Mountain Homecoming (8 page)

She reached up and covered his hands with hers. “Is that why you've been so insistent on Stephen going to seminary?”

“Maybe…but it's only driven him away from us. I'm sorry about that, Anna. God has been dealing with me, and I've come to understand Stephen isn't Willie. When Stephen comes home in July, I'm going to tell him I support his decision to go to medical school.”

Anna sat up straight, threw her arms around Simon's neck, and hugged him. “Oh, I knew God would make you see what Stephen's path should be.” She leaned back and smiled at him. “You are a good husband and a good father. Now you need to realize Rani is growing up too. Don't be surprised if she wants to get married soon.”

Simon rose to his feet, stood Anna in front of him, and wagged a finger at her. “Now even if George is your favorite of Rani's friends, don't you go matchmaking. I don't think he has the right temperament for Rani.”

Anna frowned and propped her hands on her hips. “Temperament? What are you talking about?”

Simon rubbed his chin. “You've always been blind where the Ferguson children are concerned. I know you care deeply about them, but you have to admit that Pete and Laura let them get away with a lot when they were growing up.”

Anna rolled her eyes and chuckled. “And you have to admit that you thought they were spoiled rotten.”

“They were,” Simon said. “George is the worst of the bunch. Pete's never been able to do anything with him, and Laura makes excuses for everything he does. Pete tells me that George acts like a child when he doesn't get his way. He says sometimes George will sulk for days without speaking to him or Laura. He's about at the end of his rope with the boy.”

Anna's eyes darkened. “Does Rani know this?”

“I think she does. At least I haven't seen any indication that George is anything more than a friend to her. Rani is headstrong, and she has a sharp tongue sometimes. Can you imagine how she would react when George got into one of his feeling-sorry-for-himself moods?”

Anna laughed. “Well, then, what kind of man do you think she needs?”

Simon thought for a moment before he answered. “She doesn't need a man who's going to give in to her all the time. She needs somebody who loves her so much he'll let her share his life and work but who'll stand up to her and tell her when she's wrong.”

Anna's mouth gaped open. “Why, Simon Martin, you have really surprised me tonight. I've never heard you talk this way.”

He screwed his mouth into a grimace. “Well, I've never heard you talk about our daughter getting married before either.”

They stared at each other for a few moments before Anna burst out laughing. “It's really a treat living with you, Simon. I never know what you're going to say or do.”

He grinned and winked at her. “A little spice in a marriage is always good. And these last twenty years have been the best of my life.”

She leaned over and blew the lamp out. “And they just keep getting better.”

A clock chimed somewhere in the house and woke Matthew out of a restless sleep. He bolted up into a sitting position and clutched the edge of the bed. It took him a minute to realize he wasn't in the room he shared with other workers in Little River's company town. He was in Simon and Anna's home.

He raked his hand through his hair and pushed himself to his feet. He'd had enough sleepless nights in the past to know it would be a long time before he'd drift off again. Usually a walk helped relax him.

He pulled on his clothes and stepped into the hallway. No sounds came from Granny's room. He eased into the kitchen, but Simon and Anna weren't there. The door to their bedroom on the other side of the kitchen was closed, and no light filtered underneath the doorway.

Convinced all the family was asleep, he crossed the kitchen and was about to enter the front room when he stopped at the sound of voices. “And Pa says we gonna have a good crop this year, Rani. If'n we do, Pa's gonna build me a cabin on that piece of land next to where we live.”

“That's nice, George.” Rani's voice drifted through the door.

Matthew stood frozen in place. George was talking about building a cabin? Matthew might have been gone from the Cove for twenty years, but he knew what that meant. When a family built a cabin for their son, it was so he could get married and have his own starter place.

Matthew's heart slammed against his chest. George wanted to marry Rani. She must be considering it, or George wouldn't be calling on her. Suddenly it seemed as if the walls were closing in around him. He needed to get some air.

Gasping for breath, he stumbled through the backdoor into the yard. He stood in the dark trying to calm his racing heart. There was no moon tonight, and the darkness surrounded him. He squinted to make out the mountains he knew were in the distance. Only a dim outline shadowed the horizon. After a few minutes, his pulse slowed, and he walked around the side of the cabin and into the front yard.

A large tree sat at the front corner of the cabin, and he remembered seeing a chair on the end of the porch when he'd arrived earlier. He could imagine Granny sitting there in the afternoons “soaking up the mountains” as she used to say. He put his foot on the first step to the porch but stopped when a low growl rumbled nearby. The light filtering through the cabin window revealed Scout standing next to the chair, his teeth bared.

“Easy boy.” Matthew eased onto the porch and came to a stop in front of the dog. He knelt down and held out his hand. “I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to be your friend.”

