her parents might believe his reasons for returning to the Cove, but he still hadn't convinced her that he wasn't secretly representing Little River.

After a moment he picked up his fork again and shoveled a bite of pie into his mouth. He closed his eyes, swallowed, and groaned in satisfaction. “Oh, Granny, I've missed your cooking.”

She reached over and patted his arm. “Well, now that you're back you're gonna have a chance to eat a lot of it. And that reminds me. You're back just in time for a big shindig.”

Matthew lowered his fork and turned toward her. “What?”

“Well,” Granny said, “it's not really a
big
thing, hardly worth mentionin'. But the folks in the Cove seem to think it is.”

Matthew pushed his plate away and crossed his arms on the table. He looked from Granny to Anna, whose face was beaming. “It sounds important. Is somebody having a party?”

Granny nodded. “I guess you could say that. The folks are havin' a dinner after church for me next Sunday. To celebrate my birthday.”

Matthew's face broke into a big smile. “Your birthday? Then I
am
back just in time! I wouldn't miss that for anything.” He darted a glance at Anna and then back to Granny. “And how old will you be? Surely not more than fifty, because you had to be about thirty when I moved away.”

Granny laughed and swatted his arm. “Boy, you shore do make an old woman feel good. You know good and well I warn't no thirty when you left. Next Saturday I'm going to be seventy years old.”

Anna laughed, scooted her chair back from the table, and began to stack the dishes. “And she can still do more work in a day than I can.”

Simon jumped up and began to help her. “And next Sunday's going to be a very special day at church. Not only will we celebrate Granny's birthday, but you'll get to see all your old friends.” As he carried the dirty dishes to the dry sink, he glanced back over his shoulder. “What are your plans for fixing the old place up?”

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “From the looks of things, I have my work cut out for me. I wanted to see what I needed to do before I bought anything, so I came on to check things out. I'll take a better look around tomorrow. Then I'll head back to Townsend and buy what I need to start rebuilding. One of the first things I need to do is get that field next to the cabin cleared and corn planted.”

Simon nodded. “That sounds about right. You'll need that corn for your animals next winter. You think you can do that and get the cabin built too?”

“If I work at it really hard, I figure I should have the cabin in pretty good shape by winter.”

Anna hesitated in retying her apron and turned from the dry sink to stare at Matthew. “Where were you planning on sleeping while you're rebuilding?”

“At the cabin, I guess.”

Her eyes widened, and she propped her hands on her hips. “You can't do that, Matthew. Stephen's room is empty right now. You'll stay there until your cabin is ready.”

Matthew rose to his feet and shook his head. “No, Anna, I'll be all right. I've slept in worse places.”

She held up her hand and frowned. “There's no arguing about it. We want you to stay here.”

A feeling of panic fluttered in Rani's stomach. She jumped to her feet and reached for the empty pie plate. “Mama, I'm sure Matthew knows best. If he wants to stay at his farm, let him.”

She glanced up at Matthew, and her heart constricted at the flicker of sorrow in his eyes. He took a deep breath. “Maybe it would be better…”

Simon reached out and clamped a hand on Matthew's shoulder. “Matthew, even when you were a child you were independent. I know you grew up too fast after your pa died. But you're a man now, and a man accepts help when it's offered in love and friendship. We want you to stay here.” He directed a stern glare at Rani. “All of us do.”

Rani flinched not so much from the look on her father's face but from the tone of his voice. He had spoken like that when she was a child and had misbehaved. Had she embarrassed her parents by her less-than-warm welcome of Matthew? If so, she would have to make amends.

The memory of Matthew's cabin popped into her head. There was no way he could stay there until he'd made some major repairs. Their home had always been a refuge for anyone needing help, and Matthew was no exception.

She forced a smile to her face. “Of course Mama and Poppa are right. Your cabin isn't fit to live in yet. You should stay here.”

Matthew's eyes narrowed, and he searched her face as if he was trying to decide whether or not she was being honest. After a moment he nodded. “It sure would be better to sleep in a bed than on the ground.”

Anna laughed and swept him into a hug. “As long as we're around you won't be sleeping on the ground.” She glanced at Granny. “Why don't you and Simon take Matthew into the front room? Rani and I will wash the dishes, and then we'll join you.”

“Sounds good to me.” Granny nodded, planted her hands on the table top, and tried to push to her feet.

Rani grabbed her arm to assist her, but before she could help Granny up Matthew stepped to the other side of Granny and looped his arm through hers. “Let me help you, Granny.”

His gaze moved to Rani, and they stared at each other across the top of Granny's head. Rani's breath caught in her throat, and she grasped Granny's arm tighter. He was so close she could smell the scent of her mother's homemade soap he'd washed up with before supper. For the first time she noticed how his hair covered the top of his ears, a sign he hadn't had a haircut in a while.

A smile pulled at his mouth. “Let's lift her together.”