Scout growled again and took a step forward. Matthew didn't move. “Don't be afraid. Come to me.” Scout hesitated a moment before he took a step forward and sniffed Matthew's hand. “Good boy.” Matthew moved his hand closer, placed it on Scout's head, and rubbed the soft fur. “Yeah, we're going to be great friends.”

Scout whined, licked at Matthew's hand, and lay back down beside the chair. Matthew smiled as he eased himself into the seat and closed his eyes, reaching over to stroke Scout.

Rani's muffled voice could be heard coming from the front room of the cabin. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but just the sound of it had a calming effect on him. He leaned back and sighed.

Even with all the strange emotions he'd experienced today, it was good to be home. And he knew it wasn't just because of seeing those he'd left behind years ago. The most pleasure had come from meeting a dark-eyed girl who stirred him in ways no woman ever had.

Rani stifled a yawn. It was getting late, but George didn't seem to notice. She glanced at the clock on the wall and wondered if he hadn't heard it chime a while ago or if he had ignored it. Usually she could let him ramble on about his crops and what he and his father had planned for next year, but not tonight.

For some reason she felt restless and wished he would hurry and end his visit. The thought made her feel guilty, and she straightened in her chair. After all, George's family was well respected in the Cove, and they'd been close friends and members of her father's church ever since she could remember. She had played with George and his brother and sister all her life, but as she'd told Josie this afternoon, she wasn't in love with him.

“Are you list'nin' to me, Rani?” George's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she blinked.

“I'm sorry. I guess my mind is wandering.”

His bottom lip drooped. It reminded Rani of the young children in the Sunday school class she taught. “Well, I was a-talkin' to you,” he whined. “Maybe you ain't too interested in what I was sayin'.”

She reached up and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Don't be ridiculous, George. I'm a little tired after going over to Josie and Ted's cabin today.”

His eyebrows arched. “Did you walk over there and back?”

“I did. You know I walk everywhere I go. It gives me time to think.”

The pout disappeared and was replaced by a big grin. He propped an elbow on his knee and leaned forward. “I hope you was thinkin' about me.”

“I had a lot on my mind. You know, like Little River Lumber and what they're doing to the Cove. And Ted and Josie moving away. I still can't believe he's gone to work for that company.”

He slapped his knee and jumped to his feet. “I declare, Rani,” he snarled, “I don't understand you at all. Most girls your age are thinkin' about gettin' married and settlin' down, but not you. All you think about is takin' on the biggest company in this part of the country and runnin' 'em out of the mountains.”

Rani bristled at his words, and her eyes narrowed. “And why shouldn't I want them to leave? They're stripping our hills of trees that have been growing here for hundreds of years. And they're not replacing them. We won't live to see those hillsides covered in trees again.”

“Well, what's that to me? By that time we'll all be dead and gone. All we can do is live for the right now, and I want to do that.” He paused, straightening up and adjusting his posture. “And I want you to do it with me,” he declared.

His words infuriated her. How could anyone who'd grown up in the Cove be so uncaring about its future? She stood up and faced him, her hands clenched at her sides. “George, you've been my good friend ever since we were children, but we think differently about a lot of things. I know you're going to find a girl who wants the same things from life that you do.”

He took a step back from her and let his gaze rove over her face as if he couldn't believe what she'd just said. “Are you sayin' that you're not that girl?”

She took a deep breath. “I'm saying we're never going to be anything but friends. You need someone who loves you and wants to share her life with you.”

He nodded. “I see.” He turned his back and faced the fireplace. He stood there a moment before he turned and stared at her. The anger she'd seen before when he'd been denied something lined his face. “I've been callin' on you for months, Rani, and you ain't never said nothin' like this before. Why did you wait until tonight?”

She frowned and started to protest that she'd tried to tell him for weeks. But before she could speak, Matthew Jackson's face flashed in her mind, and she remembered how her heart had pumped when he'd stared at her across the table at supper. She shook the thought from her head and lifted her chin. “It's time we got on with our lives, George. You'll always be one of my best friends, but you need to look somewhere else for a woman who will love you.”

His face grew red, and he raked his hand through his hair. “I cain't believe you're turnin' me down.” He pointed a finger at her. “I'm warning you, though, I ain't givin' up. I'll keep comin' back until you change your mind.” He rammed his hat on his head. “Now I guess I'd better be gettin' on home. It's late.”

Rani followed him out the door and stopped at the bottom of the front porch steps. George strode to the horse he'd tied to a small tree in their yard and grabbed the reins. He was about to climb into the saddle when he shook his head and led his horse back to where she stood. He raised an arm and gripped her shoulder.

“I reckon I ain't ever come out and said the words, Rani, but I want you to know I love you. Don't that mean anything to you?”